Cafes in Seoul Pt.1: 신촌♥ (Sinchon)

As you may know, Korea is filled with lots and lots of cafes.. and if you're someone that will be doing a lot of studying on your own, you'll probably find yourself in cafes pretty often. There are all different kinds of cafes in Korea- cat cafes, dog cafes, sheep cafes, the Hello Kitty cafe, board game cafes, and just really cute cafes!

I did my fair share of cafe-hopping in Seoul, so I thought I'd compile a list of some of the cafes I went to because I seriously loved them all! I really enjoy 빙수 (bingsoo), smoothies, and juice so that's mostly what I had when I went to cafes~

PART 1: 신촌 CAFES♥

Okay, so I wrote this a while ago when I thought you'd be going to Sogang University in Sinchon this summer (like the previous years did), but you'll be going to a different school in a different area. But, I spent so much time on this post I'm just going to post it anyway. Even though these cafes are in Sinchon, most of these places are chains anyway, so you can probably find these cafes all over Seoul in any area! :)

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NATUUR POP (나뚜루팝)

Kpop Group Got7

I really love smoothies, so I went here almost every other day towards the second half of the program for their strawberry smoothies. There is a Natuur Pop right across from the Sogang University 정문 (the school I studied at)- super convenient! It is pretty small, but it's not usually very crowded or noisy so I would go there before class and study/do homework while drinking my smoothie. I kind of felt weird sitting in there for a while to do homework, but the worker guy was super friendly! I think that is one of the reasons that I liked to go there, besides their delicious smoothies of course haha. But really.. I felt very welcomed there, if that makes any sense. I would walk in the door and when the worker guy would see me, he'd recognize me and say "Oh hi! Strawberry smoothie of course, right?" Sometimes we'd talk while he made my drink and we'd talk if the place was empty. It's nice anywhere, but especially while in a foreign country it is really nice having someone remember&recognize you. Natuur Pop has bingsoo, smoothies, teas, and LOTS of different ice cream flavors (like seriously.. and some really interesting ones). The prices are pretty reasonable, and especially if you are studying at Sogang, Natuur Pop is nearby and convenient! ^^

Me drinking my Natuur Pop smoothie

ENG WEBISTE: http://www.natuur-pop.com/en/ [There is a menu on the site as well as a store finder]

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EDIYA COFFEE

Ediya Coffee is also right across from the Sogang University 정문! It’s a small café as well, but it has delicious bingsoo and juice/drinks for decent prices. It’s another convenient place for those studying at Sogang (aka you NSLI-Y summer kids). I didn’t go here that often because I usually got a smoothie from next door or ate elsewhere, but what I had from Ediya was really good. One of my top 5 mango bingsoo places probably (yeah, I had a LOT of mango bingsoos…), but it’s difficult to put them in order haha. I wish I had more to say about this place but I don’t, so here are pictures of us at Ediya and the bingsoo we ate! We came from cooking class (where we ate food) so some of us just wanted to get bingsoo before class and went here. It’s funny because I saw my teacher here and she was getting an Americano or something. She said she liked Ediya because it's cheap and convenient! 

We got the mint choco bingsoo and apple mango bingsoo- both were the delicious! I mostly eat fruit bingsoos, but the choco mint one was seriously so good. I'd recommend both!

In addition to these, I really love Ediya's flatccinos! No idea why they're called that, and I asked my friend but I'm pretty sure he made up some ridiculous story that isn't true haha. I like the grapefruit flatccino, and my friend from Sogang likes the green apple one (which tastes good as well!). You should try those~~ I really miss the grapefruit flatccino... :(

I didn't go to Ediya many times, but it is really good and reasonably priced! I know there are Ediyas all over the place, so I'm sure wherever you are you can find one :) They have good stuff so I definitely recommend it, especially for grapefruit lovers like me.. and mangoo bingsoo.. and mint choco bingsoo haha.

Click HERE to go to Ediya's website [There is a menu and store finder on here as well]

Mint Choco Bingsoo

Apple Mango Bingsoo

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COFFEE BREAK

Coffee Break is yet another cafe that is close to Sogang, but it's right next to the 정문 as opposed to being across the street (like the above listed cafes). My Korean friend from Sogang wanted to hang out my last day and treat me to my last breakfast in Korea so we met in Sinchon and came to Coffee Break. I passed Coffee Break every day going to class at Sogang but never stopped in. I honestly don't know why I never went, but I finally went on my last day and I'm so glad I did. I was super surprised when I stepped into Coffee Break. The interior is really nice- a simple black and white- 딱 내 스타일!

   

                                   

The cafe is pretty special(?) to me since I spent my last morning in Korea here with a friend I had made at the beginning of my time in Korea. We sat in here for a few hours just reminiscing about my time in Korea and it was really nice. There weren't many people in Coffee Break, though it was a Friday morning. But my friend is a student at Sogang University and says many Sogang students come here during school. Coffee Break also has a second floor, so there are many seats for you to come here with friends or just alone to study/do homework. We spent some time just talking and also reading and writing things, so the atmosphere is definitely a nice one to do work or just hang out. 

