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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle, Jamsil (Lotte World Tower)Located on the first floor of Lotte World Tower is another iconic Blue Bottle location. According to their instagram: Introducing our 11th café in South Korea located at Jamsil Lotte World Tower, one of Korea’s most eye-catching and complex cultural structures. Lotte World Tower sustains both traditional and modern architectural…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Hell Cafe“Hey, does anyone wanna go to Hell with me on Sunday?” Located on Itaewon’s Antiques and Vintage Street, Hell Cafe is certainly a unique cafe, one whose vibe I can’t exactly put my finger on. For starters, there’s the hot pink Slayer espresso machine, which is bad-ass. There’s fresh flowers…
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Continue reading →: Rereading Goosebumps: Ten/Sixty-TwoI have now read ten out of the original sixty-two Goosebumps books. I thought I’d split these entries into every ten and assess the books out of groups of ten rather than try to rate all sixty-two books at once. Here they are in the order in which I read…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: La Colombe, SeoulWalking into La Colombe in Seoul, you wouldn’t think that you just stepped into a cafe thousands of miles away from all the other La Colombe cafes. For starters, there’s a bright red van parked outside you can actually sit inside of while you drink your coffee. Then there’s the…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Bunker CompanyI’ll admit: one of my biggest annoyances is not being able to find a menu online, so here’s the Bunker menu. (Another annoyance is not being able to find a pastry menu/figure out if they even serve pastries at the cafe.) Luckily and yummily, Bunker has a great selection of…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Coffee Hanyakbang, HyehwaHyehwa is also often referred to as 대학로, or “college street.” Here you’ll find street food vendors galore, as well as outdoor art installations and theatre and galleries. People stand outside venues, passing out flyers with information on the latest plays and musical productions, but you can also enjoy these…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Coffee HanyakbangLocated in a tight alleyway in Euljiro 3-ga is Coffee Hanyakbang (커피한약방) . While I have several favorite cafes in Korea, this might be one of the top 3. It is located in the former Hyeminseo (혜민서), the main medicine “office” of the Joseon Dynasty. Beloved and well-respected royal physician…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Dotori GardenWhile the most popular cafe near Anguk Station remains Cafe Onion, walk a little further up the street if you’re feeling like eating brunch or waiting in a less crowded line. Or want to be surrounded by adorable Studio Ghibli-inspired characters. My friend suggested we visit Dotori (“acorn”) Garden when…
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Continue reading →: School Lunch, Part TwoThis is an update to one of my very first entries about Korean school life, School Lunch. To get it out of the way first, I’ll state here that I do not believe kindergarten teachers should have to give lunch to kindergarten students. They’re with them all day and they…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Fritz Coffee WonseoFritz Coffee is one of the big chain coffeehouses in Korea that also roast their own coffee and offer pour-overs in addition to espresso-based drinks. Their flagship is located in Dohwa but the location in Wonseo just outside Anguk is not to be missed, as there is one museum and…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Blue Bottle JejuThe following entry was taken from my review of my summer vacation 2021 to Jeju. I decided to upload it as its own entry to keep my Blue Bottle cafe reviews consistent. After visiting the Manjanggul cave, we went to visit the recently opened Blue Bottle, located in the middle…
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Continue reading →: First Trip to Kwangya, 광야Kwangya Club was a short-lived (2022-2023) mobile app for getting information about SM Entertainment artists. 광야 translates into something like “wilderness” and has been mentioned by several SM artists in their songs, like Aespa in “Black Mamba” and NCT U in “90’s Love.” It’s really confusing, even for a kpop…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Danil SeoulIf you’re not looking for it, you’ll miss this pared down cafe located next to Seoul Forest. The cafe features light wood walls with no decorations and a long center table. The espresso machine sits in a little nook in another area, away from customer view. The pour-over station is…
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Continue reading →: Baekseok (백석) Station AreaThis is a fairly typical area in the suburbs of Seoul, near Baekseok Station on line 3, the orange line. I met a very friendly ginger tabby cat with a snipped ear, a sign that it’s TNR (trap-neuter-rescue) cat that won’t produce offspring. There are a lot of cats in…
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Continue reading →: My Sleep Clinic ExperienceI’ve always been a snorer. In kindergarten, my loud snoring saved me from spending a night in the bus barn. The girl who was supposed to be the bus checker, to check for left backpacks, didn’t tell the bus driver that I was quietly curled up in my seat, possibly…
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Continue reading →: Itaewon Memorial AltarI was on my way to the Seoul Metropolitan Library with my book club back in February when I passed the memorial altar for the victims of the 10-29 Itaewon crowd crush. After our meeting, I stopped and paid my respects. Bowing my head in front of the photos, I…
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Continue reading →: Cafe Review: Imjongho Cafe, Paju BranchOn our last trip before they returned to their home countries, my friends and I took a trip into Paju. First up was a cafe that had been recommended, Imjongho Cafe, Paju Branch. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary building set in the countryside, but once you enter,…
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Continue reading →: 2024 Kim Jonghyun’s Birthday CafesThis year, there were only four birthday cafes for Kim Jonghyun, and the three my friends and I went to were rather subdued. This year will mark the 7th anniversary of his death, and what would have been his 34th birthday. I was surprised there were so few birthday cafes,…
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Continue reading →: Manhole Collection November 2023 – April 2024Back in November, I joined a facebook group dedicated to manhole covers. I posted one of my entries below: I thought I’d share my collection thus far on this website as well! Three honorable mentions: Manhole cover in 인사동 (Insa-dong, Seoul) featuring 매듭 (maedup), traditional Korean knots that have been…
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Continue reading →: Vacation in Boracay, Philippines, January 2023After spending a day and a half in Manila, we were off to the beautiful island of Boracay. (Yes, this was a year ago. Yes, I am just now getting around to finishing writing about it.) I didn’t keep a journal while in Boracay and seeing as it was my…
Welcome to Koffee & Kpop, adventures of an errant American barista living in South Korea.
Koffee & Kpop 