Korea's Century Shops (백년가게): How to Find Government-Certified Long-Running Restaurants and Businesses

Walk into a Korean neighborhood you do not know and you will face a wall of restaurants with no obvious way to choose. Google ratings are sparse. Naver reviews are in Korean. And asking a local for a recommendation assumes you know a local.

Korea's government-certified long-running shops, called century shops (백년가게), solve a specific part of this problem. They are not the only reliable restaurants in Korea, but they carry a verifiable signal: this business has operated continuously for at least 30 years, has been site-visited by a government agency, and has passed an evaluation of quality, management, and community standing.

Over 1,400 of them are spread across Korea's restaurants, bakeries, rice-cake shops, soup houses, and noodle stalls. You do not need to read Korean to spot one.

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What the certification actually is

The century-shop certification (백년가게) was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (중소벤처기업부). The operational work is handled by the Small Enterprise and Market Service (소상공인시장진흥공단, SEMAS), which runs the certification process, maintains the directory, and coordinates support programs for certified businesses.

The name translates literally as "hundred-year shop." The actual certification threshold is 30 years of continuous operation. This is not a mistake or a generous interpretation, the program deliberately uses aspirational branding, the way a company might describe its ambitions in its name. What the certification verifies is that the business reached 30 years and passed an evaluation. Many certified shops are 40, 50, or 60 years old. A handful have operated since the 1940s.

To qualify, a restaurant or shop must be independently owned (no franchises), have operated continuously for 30 or more years in the same business field, and fall within the legal definition of a small business (소상공인). Selection then goes through a multi-stage process: document review, a public neighborhood resident voting round, on-site evaluation, and a final expert committee decision. Selection criteria include management capability, product or service quality and differentiation, community contribution, and sustainability as a business.

Certification is valid for 5 years under the current program rules, after which businesses must renew (as of 2025, verify current terms at bizinfo.go.kr).

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The parallel track: century artisan certification (백년소공인)

A related but separate certification, century artisan (백년소공인), covers skilled manufacturing businesses rather than shops and restaurants. The threshold is 15 or more years of continuous operation in a single craft or production field.

Over 980 businesses hold this certification, in fields ranging from traditional ceramics and lacquerware to knife-making and garment production. If you are looking for a traditional craftsperson or artisan workshop, the century artisan designation is the equivalent signal in manufacturing. The same official directory at sbiz.or.kr lists both tracks and lets you filter by type.

This guide focuses on the century-shop track, which covers the restaurants, bakeries, and service businesses most useful for day-to-day dining and shopping decisions.

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How to spot a certified shop at the door

You do not need to read Korean to identify a certified business. Look for two things.

The certification plaque (인증현판). This is a metallic plaque displayed at the shop entrance. The visual design features two Chinese characters for "person" (人) arranged to form a roof shape together, with the official 백년가게 or 백년소공인 mark and a government seal. It is distinct from ordinary business license plaques, certificates, or awards. If you see this shape at the door of a restaurant or shop, the business is certified.

The story board (스토리보드, also called 이야기판). Every certified shop is provided with a narrative display board inside the premises describing the founding story, the original owner or founding family, and the business philosophy. Many are in Korean only, but the board itself signals you are in the right place.

These two physical markers mean you can identify a certified business on a street you have never walked before, without a phone or a directory.

A practical note: the official QR verification codes printed on some plaques have reportedly been returning errors due to server maintenance difficulties following budget cuts in recent years. Do not rely on the QR code to confirm certification; the plaque design itself is the identifier.

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How the program has performed

The program has certified over 1,400 restaurants and shops since it launched in 2018. The trajectory has not been smooth.

The annual number of new certifications rose through the early years, then budget cuts reduced program funding sharply. Korean media reporting put the drop at roughly 7.7 billion won at the 2022 peak to under 500 million won in 2024. In 2024, the program made zero new designations for the first time since launch, because the budget was insufficient to convene the designation committees.

The program resumed in June 2025 with 100 new designees, 50 century shops and 50 century artisans, selected from 785 applicants, a record 7.9:1 competition ratio. The June 2025 announcement brought the cumulative total to 1,407 certified century shops and 981 certified century artisans.

According to the same reporting, the budget remained far below the 2022 peak. The program is active but not expanding rapidly.

The 2025 cohort also introduced a new step to the selection process: public voting by neighborhood residents before final committee evaluation. This added community signal to what had been primarily a government assessment.

