Discover South Korea: Unique Coffee Shops in Seoul I want to visit

Hi everyone! Welcome back to my blog where you can find all things South Korea-related! In today’s post, travel (virtually) to Seoul with me and explore unique coffee shops. As you may know, South Korea’s coffee culture is quite developed and embedded in social life. With the abundance of coffee shops in every neighborhood, the coffee options are endless. As a long-time coffee shop lover, I created a list of five unique spots that I would love to visit if I get the opportunity to go to Seoul!

1. Stylenanda Pink Pool Café

Address: 23 Wausan-ro 29da-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

First on the list, we have the iconic Stylenanda Pink Pool Café located in Hongdae. Stylenanda is a Korean fashion and beauty brand that is also known for its makeup brand, 3CE. The Pink Pool Café is located on the top floor of the Stylenanda store in Hongdae, so you could also get some shopping done while you are there! This spot is known for its pink interior and numerous Instagram worthy picture spots, such as the pool in the middle. You can also sit down and enjoy refreshing drinks. I would love to try one of the signature cotton candy drinks, particularly the cotton candy coffee drink.

Caution: There are two Stylenanda coffee shops in Seoul. While the second one (the Stylenanda Pink Hotel in Myeongdong) also has similar aesthetic vibes, be careful not to get confused between both!

2. Yeonnam-dong 223-14

Address: 223-14 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Named after its street number, Yeonnam-dong 223-14 is also known as the ‘Drawing Café’. You can find this unique 2D café in the Yeonnam-dong neighborhood in Seoul. I discovered this coffee shop when it was featured in the Netflix romantic comedy film ‘To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You’. When designing this coffee shop, the owner drew inspiration from pop culture and a Korean webtoon called W, where a character is stuck between the comic and real worlds. The white walls with pencil-like black outlines will instantly make you feel like you’ve entered into a comic strip world. Even their drinks and pastries are made to be deceptively two-dimensional!

3. Zapangi Café

Address: 400-2 Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul

The third location on my list is this pink vending machine café, located in Mangwon. Not only does the outside make for a great Instagram shot, but the coolest part is that the vending machine is the door that leads into the coffee shop. I love latte art, so I would love to try Zapangi’s character lattes. They also sell delicious desserts like cakes in tins and donuts, so this could hit the spot if you also have a sweet tooth like me!

Fun fact: Zapangi (자판기) means vending machine in Korean.

4. Peach Gray: Watercolor Painting Café

Address: 94, Songpa-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul 1F

Any artists here?

I wanted to include this coffee shop in Songpa because it offers a special activity to do while sipping on your delicious drinks: watercolor painting! Peach Gray is a watercolor café where customers receive a watercolor painting palette and wet pens along with their drink orders. If you are looking for inspiration, the café has watercolor books that are available for you to skim through, or you can also get inspired by artwork by past customers hung around the coffee shop. I could definitely imagine myself visiting this place for a solo self-care/healing date!

Bonus: If you like fluffy soufflé pancakes, this coffee shop will also be able to satisfy that craving!

5. “ The space filled with you” café

Address: 19-12, Yongsan-dong 2(i)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Located in Haebangchon, Seoul, this coffee shop’s selling point is that you can write a letter to the future, either to yourself or to your loved ones. The letter will then be mailed to you in one year. When you enter the café, you will immediately notice a wall filled with boxes of envelopes where each box represents one day of the year. Once you are done writing your letter, you can simply drop it in the box corresponding to your desired date and on that date next year, the letter will be mailed to the address you specify. This service, called ‘letter set’ on the menu, costs about 4,000 won (less than $5 CAD)! For that price, you get to choose two postcards, an envelope, as well as wax that you can use to make a wax seal. The café spans multiple floors, so you can also get a nice view of the Namsan tower from the rooftop terrace!

If you happen to visit other cities in South Korea, this café also has 2 other locations in Ansan and Suwon!

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That concludes the list of coffee shops I want to visit. While my list mostly focused on themed coffee shops or those with a unique selling point, Seoul has so many cafés that you could wander in any neighborhood and stumble upon a local gem. I hope you enjoyed discovering these spots with me and stay tuned for a Part 2 and/or for more Korea content!