Eonyang, Ulsan large café for pear smoothie and white roll: MUG

It was the weekend and I was a little bored, so I went for a drive to Ulsan haha. While looking for somewhere to go, I heard about a café that had overcome the pain of a wildfire, and I got curious, so I quickly typed the address into my navigation and headed over!

Where is MUG in Ulju, Ulsan, and what are its hours?

• MUG
• 90 Hyangsandagae-ro, Sangbuk-myeon, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, South Korea
• Daily 10:00–19:00 (last order 18:30)
• No pets allowed
• Care kids zone

Use the lot in front of the café.

A charred-wood café built on a wildfire site

This is the exterior of the café! It was way bigger than I expected — I was so surprised, haha. It's been a while since I've seen such a large café!! But MUG has a sad story behind it 🥹 This spot used to be part of a forest that was completely burned down — 100,000 cubic meters of it — in a massive wildfire. On the very site where that fire passed through, they built the café using "tanhwamok" (charred wood/charcoal wood) that survived the fire, making it a space of "regeneration and comfort." Maybe that's why it felt less like just a big café and more like a place with real meaning behind its scale — that left a deeper impression on me!!

Weekend bubble show and gallery exhibition at MUG

They also run a bubble event on weekends and holidays! It happens at 1pm and 3pm, 30 minutes each time, so if you're visiting with kids, timing your visit around then would make them even happier haha.

MUG isn't just a café — it's also set up as a multi-purpose cultural space. Right now there's an exhibition under the theme "Gyeongyu-sai" featuring works by artist Lim Hee-jung, which is worth checking out too!!

There was a special kind of fun in looking at paintings like these, haha.

Inside MUG: 9-meter ceilings and seating

This is the inside of MUG!!! It's really, really huge... the ceiling height is apparently 9 meters, ddd. Since the space is so vast, the seating is really varied too. There were seats with a view, spots for working on a laptop or tablet, round tables, group seating, outdoor seating, and more!!

Ordering the MUG lemonade and pear smoothie

This is MUG's drink menu! The signature items are the "mug black latte," which directly evokes the charred wood, and the "lemonade and smoothies"!! I can't drink coffee well, so I decided on the mug lemonade and pear smoothie!!

Weekend 4:30pm: MUG's bakery is nearly sold out

MUG is also famous as a bakery café in Eonyang, Ulsan! I arrived past 4:30pm on a weekend and found that the main bakery items were almost all sold out 🥹 MUG's signature baked goods are the fruit cream cheese cinnamon roll and, on weekends and holidays only, the tiramisu cinnamon roll, so definitely try those if you visit haha. Honestly, we didn't know about that ahead of time... so we ended up with the white roll, and it was so delicious too! Next time I visit, I definitely want to try the signature bakery items as well.

The interior details scattered throughout the café were so cool too! Since the café itself is so spacious, having these grand, standout spots in between makes the vastness of the space stand out even more, I think..!?

How the MUG lemonade, pear smoothie and white roll taste

Here's what we ordered: mug lemonade, pear smoothie, and white roll! I'd never seen a lemonade that looked like this before, so I stirred it eagerly out of curiosity haha!!! The pear smoothie tasted like a mix of pear juice and Tank Boy soda, so of course it was delicious haha. The white roll wasn't dry at all and was really tasty too!

Outdoor grounds with an ecological pond, trail and viewpoint

This is MUG's outdoor space! It's not just a place to grab a drink inside and leave — there's actually quite a lot to see outdoors too. There's an ecological pond, a walking trail, a viewpoint, and more!! The ecological pond was full of lotus leaves, which was fun to look at haha. There are areas set up so you can slowly walk around the café grounds, so on a nice day it'd be great to enjoy a drink and then go for a walk too! Since the café is so massive, I'd recommend taking your time to explore the outdoor areas rather than just spending your whole visit inside haha.

I found this café while out on a drive in Ulsan, and it felt like discovering such a great space!!! The café is so spacious that it'd be great to visit with family, friends, or a partner. If you're planning a trip to Ulsan or heading out for a drive, I highly recommend MUG, the bakery café in Eonyang, Ulsan!!