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Notable certified businesses

These are verified examples from primary government sources. They give a sense of the range of businesses that certification covers.

태극당 (Seoul, Jangchung-dong). Korea's oldest continuously operating bakery, established 1946. The first shop selected through the public nomination track when that channel opened.

이성당 (Gunsan, North Jeolla). One of Korea's oldest bakeries, named in the 2019 certification round. Gunsan residents treat it as a local institution.

진주회관 (Seoul). A traditional rice restaurant with over 60 years of operation, recognized in 2019.

해운대암소갈비집 (Busan, Haeundae). Premium beef short ribs, established 1965.

창성옥 (Seoul, Yongsan). A three-generation 해장국 (hangover soup / haejangguk) restaurant that has fed the same neighborhood across multiple generations.

Chodang Halmeoni Sundubu (Gangneung). Soft bean curd (순두부 / sundubu) restaurant operating since 1979, featured in English on VISITKOREA's English site.

PNB Bakery (Jeonju). A three-generation bakery founded 1951, also featured in English on VISITKOREA.

These examples illustrate what the certification tends to cover: neighborhood institutions in everyday categories, soup, rice, bread, beef, rather than fine dining exclusively.

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Where to find certified shops near you

The official directory

The primary tool is the SEMAS directory at sbiz.or.kr. Go to the certified-shop listing at sbiz.or.kr/hdst/main/ohndMarketListSmba.do.

The directory has a map view and a list view. You can filter by:

• Province and city or district
• Business type (food, retail, services, manufacturing)
• Business name or description text
• Both tracks (century shops and century artisans) or one at a time

Each listing shows the business name, category, address, phone number, and a brief description of the history. Photos are included for most listings.

The interface is Korean only. If you can navigate a map visually and pick a category from a dropdown, the map view is usable without Korean reading ability. Browser auto-translation tools (Google Translate page translation or Papago) convert the interface well enough to browse by region and type.

The live directory showed approximately 1,393 shops in June 2026, slightly below the 1,407 announced in June 2025. The difference likely reflects de-listings from expired or revoked certifications. Use the live directory count as current; expect it to change over time.

The English starting point

If you want an English-language entry point, VISITKOREA's English site defines the certification in English and features a set of certified restaurants with descriptions in English. Search "Baengnyeon Gage" on the VISITKOREA English site to reach this content. It is a curated sample, not the full directory, but it is the clearest English-language resource for getting oriented.

The VISITKOREA definition: "Called 'Baengnyeon Gage' (Hundred-Year Store) in Korean, this certification is awarded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to stores that have been in business for more than 30 years and are recognized for their quality and growth potential."

The open data download

The government's open data portal (공공데이터포털) provides a downloadable CSV of all 1,407 certified century shops, with business name, address, and phone number. The dataset was last updated September 3, 2025. It is available at data.go.kr. This is useful if you want to search offline or cross-reference with a map tool.

The Seoulstart heritage restaurants directory

Seoulstart's Heritage Restaurants directory lists verified long-running restaurants in Korea with English descriptions, addresses, and practical visit notes. Browse by dish type or region. Many of the restaurants listed there carry the 백년가게 certification; the directory lets you read about them without navigating a Korean-only government site.

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How century shops compare to Michelin and other ratings

Many foreign residents in Korea are familiar with the Michelin Guide Korea, which has covered Seoul since 2017. The two systems measure different things.

Michelin rates the quality of a single meal at a specific point in time, evaluated by anonymous inspectors with a focus on culinary technique, ingredient quality, and consistency. It skews toward restaurants with the investment level and format suited to inspection.

The century-shop certification assesses whether a business has sustained community trust and operational quality over 30 or more years, passed a government site visit, and contributed to its local community. It covers any independently owned business type, a neighborhood rice cake shop, a 60-year-old bakery, a soup restaurant that has served three generations of the same families. These are not the restaurants most likely to appear in Michelin. They are the restaurants most likely to be exactly what a neighborhood relies on.

The two signals are complementary. For a formal dining occasion, Michelin-starred restaurants give you inspected quality. For a meal that connects you to a neighborhood and a history, a certified long-running shop in that neighborhood gives you something Michelin does not attempt to measure.

A third reference point is the Blue Ribbon Survey (블루리본 서베이), Korea's domestic restaurant rating system, which covers a wider range of venues and price points than Michelin. None of these three systems overlap neatly with the century-shop certification. They answer different questions.

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What the certification does not cover

It is worth being direct about the limits.

