Cafés in Seochon

Getting to Seochon from Gyeongbokgung station

Line 3's Gyeongbokgung station is the entry point, and walks usually start at exit 2.⁴ Jahamun-ro runs north from the station into the neighborhood.³ Okryudongcheon-gil (옥류동천길), which follows a stream now covered over, is the lane to look for small cafés, bakeries and rice restaurants, and Ogin-gil (옥인길) continues toward Suseongdong Valley on Inwangsan.³

Lunchboxes at Tongin Market

Tongin Market (통인시장) in Hyoja-dong dates to 1941 and has more than 70 stores.¹ Its dosirak café (도시락 카페, lunchbox café) began in late 2012 and pulled in the tourists: you swap cash for yeopjeon, old-style brass coins worth ₩500 each as of 2014, and fill a tray from the stalls.² The market is also known for gireum tteokbokki (기름떡볶이), rice cakes stir-fried in oil.² As of 2018 the lunchbox café closed on Mondays.³

A bookshop café and the artists' houses

Daeo Bookstore (대오서점), opened in 1951 and described as Seoul's oldest secondhand bookshop, now works as a café too, at Nuha-dong 33.⁵ Lee Sang-beom's hanok, also in Nuha-dong, was his home and studio from 1942 until his death in 1972, and entry is free.⁵

Yi Sang's house at Jahamun-ro 7-gil 18 is a fragment of the lot where the writer grew up; a national trust bought it in 2009 to save it from demolition.⁶ The Pak No-soo Museum in Ogin-dong occupies a two-story brick house from the late 1930s, with adult entry at ₩3,000 as of 2026.⁵ 웨스트 빌리지 at Ogin-gil 54 has outdoor seats and takes pets; it closes on Tuesdays.

Roasters, early openers and late tables

Coffee Tour Roasters, a specialty roaster, is at Sajik-ro 10-gil 12, with a second branch at Jahamun-ro 1. 연흔 로스터스 (Jahamun-ro 7-gil 29), 나무사이로 (Sajik-ro 8-gil 21) and 9coffee roasters (Jahamun-ro 100) also serve specialty coffee.

Hyoja Cafe on Pirundae-ro starts at 07:00 and closes at 14:00 on Mondays, 18:00 otherwise; Ocher Shore opens at 07:30 on weekdays and 08:00 at weekends. At night, 고희 at Jahamun-ro 12-gil 17 serves until 23:00, 슬로우레시피 at 10-gil 8 until 22:30, and La Cafe Gallery (라 카페 갤러리) at 10-gil 28, with Wi-Fi and outdoor seats, until 22:00 Tuesday to Sunday.

The guard post on Inwangsan

더숲 초소책방 (Chosochaekbang, "guard-post bookshop") at Inwangsan-ro 172 began as a police post, built after the January 1968 commando raid to guard the presidential compound.⁷ When the mountain fully opened in May 2018, the city and Jongno District turned it into a bookshop and café, keeping the concrete frame, with an observation deck upstairs.⁷ Public transport barely reaches it. Walk under ten minutes along the Inwangsan Jarak-gil from Buam-dong; from Suseongdong Valley it is only 230 m in a straight line, but on a hard mountain path.⁷