Camera Cafe 꿈꾸는사진기 - Dreamy Camera Cafe just outside Seoul, South Korea

I am rather late to writing this blog post and sharing these pictures (in the time since I visited Dreamy Camera Cafe, Farmboy and I...and our pup Shadow, moved back home to South Africa, settled on the family dairy farm and I had a baby! Whew...An awful lot considering these photos were only taken a year and a half ago!).

A quick recap if you're reading this post and wondering what on earth we were doing in South Korea...

Farmboy and I moved to South Korea for our second stint of teaching English (the first was for a year in 2010 when we had just started dating, and ended up living in Daejeon...our second round we returned as a married couple and were placed in the teeny tiny rural town of Buan...which you can read more about by scrolling through the posts here:

One of our absolute favourite things about Korea has got to be their plethora of themed cafes.

Koreans sure do love their coffee, and what they love more than good coffee, is a cute place to enjoy it in.

I'm linking below, some of the other cafes we visited (there's a racoon cafe, dog cafe, cat cafe, flower cafe, teapot cafe...the list goes on!):

And now back to Dreamy Camera Cafe...

The cafe is situated outside of Seoul, and isn't that easy to get to. We had in a car while living in Korea and so were able to get drive there ourselves. But, the owners are so friendly, and before we had a car I had been in touch with them and they had given me really good directions for using public transport. I'll put those details at the end of this post.

We took our pup, Shadow (he went everywhere with us) and he had a ball meeting the two local pups who live with their owners (the camera cafe owners) in a sweet little house next to the cafe. You'll find them in one of the polaroid pictures below.

The cafe itself is set inside a model of an actual classic Rolleiflex twin-lens camera. The cafe is a double storey building, with seating upstairs as well as downstairs. Every square inch of the cafe is filled with cameras and camera paraphanalia. It's a photographers dream!

It ended up taking us a good hour and a half driving through the peak holiday traffic in Seoul, and so we spent the morning at the cafe, drinking coffee, eating cheesecake and being served delicious homemade pink lemonade! The owners, Park Sung-hwan and his wife Kwak Myung-hee began construction on their dream in 2012, and first opened their doors a year later. 

Both Sung-hwan & Myung-hee built the cafe in the hopes that people would visit for longer than the time it takes them to snap a photo in front of the iconic building and gulp down a cup of coffee. They encourage their customers to spend time dreaming and leave inspired to bring their dreams to life.

They even take photos of their customers with a polaroid camera, encourage them to write down their dreams and hopes for the future. Here is our Bucket List...and I often look back at it with fond memories of our visit to the cafe:

They even take photos of their customers with a polaroid camera, encourage them to write down their dreams and hopes for the future. Here is our Bucket List...and I often look back at it with fond memories of our visit to the cafe:

Farmboy and I fit right in with our collection of cameras (I had my Nikon d750...used for the photos here in this post, and my polaroid, and Farmboy came armed with his GoPro).

If you're looking for a fun daytrip from Seoul, I highly recommend heading out to Dreamy Camera Cafe. Take a book, your journal or even your knitting, and spend a few hours in the peaceful surroundings. The cafe is also just as magical in each of the 4 seasons. Head on over to their Instagram account (click here) to see more photos of the cafe in the snow, the blossoms and the Autumn leaves.

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Address:  

341-13 Jungwon-ri, Yongmun-myeon, Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Phone:

 +82 31-771-3264

Opening Hours: 

Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Closed on Mondays, Sundays & Public Holidays

Directions: 

If you come from seoul, there are two ways.
1. Use the Subway:
Jungang line station (youngsan, oksu, wangsimni, Cheongnyangni station...etc). 
Transfer to the Jungang line and go Yongmun station(용문역). 
Get out from yongmun station(용문역) Exit 1

* 2hrs need from Chungnyangni station to Yongmun station

2. Use Mugunghwa Train (usually once every two hrs)
You can only start your journey at Cheongnyangni station.
Cheongnyangni station (use the subway) and take the Mugunghwan Train to Yongmun station.
It takes 40minutes from Cheongnyangni station to Yongmun station.
At Youngmun station, take exit 1.
Take a taxi (it's 7km to the cafe). Tell/Show the taxi driver  "중원리 꿈꾸는 사진기"
+-10,000won need (about US$ 9~10)

Find the camera cafe online:

• Naver
• Facebook
• Instagram

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More posts on life in South Korea:

Things to do & places to stay in Seoul, South Korea

We had friends out from South Africa recently and spent a wonderful weekend with them in Seoul. Farmboy and I have been to Seoul numerous times (click here to see other posts with things to do in this vibrant city) but there is always more to see and do in Korea's capital.

