Bear Café (베어카페) is a hanok cafe that is located in the quiet neighborhood of Seochon (서촌), just west of Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁). I actually found out about the cafe because of its publication, Bear magazine, that I’ve seen multiple times whenever I went to a bookstore or a ‘Kinfolk’ influenced/hipster cafes in Seoul. I did a little research and turns out that the magazine is pretty well-known amongst the locals. Almost feels like the Korean version of Kinfolk magazine if you know what I mean. The search results also then led me to discover this cafe, which in the beginning I wasn’t really sure if they’re even owned by the same company, but turned out they are. Here’s an excerpt from Timeout that explains a little about the place:

“Seochon’s Bear Café’s been getting a lot of hype from culture-savvy crowds of Seoul. Created by Design Eum, a publishing group that issues Bear magazine and Kinfolk Korea, Bear Café serves up specialty coffees paired with a tranquil ambiance and culture-related activities; housed in a charming 70-year-old hanok, it juxtaposes tradition and modernity with the well-preserved garden and quality café menus.”
—Timeout.com

Just like any other hanok cafe I’ve visited in the past, Bear Café (베어카페) also retains its original hanok structure for its cafe area. Going into the cafe feels like visiting a friend’s house actually. You go in from the car port at the entrance to the building into a small garden area where outdoor seatings are available before finally arriving at the main building of the cafe. Also, turns out this cafe also serves as an exhibition space where they would have different exhibitions or products on display throughout the year.

If you’re planning to visit this cafe and want to avoid the crowd, going on a weekday might be better because it usually gets busy during the weekends.