San Francisco’s world-renowned Tartine Bakery & Cafe will open its first overseas store in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, later this month, and plans to add three to four more outlets in Korea in the coming two years.

Tartine Bakery - well-known for its fermented country bread and croissant - said on Wednesday that it will open its flagship store in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, in central Seoul, marking the first time for the legendary bakery to open a store outside San Francisco.

Ahead of the opening on Jan. 28, the bakery has set up a local subsidiary in Korea and plans to send its chief bakers to Seoul.

Tartine Bakery was founded in 2002 by Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt, a couple known for several baking best-sellers including Tartine Bread.

An unnamed official from Tartine Bakery said that Robertson is personally interested in Korea as he learned taekwondo or traditional Korean martial art when he was young and has promoted extensive exchanges with Korean American chefs. In particular, Robertson, an expert on fermented bread, chose Korea as the location for the bakery’s first overseas store as the country is known for a diverse range of fermented dishes.

By Kim Byung-ho and Lee Eun-joo

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