In 2019, Daejeon Metropolitan City made an unusual pitch to tourists, asking them to post their own tour flowchart for what it jokingly calls “Boring Daejeon.” It works like a decision tree for a friend visiting Daejeon: answer “yes” or “no” to questions like “Can you invite them to your home?” and no matter the path, it always ends the same way: “Stop by Sungsimdang — a historic bakery nestled in the heart of Daejeon, then send them home.” The joke reflects how Daejeon is widely seen, even by its own residents, as a “boring” city, a place considered to lack the standout attractions of comparably sized cities. Yet last year the city drew 90.94 million visitors, the most since the Korea Tourism Data Lab began tracking the figures. Nearly half of those visits, 48.1 percent, were driven by food tourism. Much of that draw is Daejeon's bakery scene, led by Sungsimdang, with a legacy that traces back decades to the city's history as a hub for flour-based foods. After the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, the United States began sending free flour as relief aid.