Korean Paris Baguette in Paris
This is a Korean bakery in Paris (there’s fusion for you!). I debated whether to post this on the Korean blog or the French blog, as it pertains to both. So, I decided to post it on both. If you read both blogs, my apologies. But if you only read one, then you won’t miss this!
When we were in Korea we noticed that many bakeries/café/coffee shops have French names, like Tous les Jours, Paris Baguette, Pommier, Paris Croissant.
I wrote earlier about the Korean love of French names for bakeries and cafes here: (https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/love-of-french-names-in-korea/ ). One of these bakeries is Paris Baguette, which launched in Seoul in 1988 and soon became a huge success, expanding in the rest of Korea and other countries. Paris Baguette calls itself a “traditional French bakery” and prominently features the Eiffel Tower in its logo. In its outlets, shop employees working the cash registers wear Breton stripes and berets.
As I wrote, “Now Paris Baguette has opened a store in Paris, France, putting its French cooking ideals to the ultimate test. It’s been open a couple of years now, so I’ll be interested in finding out whether it can be a success in France, whether the often-finicky French will accept this. Next time we are in Paris (July this year) I aim to go and find the Korean Paris Baguette and give it a taste test. Will let you know.”
Well, we found it on rue des Lavandières-Sainte Opportune, on the corner of rue Jean Lantier, in the Chatelet area (1st arrond). It wasn’t easy to find an address for the Paris branch of this Korean bakery-cafe but we really wanted to find it, and did manage to track it down.
And, it seems to be doing just fine. We went there twice, and each time it was bustling, with a line of people waiting. It looks very similar to the outlets in Korea, but does also fit into the street here. In fact, with that name you’d never know that it wasn’t just another actual Paris bakery. Everything is written in French, as you’d expect, which we found a little disconcerting at first, having first discovered Paris Baguette in Korea, where everything was written in Korean, of course, but often with an English translation.
One difference is that most French bakeries typically don’t have places to sit, once you’ve ordered, but this does, although fewer seats than in the Korea branches. Another is a few of the offerings, such as Bingsu, which is a Korean addition. A big difference is in the logo. Here the Eiffel Tower has been removed and we see just the PB.
Without actually speaking to the management, I’d say that it’s doing fine. Well done Korean” Paris Baguette”!
Experiences in Korea and Japan 
I have~ to know… how does it taste compared to the ones in Korea??? If it’s doing well I can only imagine they changed their recipies and quality of ingredients to compete with the French bakeries.
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It’s interesting because in Korea their products taste more European than Korean, I’d say. Not totally French, but close. In Paris, it’s about the same, but I think that most people who visit the store in Paris don’t realize that it’s a Korean company.
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That’s both ironic and amazing! I’ve only heard of this in the news, and was skeptical of whether it would survive among the other boulangeries. Interesting to hear that they sell bingsu!
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I agree with you. Let’s hope they can keep up the good job in years to come
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