Coffee Prince Coffee Shop

On our trip to Seoul we took MANY side trips! We were super excited to visit the actual Coffee Prince Coffee Shop!

Since we are medium sized K-Drama fans, we saw an opportunity to visit the actual filming location from one of the great K-Dramas, Coffee Prince and jumped at the chance!

For those of you not in the know, from Wikipedia – “The drama tells the story of an unlikely romance between a tomboyish woman, who dresses like a man in order to get work, and a young food empire mogul. It contains homoerotic elements, as the man does not initially know of the tomboy’s true sex.”

Ok, now that I look at it, it sounds REALLY strange, but I promise it’s worth the watch.

As far as visiting the actual, working coffee shop/set of the show?

Maybe not so much.

If you want to check it our for yourself, hop in a cab and head on over to 5, Wausan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04053.

Upon arriving you’ll notice that the place looks sort of… derelict. And there’s a bit of an unfriendly sign basically stating that you can’t come in, take pictures, or breathe near the coffee shop unless you’re going to buy something (in several languages). Ok I can understand that since people probably come by and don’t contribute to a successful business in any way. But there’s probably a better, more friendly way to go about this.

So we’re obviously from out of town and decide it’s worth the opportunity. When you start getting closer, and eventually inside the premises the looks of everything don’t get any better. It’s basically gone to sh*t. And the owner is a bit of a grumpy old man. I’m not sure how or why he stays in business. Seems like anyone could do a better job and enjoy it. If you don’t like running a semi-world famous coffee shop, then don’t.

But, we decided to be good customers and ordered some teas and a waffle, which were all fine. Nothing blew my hair back (aside from maybe the prices).

Ultimately, if you’re a Coffee Prince fan and you’re in Seoul, I guess it’s neat to see. But it may also ruin the good thoughts you have of the shop itself. Angry owner, mediocre, expensive product. Keep in mind along with the cost of whatever you’re forced to buy in the store, you also have to factor in the cost of getting to the store and back.

Perhaps the store should be taken over by someone who will take care of it, or at least by someone who would put it on some sort of a landmark tour where they’re guaranteed steady business.

So… cue the sad trombone.