Seouling: Cozying Up at Kyuhyun's Cafe Mom House

Seouling is a new series from Soompi featuring photo tours, thoughts, and reviews of places in Seoul. By giving a first-hand view into the streets of Korea, Seouling hopes to transport Soompiers to the hub of Korean entertainment.

I made the decision to make the trek — ok, by trek I mean take the 10-minute bus ride — to Super Junior‘s Kyuhyun‘s cafe Mom House in Myeongdong on the first cold and blustery day in Seoul.

Kyuhyun’s parents opened Mom House in 2014, and the location houses not only a coffee house, but a hostel as well. Rooms can be rented out from 29,000 won (approximately $25) for a bed in a dorm-style hostel room, to 198,000 won (approximately $173) for a five-person suite room. The location of the hostel can’t be beat. It rests just across the street from the go-to place for shopping in Seoul, Myeongdong.

Mom House was easy to find, and I had no doubt that I had reached Kyuhyun’s cafe as soon as I stepped foot inside. I was immediately greeted by his face on the window in front of me, and on the elevator to my left. There was also a large screen continously playing not only Kyuhyun’s music videos, but also fancams of various performances. I love Kyuhyun’s voice so I was in pure heaven listening to him sing for the hour and a half I was there.

The cafe continued to stun me with the decorations when I walked inside. Workers were bustling around me, setting up Christmas decorations, and a girl dressed from head to toe in pearl-sapphire-blue greeted me cheerily from the counter and took my order.

Beyond the normal cafe fare, they also offered some ususual choices like bubble tea and gelato. I settled with my usual order of a caramel macchiato before exploring and taking photos. Drinks ranged from 3,800-5,800 won(approximately $3-5). Food ran in a similar price range, 4,800-6,800 won (approximately $3-6). The most expensive thing on the menu was patbingsu (shaved ice) at 12,000 won (approximately $10).

Although the cafe was relatively quiet when I arrived, it soon began filling up with fans. It’s obvious – and not surprising – that the cafe is a well-known fan destination. The decorations are mainly fan-donated and feature cute photos of Kyuhyun and the members. I could really feel the love of ELFs in this cafe.

Kyuhyun’s mom arrived later on and began greeting fans. She seemed to recognize some of the more frequent visitors, as she asked the girl sitting in the seat next to me if she’d eaten kimbap again that day. Later on Kyuhyun’s dad dropped by as well.

Before I left, I made sure to check out some of the more extravagant displays showcased in the entryway. Many fans gift exquisitely decorated cakes to idols to celebrate various occasions. Surprisingly, most of the time, they’re not real! Mom House had a few of these “cakes” displayed.

I really enjoyed my time at Mom House. The cafe had a very cozy feeling, from the plush and comfortable chairs to Kyuhyun’s soothing vocals, it was an extremely pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

How to Get There: Mom House is located a short distance away from Myeongdong Station on Line 4. Take Exit 2 out of the station, go straight and take your first right. The street Mom House is located on is similar to a small alley. There are photos of Kyuhyun outside of the cafe.

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harmonicar is a former teacher who once taught at CNBLUE’s Yonghwa’s high school in Busan, and has attended close to 100 K-pop concerts. She is an avid INFINITE fan, and was once served beer by Sungyeol in Seoul.