There is one street in Seoul where you can drink an iced americano facing the stone wall of a royal shrine. The Seosulla-gil cafes sit in a row of low hanok facing the western wall of Jongmyo Shrine, a short walk from Jongno 3-ga Station. I spent a sunny October Saturday here, coffee in hand on a wooden bench under the trees. This is each cafe and bar I passed along the wall, what its sign says, how to find it, and where I’d sit again.
What Seosulla-gil Is (and How to Say It)
Seosulla-gil is a one-lane street that runs north to south along the western wall of Jongmyo, the Joseon royal ancestral shrine. The wall and a line of mature trees take the eastern side. Hanok cafes, wine bars and jewellery workshops take the western side. The street takes about ten minutes to walk end to end and is free.
Say it “suh-sool-la-gil”. The name comes from the Sulla-cheong, the Joseon night-patrol post that stood nearby, so Seosulla simply means “west of the patrol”. Visit Seoul spells it Seosulla-gil, and that spelling is the one to search.
Why does it feel so different from the alleys next door? Because the wall does the work. The shrine itself is a separate visit through the main gate on the south side, and the Jongmyo grounds (20 November) are one of the quietest UNESCO sites in the city. Out here on the street, you get the shade, the stone and the quiet for the price of a coffee.
Where I Sat: Seosulla-gil Hanok Cafe
My coffee was at Seosulla-gil Hanok Cafe (서순라길 한옥카페, Seosulla-gil 67, map), the first hanok you reach walking north from the south end. The sign reads “Cafe, Cake & Wine & Beer”, the bathroom is on the second floor, and a long wooden bench runs along the front, facing the wall across the lane. I ordered an iced americano at the counter, took it outside, and stayed longer than I meant to.
That bench was my favourite seat on the street. The wall is one lane away, the trees close the view overhead, and the only traffic is people walking past slowly. Cool shade, dry October air and the first yellow leaves over the stone: it was the first place on the trip where I stopped checking the time.
What struck me is how normal it is here to sit beside heritage. In Australia a shrine wall would be behind a fence with a sign. On Seosulla-gil you sit on a bench across a one-lane street from it and finish your coffee. Upstairs, by the stairs to the right of the cafe, a self-service vintage shop called Tondo runs around the clock.
Cafes and Bars Along the Wall
Here is the street from south to north, with a map link for each place. I sat down at the hanok cafe and walked past the rest, so for the others I’m telling you what the signs and the terraces showed me, not how the coffee tastes.
Six seconds of the street itself: the terrace chairs under the trees, the wall across the lane, and the photo-booth sign in the middle stretch.
Cafe 1968 Roastery
Cafe 1968 (cafe1968, Seosulla-gil 51, map) marks the south end. It’s a timber-fronted roastery with a yellow door and a red payphone bolted to the frame, and the sign promises specialty coffee. A caricature studio and a tarot reader are a few doors along, which tells you the south end is the playful end.
Seosulla-gil Hanok Cafe and Tondo Vintage
Just north of Cafe 1968 is the hanok cafe I sat at, described above. The same building holds Tondo Vintage Shop (톤도 빈티지샵) upstairs, a self-service vintage store with a lit sign that reads “Self Service Vintage”. The black awnings along this stretch keep the terraces shaded all afternoon.
Public Dowon and Bittle’s Taco
The middle of the street is where the queue lives. Public Dowon (퍼블릭도원, Seosulla-gil 89-7, map) is a Korean-Italian restaurant upstairs; the sign says “Korean nouvelle cuisine”. Downstairs is Bittle’s Taco (비틀스타코 서순라점, map), a taco bar with a yellow awning listing cold beer, wine, tacos, bowls and birria. Its line reached the pedestrian crossing before 12:30 on the Saturday I went.
Across from it, a hanok was hosting a jewellery exhibition, and the Seoul Jewelry Support Center is a few doors along. This is the jewellery end of Jongno, and several cafes double as showrooms.
