Saie Book • 사이에

Saie (사이에) bookshop is well-known for their well-curated travel books, both for domestic as well as international travel. They have plenty of selections for you to choose from and the store also have a small cafe where you can order drinks from if you decide to read your books there. I browsed through the store and came across many interesting covers. The only thing I that I could think about was I wish my Korean reading skill is better so I could actually read all these books.

Although this place is probably more suitable for locals who are looking for travel books for their next holiday ideas, it’s still interesting to check out the space and their book selections when you’re around the neighborhood.

Saie Book • 사이에

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 223-44 2층
Telephone: 070-8630-5630
Hours: 10:00 - 21:00 (Weekdays) | 13:00 - 21:00 (Saturday) | Closed on Sundays

Website: Saie Book

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Midnight in Seoul • 미드나잇인서울

Supposedly known as Seoul’s first cereal cafe, I visited Midnight in Seoul (미드나잇인서울) last spring with my cousin when we were exploring Gangnam (강남) area. The cafe’s interior is definitely unique. When you step into the cafe, you’ll be greeted with different kinds of cereal on display against the pink walls surrounding the space. There’s also a sitting area inside a dark purple room decorated with pink and turquoise furnitures and a ‘sh*t happens’ neon on the wall. At this point, you’ll probably start to pull out your phone to take some snaps around this Instagrammable cafe (if you haven’t already).

Originally opened by actor/K-pop singer Yoon Kye-sang, photographer Kim Rin-yong and Hong Sung-hyeon, and stylist Lee Jin-kyu, the cafe has now changed ownership to the singer Jo Kwon from the popular K-pop group 2AM since last year. They also have expanded their cafe to a new section right next door so the space is now bigger than before. (The new area was still under construction when I was there but I believe it’s now has been completed looking from their Instagram updates.)

The main menu here is obviously a different range of cereals. You order based on whatever you feel like eating and build your own cereal bowl. First, you choose your base cereal, add a dairy product, and finish it of with toppings if you wish. They also serve drink menu on the side.

The concept of a cereal cafe is definitely unique. I mean, coming from a person who spend a lot of my time living/traveling alone, I do sometimes crave cereals but having to buy a whole box of cereal just to fulfill my one time craving is a bit much (and yes I know some brands do offer the one serving cup version, but the choices are very limited). So this type of place could come in handy at times when I crave for cereals.

But I have to say, the menu price here is a bit on the expensive side. One bowl of cereal ranges from ₩3,500 to ₩8,000 (without the additional dairy and topping fee), depending on which cereal you chose. But maybe that’s okay, since they are location in Gangnam after all. In any case, come here to get your cereal fix or maybe just to check the place out. Who knows, you might bumped into Jo Kwon or one of his friends ;)

Update:

On October 31, 2018 Midnight in Seoul announced in an Instagram post that they’ll be closing the cafe on November 1, 2018.

Midnight in Seoul • 미드나잇인서울

Address: 서울특별시 강남구 논현동 63-16
Telephone: 02-545-6321
Hours: 10:00 - 22:00

Website: Midnight in Seoul
Instagram: @midnightinseoul_official

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Sweetch • 스위치

Another accidental found on my neighborhood walks, I passed by Sweetch (스위치) store and decided to go in and check out their products. Sweetch is a local brand and they sell different type of bags and accessories that are made from coated canvas, felt and leather that are locally made. The material is sturdy and the stitching quality is very good. I actually ended up purchasing one of their market bag for my sister and a document pouch for my dad. Here’s a little bit about their brand from their website:

sweet + switch = sweetch

“Sweetch is a company that provides values. We produce what makes our customers valuable, amid the sea of products that are treated as disposables. Instead of following the trend, we choose to deliver lasting products that you would want to take with you every day, by focusing on the basics of design, carefully selected materials, details and wit, and solid quality, along with practicality.”

I visited their old location and they have now moved to a new location. If you ever looking for a bag, definitely check out Sweetch to see if there’s anything that suits your style.

Sweetch • 스위치

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 연희동 520-158
Telephone: 02-6933-7209
Hours: 14:00 - 20:00 (Monday to Saturday)

Website: Sweetch

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Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 • 카페 연남동 239-20

When you step into Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 (카페 연남동 239-20), you’ll feel as if you’re stepping into a world of comic books where everything around you is defined by black flat line drawings. I accidentally found out about this cafe when I was scrolling through my explore page on Instagram. My curiosity was piqued as I saw the monochrome thumbnail of the cafe’s interior and decided to tap on it. After seeing a couple of pictures of the cafe, I thought it’d be interesting to check the place out. So one day, I went with my friends in search for this cafe in the middle of a residential area. Honestly, when we reached the location, I missed the entrance and if not for my friend who pointed me to the door of the cafe, I probably just continue to walked pass through.

Nestled in the middle of a quiet residential apartments, Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 opened its door last year. The interior design of the cafe was supposedly inspired by Korea’s hit TV series, W, where the real world clashed with the webtoon fantasy world. So I guess this is the webtoon concept of a cafe. Pretty neat.

The cafe itself isn’t that big. I bet nowadays, since the place has gone viral on the internet these past few weeks, it’ll be packed with more people who wanna take a snap at this place for their Instagram feed. It is a pretty Instagrammable place after all. When we were there, it was pretty quiet. There were only 2 other people there with us who were sitting inside, so we opted for the patio area and took our seats. I ended up chatting with the owner for a little bit and she was very nice. She told me they opened last year and asked me how I found out about her cafe. I told her I found a photo on Instagram and she told me that I wasn’t the first. Apparently, lot of the visitors who came also knew from Instagram. She was surprised how Instagram could bring so many people here since she never really did any marketing for the cafe.

I ordered Ice Oat Latte (고귀한 라떼) and a tiramisu for us to share. Their ice oat latte was actually pretty nice if you like milk, oat, grains or the combination of the three. If you are curious to see what the place look like or just want a snap in this place for your instagram feed, definitely check out this cafe ;)

Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 • 카페 연남동 239-20

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 239-20
Telephone: 010-7252-8633
Hours: 11:00 - 21:00 (Close on Mondays)

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Update:

This cafe location seems to have now closed and (I believe) have been rebranded and moved to a new and bigger location (not sure if the owner is the same, cmiiw, but the concept is very well the same). I haven’t been to the new location because every time I passed by the place, it always have a long line of people waiting. The information on the new cafe name and location:

 

Greem Cafe • 그림카페

Address: 서울 마포구 성미산로 161-10 그림카페
Telephone: 010-2612-8103
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 12:00 - 21:00 | Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays

Instagram: @greem_cafe

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Belowlounge • 빌로우라운지

I have visited Belowlounge (빌로우라운지) a while ago but haven’t gotten around to sharing the photos on this blog yet. Since I’m working through my backlogged photos, thought it’d share this spot for fun. I’m not sure if they’re still open these days since when I tried to look for the most current content, I can only find posts from around May of this year.

This cafe was located on a very small alleyway and the only reason I found it was because I passed by its sign on the main road. The cafe is sharing space with two local brands that have their products on display inside the cafe. The space is small and quite but cozy enough if you are just looking for a place to sit and talk with your friends. Maybe the next time I passed by this location, I’ll check it out and see whether they’re still around or not.

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