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As Gyeongju is a small city, I didn’t have as high expectations for its café culture, however I was rather surprised to find tons of cafes not only in the central touristy area, but all around. So I compiled the list of the beautiful hanok style coffee shops, pancake places and bakeries for you to check out, when visiting Gyeongju.
Keep in mind that most cafes in the city open quite late (usually no earlier than 11am) and close quite early (after 8pm you will have very limited options). We started our exploration without coffee and got to coffee shops only after 11am, once they opened 🙂
As in other smaller cities, not all cafes are listed on Google maps. I am providing both Google and Naver links, when available.
For general tips on visiting cafes in South Korea and the cafe culture, check out this article.
Looking for guide and itinerary for visiting Gyeongju? Here is the relevant post.
Best Cafes in Gyeongju Old City Area
This café is at the heart of the touristy area. It has spacious seating inside – the interior is very interesting “modern meets traditional” style. They also have a quiet lovely yard seating area, if the weather is mild. We visited one evening for coffee, which was really nice. But we couldn’t try the pastries, as they had already run out of the ones I wanted to try.
This building used to be a cafe and it’s a bar now. But either way their views are still the same. It has three floors with terrace seating on the top floor, where you will find lovely views over the Gyeongju old city. While we tried it, when it still was a cafe, the current bar also serves coffee, as well as alcoholic drinks and snacks.
This cafe had my favourite fluffy pancakes in all of South Korea. You have to try them – they are delicious. I ordered Tiramisu one and got it with a small cup of very strong coffee. I couldn’t get enough of it.
Plus, I loved the old style setting with gorgeous wooden interior. They also had a very cute traditional yard with a few seats outside.
This café is one of the most popular in Gyeongju. It’s set in a traditional old house and has spacious garden area. It has very friendly and relaxed atmosphere with people reading books and just hanging out, when the weather is nice.
Bichkkuli (Bit Kkuri on Naver)
Traditional teahouse offering Korean sweets and tea. If you sit inside, they have seating on the floor – as in other traditional teahouses, so you have to take your shoes off. They also have tables outside, if you prefer. Come here, if you want to try the Korean signature sweets.
Starbucks Gyeongju (Naver link)
I don’t usually recommend for anyone to visit Starbucks anywhere outside the US, but this starbucks is located in the old building and is quite a sight because of that. There is also another Starbucks slightly outside the old town, which is similarly gorgeous with wooden decor and seating on the floor.
Beautifully decorated cafe in a traditional Korean house – it sounds like I am repeating myself, but Gyeongju certainly has no shortage of coffee shops in these beautiful traditional houses. Misil also has lovely terrace upstairs, if the weather permits.
Yangji coffee shop (Naver link)
This is a second cafe I found in Gyeongju offering fluffy pancakes – if you didn’t notice already, I love them 🙂 It’s also a cute place with this colorful lamps and wooden ceiling. It’s very easy to find, if you are exploring Gyeongju and would like to grab some pancakes.
Best Cafes Near Bulguksa Temple
This is quite an unlikely place for so many cafés, as there is nothing else around except the Bulguksa temple. However, there’s the whole area with a couple dozen cafes and some restaurants. You find quite a few cute cafes here, if you just walk around.
We were not planning to check out cafes near Bulguksa – we didn’t even know there were any. But we stumbled upon this cute place while walking to pass time before the bus to Seokguram grotto would arrive (it runs only once an hour, so if you miss one, you have a lot of time on your hands to kill). I was immediately drawn to it, when we saw it. The environment is lovely, with wooden doors designed in Korean style and the lovely plant decor. They also have cute character toys around, lovely mirrors and chandeliers – practically anything to make it kawaii. Their coffee was good, just what we needed, when we were annoyed about missing our bus to Seokguram.
This cafe has a mixed modern and traditional design
Roamer’s coffee (Romeoseu on Naver)
A cafe with beautiful modern design. It’s second floor seating overlooks the area.
Best Cafes around Bomun Lake and Nearby
This area is becoming more and more popular especially with tourists during the cherry blossom season. You will find quite a few cafes while walking along the lakeside.
This cute cafe is quite small but very beautifully decorated. If you sit in its small yard you will be surrounded by trees. During the cherry blossom season, it looks particularly lovely. I am sure it’s also very colorful in Autumn. Don’t come here for coffee though, the main appeal of this cafe is its atmosphere.
This modern spacious well designed café overlooks the Bomun Lake. It’s a great place to relax, when you are strolling around the lake.
A quirky cafe beautifully decorated with books, piano and many cute toys.
Venzamas (Naver link)
The cafe a bit away from the areas most people explore. Therefore, come here only if you have a lot of time and/or are exploring the area with a car or a private guide.
Bonus: Bakeries in Gyeongju
Gyeongju is known for its various types of traditional pastries. This is one of the things you can get as a souvenir from the city.
I particularly like their cheesy pastries which usually are shaped in a 10 won coin style with number 10 written on them. We tried it at two locations, but you can find them at every corner, practically wherever you look in the old city area – particularly, on Poseok-ro.
But the most famous sweets from Gyeongju are the pastries filled with sugary beans. They were extremely sweet for our taste, but they are well-beloved, so you have to try for yourself.
Here are a few popular bakeries, but I believe you can try any of them to get the local taste. We just wandered into a couple:
- Hwangnam bakery (Naver link) – this is the most famous bakery in the city and has a couple of branches. So it has to be put very first on the list. If you want to grab what locals love and is popular, come here.
- Danseogka bakery (Naver link)
- Wolseong bakery (Naver link)
- choyeonghwa bakery (Naver link)
- Sibwon bakery pastries (Naver link)
See also
Hi! I love your blog posts about Korea! I am travelling there myself mid-march until start of april. When did you go? You seem to be wearing pretty light clothes already! I really don’t know what to pack and expect haha. Best regards, Julija
Hi, we were there from March 29 to 13 April dates last year. Actually at the start of our trip the weather was very nice, then we got one very bad rainy day and after that, it became colder. But overall, we were pretty lucky with weather. We still carried a thinner coat most of the time, as mornings and evenings were cold. For your dates at the start it might be colder but you should be able to catch cherry blossoms 🙂 I am usually a sun girl and hate cold, so for that time I would take a mix of somewhat lighter clothes with a few warmer things. You will also get a better idea closer to the date by monitoring the forecast. But if you need to, you can buy additional things in Uniqlo for instance. It’s decently priced. Have fun planning 🙂