baesan – Clumsy in Korea

Seongsu-dong is a neighbourhood in Seoul that, while not very well known by tourists, has become popular among young Koreans. The streets in this area were once lined with shoe factories and other small factories, but in recent years young artists and designers have transformed many of the old buildings into cafes and restaurants. Today Seongsu-dong is known as Seoul’s Brooklyn. There is so much on offer in the area it’s easy to spend a full day there.

Here is my itinerary from morning to evening.

Morning

The Onion

When you arrive head straight to Cafe Onion to get some coffee and some of their famed bread. They serve up bread from the famous 05 Bakery with over 20 varieties to choose from all freshly baked in-house.
Cafe Onion has been converted from a metal factory and the interior decor has been left to reflect its last. It was built in the 1970s and has also been a supermarket and a restaurant.
There is also an open rooftop terrace on the 2nd level which you can go up and enjoy. .
There most popular menu item is the Pandora, an Italian- style bread covered in powdered sugar.

🚉 Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 2
📍서울 성동구 아차산로9길 8 (성수동2가)
☎️+82 70 7816 2710
⏰8:00am – 10:00pm (Mon – Fri), 10:00am – 10:00pm (Sat – Sun)
Insta: @cafe.onion

Amore Seongsu

After finishing your coffee and bread at @cafe.onion head just down the street to Amore.
AMORE seongsu is a new kind of beauty lounge proposed by AMORE PACIFIC. The building had performed as an auto repair shop for a long time, in where now over 30 brands, 3,000 beauty products are displayed only focusing on authentic testing experience. Make-up service and various classes, including makeup classes, flower box and perfume making classes are also available if you make an reservation in advance on the website.
At Amore Seongsu, you can test and experience Amore brand cosmetics, but nothing is for sale. If you are interested in a product you can scan the QR code to get more info and you can buy them online.
When you arrive you’re able to wash your face with a variety of products before heading to the make up section.
There you put all the make up you would like to use into a little basket. There are multiple mirrors available for you to use along with hair styling tools.
Once your make up look is complete you return your make up to the counter and they thoroughly clean it before putting it back on the shelves.
Once you are finished you may select 5 beauty samples to take home with you.
They also give you 3 vouchers which offers discount online and also a discount for the cafe on the 2nd floor which has a variety of green tea products for sale.

📍서울시 성동구 아차산로 11길 7 🚉Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 2
⏰10h30 ~ 20h30
Closed on Mondays and New Year’s Day/Chuseok Day
💲 Totally free to go in and use everything Insta: @amore_seongsu

Lunch

Here are 2 options for lunch.

Daelim Changgo Gallery Warehouse

After making yourself look all pretty head over to Daelim Changgo Warehouse for some lunch.
The warehouses were originally used in the 1970s at rice mills and then became an industrial warehouse in the 1990s.
They have homemade pizzas, salads, coffee and craft beers available.
The warehouse has a rustic feel and has some art pieces on show.

🚉Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 3
📍서울 성동구 성수이로 78
☎️02-499-9669
⏰11:00 – 23:00

Grandpa Factory (할아버지공장

This cafe/culture space/ restaurant was opened by Hong Dong Hee, who also owns Daerim Warehouse. He is an artist and woodworker which is why both spaces have gorgeous wooden designs. The biggest one at Grandpa Factory being the tree house. Order your coffee/ beer/ wine and food and then head up to see the tree house while you wait. There is a lot of seating on both the first and second floor.

🚉Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 3
📍성동구 성수이로7가길 9
☎️070-7642-1113
⏰11:00 – 23:00 Insta: @grandpa.factory Website: http://gffactory.co.kr/main/main.php

Afternoon

Supi

After lunch just cross the road and pop in at @supy_official a fashion, culture and art stop.
They have a little bit of everything, fashion, accessories and cool installations on both floors.
There is also a cool cafe but we were still too full to buy anything there.

🚉Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 3
📍서울특별시 성동구 성수이로 71
⏰Mon thru Sunday 12h00 – 21h00
🌐 www.supyrocks.com
https://www.facebook.com/conceptstoresupy/

Art Murals

In 2019 Seongsu was part of the Pow! Wow! Initiative.
It’s a gathering of contemporary artists that engages with the broader community in the process and creation of art and movement.
‘Pow!’ being the impact that art has on a person. A punch in the face. And ‘Wow!’ being the reaction that art has on a viewer. Together they form ‘Pow! Wow!’ which is a term that describes a gathering that celebrates culture, music and art.
It is is a worldwide event that has taken place in Hawaii, Washington DC, Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, and in 2019 came back to Korea to create some stunning new murals.
The 15 pieces are scattered all around Seongsu and require a bit of a walk. .
.
📍All around Seongsu
To get more information check out their website. 🌐 https://powwow.kr/pwk-gallery

Evening

Sundowner Cocktails

After having walked around looking at murals you will have built up quite a thirst.
So why not go have a robot make a refreshing drink for you or decorate your cake.
Cafe.bot is a new cafe where robots will make you drinks and desserts. The cafe was launched on August 7, 2019, by a robotics company, T-Robotics and is located in Seongsu-dong making this the first robot cafe in Korea.
Inside the cafe, a drip bot is used to make coffee and espresso while a drink bot is used to make tequilas and cocktails, both alcoholic and non alcoholic. There is also a dessert bot that draws various designs and emojis on selected cakes.
The cafe has a wall that has beautiful projections on it and there is even a flamingo not that has a camera inside and follows you as you walk. Once you have your drink so up to the roof and enjoy watching the sunset at the end of your long day.

🚉Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 2
📍서울특별시 성동구 아차산로9길 8
⏰Weekday 8-10
Weekend 10 -10
@_bot.bot.bot

Dinner

Go to whichever restaurant you didn’t go to for lunch or try one of the restaurants you saw while exploring.

Special Mention

Right before Daelim Changgo Warehouse you will find Cafe Baesan. We didn’t eat or drink here but we just quickly popped in to have a look around. Insta: @_baesan_warehouse_cafe