Korea Day 4: Bukchon, Hanok Views & Café Hopping to Yeonnam-dong

17 March 2026

Day 4 turned into quite a café-hopping day, with stops for pretty pastries, hanok views and a very cute coffee. In between, I wandered through Bukchon and Eunpyeong Hanok Village before heading to Yeonnam-dong and Hongdae for a little shopping. Plenty of walking, but always another café break to look forward to!

BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE

First stop was Bukchon Hanok Village, although I might have taken my “rest and relax” motto a little too seriously. By the time I arrived, there were so many people! Those peaceful, empty lanes I’d seen in photos online felt very far from reality.

Perhaps an earlier visit would have been less crowded, though there’s no guarantee. Still, the traditional hanok houses and little lanes were lovely, even with all the people around.

Layers of tiled rooftops above beautifully patterned brick walls. So many details to admire in Bukchon.

Red geometric patterns running across the stone walls. Loved these little architectural details.

The classic Bukchon view, with tiled rooftops, N Seoul Tower in the distance and rather more people than the photos I’d seen online!

Looking uphill between rows of hanok houses. Still such a pretty place to wander, even with the crowds.

A quieter little turn, with wooden gates and patterned walls catching the afternoon sun.

One of the peaceful corners I managed to find. Loved the warm wooden details against the grey tiled roofs.

A note if you’re planning a visit: Bukchon’s designated residential “red zone” welcomes tourists from 10 am to 5 pm. It’s still a lived-in neighbourhood, so a quieter wander is appreciated.

ARARI BUKCHON

While exploring Bukchon, I stopped for an ice cream at Arari Bukchon, a dessert shop from the team behind the former three-Michelin-star restaurant Gaon.

I had the matcha soft serve with colourful matcha and raspberry pearls. The little round toppings were my favourite part! They had a thin jelly-like skin and burst in my mouth when I bit into them. Such a fun little treat between wandering through the village lanes.

Matcha soft serve at Arari Bukchon, topped with matcha and raspberry pearls. These pearls burst in your mouth and were my favourite part!

Arari Bukchon (아라리 북촌점)

Address: 60-3 Bukchon-ro 11-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Opening hours: Daily, 10 am–5 pm

Next, I wanted to head to 1in1jan for its views over the traditional houses of Eunpyeong Hanok Village. But on my way to catch public transport, the shops along the streets gave me plenty of reasons to stop.

Steaming pots, hanging herbs and warm wooden details. This traditional-style storefront certainly caught my eye.

A giant yellow cat welcoming me to Yellow Cat. Naturally, I had to take a look inside!

Rows of colourful cat and dog pouches, each with its own expression. I had a hard time choosing one!

A little purchase from Yellow Cat, complete with the cutest cat stickers on the packaging.

CAFÉ LAYERED

I also unexpectedly spotted Café Layered. I’d wanted to visit its Yeonnam branch around Hongdae for the adorable puppy cake, but hadn’t realised there was an Anguk branch here too! Since I was already passing by, I joined the queue outside.

Unfortunately, by the time I got in, the puppy cake had sold out! After all that waiting, I didn’t want to leave empty-handed, so I chose a cream-filled scone instead. It was okay, though the cream was richer and denser than I prefer. I like the lighter, fresher, airier kind. Still, all the pastries looked lovely, and there were so many pretty little details around the café to admire.

Plenty of tempting scones, but an empty plate where the puppy cake should have been. The little ‘sold out’ sign confirmed my disappointment!

Red velvet, blueberry and matcha cakes looking all so tempting!

No puppy cake, so a cream-filled scone it was!

There are souvenirs for sales at the café too.

Café Layered Anguk (카페 레이어드 안국점)

Address: 2-3 Bukchon-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Opening hours: Daily, 8 am–10 pm

1IN1JAN AT EUNPYEONG HANOK VILLAGE

Next, I headed to 1in1jan after seeing photos of its large windows overlooking the tiled rooftops of Eunpyeong Hanok Village. Another café? I know, but it is just to pretty to give it a miss. There was one particular window spot I recognised from social media, but you might have to wait if you want that same shot. As a solo traveller, I also felt a little bad taking a larger table just for the view. Thankfully, I still found a seat with a lovely view too.

Look at the view my my seat! Layers of tiled hanok rooftops with mountains rising behind them.

Another view from the café.

I ordered Korean rice cakes and floral tea, which felt fitting for the traditional setting. I’m generally not very fond of kueh-style desserts, so the rice cakes weren’t quite my thing. Still, I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a lovely place to sit, relax and take in the rooftops outside.

My korean rice cakes and floral tea.

1in1jan (1인1잔)

Address: 534 Yeonseo-ro, Jingwan-dong, Eunpyeong District, Seoul, South Korea

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, typically 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM (closed on Mondays)

After my café break, I spent a little while wandering around Eunpyeong Hanok Village before heading to Yeonnam-dong, on the Hongdae side of Seoul.

