Over the last decade, South Korean culture has slowly but surely made its mark across the globe. From their beauty products to their pop music, to their K-Dramas and Oscar-winning movies—everything seems better with a K in it these days. Another of our favorite things about Korean culture in recent years has been their growing café culture, of course. Here, we give you three unique cafés the bustling East Asian metropolis has to offer.
SCOFFBAKEHOUSE 278-5 Buam-dong, Jong No-gu
With origins that can be traced back to its days at various Seoul flea markets, Scoff started out as a side venture by British ex-pat and former chef Jonathan Townsend and his wife, Hyun-Kyung. Townsend digs into his UK roots, offering cultural staples like Hot Cross Buns, ginger cake, and sausage rolls.
CAFÉ COMMA 04020 49 Poeun-ro, Mapo-gu
Owned by one of Seoul’s top publishing houses, Café Comma boasts a collection of over 5,000 books, making it perfect for those of the literary set. While having the café’s signature coffees and desserts, patrons can also purchase any of the books—save for the new releases—at half-price. All in all, a dream for caffeinated book-lovers everywhere.
CAFÉ PETERCAT 9-16 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu
Another trip down the literary scene is a café inspired by the prolific Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Named after the jazz bar Murakami once owned in his early days in Japan, Café PeterCat captures that same atmosphere, replete with a record player; a laid-back, chain-smoking owner on service; and shelves upon shelves displaying the writer’s novels. This is one café perfect for an escape into Murakami’s surrealist noir underworld.
All images via SCOFFBAKEHOUSE and Café Comma Instagram pages, and the Cafe Curator blog.
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