Top 3 Cafes and Restaurants Owned by Kpop Stars to Visit
3 Kpop Cafes and Restaurants to Visit While in Seoul
If you are traveling to Seoul as a Kpop stan, it’s no joke that you must make the most out of your stay in Korea. Besides filling up your itinerary with the best food and Kpop-related things to do in Seoul, we know that part of supporting your favorite Kpop group entails supporting their family businesses. After all, many Kpop stars and their family have begun to operate their own business lately, and this trend has undoubtedly allowed their fans to have a way to personally support them. With the pandemic and lack of accessible tourist the last few years, it has been really unfortunate that many of these family businesses no longer exists. So definitely come and support the Kpop owned cafe and restaurants that are still currently around in Seoul. If they’re lucky, they might even run into the stars themselves at their Kpop-owned cafes and restaurants. Today, we list our pick of the top five best cafes owned by Kpop stars and their families. Let’s check it out!
Ossu Seiromushi by BTS Jin
Location: 30 Baekjegobun-ro 45-gil, songpa 1 (il)-dong, songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea
This is certainly an interesting one as BTS member Jin decided to open up a restaurant that specializes in steamed Japanese cuisine. It first opened in 2018, gaining a ton of support from locals, fans and even industry peer idols. The restaurant is co-owned between Jin and his brother. Some guest have mentioned being lucky enough to not only meet BTS jin and his brother at Ossu Seiromushi restaurant, but also other members of BTS as well!
This Kpop owned restaurant by BTS jin has a very comfortable and home-like aesthetic. The Japanese theme is prominent in the use of wood in many parts of their interior design such as the tables, walls and dividers. As for the food, their main dishes consist of traditional japanese food served in trays of wood and wooden steamers. This is said to help with the preservation of flavor and color of the sliced meats (beef and pork), vegetables, seafood and bone marrow.
Mouse Rabbit Cafe by Super Junior Yesung
Location: 5-14 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea
If you’re an OG Kpop fan, the boy band Super Junior would surely take you back to the good old days. You’d be happy to know that while we might not get any more hit songs from this Kpop boy group, at least we can be comforted by the fact that we could still support them in some way. Mouse Rabbit Cafe is owned by Super Junior Yesung’s mother and brother, found near Kokuk University in Seoul. Super Junior Yesung and his brother actually worked together on designing the logo and the interior design together. His brother currently works as the barista so be sure to say hi if you plan on stopping by this Kpop-owned cafe by Super Junior!
Something cute to note about this cafe is that there is a basement designed to mimic a rabbit cafe. Here you are able to remove your shoes and chill comfortably. Often times you will find students studying here or young couples lounging around. Of course, there are also Kpop fans like yourself who frequent Mouse Rabbit Cafe. Something to note while you are there is that they offer a stamped service, in which you can get a free cup of coffee after you collect 10 stamps! If you’re coming over everyday in hopes of seeing Super Junior Yesung at his Mouse Rabbit Cafe, at least you might get a free drink in the process.
Kamong Cafe by EXO Kai
Location: 1678-4 Seocho 1(il)-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For those fans of EXO, we have the perfect Kpop-owned cafe for you. Kamong is a cute little cafe in Seoul Korea that was named after the combination of his name and his dog’s name (how cute?!). The fusion of Kai and Monggu has brought about the Cafe name, Kamong. This Kpop-owned cafe was set up for his sister to run, so you could say it’s really more of a family-owned business that you could support! His sisters are very friendly, and supposedly you can ask them about Kai and they will try their best to tell you stories about him, as they know a bit of English. Additionally, Kai is said to frequently visit the Cafe, so if you are lucky, you might run into him!
This Kpop-owned Cafe Kamong is very spacious, with three large glass windows as walls. It seems like Kai and his sisters preferred to go with a minimal interior design, as they kept the walls clean and modern with high ceilings and numerous abstract artwork. The theme is heavily black and white with a bit of greenery here and there. If you’re looking for a place that has photos of the Kpop star all around the Cafe, this one might not be the one for you, but if you’re looking for a minimal and modern cafe to hang around, Kamong by EXO is the one for you. Kamong Cafe sells a variety of cafe food such as waffles, cookies, and handmade cookies as well as merchandise you can buy and support them with such as cups and tumblers.
So there we have it! Our top three picks on Kpop star-owned cafes and restaurants you have to visit the next time you’re in Seoul. If you’re making your way anytime soon, don’t forget to prep by checking out our blog post on what to pack for your trip to Korea before you go! If you’re not headed to Korea anytime soon, why not polish up a bit of your Korean to get you ready before you go? As always, you can find more Kpop-related fashion over at Lychee the Label if you are looking to pack it for your upcoming trip. Enjoy and have fun cafe-hopping Kpop-owned businesses in Seoul!
