C. Through Café Seoul – Would You Spend 30USD on a Cup of Coffee?

There are many countries that are famous for their coffee cultures such as Australia, Brazil, Italy, Norway and Vietnam, just to name a few. Contrastingly, in Korean culture, they have been known to drink tea since thousands of years ago. However, within the last few decades, coffee has emerged as the caffeinated beverage of choice. This resulted in a coffee culture, or rather, a cafe culture that’s unique only to South Korea – Seoul in particular.

Instead of attracting customers with a good cup of coffee, the sole purpose of cafés in Seoul is to provide the locals with social hangout locations. As long as the interior is cosy and conducive, and as long as the food and beverages offered are Instagram-worthy, it doesn’t matter if the café does not serve fantastic coffee. To be honest, I’m not a fan of coffee – definitely not a coffee connoisseur – which is probably why I enjoy café-hopping in Seoul and can fit in so well with the café culture.

Take C. Through Café as an example … It’s tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood and you might easily miss it if you did not notice the small pink neon sign. The interior is designed like a European art studio, totally aligning itself to its menu offerings. The menu features illustrations of all the drinks since they are all “perfect for the ‘gram”. You will not be able to find traditional coffee here. The fancy beverages include
– Gamaechino: Korean Traditional Snack Crispy Rice Crust Candy Flavour Coffee,
– Scotchno: Coffee with a Butter Scotch Candy Taste,
– Caramelting: Caramel Coated Custard Choux on top of a Strong Soft Coffee,
– Hot Chocolate presented like an egg and more.

If you have the sudden urge to splurge, go for the latte topped with foam decorated with popular works of art like Van Gogh’s Starry night and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The damage is 30USD per cup.

During the time I was relaxing at the café, I only took a few pictures of the beverages when they were served before being engrossed in a conversation with my travel companion. Our focus was indeed not on the taste of the drinks. When we left C. Through Café, I noticed many different groups of girls who arrived before us, still comfortably seated and happily chatting away. I guess I can accurately say that the sole purpose of cafés in Seoul is to provide the locals with social hangout locations. The coffee/café culture in Seoul is really different from other countries.

C. Through Café
Address: 403-3 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea
Opening Hours: Mon & Tue 2pm to 12 midnight. Wed-Sun 12pm to 12 midnight.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.through/