Why visit Seoul for Coffee Prince
Coffee Prince (커피프린스 1호점) aired on MBC on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) from July 2 to Aug 28, 2007, running 17 episodes. It is based on the novel of the same name by Lee Sun-mi. Gong Yoo plays Choi Han-gyul, the directionless grandson of a food-conglomerate family, and Yoon Eun-hye plays Go Eun-chan, a tomboyish young woman who works odd jobs to support her mother and younger sister and is regularly mistaken for a man. Han-gyul hires Eun-chan — believing her to be a young man — to pose as his boyfriend so his family will stop arranging marriages for him. Then his grandmother orders him to turn around a rundown coffee shop, and Eun-chan joins its staff, still hiding that she is a woman. Lee Sun-kyun plays Han-gyul’s cousin Choi Han-sung, a record producer, and Chae Jung-an plays Han Yoo-joo, the painter Han-gyul has long loved.
The drama was a hit in its season and is still the reference point for the gender-bender romance in K-drama. It also changed how people visit Seoul. The Hongdae cafe became a pilgrimage site: after filming, it reopened with the wall-flower painting by Yoo-joo and other props on display, drawing fans from Korea and abroad. More broadly, Coffee Prince made the Seoul cafe itself a destination — the kind of place you travel to sit in, not just to drink in. That is why this guide is built around real, visitable places rather than sets: every stop below is a real building, street, park, or overlook in Seoul. One honest warning up front: the Hongdae cafe business has closed, so the centerpiece stop is an exterior visit. The good news is that the other cafe on this page — Sanmotoonge in Buam-dong — still operates, the bookstore and the overlook are open, and the Hongdae and Jongno streets around the stops are worth the walk on their own.
The seven stops
1. Coffee Prince 1st Shop — the cafe exterior (Hongdae)
The real thing: an old Hongdae coffee shop remodeled for the 2007 drama, then reopened after filming with the drama’s props on display.
How to get there: Take Line 2 to Hongik University Station, leave by Exit 8, and walk about 570 metres — turn right at the Seven Springs corner, pass the intersection, and follow Wausan-ro 29-gil until the shop is on your right.
What to see: The building exterior at 5 Wausan-ro 29-gil. The wall-flower painting and the props were displayed inside while the cafe operated; with the business closed, the exterior is what remains to see.
Tips: Come for the photo, then move on — allow 30–60 minutes including the walk. Pair it with Hongdae Playground (stop 2), about 600 metres away. Do not expect to go inside or order a coffee here; save the cafe stop for Sanmotoonge (stop 7) or any of Hongdae’s operating cafes.
2. Hongdae Playground — the hat scene (Hongdae)
The small park by Hongik University’s entrance, also called Hongik Children’s Park, where Han-gyul buys Yoo-joo a hat from a street vendor.
How to get there: On foot from the Coffee Prince cafe (about 600 metres), or from Hongik University Station.
What to see: The park itself and the surrounding streets. VisitKorea describes Hongdae as a neighborhood known for its youthful ambience, with shops selling clothing, cosmetics, living goods, and books, plus unique cafes and restaurants — and streets filled with buskers and dance performances. The playground sits at the heart of that scene.
Tips: The park is free and public; allow 15–30 minutes. It is liveliest on weekends, when street performers gather nearby. Combine it with a wander through Hongdae’s side streets for murals, indie shops, and cafes.
3. Seoul Animation Center rooftop — Han-gyul’s terrace (Myeongdong)
The rooftop terrace that stood in for the terrace of Han-gyul’s house.
How to get there: Myeongdong Station, then walk uphill. The road from Myeongdong Station to the Animation Center was remade as Zaemiro, a cartoon-themed street with murals and comic-cafe exhibitions, so the walk up is part of the visit.
What to see: The public facility and its rooftop garden at the foot of Namsan, plus the Zaemiro street art on the way up.
Tips: Confirm current opening status before visiting — hours and exhibitions change. Allow about 30 minutes. This stop stays reported: a second independent source confirming the filming claim has not been found yet, so treat the rooftop connection as reported, not confirmed.
4. Kyobo Book Centre Gwanghwamun — the book-buying scene (Gwanghwamun)
The bookstore where Han-gyul buys books on coffee to train Eun-chan as a barista, filmed inside and outside.
How to get there: Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5, Exits 4–5. The Gwanghwamun branch sits in the basement of the Kyobo Life Insurance Building; it opened in 1981 and was refurbished and reopened in 2010.
