A few years back, "K-food" meant kimchi and fried chicken to most people outside Korea. Now I keep seeing friends abroad post photos of Korean cream bread and cube-shaped garlic bread from bakeries that opened three blocks from their apartment. Something shifted, and it wasn't marketing — it was a soft milk-bread scene in a drama that somehow made an entire generation crave Korean carbs.
Table of Contents
- It Started With a Drama Breakfast Scene
- K-Bakery's Real-World Takeover
- The Numbers Behind the Wave
- Korea Throws Its Own Bakery Party
- FAQ
- Final Thoughts
It Started With a Drama Breakfast Scene
K-content did for bakeries what it already did for chicken and instant noodles. Soft milk bread eaten on-screen at a kitchen table, an elaborately decorated cake at a birthday scene, an egg bread or fish-shaped bungeoppang bought from a street cart mid-episode — these small background details turned into search queries and travel wish-list items for viewers who'd never thought about Korean bread before.
Insider's Insight: what's interesting is that bakery PPL works differently than fashion or beauty placements. Nobody impulse-buys a cake mid-drama, but the craving sits there until the viewer finds a Korean bakery near them, or plans a Korea trip around finding the real thing. It's a slower burn, but it sticks.
K-Bakery's Real-World Takeover
The clearest proof this isn't hype: Paris Baguette's holiday cake got featured live on NBC's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting broadcast, and CBS's "The Drew Barrymore Show" ran a Paris Baguette gift segment the same season. Tous Les Jours products have appeared on Fox 11's "Good Day LA" morning show, and the chain now operates in 26 US states — more than any other Korean bakery brand — with locations from Los Angeles to New Jersey to Massachusetts.
Dessert brand Knotted opened its second Los Angeles location just eight months after its first, a pace that signals real demand rather than a novelty opening. Meanwhile Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours have both pushed into France, the UK, and beyond, meaning Paris and London now have Korean bakeries selling Korean interpretations of French pastry back to the French and British.
The Part Nobody Talks About: there's something almost funny about a Korean brand selling croissant-adjacent pastries in Paris and doing well at it. It only works because K-bakery isn't trying to out-French France — it leans into what's distinctly Korean, like ultra-soft milk bread textures and cream-heavy fillings that Western bakeries rarely make.
The Numbers Behind the Wave
CJ Foodville, which owns Tous Les Jours, posted 844.7 billion won in consolidated revenue last year, up 11.2%, with operating profit jumping 73.6% to 45.3 billion won — overseas business alone now makes up 60% of total operating profit. Paris Baguette's global revenue climbed from 600.4 billion won in 2022 to 750 billion won in 2024, with the US now accounting for roughly 35% of its 700-plus overseas stores, second only to China.
Been There: I still find it wild that both chains cite the exact same root cause for going abroad — Korea's domestic bakery-franchise regulations cap how fast they can grow at home. What started as a workaround turned into one of Korea's more unexpected cultural exports.
Korea Throws Its Own Bakery Party
Korea now hosts its own showcase for this momentum. The 2026 Korea International Bakery Fair ran April 16-19 at COEX Hall D in Seoul, drawing around 100 companies across 280 booths under the theme "Bake the World, Introducing K-Bakery." Co-hosted by the Korean Confectionery Association, the event doubled as both a domestic trade show and a pitch to international buyers scouting the next K-bakery brand to license abroad.
FAQ
Why did K-bakery become popular internationally? K-drama exposure normalized Korean bread and cake visually, while regulatory caps on domestic store growth pushed Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours to expand aggressively overseas, accelerating global visibility.
Which cities have the most K-bakery locations? The US leads, with Tous Les Jours operating in 26 states and Paris Baguette running roughly 250 US stores, while both brands also operate in Paris, London, and other major European cities.
What is the Korea International Bakery Fair? An annual Seoul trade show, held April 16-19, 2026 at COEX, showcasing roughly 100 companies and 280 booths under the theme "Bake the World, Introducing K-Bakery."
Is K-bakery growth mostly Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours, or smaller brands too? Both large franchises and independent brands like dessert chain Knotted are expanding abroad, with smaller brands often opening second locations within months of their first due to strong demand.
How much of CJ Foodville's profit now comes from overseas bakery business? About 60% of operating profit, following 73.6% year-over-year operating profit growth driven largely by international expansion.
Final Thoughts
Unlike K-pop or K-drama, which spread through streaming platforms overnight, K-bakery's global rise has been slower and almost accidental — built out of domestic regulation, drama background scenes, and a genuine product advantage in texture and cream fillings that Western bakeries rarely replicate. Have you tried K-bakery outside Korea yet, and did it live up to the real thing?
Explore More
- Paris Baguette vs. Tous Les Jours: Korea's Bakery Franchise War
- Kkwabaegi: The Twisted Korean Donut Guide
- Korean Dessert Guide: Traditional Tteok and Modern Bingsu Cafe Culture
- Why K-Dramas Feature Fried Chicken: Subway and PPL Culture
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