Food quality is assessed but not rated. The certification committee evaluates product quality and differentiation, but there is no tasting score or star rating. A certified restaurant has passed a quality assessment; it has not been assigned a grade for the food you will eat on a given visit.

Franchise businesses are excluded. You will not find franchise chains holding this certification. Every certified shop is independently owned.

The certification is not a hygiene rating. Korea has a separate food safety and hygiene inspection system run by local public health offices. The century-shop certification does not assess or replace that.

Coverage is nationwide but uneven. Certified shops exist across every province, but concentration is higher in major cities and traditional market areas. Rural districts have certified shops; browsing the map view at sbiz.or.kr will show the geographic spread.

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The broader context: why these places survived

Korea's restaurant closure rate reached a multi-year high in 2024, with more restaurants closing than opening for the first time in years. Traditional Korean dining formats, 백반집 (home-style set-meal restaurants), full-service 한식당, have been closing fastest.

Against that backdrop, a business that has operated continuously for 30 or more years, through multiple economic cycles, neighborhood changes, and generational transitions, has demonstrated something that formal ratings cannot measure directly: community attachment.

That is what the 백년가게 certification is built around. The plaque at the door does not say the food is the best in the city. It says this place has been here, serving this neighborhood, long enough to earn a government evaluation, and that evaluation found something worth recognizing.

For foreign residents who cannot yet read Korean reviews or rely on neighborhood word-of-mouth, that signal has practical value. See the finding good restaurants in Korea guide for how to combine this with Naver Maps and other local tools, and the Korean restaurant types guide for how to read what kind of restaurant you are walking into.

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FAQ

What does 백년가게 certification actually mean?

The business has operated continuously for at least 30 years and passed a government evaluation covering management capability, product or service quality, community contribution, and long-term sustainability. The name translates as "hundred-year shop" but 30 years is the real threshold. It is not a food-quality award like Michelin; it recognizes longevity and community trust.

How do I spot a certified shop without reading Korean?

Look for the certification plaque (인증현판) at the entrance. It is a metallic plaque with the 백년가게 logo: two Chinese characters for "person" (人) arranged to form a roof shape together, with an official government seal. Many shops also have a story board (스토리보드) inside describing the founding history. The plaque is the fastest visual identifier at the door.

Where is the official directory of certified shops?

The official directory is at sbiz.or.kr. It has a map view and lets you filter by province, city or district, and business type. The interface is Korean only. VISITKOREA's English site features selected certified restaurants with descriptions in English as a starting point.

Does the certification cover food quality, or just age?

Both, but not like a restaurant rating. Selection criteria include product and service quality, differentiation, management capability, and community contribution. The program rewards places that have earned sustained community trust over decades, which often correlates with quality. Certification is not a guarantee of any single meal.

Is the program still running after the 2024 budget cuts?

Yes. The program had zero new certifications in 2024 because of severe budget cuts, but resumed in June 2025 with 100 new designees from 785 applicants, a record 7.9 to 1 competition ratio. The cumulative total reached over 1,400 certified shops as of that round. Budget remains constrained compared to the program's peak years, so the pace of future certifications is uncertain.

What is the difference between 백년가게 and 백년소공인?

백년가게 covers restaurants, retail shops, and service businesses with 30 or more years of operation. 백년소공인 covers skilled artisan manufacturers with 15 or more years in one craft or production field. A restaurant, rice cake shop, or barber would seek 백년가게 certification; a traditional ceramics workshop or knife maker would seek 백년소공인. Both tracks display similar plaques and story boards.

Can I find certified shops on Naver Maps or Kakao Maps?

There is no dedicated 백년가게 filter on either platform. Certified shops are registered businesses, so searching the shop name on Naver Maps will find them. For browsing by area or category, the sbiz.or.kr directory with its map view is the most direct tool.

How long does certification last?

Certifications are valid for 5 years under the 2025 program rules. Businesses must renew to keep the designation (as of 2025, verify current terms at bizinfo.go.kr).

Are franchise restaurants eligible for certification?

No. Franchise subsidiaries are disqualified. Every certified shop is independently owned, which is part of what the program is designed to recognize.

@misc{seoulstart-baengnyeon-gage-guide,
  author = {{Seoulstart Editorial Team}},
  title = {{Korea's Century Shops (백년가게): How to Find Government-Certified Long-Running Restaurants and Businesses}},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Seoulstart},
  url = {https://seoulstart.com/guides/baengnyeon-gage-guide},
  note = {Last updated July 1, 2026}
}