What to see: An operating mega-bookstore — browse the coffee books on the shelves where the scene was filmed, then step outside to the Gwanghwamun streets for the exterior view.
Tips: Entry is free; allow 30–60 minutes. This stop stays reported: both of its citations are Wikipedia articles (the drama page and the Kyobo page), so they do not count as two independent sources under this site’s rules.
5. Duksung–Pungmoon stone wall road — the rain scene (Samcheong-dong area)
The stone-wall lane near the girls’ high schools where the rain scene was filmed.
How to get there: Anguk Station, then walk toward Samcheong-dong.
What to see: A quiet public lane of stone walls between Insadong and Samcheong-dong — the kind of old-Seoul streetscape the drama used for its rain scene.
Tips: The exact stretch is hard to pin down, so treat the lane itself as the stop rather than hunting for one precise kerb. Stay on the public road and do not enter school grounds. Allow 15–30 minutes, and combine it with Samcheong-dong’s cafes and galleries.
6. Bugak Skyway Palgakjeong — the jogging course (Jongno)
The scenic mountain drive where Han-gyul jogs, with the octagonal Palgakjeong pavilion as its overlook.
How to get there: Taxi or drive — there is no nearby subway station. The Skyway runs along the ridge of Mt. Bugak; the pavilion sits about halfway along the road, with a parking area.
What to see: Panoramic city views from the pavilion, which has a cafe, a restaurant, and a souvenir shop on site, plus the famously slow mailbox — post a letter and the receiver gets it in a year.
Tips: Allow 30–60 minutes. Clear days give the best views. This stop was upgraded to confirmed in this update: Nexen’s account of the jogging scenes independently corroborates the filming claim.
7. Sanmotoonge Cafe (Sanmotungi) — Han-sung’s house (Buam-dong)
The mountainside cafe that stood in for Choi Han-sung’s house — the biggest addition in this update, and the one operating cafe on the page.
How to get there: Take a taxi uphill from the Gyeongbokgung area, or take bus 1020, 7022, or 7212 from Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3, Exit 5) to the Buam-dong Community Service Center, then walk about 900 metres uphill.
What to see: The cafe itself — a converted house with terraces looking out over the Seoul Fortress Wall and the northern mountains — and its trademark yellow Volkswagen in the yard. Seoul’s city government notes Buam-dong as the home of the drama’s filming location, between Bukhansan and Inwangsan.
Tips: Hours are listed as 11:00–22:00 — check before you go. Allow 60–90 minutes. Expect a steep uphill walk if you arrive by bus; a taxi is the easier option in heat or cold. This is the stop to sit down with a coffee and take in the view.
Plan your trip
One-day shape: Do the Hongdae cluster (cafe exterior + playground) in the morning, the Jongno and Myeongdong stops (Kyobo, the stone-wall lane, the Animation Center) midday, and Buam-dong plus Bugak Skyway by taxi in the afternoon. The two northern stops need a taxi or a drive — neither has a nearby subway station — so budget taxi time and fares for that leg.
Bases: Hongdae / Hapjeong is the walking base for the cafe exterior and playground; Jongno is the base for the northern stops. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for the walking and the overlook.
Getting around Seoul
The seven stops fall into three clusters. The Hongdae cluster — the cafe exterior and the playground — is on foot from Hongik University Station on Line 2: leave by Exit 8 for the cafe, and the playground is about 600 metres away. The Jongno and Myeongdong cluster — Kyobo Book Centre, the stone-wall lane and the Animation Center — is walkable from Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5, Anguk Station and Myeongdong Station. The two northern stops — Sanmotoonge in Buam-dong and Bugak Skyway Palgakjeong — need a taxi or a drive, as neither has a nearby subway station; take the taxi from the Gyeongbokgung area and combine both stops in one trip.
Combine with other dramas: If you came for Gong Yoo, see our Goblin Seoul guide for his later drama’s Seoul locations. For more retro-Seoul neighborhood romance, see our Reply 1988 guide. For the wider city, start at our Seoul region page.
Good to know: Korean cafe culture
The cafe at the heart of this drama sits inside a much bigger story — Korea’s cafe obsession.