Jimmie’s Smokehouse
North of Public Dowon, a few steps before Coffeemello, is Jimmie’s Smokehouse (지미 스모크하우스, Seosulla-gil 117, map), a tiny place painted coral red with a teal door and chandeliers inside. It’s a bar-restaurant rather than a cafe, but it was the frontage that caught my eye most, so you’ll want to know what it is.
Coffeemello Bake & Bistro
Next door is my favourite building on the street. Coffeemello Bake & Bistro (커피멜로, approximate photo location; Google Maps may still list this spot under its old name, Coffee Bay) sits on the ground floor of a two-storey hanok with a carved wooden balcony running the full width upstairs. A cream awning, rattan chairs and a poster for Dubai-style chewy cookies in the window. The terrace was the fullest I saw all day.
Sowyen Jewelry Gallery Cafe
Sowyen (갤러리 소연 카페, Seosulla-gil 149, map) is the last cafe before the theatre, a jewellery gallery with a cafe attached under a glass roof strung with bulbs. The terrace tables were full in the afternoon, and the window has a printed menu you can read from the lane. If you want jewellery browsing with your coffee, this is the one.
Onyudang at the Donhwamun Theatre
Seosulla-gil ends at the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theatre (서울돈화문국악당, Yulgok-ro 102, map), a hanok complex for gugak performances on the corner where the street meets Yulgok-ro, directly opposite Changdeokgung’s main gate. You don’t cross the road. Inside its gate is Onyudang (온유당), a small cafe with a wooden sign that just says “COFFEE” five times. I only looked in from the gate, and from there it looked like the calmest coffee stop around.
Seosulla-gil or Ikseon-dong: Where to Have Your Coffee
The two are five minutes apart and feel like different cities. Here is how I’d choose.
Pick Seosulla-gil if you want to sit
Seosulla-gil is built for lingering. The cafes are low hanok with terraces, the wall blocks the traffic noise, and the trees keep the terraces in shade until mid-afternoon. You can hold a table here for an hour without feeling rushed. It’s also the better choice with a pram or a parent who doesn’t love crowds, because the pavement is wide and flat.
Pick Ikseon-dong if you want to look
Ikseon-dong’s cafes are inside the alleys, so the view is tiled roofs and the next shopfront, not a wall and trees. They’re more photogenic inside, more crowded, and more about the browse between coffees. If you want one coffee and a lot of walking, the alleys win. If you want one coffee and nowhere to be, the wall wins.
Do both, in this order
On the Saturday I went, Seosulla-gil was quiet before noon and full by two, while the alleys were busy from midday and still busy when I left mid-afternoon. Doing the wall first gives you the calm half while it’s calm. Coming back along the wall at the end, I found every terrace taken and was glad I’d had my bench earlier.
Getting There
Take Jongno 3-ga Station on Lines 1, 3 or 5 and follow the signs for Exit 7. It’s a long brick corridor and feels further than it should. From the top of the stairs, walk north and the stone wall appears on your right after about 250 metres.
- From Exit 7: Cafe 1968 and the hanok cafe come first, then Public Dowon, Jimmie’s, Coffeemello and Sowyen, with the theatre at the far end.
- From Ikseon-dong: walk out to Donhwamun-ro, head north to Yulgok-ro, and come down the street from the theatre end.
- From Changdeokgung: cross Yulgok-ro at the palace gate and the Donhwamun Theatre and the north end of Seosulla-gil are right in front of you.
Seoul Metro’s English site has the station map if you want to check the exit numbers before you go. A T-money card covers the trip from anywhere central.
