# Seoul coffee shop open 7:30am near Cheonggyecheon: Center Coffee - By Haru B. (https://superchart.com/en/@comb-case-pages/) - Written Sep 16, 2026 - Local places › Cafés › Jung-gu, Seoul - Sponsored: This visit was sponsored by the business. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@comb-case-pages/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@comb-case-pages/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/index.md) ## In short Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is a Blue Ribbon Survey specialty coffee shop in the basement at 136 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul. Orders go through a kiosk, and an iced café latte, an iced americano and the pure milk cream cake came out well, with cream that was not sweet and paired nicely with the americano. Center Coffee Gwanghwamun opens at 7:30am on weekdays, making it a good stop for coffee before work or a rest after a walk along Cheonggyecheon. ## Good to know - **Location**: 136 Sejong-daero, B1 Room 105, Jung-gu, Seoul - **Opening time**: 7:30am on weekdays, 11am on weekends - **How to order**: Kiosk - **Espresso**: 5,400 won - **Americano**: 5,400 won - **Batch brew (coffee of the day)**: 5,000 won - **Flat white**: 5,500 won - **Ordered on this visit**: Iced café latte, iced americano, pure milk cream cake - **Price reference**: ₩5,400 ≈ $3.9 · ₩5,000 ≈ $3.7 · ₩5,500 ≈ $4 (2026-09-17) *as written by the visitor on Sep 16, 2026* ![First shot of the visit to Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-01-14xpq-1200.webp) I had something to do near Gwanghwamun and was looking for a place to grab coffee nearby, so I stopped by Center Coffee Gwanghwamun. Lately I get more of a kick out of hunting down specialty coffee shops with decent beans than just going to some ordinary chain, so while checking out cafés around Gwanghwamun, I found this place. ![Entrance to Center Coffee Gwanghwamun in the basement of Sejong-daero](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-02-e4q6q-900.webp) ## Where is Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, and how close is Cheonggyecheon? Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is located at 136 Sejong-daero, B1 Room 105, Jung-gu, Seoul. It's easy to get to from around Gwanghwamun Station, and it's also a good spot to stop by while walking toward Cheonggyecheon, so anyone looking for a Cheonggyecheon café should keep this one in mind too. ![Interior view of Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-03-yfps5-900.webp) ## Inside Center Coffee Gwanghwamun: solo seats and laptop work The atmosphere wasn't too much either. The seating was arranged comfortably enough that it felt fine to visit alone for a coffee, and there were actually people doing solo café time. Quite a few had their laptops out working, so it seemed like a good place to spend some quiet personal time too. ![Comfortably arranged seating at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-04-bdz44-900.webp) Given the Gwanghwamun location, it seemed like a lot of office workers would come here, and I could see it working well for a coffee before work on weekdays or a short break after lunch. ![Tables and lighting at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-05-16ior-900.webp) ![A seat good for solo café time at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-06-14nxq-900.webp) For someone like me who likes taking a little break with coffee at a café, this kind of comfortable atmosphere quietly matters a lot. Especially if you're walking around Cheonggyecheon and looking for a café to rest at for a bit, the location isn't bad at all. ![View near the counter at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-07-12n52-900.webp) ![A corner of the Center Coffee Gwanghwamun space](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-08-4k3yd-900.webp) ## Opening hours: 7:30am on weekdays, 11am on weekends On weekdays it opens from 7:30am, so you can visit before work or whenever you feel like coffee in the morning, and on weekends it opens at 11am. When you go looking for cafés that open early in the morning, there aren't as many options as you'd think, so I figured this would be great for Gwanghwamun office workers to grab a coffee on their way in. ![Center Coffee Gwanghwamun, known for its Blue Ribbon Survey listing](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-09-h3duj-900.webp) I heard Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is already well known as a Blue Ribbon Survey café! Maybe that's why it didn't feel like just a pretty-looking café — it felt more like a place where people come to properly enjoy the coffee itself. ![Standing in front of the kiosk ordering screen at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-10-1k7t7-900.webp) ## Center Coffee Gwanghwamun menu and prices Center Coffee Gwanghwamun uses a kiosk ordering system, so you can look over the menu slowly and pick whatever drink you want. Looking at the main menu, espresso was ₩5,400, americano was ₩5,400, the batch brew coffee of the day was ₩5,000, and the flat white was around ₩5,500. I ordered a café latte and an americano, both iced. > Center Coffee Gwanghwamun's menu board ![Menu board and coffee prices at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-11-uo8c5-900.webp) *Center Coffee Gwanghwamun's menu board* Honestly, the temperature swing in the mornings these days has gotten pretty big, so if I'd visited early in the morning I probably would have craved a hot americano. But during the day the sun was still warm and after moving around I got hot, so iced really hit the spot. haha ![Two cups: an iced café latte and an iced americano](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-12-ll9z9-900.webp) ## How was the pure milk cream cake? Along with the coffee, I also ordered a pure milk cream cake. I'd only meant to have coffee, but the cake caught my eye and I ended up trying it — and it was really tastier than I expected. ![Pure milk cream cake at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-13-zq66u-900.webp) ![Cross-section of the cream cake with iced coffee](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-14-8dbcy-900.webp) With cream cakes, sometimes the cream is too sweet or heavy and you lose interest after a few bites, but the cake I had had that soft, mild flavor that's distinctive of milk cream. ![A forkful of the milk cream cake](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-15-1xsvc-900.webp) Eating it with the coffee, the sweetness wasn't overwhelming at all, and it actually paired really well with the americano. I'd wondered if Center Coffee was just good at coffee, but the dessert being delicious too made the whole experience even more satisfying. ![A plate of cream cake set beside the coffee](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-16-1gjhw-900.webp) ## The best way to enjoy Center Coffee Gwanghwamun You could take a walk along Cheonggyecheon and then have a cool iced americano, or the other way around — stop by Gwanghwamun early in the morning and have a warm coffee instead. ![Drinks and dessert on the table at Center Coffee Gwanghwamun](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-17-1dyk3-900.webp) If you like specialty coffee, menus like espresso or flat white that let you taste the coffee itself a bit more intensely would be great too! Personally, though, the pure milk cream cake I had alongside my drink this time really won me over ~ ! ![The table with coffee and cake all finished](https://img.superchart.com/images/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake-18-d4l4k-900.webp) Having visited in person, I could see why this café has stayed on the Blue Ribbon Survey list for so long — it clearly wasn't chosen for nothing. Next time, once the weather cools down a bit more, I'll have to stop by in the morning and try a warm americano with the cake again haha. ## Where it is - Center Coffee Gwanghwamun (센터커피 광화문점) - 136 Sejong-daero, B1 Room 105, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 중구 세종대로 136 B1층 105호 - 37.5684246, 126.9782701 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%84%BC%ED%84%B0%EC%BB%A4%ED%94%BC%20%EA%B4%91%ED%99%94%EB%AC%B8%EC%A0%90/@37.5684246,126.9782701,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@comb-case-pages/center-coffee-gwanghwamun-cream-cake/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt