Seoul, Part 8: Buzzed - Coffee & Cafe Culture in Korea

If there is one thing Korea does not lack, it is coffee shops.

Nestled among Korean BBQ joints, pharmacies and convenience stores, you will find coffee shop after coffee shop. Some shops are larger chains, such as Holly's Coffee, Angel-In-Us, A Twosome Place, Tom N Toms, Caffe Bene, Paik's, Mega Coffee, The Coffee Bean, Compose Coffee, Ediya, Paris Baguette...I could go on and on. Others are smaller and independently owned coffee shops that you'd sometimes just happen to stumble upon. According to SeoulInspired.com, Koreans drink an average of 12.3 cups of coffee per week, and you can find more than 18,000 coffee shops in Seoul alone.

I honestly lost track of how many different shops we wandered into, but I will say that during our time in Korea I drank more coffee than I have in my entire 31 years of existence. I can without a doubt say that I counted nearly two dozen coffee shops during a 20-minute walk one morning. That's a lot of caffeine.

Originally, coffee was served up in a 'dabang', which translates to 'tearoom'. You'd find writers, artists and wealthy clients enjoying a warm drink here.
In the beginning, bitter coffee was considered a luxury and came with quite a price tag. Now, you can buy a simple Americano for as little as 1,000 KRW, or you can splurge a little for a fancier coffee concotion.
Don't like coffee? Tea, juices and milkshakes are offered on the menu too. As I'm sure you all will remember from my earlier post, milkshakes can come in unique flavors, such as sweet corn or dalgona.

During our time visiting Seoul, we found a couple coffee spots that we frequented, such as the aesthetically-pleasing LUFT Coffee in the Myeongdong area. Locals refer to this spot as "little Hawaii", and it provides patrons a sense of relaxation in the open, airy and bright space. We also came across another favorite coffee spot decorated to look like a traditional hanok, Cafe Onion Anguk. Here, we found many unique, tasty cafe sweets such as squid ink rolls, Pandoro, avocado pollack roe baguettes, and sweet fig tarts.

But if you are looking for a really unique experience, there are many different cafes that offer an opportunity to have an animal encounter along with your cup o' Joe. In Seoul you'll find many cat and dog cafes, where buying a coffee or tea gets you some one-on-one cuddle time with a furry friend or two. It doesn't stop at cat and dog cafes though; you can also find mischievous meerkats, friendly wallabies, sleepy racoons, fluffy sheep, and a host of other unique animals.

If sharing a latte with a meerkat isn't your thing, don't fret, because there are plenty more unique, Instagrammable, themed cafes to enjoy in Seoul. There is the Hello Kitty cafe in Hongdae, an airplane-inspired cafe in Gangnam, a totally adorable Line Friends cafe in Itaewon, and another cafe in Itaewon that serves up cake in mini flower pots. Or maybe you would like to try the poop-themed cafe in Insadong, where drinks and food are served in a toilet-shaped bowl.

To say the least, coffee and cafe culture in Korea are big.

Coffee lovers won't be disappointed when traveling to Korea. You'll have dozens upon dozens of options when it comes to getting that daily caffeine fix. Whether you prefer larger chains or smaller 'themed' shops, Seoul has got you covered.