We found a wonderful apartment on AirBnb called SeoulSketch (click here to make a booking) and stayed there for 2 nights. The apartment was clean and spacious with 2 double beds, a kitchen, living room area and bathroom.

It was perfect for 4 people and was situated only a 5 minute walk from the Gyeongbokgung Palace Subway Station.

We spent our first evening wondering around Hongdae (Hongik University Subway Line) and doing some late night shopping. The stores only close around 10/11pm and restaurants are usually open till even later. 

Saturday morning we spent walking around Samcheon-dong which is the very artsy neighbourhood surrounding Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Buckcheon Hanok Village (a traditional Korean folk village) is also right next to the palace, so you can definitely spend a good number of hours strolling around, taking photographs and eating your fill of great food. 

We spent the morning wondering around Samcheon-dong, and then headed to Myeong-dong for some more shopping in the afternoon. There are also dog & cat cafes in Myeong-dong (click here to read more about these interesting cafes) which are a fun way to spend a few hours. 

After an afternoon nap we got showered and all dressed up for a night out at Club Ocatagon, one of the famous super clubs in Gangnam. Entrance for Octagon was W10 000 before 11pm (after which it jumps up to W30 000 per person) and includes a drink. Make sure to bring ID (you must be over the age of 19) and they ask EVERYONE! Never in my life did I think I would be asked for ID at the ripe old age of 27, but I was, along with every other person in line.

Saturday morning was spent at Suji's in Itaewon for brunch (click here for a full review). Suji's is our absolute favourite place for breakfast/lunch in Seoul. Most restaurants and cafes in Seoul only open at 10am making eating more of a brunch than a breakfast.

Then it was back to Yongsan station to catch the train to take us home. You can book train tickets In English online through the Korail website using your Korean/International credit card or Korean debit card.

Do you have any other recommendations of places to see and things to do in Seoul? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Seoul Iris Park

At the end of June a friend and I went off in search of the Iris Park in Seoul. I had read that the Irises usually cover the park in an array of beautiful coloured blooms from May to June. But, we had arrived too late and were only able to spot one or two flowers hidden among the rest of the greenery of Changpawon Park.

There are 130 species of Irises in the park, as well as a Medicinal Botanical Garden. The park also has a wetland in the middle of it with a wooden deck from which you can see lotuses and other aquatic plants. The par itself isn't very big, but there are lots of shady grass areas and benches to enjoy a picnic lunch on. It was well worth the visit, and I am making sure to get there next year to see all the flowers in full bloom.

The park is open from 07h00 - 20h00.

How to get there

How to get there : Dobongsan Station (Subway Line 1, 7) Exit 2.

Walk out of Exit 2 and cross the main road, walking away from the subway line. The park will be in front of you.

Source

The best brunch in Seoul... SuJi's Deli in Itaweon

A quick Google search for the ultimate places to brunch in Seoul will show you a decent number of places to get your fill of a good old fashioned greasy fry up. But, as Seoul is a long way away from our little town, we wanted to make sure we weren't going to be disappointed as we often are with breakfasts here in Korea.

Suji's seemed to be ranked as one of the original brunch spots. So, armed with a bunch of very hungry South Africans we headed off to stuff our faces.

We were delighted with what awaited us...

Prices were what we had expected for a restaurant that caters for the Western market, pricey but totally justifiable. I mean, look at the size of the pancake platter.

Their menu is extensive and has something for everyone.

Everything was delicious (except the tea...who premixes frothed milk into English Breakfast?!) but the orange juice and burger made up for that.

It gets full very quickly, so make sure to get there early if you are a large group. Or just to be safe, call ahead (Tel 02.797.3698) and make a reservation.

Directions

서울특별시 용산구 이태원로 134, 2층 & 3층
2nd & 3rd Fl, 134 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Take Subway line 6 and get out at Itaewon, Exit 4.

It's all the way on the end of the main Itaewon drag, close to the McDonald's and right next door to SkinFood which is what you'll see when you reach the end of the road walking towards Noksapyung Station.

Tel 02.797.3698

Website: Sujis Diner

Opening Hours

Deli Cafe: 8am - 9pm 7 days a week

3rd Floor Restaurant: 11am - 10pm weekdays & 9am - 10pm weekends/holidays