If you fell in love with Coffee Prince back in 2007, you’ve probably wondered whether the cafe from the show is even real. It is, and it’s called Sanmotungie, tucked into the hilly Buam-dong neighborhood just north of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. This was the real house used for Choi Han-sung’s home in the drama, and nearly two decades later it’s still a working cafe with the same mountain views that made the show’s rooftop scenes so memorable. In this guide, we’ll cover how to actually get there, what to order, why the other Coffee Prince location in Hongdae is no longer worth the trip, and a few more real Buam-dong spots worth pairing with your visit.
Sanmotungie: The Real Coffee Prince House in Buam-dong
Sanmotungie sits at 153 Baekseokdong-gil in Jongno-gu, on a steep hillside just past the Buam-dong Community Center. In the drama, this was Choi Han-sung’s family home, and the production kept much of the original garden, two-story interior, and rooftop terrace intact when it reopened as a full-time cafe. Regulars come less for the coffee than for the view: from the outdoor terrace you can see Bugaksan Mountain and the old city wall stretching across the ridge, especially striking around sunset. The menu runs simple, an Americano or a pot of Osulloc tea, plus a few cookies and slices of cake, priced a bit higher than a typical Seoul cafe because of the location. Hours are roughly 11am to 6:50pm (last order 6:20pm) on weekdays, with slightly longer weekend hours, though it’s worth checking current hours before you go since hillside cafes like this sometimes shorten hours in winter.
Skip the Other Coffee Prince Cafe in Hongdae — It’s Closed
Here’s something most travel roundups don’t mention: Coffee Prince also had a second filming location, a cafe called “Coffee Prince 1st” near Hongik University in Hongdae, built for close-up interior shots. For years fans visited both, but that Hongdae location has permanently closed and is now reported as shut down by Tripadvisor and multiple recent visitor accounts. If you only have time for one Coffee Prince pilgrimage, make it Sanmotungie in Buam-dong. It’s the location still open to the public, and it’s the one where the exterior and rooftop scenes were actually filmed.
Club Espresso: Buam-dong’s Original Coffee Roaster
A few minutes’ walk from Sanmotungie, Club Espresso has been roasting coffee in Buam-dong since the 1990s, well before the neighborhood became a cafe-hopping destination. The wooden, cabin-like interior at 132 Changuimun-ro feels more like a mountain lodge than a Seoul coffee shop, and it roasts its own beans on-site, using separate machines for different blends to keep each one’s flavor distinct. Try the signature Club Blend or the slightly bolder Moon Blend, both reasonably priced compared to the drama-famous spot up the hill. It’s open daily from 9am to 10pm, making it a solid stop before or after Sanmotungie if you want real coffee rather than just a view.
Bubing: Seoul’s Most Famous Patbingsu, Just Down the Hill
For dessert, head to Bubing, a small shaved-ice shop at 254-2 Buam-dong that’s been featured on Korean food show Wednesday Food Talk (수요미식회) for its patbingsu. The menu changes with the seasons: classic red bean patbingsu year-round, plus rotating options like strawberry, caramel, matcha, and fresh corn shaved ice depending on what’s in season. It’s a quiet, low-key spot, good for cooling off after the uphill walk to Sanmotungie. Bubing is closed on Mondays and typically opens in the early afternoon, so plan your Buam-dong food crawl accordingly.
Jaha Sonmandoo: A Michelin-Recognized Dumpling Stop
If you’d rather eat a real meal before your cafe hopping, Jaha Sonmandoo at 12 Baekseokdong-gil, just down the road from Sanmotungie, has been recognized in the Michelin Guide for its handmade mandu (dumplings). The dumpling soup uses minimal seasoning, letting the chewy handmade wrapper and the accompanying house soy sauce dip do the work, and the restaurant’s large windows look straight out at Bugaksan Mountain. It’s open from 11am to 9:30pm and makes an easy lunch stop before the uphill walk to the cafe.
FAQ: Visiting the Coffee Prince Cafe
How do I get to Sanmotungie from central Seoul?
Take Seoul Subway Line 3 to Gyeongbokgung Station, Exit 3, then catch bus 1020, 7022, or 7212 and get off at the Buam-dong Community Center stop. From there it’s about a 15 to 20 minute uphill walk, so a taxi from the bus stop is worth it in hot or cold weather.
Is Sanmotungie expensive?
It’s pricier than an average Seoul cafe, with tea and coffee running around 8,000 to 10,000 won, but most visitors say the mountain view justifies the markup. Reviewers are more mixed on the coffee quality itself, so go for the scenery and the drama nostalgia rather than expecting a specialty-coffee experience.
Do I need a reservation?
No, none of the spots in this guide take reservations. Sanmotungie can get crowded on weekends and around cherry blossom or autumn foliage season, so arriving early afternoon on a weekday gives you the best shot at a terrace seat with the full mountain view.
What else was Coffee Prince known for?
Coffee Prince (2007), starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye, is considered one of Korean television’s classic rom-coms and helped establish the gender-bending workplace-romance formula that later K-dramas built on. Nearly 20 years later, fans still make the trip up to Buam-dong specifically because of it, which says a lot about the show’s staying power.
Buam-dong makes for one of Seoul’s most rewarding half-day trips precisely because it’s still a little inconvenient to reach. Between the real Coffee Prince house at Sanmotungie, Club Espresso’s decades of roasting history, Bubing’s seasonal patbingsu, and Jaha Sonmandoo’s Michelin-recognized dumplings, you get a proper neighborhood experience rather than a single photo-op stop. Give yourself a half day, wear good shoes for the hill, and check current hours before you go.
Read more about SeoulBites and how we choose our spots.
For more on Buam-dong and the old Seoul city wall trail, see the Korea Tourism Organization’s guide.
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