Jjinppang

찐빵

Steamed red bean buns

♨️ Served hot🙂 Not spicy🥬 Usually vegetarian

A soft white bun filled with sweet red bean paste, steamed rather than baked. It's a classic cold-weather snack, and best straight from the steamer.

What it is

The name simply means "steamed bread". The moist dough stays soft while warm and firms up as it cools.
Traditional dough is a sourdough leavened with makgeolli (rice wine), and the filling often keeps bits of bean and skin.
Anheung in Gangwon Province is the best-known bun town, with a village of steamer shops. Some shops there also fill buns with custard or chocolate.

1Eat it warm, and take care with the first bite because the filling holds its heat.
2If a bun has gone firm, steam it again.

Its early history isn't well documented. Buns like these were long sold at small snack bars.
In the early 1970s the bakery company Samlip launched hoppang, a packaged version that shops kept warm in steamers.

Usually contains

wheat

The dough is wheat-based, and some recipes can contain milk or egg.
Traditional dough is leavened with makgeolli, a rice wine. Ask if you avoid alcohol.
Custard and other filled versions can contain milk, egg or nuts.

Recipes differ between restaurants. If you have an allergy, always ask the staff before you order.

🗣️ Allergy card for the staff

Pick your allergy to see the sentence in Korean.

Sources

We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-11-03.