1. Coffee Aerak

Address: 36, Cheonggu-ro 22-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (1F)

Hours: 8am–8pm

Menu: Filter coffee (monthly brewing selection), espresso, tea — 5,500–11,000 KRW

A photo of a horse greets you at the entrance of Coffee Aerak. The bold orange-and-brown wall color is striking.

Following the map here, I kept wondering — is there really a coffee shop in a place like this? And there was. These days, it seems like more and more interesting cafés are popping up in exactly the kind of spot you wouldn’t expect one.

I ordered the Aerak Blend, and it had an appealingly bitter edge to it.

The space has an unusual layout — it feels like it might once have been a shop with a room attached. The audio setup makes clever use of an existing floor-level change in the space. LPs and books are piled up everywhere, and somehow that works in its favor. There’s also fun in spotting the various character figurines tucked around the space.

One area, tucked under the stairs with a low ceiling, feels like it used to be a “room” — cozy, like stepping into an attic.

These days there seem to be more and more cafés built around enjoying vinyl. Listening to music through good speakers — the kind you can’t easily enjoy at home — while sipping a slightly bitter coffee made even a cold winter day feel appealing in its own way.

The area around Coffee Aerak was full of old-looking shops. The café itself feels like it’s slipped back in time, giving the whole visit the feeling of a small trip through history. A great café to stop by on the way to DDP.

2. DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza)

Passing by Gwanghuimun Gate — during the Joseon Dynasty, Seoul (then Hanyang) had four main gates and four smaller gates, and Gwanghuimun was one of the smaller gates, located to the southeast.

I stopped by DDP to catch a quick look at an exhibition. DDP is one of Seoul’s landmark buildings, designed by Zaha Hadid, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect. If you’re in the Dongdaemun area, I’d recommend visiting the building itself and stopping by the Seoul Design Store, which is full of imaginative, uniquely Korean design products.

3. Lotus Roasting Lab

Address: 30-14, Toegye-ro 83-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (1F)

Hours: Mon 12:30–4pm, Tue–Sat 12:30–5pm, closed Sundays

From DDP, I made my way toward Sindang-dong — these days nicknamed “Hip-dang” for being trendy. It’s about a 10-minute walk, making it a convenient stop coming from DDP.

I visited Lotus Roasting Lab, a spot I’d flagged to check out. True to being a roastery, they sell a range of beans — 200g runs about 16,000–22,000 KRW.

I ordered the filter coffee, which came in a beautiful, refined-looking cup. It was clean with a pleasant, easy-to-drink acidity.

You can see the roasting machine from inside the kitchen area. From outside, the space looked small, but the interior turned out to be more spacious and comfortable than expected. The dark brown tables pair nicely with the cement flooring. Wood is used throughout, giving the space a warm feel. Both the kitchen side and the window side are set up as bar seating, and the chairs were comfortable too.

The posters in different colorways were a nice touch. From outside, the black-and-white framed photos on the wall almost made me think it might be a photo studio.

Overall, it’s a simple, focused space that makes clear how seriously they take their coffee. The one downside is the short operating hours — you have to time your visit carefully. But the coffee was excellent enough, with a real sense of expertise behind it, that I’d love to come back.

Walking Around Sindang-dong (“Hip-dang”)

Having made it to Hip-dang, I wandered the area a bit — and this neighborhood really is trendy. There’s even a guesthouse with a look that could pass for somewhere in Southeast Asia, which tells you it’s already become a spot travelers seek out. Even though it was cold and I only did one loop, there were so many interesting shops and good-looking restaurants that I kept stopping to take photos.

Old signage with a charm that would be hard to replicate today, and even a dongdongju (rice wine) shop that smells like it’s worth a visit.

4. Cheonpatjuk

Address: 33, Dasan-ro 44-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Hours: 10:30am–8pm (closed Sundays)

Menu: Pat-kalguksu (red bean noodle soup) 10,000 KRW, Patjuk (red bean porridge) 11,000 KRW

Patjuk has long been eaten in Korea on the winter solstice as part of a tradition going back centuries.

Having warmed up from walking around the neighborhood, I stepped into a red bean porridge place that looked promising. The patjuk here was rich and satisfying, and the kimchi served alongside was genuinely delicious — the kind of food that tastes like it was made with a grandmother’s touch.

It was exactly the kind of warm, comforting flavor that fits a cold day. The portion was generous too, enough to chase the cold away completely. I don’t usually seek out patjuk, but this one had a clean, mild flavor that was easy to enjoy.

Despite the cold, this was a walk through a different side of Seoul — the kind that reminds you just how much this city has to offer, the more closely you look.