Five lovely cafes you should visit in Seoul

Visiting around cool, instagrammable cafes is considered a type of hobby these days. We can see many people spend a lot of time googling pretty and well-reviewed cafes. As social media have been encouraging people to be obsessed with getting more LIKES or more attention online, looking cool in their online spaces has become vital to survive in this world.

 

We, as travellers, also find it very important and fascinating to visit cool places, take good pictures, and then put them on our own archives - social media - to share with others. And, you can't go on a trip somewhere and not drop by some fantastic cafes. So, I now am gonna recommend to you five lovely cafes you should visit in Seoul.

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1. Cheongsudang, 청수당

Cheongsudang is located in Ikseondong Hanok Geori District(익선동 한옥거리). The district features Korean historical houses, Hanok, which are remodelled into cafes, restaurants, and some clothing shops. It would be quite hard to find the cafe in the tiny, narrow streets. And if you visit the district on the weekend, you may be stuck in the street among crowds of people as I did when I visited it for the first time. So I recommend you visit the district and cafe on a weekday if possible. If you want more info about the district, click.

 

Thankfully, many seats were available for my second visit to the cafe on a Tuesday morning. I ordered one hot cup of coffee(Stone Drip Coffee, 스톤 드립 커피 - 5,800 won) and an Original Souffle Castella(오리지널 수플레 카스텔라 - 16,000 won for 600g), which was its signature cake. The staff member told me it would take about twenty minutes to bake the castella, so I took some pictures of the cafe's interior while waiting for my order.

 

The nature of Jeju Island inspires the interior design of Cheongsudang. Because of that, you can feel the harmony that basalt rocks and bamboo trees generate. As the designer says, the concept of the cafe is "relaxation in nature" in the centre of Seoul, where things hustle and bustle. However, the cafe inevitably goes too buzzing to have a relaxing time in the afternoon.

 

The coffee and castella I had ordered were prepared as I took pictures around. They were served in a wooden tray, the castella in a square stone bowl and the coffee in a black mug. The castella gets freshly baked once you place an order. It's served with a small dish of honey with crushed walnuts on the top to dip in. The castella is too hot to eat right after you get it, so you may want to cool it down before eating. It was soft and moist inside. Or somewhat mushy to some extent. It might be because I ate it before it cooled down. The coffee is dripped through volcanic stones. To my taste buds, it was kind of soft and less smoky. Still, I noticed no significant difference from other normal long blacks.

 

[OPEN: 11:30 - 22:00 every day]

[ADDRESS: 31-9, Donhwamun-ro 11na-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea]

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2. O'sulloc Tea House, 오설록 티하우스

The entrance of O'sulloc

This cafe(tea house) is located in Bukchon Hanok Village(북촌한옥마을), where you see traditional Korean houses occupy the streets. Although I've visited two other Osullocs in Insadong street and Jeju Island, this one gives me a better impression in terms of atmosphere and interior design. Based on the typical Hanok vibes, it has a neat and modern interior design, a beautiful garden, and nature props. 

 

Unlike other normal coffee shops, Osulloc focuses more on the traditional Korean tea culture. On the menu, you may not see any coffee-based drinks but various styles of tea, cookie, and pudding, which is rather good for you as a tourist in Korea. I had the signature tea, "Sejak Green Tea(세작)." It was served in a traditional ceramic tea kettle with an hourglass. The shop assistant told me to wait until the hourglass was done. When the time is up, the tea is well-brewed to be enjoyed. Thankfully, the tea wasn't bitter and didn't leave a film on my tongue. It was enjoyably mild and a bit nutty.

 

Sejak Green Tea

I took a table on the first floor(second floor in America) terrace from which you can look down at the tranquil village. I recommend you enjoy a good time on the terrace if it's not too hot outside. On the second(third) floor are an exclusive room for tea classes and a cocktail bar where they serve non-alcoholic tea cocktails. If you visit there as a couple, I recommend you try the bar because it gives off a bit of a romantic atmosphere. Plus, you can enjoy the view of the N-Seoul Tower and modern skyscrapers in the distance.

