Cafeography
스페셜티 커피 · Seoul

Specialty coffee cafés in Seoul

Roasteries in Mapo and Seongsu, Teheran-ro roasters south of the river, and the pioneers since 2009.

Photo: Theodore Nguyen, Pexels License

스페셜티 커피 (specialty coffee) means beans that score 80 points or more out of 100 under the criteria of the SCAA, the Specialty Coffee Association of America.1 Seoul's scene took shape after Coffee Libre opened its first café in Yeonnam-dong in October 2009; by 2016 it ran four cafés in Seoul alongside a wholesale bean business.2

Korean baristas have since won at the top level. In April 2019 Jeon Joo-yeon of Momos Coffee, who started her career in her hometown of Busan, won the World Barista Championship in Boston, the first Korean to take the title.34 In Seoul, roasters cluster in Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong, which lead, then in Seongsu-dong and on Gangnam's office streets, with smaller groups around Jamsil and Mullae-dong.

Local tip: At Anthracite's Seogyo café, order the single-origin iced filter, the drink Sprudge's 2025 guide singles out; at Fritz in Dohwa, look for the croissant filled with butter and red bean paste.5

Where these cafés are: Hongdae & Yeonnam-dong (24), Seongsu-dong (12), Gangnam & Yeoksam (11), Jamsil & Seokchon Lake (9), Mullae-dong & Sindorim (7), Yangjae & Dogok (7), Sinsa & Garosu-gil (6), Myeong-dong & City Hall (6), Seochon (5), Bangbae-dong & Sadang (5), Konkuk University & Gunja (5), Guro & Gasan Digital Complex (4), Itaewon & Hannam-dong (4), Yongsan & Yongridan-gil (4), Hyehwa & Daehak-ro (4), Euljiro & Chungmuro (4), Dongdaemun & Sindang-dong (4), Mangwon-dong (3), Wolgye & Gongneung (3), Seocho & Seorae Village (3), Noryangjin & Sangdo-dong (3), Sillim & Nakseongdae (3), Eungam & Gajwa (3), Huam-dong & Haebangchon (2), Anam & Jegi-dong (2), Gongdeok & Mapo (2), Yeonhui-dong (2), Yeouido (2), Gireum & Mia (2), Junggok & Yongmasan (2), Hoegi & Imun-dong (2), Jangan-dong & Dapsimni (2), Yangpyeong & Seonyudo (1), Sangam & DMC (1), Seoul Station & Jungnim-dong (1), Mok-dong (1), Wangsimni & Hanyang University (1), Yeongdeungpo & Dangsan (1), Apgujeong & Cheongdam (1), Yongdu-dong & Sinseol-dong (1), Junghwa & Myeonmok-dong (1), Gwanghwamun (1), Buam-dong (1), Guui & Gwangnaru (1), Yeonsinnae & Bulgwang (1).

At a glance

170Cafés listed
8With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
01:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 브로벨커피로스터리, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Lay Bricks Coffee Roasters, until 01:00 (Daily 11:00–01:00).
  • Most listed streets: Seogyo-dong (2), Yeonhui-ro (2).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (6%), open late (3%), outdoor seating (2%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Seoul.

Mapo: Yeonnam-dong, Hapjeong and Dohwa

Anthracite's Seogyo café, at World Cup-ro 12-gil 11, is a tall concrete building entered past a stone garden; the coffee is roasted in-house and there is no music, only ambient sound.5 Fritz Coffee Company's flagship at Saechang-ro 2-gil 17 in Dohwa-dong occupies a renovated hanok-style building, sells its beans wholesale and uses a seal as its mascot.5 Always August, a roastery founded in Daegu, roasts its own single origins but takes its blends from Coffee Libre.5

Beliefcoffee roasters at Yanghwa-ro 11-gil 50 opens daily 09:30–23:00. Hit Coffee Roasters is at Donggyo-ro 146 and New Roasting House (뉴 로스팅 하우스) at Donggyo-ro 22-gil 19, while Coffee Lab (커피랩) serves 08:00–23:00 and Coffee Lab Express is at Hongik-ro 15. Identity Coffee Lab keeps daily hours of 11:00–19:00, and a Coffee Libre café in the Hongdae–Yeonnam area opens 12:00–21:00.