The streets are much quieter here compared to Bukchon Hanok Village.

LEISURELY WALK AROUND YEONNAM-DONG

Yeonnam-dong was another lovely neighbourhood to explore, with little shops and cafés tucked along its streets. I’d wanted to visit Bomsamuso for an illustrated portrait, but unfortunately, it had already closed by the time I arrived. Along the way, I also spotted something unexpectedly familiar: Da Shi Jia Big Prawn Mee! I had tried the prawn mee in Singapore and enjoyed it, and did not realise the Singapore restaurant had a branch in Korea.

The illustrated storefront of Bomsamuso. It was unfortunately closed.

A familiar name in an unexpected place: Singapore’s Da Shi Jia Big Prawn Mee, right here in Seoul! Look at the merlions!

Tiny cupcakes tucked into a house-shaped sign. Even the signs around here were tempting.

A cat-filled shop tucked behind a red-brick entrance. Naturally, I had to investigate.

Cat mugs, illustrations and little trinkets everywhere. My kind of souvenir shopping!

I eventually got my caricature done at Acorn Caricature. The setup had a playful vending-machine concept: pop in a coin and wait for your drawing to appear. The drawing was completed rather quickly, and the result was really cute. Such a fun little souvenir!

A little fairytale-style entrance at Acorn Caricature. Time to get myself a souvenir!

A caricature booth with a vending-machine twist. Pop in a coin and wait for your little portrait to appear!

Then it was time for my third café of the day.

Oats Coffee glowing warmly as evening approached. My third café stop of the day!

This time, I only ordered a drink at Oats Coffee: an Einspänner with the cutest little cat-shaped topping. I really enjoyed it, though I’m quite sure the adorable presentation helped! Rather than stirring, the coffee is meant to be sipped through the cream and let the flavours come together naturally.

My Einspänner with a cute cat-shaped cream topping.

Oats Coffee (오츠커피)

Address: 29-8 Seongmisan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul (approx. 11-minute walk from Gajwa Station)

Opening hours: Daily, 11:00 AM–9:00 PM

A whimsical, Harry Potter-themed jewellery shop caught my eye too.

A jewellery shop with a sorting hat outside. How could I walk past without looking?

Many earrings on display.

Chandeliers, ornate mirrors and cabinets of jewellery. There was almost as much to admire as there was to shop.

Hedwig, Dobby, potion bottles and shelves of books. A little touch of wizarding magic while jewellery shopping.

There were honestly so many cafés I would have loved to visit, but only so much room for café-hopping in one day. A good reason to come back, I suppose!

MintChoco World café, one of the cafés that I would like to visit.

SHOPPING AT HONGDAE'S MAIN SHOPPING STREET

I eventually wandered over to Hongdae’s main shopping streets, where there were so many people! It was a little too crowded for me to feel like browsing for long, but the large Adidas store still managed to draw me in.

The Adidas store that tempted me into one more shopping stop.

Sneakers, ribbon laces and little shoe charms. I couldn’t resist buying a pair of sneakers, along with some shoe charms and different shoelaces to personalise them.

Hongdae after dark, with bright signs and plenty of people still out shopping.

There were many clothing stores in Hongdae.

JAJANGMYEON AT HONG KONG BANJEOM 0410

By the time I returned to Myeongdong, it was already getting late, but I was also getting hungry. After a day of mostly café food, I was ready for a proper meal! Thankfully, there were still plenty of places open, so I guess that is one of the advantages of staying in the Myeongdong area. I’d wanted to try jajangmyeon, Korean black bean sauce noodles, so I searched for somewhere with good reviews that was still open and ended up at Hong Kong Banjeom 0410 (홍콩반점0410).

Back in Myeongdong for dinner at Hong Kong Banjeom 0410. Finally, a proper meal after all those café stops!

The photos didn’t look particularly tempting, but I decided to give it a go anyway. And oh, I’m glad I did! The sauce was savoury and sweet, with soft onions adding a lovely sweetness. There weren’t many other ingredients, and it wasn’t the most photogenic bowl, but these unassuming noodles turned out to be so good. A very satisfying end to the day!

Not the most photogenic bowl, but so good! Jajangmyeon with a savoury-sweet sauce and soft onions.

Hong Kong Banjeom 0410 (홍콩반점0410 명동점)

Address: 7-4 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Opening hours: Daily, 11 am–9 pm

LOOKING BACK...

I managed to fit quite a bit into a day that began so leisurely. The rooftop views at 1in1jan were lovely, and Yeonnam-dong was full of little shops and cafés that kept tempting me inside. Not everything went to plan, with a sold-out puppy cake and a closed illustration shop, but there were plenty of enjoyable finds along the way. And that surprisingly delicious bowl of jajangmyeon was a very satisfying finish.

Love,

Shu