Seosulla-gil Cafes at a Glance
South to north, as you’d walk it from Exit 7. “What the sign says” is exactly that: the hanok cafe is the only one I’ve sat down at myself. Addresses are from Google Maps, checked in October 2026.
| Place | Korean name / address | Where on the street | What the sign says | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe 1968 Roastery | cafe1968 · Seosulla-gil 51 | South end | Specialty coffee, roastery | Open |
| Seosulla-gil Hanok Cafe (where I sat) | 서순라길 한옥카페 · Seosulla-gil 67 | South end | Cafe, cake, wine, beer; bathroom 2F; bench facing the wall | Open |
| Public Dowon / Bittle’s Taco | 퍼블릭도원 · 비틀스타코 · Seosulla-gil 89-7 | Middle | Korean nouvelle cuisine upstairs; tacos, beer, wine downstairs | Open |
| Jimmie’s Smokehouse | 지미 스모크하우스 · Seosulla-gil 117 | North of Public Dowon | Smokehouse bar | Open |
| Coffeemello Bake & Bistro | 커피멜로 (listed on Google as 커피베이 서순라길점) | North end, two-storey hanok | Bakery cafe, Dubai-style cookies | Approximate photo location |
| Sowyen Jewelry Gallery Cafe | 갤러리 소연 카페 · Seosulla-gil 149 | North end, last before the theatre | Jewellery gallery and cafe, terrace under string lights | Open |
| Onyudang | 온유당 · inside Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theatre, Yulgok-ro 102 | Corner of Seosulla-gil and Yulgok-ro | Coffee | Open |
Tips for a Seosulla-gil Coffee Stop
A few things I’d tell a friend before they go:
- Go before noon for the bench. The hanok cafe’s bench had space when I arrived and none by two. The terraces filled in the same window.
- Return your cup. The hanok cafe has a “return it here” sign by the door, and it means it.
- Start south, finish north. You end at Yulgok-ro, opposite Changdeokgung, which is the better place to decide what’s next.
- Photo booths are on this street too. Three booths share one sign near Public Dowon, and queues form by early afternoon. If you’d rather photograph the street than yourself, my Ikseon-dong photo spots (26 October) post starts with three stops on this wall.
- Weekdays are untested. I only have one Saturday to go on. Calmer is my guess, not my experience.
How Seosulla-gil Fits Your Seoul Trip
Seosulla-gil is a coffee stop, not a destination on its own, and that’s its strength. It pairs with the alleys next door; my Ikseon-dong Hanok Village guide covers the full afternoon, including where I ate lunch. The guide has the order that worked for me.
It also pairs with heritage. Changdeokgung is across the road from the north end, and Jongmyo is behind the wall. If you’re doing a palace morning, this is where I’d break for coffee before the alleys. Insadong-gil is ten minutes west if you want to keep walking, and my Insadong guide picks up where this street leaves off.
FAQ
Where is Seosulla-gil?
It runs along the western wall of Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno, central Seoul. The nearest station is Jongno 3-ga on Lines 1, 3 and 5. Use Exit 7 and walk north for about 250 metres.
Which Seosulla-gil cafe has seats facing the wall?
Seosulla-gil Hanok Cafe, near the south end, has a long wooden bench along its front that faces the stone wall. Most other cafes on the street have terrace tables under awnings that also look across at the wall.
Is Seosulla-gil free to visit?
Yes. It is a public street with no entry fee. Jongmyo Shrine behind the wall charges admission and is entered separately through its main gate on the south side.
How long should I spend on Seosulla-gil?
Thirty minutes to an hour. Walking the street end to end takes about ten minutes, and the rest is your coffee stop.
Is Seosulla-gil busy on weekends?
By early afternoon on the Saturday I went, the terraces were full and the taco bar had a queue to the crossing. Before noon the south end was quiet and the bench outside the hanok cafe had space.
My Thoughts
I went to Seosulla-gil for the alleys next door and ended up liking the wall more. The shade is real, the bench is comfortable, and the view is a royal shrine wall. If you only have time for one sit-down in Jongno, make it this bench.
Next time I want to come back on a weekday and work north through the cafes I only walked past, Coffeemello first. For now, the hanok cafe’s bench is the one I can vouch for, and it’s enough reason to take Exit 7.
More From the Same Afternoon
Two posts that go with this one, from the same Saturday:
- Ikseon-dong Photo Spots (26 October) — eight corners worth the walk, including the wall under the trees.