Cafeography
Seoul · Euljiro & Chungmuro

Cafés in Euljiro & Chungmuro

Print shops, lighting stores and metal workshops around Euljiro 3-ga, with cafés up the stairs.

Photo: Alexander London, Pexels License

Euljiro, a main road through central Seoul, was a workshop of Korea's industrial growth, lined with small metal shops, print shops and lighting stores; in 2018 small forklifts still worked its back alleys.2 The printing alley around Euljiro and Chungmuro began forming in the 1960s and became the largest printing complex in the country, with over two-thirds of Seoul's printing trade and about 70% of the nation's.1

From the late 2010s young social-media users gave the district a second boom, and the streets around Euljiro 3-ga took the name Hipjiro (힙지로), hip plus Euljiro.23 Many of the new cafés and bars sit behind or above working shops and are hard to find.2

Local tip: Look up as well as along: in Euljiro a café's only sign may be a floor number by a stairwell, so note the floor in the address before you go.

At a glance

120Cafés listed
4With opening hours
10:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 혜민당, from 10:00 (Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00 · Sat 11:00–22:00 · Sun 11:00–20:00).
  • Closes latest: 루이스의 사물들, until 00:00 (Mon–Sat 12:00–00:00 · Sun Closed).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (4%), outdoor seating (4%), card payment (3%).

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Coffee chains in Euljiro & Chungmuro

Getting to Euljiro 3-ga

Euljiro 3-ga station is the reference point: Line 2 has stopped there since 1983 and Line 3 since 1985, and Chungmuro is the next stop south on Line 3.4 Hipjiro's bar streets, Nogari Alley (노가리 골목, after the dried pollock served with beer) and Golbaengi Street (골뱅이 거리, sea snails), are in the same blocks.3

Cafés up the stairs

A 2018 guide to the printing alley in the city's Seoul Sarang magazine described the clues: a nameplate at a stair entrance written in Hanja rather than Hangul, and a small "5F" marker leading to the top floor of an old building, where the bar and venue Sindosi (신도시) operated.1 Another café, 4F, kept a printing shop's original walls and floors and an offset press at the door.1

Coffee Hanyakbang (커피한약방) on Samil-daero 12-gil keeps a 1970s-style interior, and its sister bakery, Hyemindang (혜민당), is across the street.1 The Korea Herald reported that the café stands where Heo Jun, the Joseon-era physician, is said to have treated patients.2 Hyemindang opens 10:00–22:00 on weekdays, 11:00–22:00 on Saturdays and 11:00–20:00 on Sundays.

Seun Sangga and the workshop blocks

Seun Sangga (세운상가), designed by Kim Swoo-geun and begun in 1966, is a row of eight Brutalist buildings, the tallest with 17 floors.5 By 2018 the city had offered space on its third floor to young businesses, and cafés including London Cake, Horangii and Green Dabang had opened there, above a first floor that still sold lighting.2

Euljiro (을지로) itself has more cafés than any other street in the district. Horangi (호랑이) and Champ Coffee's third workshop (챔프커피 제3작업실) share the address Euljiro 157, both with outdoor seats, and Coffee Roasters Roastery on Euljiro 38-gil serves specialty coffee. Loiter Coffee Shelter at Pildong-ro 53 has Wi-Fi and outdoor seating.

Print shops by day, Hipjiro by night

Seoul's city news site summed up the district in 2023 as print shops by day and Hipjiro by night.3 Some of the old trade worries about the change: in 2018 printing-house owners told the Korea Herald that rising rents could push them out, a concern also heard in Mangwon-dong and Bukchon.2

For late coffee, Stand Up Plz Euljiro at Supyo-ro 54-1 is open 24 hours, 루이스의 사물들 on Cheonggyecheon-ro opens 12:00–00:00 Monday to Saturday and closes on Sundays, and 아사시 (Asasi) opens 13:00–22:00 Tuesday to Sunday.

Sources

  1. [서울사랑] 인증샷 부르는 을지로 인쇄골목 명소들, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Sarang (July 4, 2018), accessed October 2026
  2. [Weekender] Ever-changing Euljiro, The Korea Herald via Daum (July 6, 2018), accessed October 2026
  3. 낮에는 인쇄소, 밤에는 '힙지로' 반전 매력의 골목길, Seoul Metropolitan Government media hub (April 20, 2023), accessed October 2026
  4. Euljiro 3-ga station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Sewoon Sangga, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Euljiro & Chungmuro, also browse: Specialty coffee Wi-Fi Open late Outdoor seating Bakery cafés

FAQ

Euljiro & Chungmuro cafés: questions

What is Hipjiro in Seoul's Euljiro?

Hipjiro (힙지로) is the nickname for the streets around Euljiro 3-ga, from hip plus Euljiro. The district was Korea's largest printing complex and still has print shops, lighting stores and metal workshops. Since the late 2010s cafés and bars have opened above and behind them, often marked only by a small nameplate or a floor number at the stairs.

How do you find cafés in Euljiro, Seoul?

Look for stairwells and floor numbers rather than shopfronts. In the Euljiro printing alley a café or bar may be marked only by a nameplate at the stair entrance or a floor marker such as "5F". Euljiro 3-ga station, where Lines 2 and 3 meet, is the starting point, with Chungmuro one stop south on Line 3.

Which cafés in Euljiro, Seoul, are open late?

Stand Up Plz Euljiro at Supyo-ro 54-1 is open 24 hours, and 루이스의 사물들 on Cheonggyecheon-ro serves until midnight Monday to Saturday. Hyemindang, the bakery across the street from Coffee Hanyakbang, stays open until 22:00 on weekdays and Saturdays and until 20:00 on Sundays.

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