Tuesday, November 27, 2007

커피프린스

After visiting Yonsei, I went searching for the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince in the vicinity of Hongdae (Hongik University). I shall include the map here. The direction given in Tour2Korea was not written in very proper English. Fortunately, my English is also not that good, so I still manage to find my way there. This is probably an example of two negatives giving one positive. Anyway, this is my account of how I found my way there.

I took metro line 2 (green line) to Hongik University (홍대입구-弘大入口) and exited the station via Exit 4. The first building I saw was the Seven Springs Salad and Grill Restaurant.


Seven Springs is also a filming site for the Korean drama "Alone in Love"

I turned right into the road before this restaurant. After a short walk, I reached the first intersection and crossed it. At the next intersection, I turned left and kept to the small road on the right side. As I walked along this small road, there was an open area to my left. After about 100m of walk, there was a 90deg bend to the right. I followed the bend and continued to walk on the right side of the road. The road after the bend was a straight and uphill road that led to a main road at the end. The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince was located almost right at the end of this road. That was about 500m of walk after the bend.


At the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince. The cafe has a big "P" at its front.


Will Coffee Prince become a successful brand like Starbuck one day?

The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince was not as crowded as I have thought. Also, it's customers were largely Koreans and not tourists. If I have not read about this coffee shop, I would not have known that it was a filming site for a Korean drama. Though it looks like many other coffee shops in Seoul, I still like the place for its simplicity and because it was located at a quiet corner near to Hongdae.


An innovative way of using space. A boutique underneath Coffee Prince.


A full view of 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.


Night was falling at about 5pm when I took these pictures.


I was sorry to have peeked inside. After that, I couldn't resist going in.

After enough of photo-taking from outside, I could not resist going into the shop to have a nice cup of Iced Mocha. To be frank, I was thinking for quite a while whether this shop was really serving coffee or everything else that I saw was a mock-up for visitors. But of course, I was quite a "babo" to even think of that. They do sell coffee and drinks like any other cafes. I paid 7,000won for my Iced Mocha. Though it didn't cost me a hand and leg but it was quite expensive as compared to other cafes. I tried to reason that perhaps 3,000won of the 7,000won is meant as an entrance fee to the shop.


A look around Coffee Prince. A small and comfortable place to meet up.


My Iced Mocha which cost me 7,000won. I like the chocolate swirl.


A last look at Coffee Prince radiating its charm after nightfall.

16 comments:

  1. nice!!! i wanna visit too!! :) i'm actually watching coffee prince now. how are the drinks there? do they taste as good as they look? i'm sure u're enjoying yrself a lot over there. :D

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  2. I am so so jealous! I was in Seoul last month and i forgot to visit Coffee Prince!! 제가 바보야 ...

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  3. Hi Jean, the drink tasted ok but I think it is too expensive to have a second helping. Yup, I m enjoying myself now and hope that it continues. ^^

    Spicebears, wah quietly quietly go Seoul eh. Hehe...

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  4. can u tell me wat's the opening hours and day for the shop? coz i'm going korea soon n i hope to visit!!! pls reply fast!

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  5. Sorry, I don't really know the exact opening hours and day but I guess it should be similar to any cafe in Seoul.

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  6. den wat's the normal opening hrs for any cafe in seoul? i know nuts about them cos i live in singapore

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  7. Aiyah, don't be angry lah. I oso live in Singapore noe. You just go there in the afternoon or evening, it definitely will be opened.

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  8. hello ^^
    this coffee shop will be one of my holiday spot when i go to korea.. my friend went the last time and she told that the cakes and beverages are quite expensive..
    u went there alone? i wish i could have someone to go with me next time.. ><

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  9. Hi Rebecca, indeed the cake and coffee are more expensive than other cafes in Seoul. But it should be ok if you think of that as paying entrance fee.

    I thought looking for someone to go shouldn't be that difficult unless you mean someone in specific ^^;

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  10. I tried to go to the Coffee Prince coffee shop last time I went to Korea. I used the directions off of Tour2Korea and I definately got lost :( so I never actually got to see it. But with your directions I hope I will be able to see it next time :D

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  11. @Angie, I have edited my post to include a map from Hongdae Station to Coffee Prince. Just click on the link to see it. Hope you get lucky next time ^^

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  12. wow, that's lovely. may i re-post these pics on my blog? i'll give the credit to this page, of course.
    anyway, i really appreciate the fact that korean dramas always pay their attention to the details, e.g. the sets and costumes. and their style is very unique, makes me love korean dramas even more.
    thanks equinox for sharing these beautiful pictures!

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  13. yes, you may do so. pictures are meant to be shared. credits or no credits is not a matter to me

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  14. hi!

    i just went to Coffee Prince yesterday and it is not as nice as i expected.

    it's so nice to see your pictures from 2007 ^^ because the cafe did look so nice back then ~

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  15. Heh heh found your post on this one. Ya, the map not very accurate one . I had to ask a couple of passers-by for direction. Anyway, I went to this cafe and the other Coffee Prince Cafe closer to the Hongdae subway exit. The 2nd 점 is smaller compared to the 1st 점, and it's more secluded. Its located next to the Hello Kitty Cafe. Anyway, the drinks are way too expensive. If served by Gong Yoo, I would gladly pay , though. ㅎㅎ

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