Korea runs on cafes. There are tens of thousands across the country — ten within a few minutes’ walk is normal in Seoul — and they function as Korea’s “third place”: the living room Koreans don’t have at home. Friends meet, couples date, students study for hours (the cagongjok, or “cafe-study tribe”), and business deals get done over iced americanos. Yes, iced — even in January. The catchphrase “얼죽아” (eoljukah: “iced americano even if I freeze to death”) is only half a joke. Cafes are also K-drama royalty: Coffee Prince made its cafe a pilgrimage site, Goblin’s Quebec scenes sparked a cafe tourism boom, and location scouts still favor architecturally striking spots like Paju’s Cafe Zino (18 dramas and counting). Beyond coffee, Korea invented the themed cafe — from hanok cafes where you remove your shoes to dog cafes, book cafes, and rooftop “gamseong” (mood-aesthetic) cafes designed for lingering. Practical tip: one drink buys you a table for hours, and nobody will rush you. It’s also perfectly normal to leave your bag at the table while you visit the restroom.
The Hongdae stops sit in one of Seoul’s main youth shopping districts. VisitKorea describes Hongik University Street as a mix of flagship stores, brand shops, and unique boutiques, with clothing stores along the Walking Street and Hongtong Street thoroughfares.
- Musinsa Standard Hongdae — the fashion chain’s flagship at B2–2F, 144 Yanghwa-ro, Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. VisitKorea lists it as open all year, 11:00–21:00, with tax-refund service.
- LINE FRIENDS Hongdae Flagship Store — the character-goods chain’s flagship at 141, Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. VisitKorea lists it as open all year, 11:00–22:00, with tax-refund service.
Hours change — check before you go. This section lists chain stores and district-level shopping only; it is not a recommendation of any individual shop.
How we checked
Places named by two independent sources (official or press) are confirmed. Places named by one source, or by sources that trace back to the same organization, are reported. On this guide, three stops are confirmed — the Coffee Prince cafe, Bugak Skyway Palgakjeong (upgraded in this update on Nexen’s independent account of the jogging scenes), and Sanmotoonge Cafe (new in this update, confirmed by Nexen, Korea JoongAng Daily, and Creatrip). Four stops stay reported: the Seoul Animation Center rooftop, Kyobo Book Centre (both of its citations are Wikipedia, so they do not count as independent), Hongdae Playground, and the Duksung–Pungmoon stone wall road.
Photos: Five of the seven stops have CC-licensed location photos with author, license, and source links on their cards. The stone-wall lane and Sanmotoonge have no photos yet: no CC-licensed (CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA / KOGL Type 1) photo of either place was found, so they are listed without photos rather than with unverified images.
Corrections in this update: The old FAQ said the Hongdae cafe was still operating, citing an outdated MBC listing — that contradicted the spot card, which correctly said the business had closed. The FAQ now says closed, matching the spot card. The old Kyobo directions said Gwanghwamun Station Exit 3; the Kyobo Book Centre article gives Exits 4–5 on Line 5, and the guide now says so. No legacy rail-booking-domain links were present in this guide, so there was nothing to fix there.
Update Oct 27, 2026: a getting-around section and two FAQs were added. Spot statuses are unchanged from the Oct 17, 2026 check, and no new stop was added. How we label stops — confirmed, reported, fan-spotted — is explained on our methodology page.
Last checked: Oct 17, 2026 for spot status and guide enrichment. We re-verify spot status periodically and update when places close, change, or gain new sources.
Sources
All sources for this guide
Accessed Oct 17, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.
- Wikipedia — Coffee Prince (2007 TV series)
- Wikipedia — Kyobo Book Centre (Coffee Prince scene detail, station exits, branch history)
- iMBC — Coffee Prince drama page
- Nexen — Bugak Skyway / Coffee Prince jogging scenes; Sanmotungi as Lee Sun-kyun’s house
- Korea JoongAng Daily — Art for life in tranquil Buam-dong (Aug 14, 2008) (Sanmotungi as a house for a male lead, yellow Volkswagen, hours)
- Creatrip — Seoul Night Tour: Bugak Skyway & Naksan Park Course (Sanmotungi as Han-sung’s house)
- KoreaToDo — Sanmotoonge @ Buamdong & getting there (address, bus routes, hours)
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — Buam-dong in Seoul (Coffee Prince filming location in Buam-dong)
- Travelscape Engineer — 1st Shop of Coffee Prince street view (2015) (Exit 8 walking directions, hat scene)
- The Soul of Seoul — Seoul Animation Center (Zaemiro cartoon street from Myeongdong Station)
- VisitKorea — Hongdae (Hongik University Street) (youthful ambience, buskers)
- VisitKorea — Hongik University Street (shopping section only; store addresses and hours)
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