I’m pretty sure that by now you’ve heard about South Korea’s up huge cafe culture. When I first came to Korea, I was surprised by how many theme cafes there were! From extravagant interior designs to unique menus, there’s a cafe for everyone. My favourite cafes are ones that are cozy and relaxing. In fact, sometimes I can imagine drifting off to sleep with the smell of roasting coffee beans. In this article, I will introduce you to a wonderfully unique cafe I found outside of Seoul in Gangwon-do. Let’s take a look at Cafe Najeon Station!
Cafe Najeon Station is a beautiful cafe located in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do. It is in fact an old railway station converted into a cafe! After the demise of the coal mining industry in Korea, the station was renovated into a coffee shop for people to come and relish the nostalgia. The retro design makes the cafe so inviting and wonderfully cozy!
When I first heard about Cafe Najeon Station’s historical background, I couldn’t wait to visit. However, in my experience, tourist hotspots like these often have expensive and poor quality menu items. But Cafe Najeon Station is not one of them! They had so many delicious desserts on the menu as well as drinks.
Walking inside, the first thing you notice is the adorable post cards hung throughout the cafe, each with adorable messages from customers. Why not fill out your own postcard while waiting for your drinks? You could write a message for your loved ones, a note of encouragement or gratitude. Additionally, you can choose to take them with you or leave them for other customers to see.
As the cafe is a tourist destination, they have plenty of photozones in and outside the cafe. Here are some of my favourites:
The coffee shop has many reasonably priced desserts and beverages. Additionally, they have a self-order machine with several languages available, so you do not need to order in Korean.
From the menu, I ordered the chocolate ice-cream and signature croissant sandwich. Needless to say, they were as delicious as they sound.
Cafe Najeon Station Address: 38 Bukpyeong 8-gil, Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do Operating Hours: 10:30am - 7:00pm Mon - Fri, 11:30am - Sun, closed Sat Directions: From Jeongseon-gun, take the village Daechae Bus to Bukpyeong General Bus Terminal. Take the first right and walk straight for 4 min until you reach the cafe. From Pyeonchang, the cafe is approx. 38 min car/taxi journey.