I can confidently say that I’ve visited more cafes in the few weeks I’ve been in Korea than in my entire life prior to studying abroad here. I think a large part of this comes from the fact that café culture is nearly nonexistent in the United States, but even then the nice cafes we do have pale in comparison to the uniquely themed cafes you can find in Korea! I think one thing I’ll definitely miss is having an abundance of cafes to choose to sit down in after a meal. It feels like you could find any type of café your imagination could conjure up here, so I’m excited to continue to find new ones as it feels like I haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg! Here are some cafes I’ve enjoyed so far in no particular order!
1. Ingels
I might be a bit biased with this one as it has become my regular study spot and is very close to my hostel, but I think it’s a great café in general! The staff are always extremely nice and make great food and drinks! I sometimes spend the entire day to catch up on school work here and have never been disappointed with any drinks or meals I’ve had. I also feel that one of the special things about Ingels is just how large it is. It’s the biggest café (other than a Starbucks reserve) that I’ve been in while in Korea and it boasts a calming ambience with great lighting during the day due to the floor to ceiling windows. It also has two outdoor patios with plenty of seating. It has a simple aesthetic and is mostly quiet during the day.
2. Bloom Story
I went to this café in Mapo Gu relatively early on in my trip, but it still has had a lasting impression since then! I wasn’t expecting much when I walked in, but I was greeted by an entirely rose themed café! There was not a single inch of exposed wall, even in the bathroom, as it was all covered with decorative foliage and flowers! It was an incredibly pretty café to be in I could see that it was rather trendy as there were many couples and friends taking pictures of each other with the backdrop. The café also boasted a pretty impressive menu, with many tasty smoothies and some fancily flavored teas. One of the most memorable things about the café were the scones! I remember seeing that it was their best-selling item, which makes sense because they were some of the tastiest scones I’ve ever had in my life.
3. Radio M
I do remember Radio M being on the pricier side for a café, but it made sense because I had found this café while exploring what was apparently the art district of Seoul. There was a piece of chocolate cake that I had really wanted but it was nearly 8 USD 🙁 Instead I opted for a cheaper slice of chocolate roll cake! What I thought was neat about this café was that they had many great looking pastries that you could collect on a tray and take to your seat, similar to what you would find in a Korean bakery like Paris Baguette. The pastries here seemed more thoroughly French than the French-Korean fusion you would find at most Korean bakeries however.
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