Why is Seorae Village in Seoul called the French village?

The Seoul French School moved to Seorae Village from Hannam-dong in 1985, and French families settled around it. About 560 French people live there, roughly 40% of the French community in Korea. A 530 m stretch of Seorae-ro holds terraces, wine bars and bakeries, and its parks have French names.

Where is the unsigned coffee shop Taeyang Coffee in Seorae Village, Seoul?

태양커피 is on Seocho-daero 25-gil in the Bangbae and Seorae area. It has no sign and you cannot see inside from the street. The actor Jung Woo named it on television in 2023, and its Einspänner, served over espresso or cold brew, is the drink people queue for.

What was the Bangbae-dong café alley in Seoul?

The stretch of Bangbaejungang-ro from Isu crossing to Dwitbeol Children's Park was popular with young people as a café alley in the 1980s and 1990s. A sculpture at the crossing still marks it, though restaurants now line much of the road, and newer cafés cluster around exit 7 of Naebang station.

Cafés in Seocho & Seorae Village, Seoul: Hours and Map

Seorae Village (서래마을) straddles Banpo-dong and Bangbae-dong in Seocho District, and it exists because of a school: the Seoul French School moved here from Hannam-dong in 1985, and French families followed.¹ About 560 French people live here, roughly 40% of the French community in Korea.² A 530 m stretch of Seorae-ro now holds the terraces, wine bars and bakeries, and its parks carry names such as Montmartre and Paris 15.¹

Coffee follows bread here. Most of the good stops are bakery cafés or brunch rooms first, and the serious coffee is in smaller shops off the main road, particularly toward Naebang station and along Bangbae's old café strip.¹

Local tip: Skip the car on Seorae-ro: come by Line 7 to Naebang station, leave by exit 7, find your coffee in the lanes, then walk over to the bakeries and the small Paris 15 park.

At a glance

96Cafés listed

4With opening hours

10:00Earliest opening

22:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Bamvoo, from 10:00 (Daily 10:00–21:00).

Closes latest: Sicily, until 22:00 (Daily 12:00–22:00).

Most listed streets: Banpo-dong" (4), Seocho-dong (3).

Most common features: wi-fi (5%), indoor seating (3%), specialty (3%).

Taeyang Coffee, no sign needed

태양커피 (Taeyang Coffee) on Seocho-daero 25-gil has no sign, and from the street you cannot see inside; a 2022 city report said first-timers often walk past it.¹ The actor Jung Woo named it on television in 2023 as the stop that starts his day, and said his wife, Kim Yoo-mi, had predicted its success after one cup.³

Now there is a queue. His usual is a long black, and the drink most people come for is the Einspänner, cream over espresso or cold brew, popularly ranked among Seoul's top three.³ Harper's Bazaar gave its hours as 09:00–21:30 in 2023.³ The room is small.¹

Bread and brunch on Seorae-ro

Artisan Bakers on Seorae-ro is one of the bakery cafés that a 2022 city walk singles out on the main road.¹ The same walk photographs 밤부 베이커리&브루잉 서래 (Bamboo Bakery & Brewing Seorae) where the craft lane Bangbae-sai-gil begins.¹ Bamvoo, at Donggwang-ro 77, has outdoor seats and hours of 10:00–21:00.

카페 37.5 (Cafe 37.5) takes its name from the idea that someone in love runs a degree warmer than the usual 36.5℃, and in 2020 it was serving American-style brunch all day in a bright, gallery-like room.⁴ 김씨부인 (Gimssibuin), a traditional dessert café, had then been open three years; its signature individual tray pairs tea with rice cakes, hangwa (한과, traditional sweets) and candied fruit, changed by season.⁴

Bangbae's café alley and Naebang's quiet lanes

The stretch of Bangbaejungang-ro from Isu crossing to Dwitbeol Children's Park was known as the Bangbae-dong café alley in the 1980s and 1990s, popular with young people.¹ A sculpture at the crossing still marks it, though by 2022 a citizen reporter thought eating street suited it better.¹ 서래수 (Seoraesu), in Bangbae-dong, was reported in 2008 as the first bricks-and-mortar café from a coffee institute.⁵ 방배동 커피상회 (Bangbaedong Coffee Sanghoe) is on the same road, at no. 213.

Exit 7 of Naebang station on Line 7 opens onto the newer scene. Cafés here sit in housing, some with very small signs or none.¹ Walk in past the bakery on the corner and look carefully, because you can easily miss the door.¹ Between the two, Bangbae-sai-gil (Bangbae-ro 42-gil) keeps small workshops, vintage shops and galleries on the ground floors of quiet housing.¹

Cafés in Seocho & Seorae Village

At a glance

Bamvoo

스퀘어가든

Sicily

Alice 1871

Artisan Bakers

AZABU

Bakery Local

Boya Coffee

Cafe de Lyon

Cafe Dolce

cafe stay

Cafemorrow

Double Happiness

Eggdrop

fin.

Great Hall Cafe

Honest Harvest Coffee

KAFE

Kafe187querencia

KAMONG

Koffee Sniffer

Maillet

minimale rösterei & kaffeebar

Morn Till Night

MUEND

ONGOZISIN

STEAMERS FACTORY SHOP

Urbanite

까페 아띠지아노 센트럴시티점

까페라리 방배점

더리버마리나

동빙고

마하한남

멜던

밀즈앤모어

방배동 커피상회

Coffee chains in Seocho & Seorae Village

Mega MGC Coffee 메가커피

Starbucks

Ediya Coffee 이디야커피

A Twosome Place 투썸플레이스

Hollys 할리스

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 커피빈

Paik's Coffee 빽다방

Compose Coffee 컴포즈커피

Mammoth Coffee 매머드커피

Tom N Toms 탐앤탐스

Paul Bassett 폴바셋

Banapresso 바나프레소

Caffè Pascucci 파스쿠찌

Artisée 아티제

Cafe Mamas 카페마마스

Coffeesmith 커피스미스

Vienna Coffee House 비엔나커피하우스

Coffee Mama 커피마마

Bean Brothers 빈브라더스

Café Kitsuné

Taeyang Coffee, no sign needed

Bread and brunch on Seorae-ro

Bangbae's café alley and Naebang's quiet lanes

Sources

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