"Homemade Bread Without Preservatives, 1,000 Won" Turns Out... 'Use-By Date: Jan. 18 Next Year' Chinese Bread Takes Over Korea [China Shock, K-Industry on the Brink | Food] 1

"Chinese Bread 'Loaded with Preservatives'
Imports of Chinese Bread Expected to Near $40 Million This Year
Sold at Subway Stations and Self-Service Bakeries, as Well as Hypermarkets and Convenience Stores
Preservatives Detected More Often, Though

"Handmade bread without preservatives, KRW 1,000 (excluding some items)."

On the afternoon of October 26, a mother and daughter picked out one loaf of bread each and paid before leaving a self-service bakery in Seoul. A promotional sign beneath a banner hanging on the store wall said that the store had received certification under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety management system. When a customer picked up one of the loaves on display and checked its packaging, it read, "Country of origin: China." It also bore the date "2027-1-18," indicating its use-by date. Some of the products on display were made in Korea, bore the HACCP mark, and had about a week left before their use-by dates. But bread made in China accounted for 40% of the store's inventory.

Chinese-made bread is on display at a self-service bakery in Seoul on the 26th of last month. Photo by Jeong Hyeonjin.

Low-cost bread from China is spreading rapidly in Korea. Dubbed "1,000-won bread," it is gradually making its way into distribution channels including subway stations, self-service bakeries, convenience stores, and supermarkets. As more consumers eat bread as a dessert or meal substitute and domestic bread prices continue to rise, the influx of affordable Chinese bread appears to be meeting demand for good value for money.

According to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute and Agro-Food Export Information, South Korea imported 8,495 tons of bread products from China in the first nine months of this year, worth $29.89 million (approximately KRW 39.6 billion). The figures were up 34.3% and 39.1%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier. The value of bread imports from China rose 57.5%, from $18.9 million in 2024 to $29.78 million last year. If the current trend continues, imports are expected to approach $40 million this year. The record set last year is also expected to be surpassed.

Chinese bread accounts for 42.5% of all imported bread by weight, the largest share. By value, China is the largest source country, accounting for 28.9% of imports. Chinese bread's share of imported bread was 26.3% by weight and 16.0% by value in 2024, but in less than two years, those shares have risen by 16.2 and 12.9 percentage points, respectively. By product type, sliced bread accounts for the largest share, at more than 60% of the total.

The number of import registrations for Chinese bread has also surged. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's Imported Food Information Maru, the number of registrations for bread imported from China stood at just 86 in 2024, but rose more than 12-fold to 1,066 last year. As of the end of October this year, the figure had reached 2,276, more than double the full-year total for last year. The range of products is also varied, from basic breads such as sliced bread, breakfast rolls, red bean buns, and castella to takoyaki, croquettes, waffles, and egg tarts.

Chinese bread appears to be sold mainly at stores in subway stations and at self-service bakeries. Recently, posts have occasionally appeared on social media saying that large quantities of Chinese bread are on display at warehouse discount stores. Chinese bread has also begun entering major convenience store chains. It is mainly sold in plastic packaging, with the product name, ingredients, and weight listed in Korean, making it virtually impossible to tell whether it is imported. Consumers can confirm its origin only by carefully checking the country-of-origin information in the product details.

The sharp increase in bread imports from China is thought to be linked to rising bread prices in Korea. Domestic bread prices continue to climb amid higher raw material costs and the launch of premium products. A loaf of sliced bread that sells for more than KRW 3,000 in Korea can be bought for around KRW 1,000 if it is made in China. Chinese bread is considered to have a price advantage over domestic bread because the costs of raw materials, including wheat, and labor are relatively low in China.

"It's similar to the way low-cost coffee has become popular in the domestic coffee market," an industry source said. "Bread has become more commonplace than it used to be, so people can't eat expensive bread every day. And as the prices of foods that can replace bread have also risen, low-cost Chinese bread is being widely supplied as an option that is cheaper, even if it falls short in aroma and taste."

Industry sources also say that expanding imports to meet growing dessert demand has played a part, as trends in desserts such as the "Dubai Jjondeuk Cookie (Dujjonku)" have continued in recent years. As domestic retailers lead trends, more of them are importing unusual breads and selling them under their own brands.

Imported bread generally has a longer use-by period than bread made in Korea. While mass-produced domestic bread typically has a use-by period of around a week, imported bread may be labeled with a period ranging from several months to several years. For example, a bread product registered as having been imported from China on October 23 last month was labeled with a two-year use-by period, from October 2, 2026, to October 1, 2028. Industry sources say that preservatives are inevitably used more frequently because products made overseas must retain their freshness while being imported and distributed.

Chinese-made and domestically produced bread is displayed side by side for sale at a discount supermarket in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 27th of last month. Photo by Jung Hyunjin

In September, the Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment conducted safety tests on 104 low-cost imported breads, including products from China, sold in Seoul. It found propionic acid, a preservative, in 54 products and sorbic acid in 30. All were within legal limits and deemed compliant, but the figures are significant given that preservatives were detected in just four of the 570 domestically produced breads tested by the institute over three years. Most of the breads in which preservatives were detected were from China (51 products).

"No products exceeded the limits for preservatives in our tests, but they were detected in 54% of the products, a relatively high proportion. Given health considerations, frequent consumption may not be advisable," said Park Youngae, a researcher at the Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment. "Consumers should carefully check the information on the packaging before choosing a product."

Of the 25 bread products that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety deemed non-compliant with import food standards in the past six months, 10 were from China. They were found to violate standards on preservatives or tar dyes.

The influx of Chinese bread is expected to pose a threat to domestic small and midsize bakeries first. Industry sources say distribution needs to be monitored as large volumes of low-cost Chinese bread enter the market. They voiced concern that the distribution of inexpensive bread with a long use-by period could reduce distribution-related costs and increase the risk of inadequate product management. They also raised the possibility that, amid record-high spending by foreign visitors on bakery products in Korea, consumers could come to associate "Chinese bread" with "Korean bread."

"Meeting standards during importation and ensuring safety does not necessarily mean that a product is healthy," an official from the Korea Confectionery Association said. "Also, the cheaper the Chinese bread is, the more likely companies are to rely on high-volume, low-margin sales, and distribution-related costs may also fall. Hygiene and distribution processes are thoroughly inspected at domestic bakeries. Imported products also appear to need inspections of their distribution management."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.