Seochon hanok café with a stroller: two different-bean brews at Oldsse

Worn out by the heat after Gyeongbokgung, we headed to a Seochon café

After looking around Gyeongbokgung with the baby, we were wiped out by the heat and crossed over to Seochon to find coffee. It had been SO long since we'd gone out to see Gyeongbokgung with the baby, and I think we went out expecting cool weather, but suddenly it was midsummer that day?? Why is the weather so different every single day;

With the stroller, umbrella, bag and all the baby gear hanging off us, our energy drained fast, and we'd barely gone into Gyeongbokgung. All stamina used up, closing for the day,,~

Gyeongbokgung was really, truly beautiful, but all three of us were visibly losing our souls to the heat, so we just did one quick lap and headed to Seochon for coffee.

How long was the wait at Oldsse Seochon?

There was a line when we visited Oldsse Seochon, but the wait was about 10 minutes and a table opened up quickly. The problem was that it had been so long since we'd gone café-hunting in Seochon.. We only ever come to Seochon at night when it's quiet, so we had no idea where to go, and with the baby and the stroller, my husband and I kept wandering around confused, wondering whether this was a café or not..

"Hey, there are people lining up over there?" and the place we walked into was Oldsse Seochon. I figured a crowd must mean something good, so we just joined the line haha. We only waited about 10 minutes, and a table opened up fast.

Oldsse Seochon location, parking, and tips for going with a baby

Oldsse Seochon is at 35-3 Pirun-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and it's a Seochon café that's also fine to walk to from Gyeongbokgung Station. Turns out Oldsse was first famous in Yongsan, and this is a new space they opened in Seochon.

One thing though: Oldsse Seochon has no parking of its own, so if you're moving around with a baby like we were, keep that in mind. Taxis were hard to catch too :( so we walked back and forth to the parking lot. Luckily they let us bring the stroller in.

A hanok café near Gyeongbokgung: what is the space at Oldsse Seochon like?

Oldsse Seochon is a renovated hanok (traditional Korean house), with one wall made of full glass so it feels modern, while inside the traditional parts, like the main beam and the wooden joinery, are left as they were. What surprised us right when we walked in was that it wasn't just a pretty hanok café. On top of that, there were drawings on the wall that looked like ancient African script, and the two of us kept looking around going, what is this?

Maybe because it's been so long since we'd been to a hip café like this, we sat down all awkward and timid, like two country mice who'd come up to Seoul, and enjoyed the café haha. We always just drink Mammoth Coffee, so going to a stylish café for the first time in ages, only we ... didn't dress up haha.

Still, it was nice. Since we always look for places that are easy with a baby, we only end up at familiar ones like Starbucks or Mammoth Coffee, so this day we finally challenged ourselves with a new café~

Oldsse Seochon menu: Basque cheesecake and two coffees from different beans

At Oldsse Seochon we ordered one Basque cheesecake and one coffee each, made from different beans. Oldsse Seochon focuses on brewed coffee, so they apparently have a wide range of beans.

So we each picked a different bean, and the difference was much more obvious than expected. We swapped cups, and the aroma and the taste were both different, so we suddenly turned into home-café coffee experts, going this one tastes like this and that one like that; But the conclusion: both were delicious~

The Basque cheesecake went well with the coffee too. I especially liked that such a modern café sits in the atmosphere of Nuha-dong and Seochon, where so many traditional houses remain. It keeps the hanok mood while the inside is totally current, so old and new are mixed in a funny way.

For us, drained by the heat after Gyeongbokgung, a cold coffee was practically the water of life..

A Gyeongbokgung and Seochon outing with a baby: would we go back to Oldsse Seochon?

Seeing Gyeongbokgung and then stopping at Oldsse Seochon felt like sightseeing in Seoul for the first time in ages, and we want to come back when it's cooler. It was our first outing with the baby in a while, so nothing grand, but next time I'd like to come when the weather is cooler, stroll the Seochon alleys slowly with the baby, and revisit Oldsse at a relaxed pace.

I'm always just following the baby around these days, so coming to a place like this felt new again, and again, they luckily let us bring the stroller in. If you're looking for a hanok café near Gyeongbokgung or a Seochon café, Oldsse Seochon is worth a stop. Even if you walk in timid in country-mouse mode like us, you'll settle in quickly.