For drinks, my friend and I both got juice! We/I looove juices, and the ones at Coffee Break did not disappoint. I ordered the strawberry juice while my friend got the kiwi juice. I was pretty torn between those two when ordering haha but they both taste delicious. I drank a lot of strawberry juice in Korea, and this was definitely one of the best. I also REALLY liked the kiwi my friend got, so I'd probably get that next time. The prices are really good at Coffee Break [like half the price of Starbucks lol]!! Here are pictures of our juices from Coffee Break. I will never know why my friend got a wide straw and I didn't... Also, I don't know how much they were cause I didn't pay hehe but they definitely weren't too pricey. Almost all of the drinks on the menu at Coffee Break are under 4000won! To be honest, I thought it'd be expensive since the play is just sooo nice looking, but it wasn't. Definitely my kind of place~

I definitely had more written about Coffee Break in my post that got deleted, but I really love the place! It's special to me, cheap, and has a pretty interior and atmosphere. If you guys are in Sinchon near Sogang, I recommend going here for sure! I will definitely go there again when I go back to Sinchon haha.

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STARBUCKS

Yes, this is an American cafe, but I am including it because I did go there in Sinchon and the menu is different than the American menu. I didn't even plan on going to Starbucks in Korea, but my Korean friend insisted on taking me to Starbucks because he finds it really delicious and he wanted me to see what a Korean Starbucks was like. The Starbucks we went to was really cool, not going to lie. It was five floors.. Yes, FIVE FLOORS and there was even an elevator in it. 

Despite being five floors, the place was super crowded. My friend and I went there on a Saturday night, and we couldn't find two open chairs until the fourth floor... and we were lucky and got up there at the perfect time because another couple was leaving these two chairs we took over. You order downstairs on the first floor (where you walk in), then the next four floors have seats.When we got there to order, I looked at the menu and had no idea what to order. Things were different than America, and I have a hard enough ordering there. I don't really drink coffee, so I always buy the same thing in America. Things were also REALLY expensive, as if Starbucks isn't already expensive enough lol. I ended up getting a passion fruit ice shaken tea (because I panicked ordering that my friend had to and it was like the cheapest thing on the menu), and he got an ice Americano. What I got was double the price it is in America... ahhh~~

 Getting past the prices of things and whatnot, the Starbucks itself was really nice. There were a lot of people, but it wasn't too loud and the atmosphere was nice.. and the chairs were really comfortable lol. I thought the design and layout of  the whole Starbucks was really cool.. I have never even been to a two-floor Starbucks so five was like woah! Each floor was set up differently and had a mix of regular chairs and tables, nice chairs and tables, chairs grouped in twos, etc...

2nd Floor

3rd Floor

Just some pictures of each floor... Formatting this blog post is kind of difficult so sorry if it doesn't look that nice. But I thought I'd show you guys each floor since I found pictures~ (We're on the 4th floor)

I'm glad that out of all the Starbucks I could've gone to, I went to this one haha. I think it's soo cool cause it's just so big. It's in a location that is very popular in Sinchon, so right when you walk out you're in a busy area and will probably hear street performers or see something going on. (Also at Christmas time there's a big tree near this Starbucks!)

Like I said before, though, I would not recommend going to Starbucks (at least often) for your drinks because even though you may like the familiarity of it, it is overpriced!!! The menu is quite different, so that could be fun to try, but if you're looking for a normal smoothie, coffee, tea, whatever... there are PLENTY of other places to get your fix! I think it's cool to maybe try a drink that is unique to Korean Starbucks, but I'd go to any of these other cafes over Starbucks any day...

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HOMILPAT (호밀팥)

Okay, so I can't believe I almost forgot to put this place in this post. If you like bingsoo, 호밀팥 is a MUST. They're one of the more famous bingsoo places in Seoul and for a very good reason. Their bingsoo is SO good, and I ate a lotttt of bingsoo in Korea so trust me, I know my bingsoos. Homilpat is located in Sinchon on the side near Edae. You can walk through Edae to get here, but it is kind of confusing to get here with all the alleys. I went here on my last day in Korea, so it was nice to end with a famous bingsoo.

We got the watermelon bingsoo and the patbingsoo- both were DELICIOUS! The milky ice just melts in your mouth and their read beans are SO good. Also, the rice cakes in the bingsoo were very good too. This was the first time I had watermelon bingsoo actually.

Homilpat has patbingsoo, green tea bingsoo, coffee bingsoo, strawberry bingsoo, fruit bingsoo, and watermelon bingsoo (which is limited). They call it sherbert in English on the menu, but don't let that throw you off- it's bingsoo, just read the Korean :)

I wish I knew about this place before the last day, but I took their business card and STILL have it in my phone (which my Korean friends make fun of me for) so I definitely go back someday. Y'all should definitely try this place if you like bingsoo.. plus it's well-known, so you can say you ate at one of the more famous bingsoo places! Mostly on their menu is bingsoo (average price), but they do have a few drinks too. They're pretty much all bingsoo though, and bingsoo is what people go there for~

Patbingsoo & Watermelon Bingsoo

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So even though y'all won't be in Sinchon at Sogang University, I wanted to post this anyway for anyone at Sogang or in Sinchon. Who knows, maybe you guys will be in Sinchon anyway?! Also, as I mentioned earlier in this post, these are chains that I've seen around Seoul not just in Sinchon, so if you are intrigued by a cafe in this post, I'm sure you can find one wherever!! There are store finders on their websites if you need that.

And this post also brings up another point I want to mention... having Korean friends is awesome! I went to almost all of these cafes because of my friend from Sogang. He lives in the area and knows where good restaurants and cafes are in the area, which was really nice while I was there. Korean friends are really helpful in showing you where to go and telling you the best places or not so places. I'm very grateful I made a friend who knew the area I was in every day so well, because thanks to him, I was able to go to some pretty cool places :) Don't be scared of making friends! You definitely won't regret it! But also be safe haha~ Hope this was somewhat helpful ^^

Cafes in Seoul Pt.2 coming soon....♥