K-pop Birthday Cafes in Seoul - Guide
Roxy
a month ago
If you’re into K-pop, you certainly heard of "cafe hopping" before - there are many cafes that host events for the idols birthday, and fans tend to "hop" between them to go to every. If you’re not quite sure how to find them or do that, I will write about my experience as someone who visited them multiple times, for various idols!
I used to search for cafes manually on X platform, by searching "*bias name* 생일 카페" (birthday cafe). However, now there’s an app that made it much easier, and it’s also available in English. It’s called DUKPLACE - after downloading, it will show you all idols that have birthday that day or in upcoming days, but you can just search for your bias. Once you do, the map will show you all the cafes available, as well as accounts of the hosts where you can find more details!
Therefore, I always look through them, mark on Naver the ones I’m interested in and start "hopping". They tend to be located close to each other - some as close as 20 seconds apart! So expect an area filled with fans, going from one cafe to another, collecting all benefits.
How does it actually look like? At the entrance you should be able to find a huge banner which indicates you’ve arrived to the right spot!
The cafes tend to have screens where they display fancams of the idol. The entire area is decorated with photos of the idol and other cute stuff. Sometimes, you can find interactive items, like boards to draw on or photobooths.
At the counter, you can place an order - but besides drink and sweet treat, you will also receive goodies! It tends to be a paper cup, cards or stickers.
Cafes tend to feature a lucky draw too! Make sure you prepare paper money for that, since bank transfer might be difficult for foreigners. For 1000-3000 WON, you can make a draw and win various prizes! I won a hand fan one time, but never enough luck for big prize like a shirt or plush.
Sometimes, the fans who hop around the cafes will also be giving everyone small gifts, like cards or candy. I plan to do that this year!
Overall, the cafes are a great way to celebrate birthday of your bias. To me, it serves as amazing opportunity to spend lovely time among other STAYs, who all love Stray Kids as much as I do. As a K-pop fan, you cannot miss this opportunity in Korea :)