 

[OPEN: 11:00 - 21:00 every day]

[ADDRESS: 45, Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea]

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3. The Soop Choso Chaekbang, 더숲 초소책방

This cafe is not easily accessible by public transport. The closest metro station for this cafe is Gyeongbokgung Station(경복궁역), but you should take a long walk for about fifty minutes to get there. Just then, despite the long walk expected, I wanted to go on a hike to Mt. Inwangsan, so I decided to take a break at the cafe.

 

It is located nearby Inwangsan Jarak-gil trail(인왕산 자락길), so I could see many hikers while walking there. The trail is 3.4 kilometres long and ranges from Sajik Park(사직공원) to Changuimun Gate(창의문). Overall, the course is gradual, even for the elderly, so you can enjoy easy hiking with beautiful views and nature around.

 

The main reason to visit this cafe should be the views it offers. You can look out over the view of central Seoul from the terrace on the first(second, in AM Eng) floor. Not only that, but it also has a beautiful garden inside so you can just relax in there. Another interesting thing is that there are bookshelves inside, befitting its name, 책방(Chaekbang, bookshop). They are full of books only about nature and veganism though. They also sell bakery, freshly baked right at the cafe. 

 

It was originally built as a watchhouse to protect Cheongwadae(청와대, the Blue House, formerly used as a presidential palace) but remodelled into a cafe in 2020. Thus, the original traces and structure of the watchhouse remain. These give you another fun.

 

[OPEN: 08:00 - 22:00 every day]

[ADDRESS: 172, Inwangsan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea]

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4. BJÖRKLUNDS, 뷰클런즈

 

I could smell a smokey smell in the air as I got into the coffee shop. It smelled like burning vanilla cream to my nostrils. 

The smokey scent made the cafe a totally different world from the real world outside.

 

The villain of the piece for the scent (left)

The first impression I got from the cafe's interior was that it was simple, wooden, tranquil, and angular. The interior walls, tables, couches, and shelves were all wood. Even the books displayed on the shelves were covered with brown paper. It seemed that the cafe's owner wanted to make things as simple as possible.

 

The whole concept throughout the cafe has to do with Sweden. I haven't been to Sweden before, so I am unsure if it offers proper Sweden vibes. But at least I could tell what the cafe's owner wanted to intend. Everything was themed: "Rest, do nothing". It is very right to say so because even the wifi password was: "donothing1!".

 

I ordered a Swedish coffee. They offer two different flavours for that coffee: "Blueberry flavour' and 'Strawberry Chocolate flavour'. I had the Strawberry Chocolate one. It tasted mild and was truly fragrant with strawberries and chocolate.

 

There was interesting merchandise such as postcards, which had some comforting and hopeful messages inside, and the pens of the cafe's owner's suggestion. Although every message is written in Korean, you can use a translater and buy some as souvenirs.

 

[OPEN: 12:00 - 22:00 every day]

[ADDRESS: 10, Baekjegobun-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea]

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5. Starbucks at Mangwon Hangang River Park, 스타벅스 망원한강공원점

You might say: "What? Starbucks?" I know. But there are good reasons why I bring this one up. There are roughly 560 Starbucks cafes in Seoul alone. They amount to approximately 35% of all Starbucks in South Korea, which means you would see Starbucks branches almost everywhere in Seoul. Out of about 560 of them, I wanted to recommend this one to you guys because of its wide-open views of the Hangang River.

 

In Seoul, where dense skyscrapers form a concrete jungle, it's not that easy to enjoy wide-open views unless you hike up a mountain or go to the Hangan River. Although there are a lot of pretty cafes in Seoul, most of them focus on cool interior design more than things you can get from outside the cafe, such as nice natural views. Even for that reason alone, it's worth visiting this cafe.

 

Plus, around the coffee shop, you can drop by Seoul Battleship Park, where a warship out of commission(Seoul-Ham) is displayed. 

 

The branch is about 25 minutes away from Mapo-gu Office Station(마포구청역) on foot. Although It's not that accessible by public transport, after taking a bit of a walk, the lovely views and atmosphere around the place will make it up to you.

 

[OPEN: 08:00 - 21:00 every day]

[ADDRESS: 407, Maponaru-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea]

 

WORDS BY

Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com

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Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com

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