Namhansanseong bakery café with Mont Blanc and iced latte: Sum

Sum: a bakery café with floor-to-ceiling windows near Namhansanseong, Gwangju

A Gyeonggi café, a Namhansanseong bakery with floor-to-ceiling windows, Sum near Namhansanseong.

For Gyeonggi folks who want to get some fresh air but can't go far, I recommend Namhansanseong! It's close by but feels like you've traveled somewhere far away, so I recommend a little outing there. On a day I went driving around Namhansanseong, I went looking for a café with big windows and a good forest view.

It's a large café that also sells bakery items, and there's parking right out front, so you don't need to worry about that.

Right as you walk in, there's a big window that gives an open, airy feeling, with breads laid out.

What bread does Sum bake, from salt bread to dessert breads?

At Sum, you order and buy your bread and coffee first before finding a seat. We decided to order and buy the bread and coffee before grabbing a table.

There were plain breads like salt bread, briquette bread, and toast bread,

and also a variety of sweet-style dessert breads.

Ordering the Mont Blanc, iced Americano and iced latte at Sum

With so many kinds of bread, I went back and forth before picking the Mont Blanc, since I wanted something moderately sweet to have with coffee, and ordered our drinks.

Namhansanseong is a well-known spot for family outings and gets a lot of older visitors too, so I was struck by how many tea options there were. We went with cold coffee, ordering an iced Americano and an iced latte.

Sum's outdoor parasol seats and terrace, ringed by forest

After ordering, we looked around the café, and both the indoor and outdoor seating were huge. There were plenty of outdoor parasol seats that would be perfect on a nice fall day,

and there was also a terrace inside the building. This is a place I'd love to come back to once the wind turns cool and it's less hot, to sit outside! Being surrounded by forest on all sides meant everywhere you looked was a lush green view, and I loved it. This is exactly the feeling of healing at a forest-view café 🥺

A cloudy weekday at Sum, with the blinds up on the big windows

The view going from the 1st to the 2nd floor is also amazing at this Namhansanseong café. Every spot facing outside is a floor-to-ceiling window, so the wide-open forest view was really stunning. We visited on a slightly cloudy day, so the sky wasn't very clear, which was a bit of a shame, but thanks to that, the blinds weren't drawn, so we got to see the view with nothing blocking it.

Because the outside view is fully visible from any seat, every table is a good table at this café. No need to compete for the best spot.

Rooftop, annex and music listening room: Sum is bigger than expected

The café turned out to be much bigger than I expected — you can go up to the rooftop to enjoy the view, or head to the seating in the adjoining building connected from the 2nd floor.

There was seating on the side building too, and even though the air conditioning wasn't on there since we visited on a weekday, the vibe felt different from the main building, which was interesting. I imagine they run that section on busy weekends or during fall.

Downstairs, there was also a sign for a beam projector music listening room, so it seems like there's yet another huge space I didn't get to explore. I didn't get a chance to look around before our coffee arrived, so we hurried to grab a seat and drink it.

How did the Mont Blanc and the iced latte taste?

The Mont Blanc I picked at Sum was moist and just sweet enough, and the iced latte was nutty. Coffee and a sweet dessert in a spot with a cute forest view! Spending the afternoon quietly in a place with a great view made me so happy. It might seem like a small thing, but chatting over coffee in a window café with a good view is truly precious, and gives a real, solid kind of happiness right now.

Of course, happiness does come from sweet flour haha. The Mont Blanc was moist and just sweet enough, and it was delicious, so I recommend it! I've been getting into lattes lately, and this one was nutty and tasty too.

Is Sum a good outing with a baby?

It's a nice bakery café because you can buy as much bread as you want and pack it yourself to take home, and since there are baby chairs, I'd also recommend this as an outing spot with a baby.

If you're looking for a bakery café near Namhansanseong on your Namhansanseong drive route, I recommend Sum! And a green view good enough to feel like it's good for your eyes is a bonus!