Gwangju café away from the Namhansanseong festival crowds: Sum

My daughter, who doesn't usually tag along, came with my husband and me to the Namhansanseong festival. We had a hearty lunch of baeksuk (whole chicken soup) and wandered around the festival grounds, but the crowds got so thick we went looking for somewhere quiet — and ended up at café Sum near Namhansanseong.

How to get to café Sum in Namhansanseong, and where to park

Coming up the mountain road from the Gwangju-side entrance to Namhansanseong, right when you start wondering what could possibly be up here, a village comes into view and then this huge building appears. The road isn't wide, so when a car comes from the other direction you have to pull aside or reverse to make room — a bit inconvenient.

This is a place I come to sometimes when I'm craving a wide-open view. It's split into a main building and an annex. Parking isn't hard — there are two lots right in front of the building as you enter.

108-11 Ojeon-gil, Namhansanseong-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

The bakery in café Sum's main building

The bakery display case is the first thing you see when you walk in.

It's a bakery café with a fairly wide bread selection, though since I visited in the afternoon, some breads were already sold out.

I walked around the bread once. There was even a white yeontanppang (briquette-shaped bread) — I was curious what that would taste like. A clever twist: regular briquette bread is black, but this one was white, like a briquette burned down to ash.

The showcase also had a variety of slice cakes — strawberry cream square, black sesame gâteau chocolat, cookies and cream, chocolate mousse cake, and honey cake. The injeolmi (rice cake) croissant had injeolmi piled on top, and you could tell just by looking that it would be soft and chewy.

Café Sum's menu and what we ordered

I tried the best-selling mother's jujube tea (eomeoni daechu-cha) on my last visit — rich and not too sweet, just like something my mom would make, almost like drinking medicinal tea.

Since we'd already eaten a big meal, bread felt like too much, so we just ordered coffee: a vanilla bean latte and a caffe latte.

Best seats at café Sum: the second-floor picture windows

There's also a seating area on the first floor, close enough to the outdoors that it feels like you're sitting in nature. The high ceilings keep it feeling open and airy, never stuffy.

Head up to the second floor and there are even more, wider tables.

The view through the picture windows is prettier and more open from the second floor, which is why most people end up sitting up there. The second floor really is the best seat in the house.

Looking out at the peaceful, homey countryside scenery is genuinely calming. You can even spot pumpkins and vegetables in the fields, ready for the fall harvest.

Fluffy clouds drifted happily across the sky. The autumn foliage was just starting to turn, too.

A sip of latte, then a glance at the sky~ a sip of latte, then a glance at the mountain~

Step outside and there's an outdoor terrace with tables — on breezy days like these, it's another prime spot. The terrace really is lovely.

Inside café Sum's annex: photo zone and music listening room

We crossed over to the annex. The second floor of the annex has a completely different vibe.

There's a door on the second floor that leads straight into the annex. This space feels like nature brought indoors, with trees and rocks recreated inside.

Time for a shot at the photo zone. My husband quickly sat down and struck a pose — he never says no to a photo.

The windows in the annex aren't very big, but it feels like you don't really need to look outside since the interior itself doubles as the scenery. The chairs aren't very comfortable, so you probably couldn't sit here long, but it's a perfect photo zone.

The first floor of the annex has a music listening room. When I was there, Car, the Garden's mellow song 'I Memorize Our Night' was playing softly, and the mood was amazing. I felt like I could zone out here for a long while and be perfectly happy.

Is café Sum near Namhansanseong worth a visit?

On this repeat visit, the high ceilings and the airy view through the picture windows were as lovely as ever. The main building and annex have different interiors, so there's fun in exploring both. If you're looking for a large café with a great view near Namhansanseong, café Sum is the one.