Visiting Pongnim Tea Room, a retro café tucked away in the mountains of Jeju
Kanggeoru S
4 days ago
I visited a popular Jeju Island cafe, “Pungnim Tea House (Seongdan Branch).” It’s located in the quiet Seongdan Village on the mountainside. When you enter the dead-end road, the first thing you see is a large parking lot. Since people often drive all the way to the end of the road and cause inconvenience, there seems to be a big “No Exit” sign. Parking is only allowed for up to 90 minutes, but I wasn’t planning to stay that long, so it didn’t bother me.
The exterior of the building is a striking deep green. It seems they renovated an old house into a cafe while keeping the interior layout intact, giving it a retro feel. As soon as you enter, they guide you to find a seat first and then order. This might be because the place is usually crowded. After you finally find a seat, you place your order in a separate small room with a sign that says “Order Here,” which is pretty unique.
A single coffee costs as much as 8,000 won, but everyone raved about it in the reviews, so I went with mixed feelings. I’ve tried several cafes famous for their Einspanner, but Pungnim’s cream is truly a work of art. If this cafe were in my neighborhood instead of on Jeju Island, I’d come regularly regardless of the price!
This blog also mentions that the cafe has a bakery. When I visited, there were lots of breads that looked delicious. The warm, toasty smell of freshly baked bread filled the cafe, and I ended up buying a few. Being able to enjoy coffee or tea with tasty bread like this in the mountains of Jeju Island made me feel like it’s truly a wonderful spot. I definitely want to stop by again the next time I visit.
This cafe’s latte is also worth mentioning. It has a deep, rich flavor, and it’s the perfect drink for summer. Be sure to try it when you visit. The ice cream is really delicious too. The atmosphere is great, but the downside is that transportation in the mountainous area of Jeju Island isn’t very convenient. If you visit around opening time, you can get a good seat and take Instagram-worthy photos.
*Since the cafe relocated last autumn, the exterior and interior have changed quite a bit. Some people may prefer the old-fashioned vibe, but while the retro-style interior has been preserved, it’s now cleaner and more refined. As a place that serves food, I think the current clean and well-kept setup is better.
