By Frédérique Morré

Junior Editor, Yonsei GSIS Newsletter

Hello everyone, happy October, and welcome to the first edition of the GSIS Coffee Column! This will be a monthly recurring feature, dedicated to introducing you to some of the most interesting, cozy, and aesthetically pleasing cafés around campus and beyond. Whether you're looking for a place to unwind between classes or need a new study spot with the perfect latte, we’ve got you covered.

Over the course of the last month, the Yonsei Café Review Club visited seven different coffee shops, and I’m here to present to the Cappuchingus’ Top Choices! 

For the first two weeks, our theme was “cafés near NMH”, with the idea of figuring out the nicest places to visit in between classes (that are not just downstairs Paik’s). We visited the Film Forum, Ewha Café and La Bonne Tarte, all of which are located right down the street of the building.

The club’s overall favorite was a no-brainer: La Bonne Tarte. We all admitted we had been intimidated to go on before our meeting, (since it looked expensive) but it turned out to be a cozy café with delicious pastry and cake options, on top of very solid americanos. Especially at a mid-level price point, we were pretty excited to have discovered a new place to get a little pick-me-up. It’s perfect both for solo dates and smaller friend groups, though if you plan to go with a lot of people, you’ll have to spread over several tables.

[NAVER Map] La Bonneu Tarte
 서울 서대문구 연대동문길 29 1층
 https://naver.me/Gj6nbspS

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The following two weeks we were getting ready for midterms, so we decided to focus on Study Cafes. For this theme we visited the Flower Pida Ehwa Café, Doksuri-dabang, Cafe Ann and Cafe Place.

Naturally study cafes are a little less cozy overall, so I don’t think anyone was surprised that Doksuri-dabang came out as the winner by a mile. Despite the café being on the pricier side, the free americano refill and the comfortable atmosphere made it a desirable location to sit and focus (especially for essay writing), as well as to wander outside on the rooftop to get some fresh air during breaks. Unless you are in need of a 24 hours café to fight for your life against a deadline, it really is the perfect location to get your work done.

[NAVER Map] Doksuri Coffee Shop
 서울 서대문구 연세로 36 독수리빌딩 8층
 https://naver.me/GhbA9H8t

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If you’re interested in joining the Yonsei Café Review club, you are MORE than welcome. We are a low-effort, high-reward club, and we will welcome you with open arms and plenty of coffees ?. Feel free to follow us on our Instagram, which should be getting more active within the next couple of weeks ? @cafeclub_yonsei