Sanmotungi (산모퉁이) is a mountainside cafe in Buam-dong (부암동) that offers the view of Inwangsan (인왕산), Bugaksan (북악산) and a glimpse of the Seoul Fortress Wall (서울 한양도성) in the distance. The spacious cafe is also well known as one of the filming location of the famous K-drama “Coffee Prince” which attracts a lot of fans of the drama to come visit this place.

Getting to the cafe wasn’t that easy. I remembered taking a bus and then transferring to a village bus before having to trekked up the hill to get to the cafe. It was quite a journey. If you’re planning to visit here with friends, taking a taxi might be worth avoiding the hassle, especially during a hot summer day or a cold winter day. Or if you don’t mind the hike, just make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothing.

The cafe is housed in a building that looks like someone’s house whose owner perhaps has a hobby of collecting vintage items seeing all the different things scattered around the front yard. One of the most eye-catching item’s probably the yellow Volkswagen that’s parked near the gate, which I have to say, definitely adds to the charm of the place.

Greysuitcase Seoul Cafe Series: Sanmotungi (산모퉁이), Buam-dong (부암동), Seoul, South Korea.

The cafe itself is divided into a couple of different areas since the place is quite big. The first area that you’ll step into has this one corner decorated with paintings of the casts of “Coffee Prince”.

Then there’s this deck area where you can sit outside and enjoy the view of the mountains, some fresh air, as well as looking down to the backyard of the cafe where there are more outdoor seatings available.

There are a couple of areas for the indoor seatings as well, which is nice because you get a lot of options depending on where you want to sit.

I moved around quite a bit but ended up sitting at this spot the longest because this was the quietest spot that still has the view (there were quite a lot of people when I got there but the crowd kind of dissipated after the lunch hour rush has passed).

The backyard area on the lower ground is nice as well. They have plenty of seats that are spread out around the space. Although seeing the view from here while sitting down might be a little hard since you’re almost eye level with the bushes surrounding the area (or maybe I’m just short). I personally think the upper deck is a better spot to enjoy the view.

The menu of the cafe itself is nothing special, but I mainly came here to check out the view so I just considered buying a drink as an admission fee to the place. If you’re looking for an outdoor cafe with a mountain view and fresh air, this place is worth checking out. It’s pretty calm and serene out here. Also, I saw some photos online that they have cherry blossoms too during spring. So maybe if you visit in spring, the view might be prettier.