Seongsu-dong's roasteries

Seongsu-dong is a district of small and mid-sized factories and large warehouses, and until about the early 2010s young people rarely went there for coffee; the galleries, cafés and restaurants that arrived kept the vintage look of the old buildings.6

Milestone Coffee Roasters (마일스톤 커피) is at Seoulsup 4-gil 15 and momento brewers (모멘토 브루어스) at Seoulsup 2-gil 19-18, the latter with outdoor seating. comoff Coffee Roasters is on Wangsimni-ro 6-gil and 얌커피로스터스 on Dongil-ro, and CLASKA COFFEE LAB has outdoor tables as well.

From Buam-dong and Namsan to Gangnam

North of the river, Club Espresso (클럽 에스프레소) is on Changuimun-ro in Buam-dong, Coffee Tour Roasters (커피투어 로스터스) has a branch at Jahamun-ro 1 by Gyeongbokgung, and Path Roasters and 리쇼커피로스터스 share Sowol-ro 2-gil below Namsan.

In Gangnam, Brovel Coffee Roastery (브로벨커피로스터리) opens daily 07:00–18:00 on Teheran-ro 25-gil, and Select Coffee LAB is on Teheran-ro 39-gil. In Sinsa, Lay Bricks Coffee Roasters stays open until 01:00 every night and Acro The Daily Coffee Roasters until 23:00.

Off Cheonggyecheon, at Eulji-ro 157, Champ Coffee's third workshop (챔프커피 제3작업실) asks you to pick the blend for its flat white, a heavy-bodied Ali or a medium-bodied Talk, and Horangii (호랑이), on the same floor, builds its signature latte on specialty-roasted beans.7

A hanok roastery and the east side

Namusairo (나무사이로) roasts its own beans in a converted hanok near Gwanghwamun, at Sajik-ro 8-gil 21. Its espresso is known for a bright acidity, and in 2020 a hand-drip coffee there cost about 6,000–9,000 won.1

Near Konkuk University, 트레비커피로스터스 is on Gunja-ro and 프롬커피로스터스 on Neungdong-ro 13-gil, and in Imun-dong, 이문동커피집크럼블로스터스 is on Imun-ro 25-gil. In the northwest, Shiro Coffee Lab and 샐러맨더커피로스터스 are both on Gajwa-ro.

Sources

  1. 한옥카페, 커피향기·봄향기 맡으러 그곳에 가고 싶다 (2020), Lady Kyunghyang, accessed October 2026
  2. 우연히 맛본 강배전이 인생 바꿔… 맛 제1비법은 좋은 생두 (2016), Munhwa Ilbo, accessed October 2026
  3. For Korea's first world barista champion, failure was path to success (2023), The Korea Herald (via Asia News Network), accessed October 2026
  4. Korea's Jooyeon Jeon Wins 2019 World Barista Championship, Daily Coffee News, accessed October 2026
  5. The Sprudge Guide To Coffee In Seoul's Mapo-gu District (2025), Sprudge, accessed October 2026
  6. Old Warehouses, New Faces (KOREA webzine, February 2022), Korean Culture and Information Service, accessed October 2026
  7. 청계천 산책하다 들어가기 좋은 카페 5 (April 2025), GQ Korea, accessed October 2026
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By area: Euljiro & Chungmuro Myeong-dong & City Hall Hongdae & Yeonnam-dong Itaewon & Hannam-dong Seongsu-dong Sinsa & Garosu-gil Apgujeong & Cheongdam

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Seoul: questions

When did the specialty coffee scene in Seoul begin?

Coffee Libre opened its first café in Yeonnam-dong in October 2009, and by 2016 it ran four cafés in Seoul alongside a wholesale bean business. In April 2019 Jeon Joo-yeon of Momos Coffee won the World Barista Championship in Boston, the first Korean to take the title.

Where are the specialty coffee roasters in Seoul?

Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong lead, followed by Seongsu-dong and Gangnam's office streets. In Mapo, Anthracite roasts in-house at its Seogyo café on World Cup-ro 12-gil and Fritz Coffee Company has its flagship on Saechang-ro 2-gil in Dohwa-dong. In Seongsu, Milestone Coffee Roasters and momento brewers are on the Seoulsup streets.

What does specialty coffee mean at cafés in Seoul?

In Korean, 스페셜티 커피 refers to beans that score 80 points or more out of 100 under the criteria of the SCAA, the Specialty Coffee Association of America. At Namusairo, a hanok roastery near Gwanghwamun, a hand-drip coffee cost about 6,000–9,000 won in 2020.

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