Autumn Gyeongju café: Kenya hand-drip, sumakse cookies, Bonghwangdang

Today I'm introducing Cafe Bonghwangdang (카페 봉황당), a café in Gyeongju's Hwangnidan-gil where you can enjoy good coffee and dessert with a view of Daereungwon 😊🤍

Why Cafe Bonghwangdang for an autumn trip to Gyeongju

Cafe Bonghwangdang was one of the cafés I really wanted to visit while planning my Gyeongju trip! When I travel, I love hunting for cafés with an atmosphere you can only find in that region, so for this trip I put Bonghwangdang, with its beautiful view of Daereungwon, on my café tour.

It's famous for having one of the best views even in Hwangnidan-gil, so my expectations were high before I even arrived, haha. I was curious how beautiful autumn and Gyeongju's tranquil scenery would look together. Tasty coffee, a quiet and relaxed space... and above all, a café where the scenery did it all 🥹 Let me introduce Cafe Bonghwangdang, a great place to rest during a Gyeongju trip!

Cafe Bonghwangdang location and opening hours

Cafe Bonghwangdang is at 737 Taejong-ro, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, in Hwangnidan-gil. It's open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 08:30–22:00 (last order 21:30), and closed every Tuesday.

• Address: 737 Taejong-ro, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, Cafe Bonghwangdang
• Hours: Mon, Wed–Sun 08:30–22:00
• Last order: 21:30
• Closed: every Tuesday

What are the interior and seating like at Cafe Bonghwangdang?

Cafe Bonghwangdang is a big café with a great view of Daereungwon, and it has a variety of seats on the 2nd floor as well as the 1st. Hwangnidan-gil has so many cafés with their own character, but I think Bonghwangdang's biggest strength is that you can feel the charm of Gyeongju as a city right inside the space~

The interior was roomier and more comfortable than I expected, with plenty of seating choices. The 2nd floor even has group tables for several people and comfy sofa seats~! It's great for a solo coffee break on your own, but I also thought it works well for a trip with friends or a family outing, haha.

When I visited, lots of people were spending time in their own way, from those enjoying coffee while gazing out the window to those chatting quietly together,

everyone enjoying their own time at leisure, so the whole café had a comfortable, unhurried mood 😌 Overall it was quiet and relaxed, and I felt at ease the whole time. Being able to step away from the busy main street of Hwangnidan-gil and rest like this is another charm of Bonghwangdang 💕

The Daereungwon tomb view from Cafe Bonghwangdang's windows

The biggest reason to visit Cafe Bonghwangdang is the Daereungwon scenery outside the window. I was lucky enough to get a prime view seat that day, with green scenery filling my sight. The moment I sat down, the view in front of me was so pretty that I just kept staring at it for a long time.

It shows a different charm in every season, but with autumn and Gyeongju's tranquil atmosphere together, it felt like a work of art in itself. I didn't need to do anything special; just looking out the window was enough 🫶🏻

On trips I'm often busy dashing from place to place, but here I wanted to forget the schedule and rest for a while. Sitting in a good seat, looking at a view I love, enjoying the time with no interruptions — I think small moments like these make a trip more special! Could "a café where the scenery does it all" fit any better... ✨

Cafe Bonghwangdang menu: classic coffee, hand-drip and signature drinks

Cafe Bonghwangdang has a wide menu, from basic coffee to hand-drip and signature drinks. After gazing out the window for a good while, it was finally time for good coffee!

There are lots of distinctive menu items with eye-catching names, like Bonghwang coffee, milk tea parfait and matcha parfait, so coffee lovers and people who prefer sweet dessert drinks alike can have fun choosing to their taste!

How does the warm Kenya hand-drip coffee taste?

At Cafe Bonghwangdang that day, I ordered the hand-drip Kenya coffee hot. I like experiencing the unique flavor of each bean, so a hand-drip menu naturally catches my interest ☕️ I thought it would suit the autumn weather, so I went with a warm cup.

Drinking it hot made the aroma of the coffee feel richer, which I liked. The fresh yet distinct character typical of Kenyan beans came through pleasantly, and the more slowly I sipped, the better I could enjoy the coffee's own flavor. Personally, I think the fun of hand-drip is sipping slowly like this and feeling the taste change.

And on top of that, the Daereungwon view outside the window! Drinking my favorite coffee and gazing at the scenery without a thought in my head, I wished time would flow a little more slowly just for that moment.

What is the americano like at Cafe Bonghwangdang?

The basic americano at Cafe Bonghwangdang was clean, with no overly flashy taste, yet the coffee's own flavor came through well. The variety of signature menu items is appealing, but good basic coffee tells me they care about the coffee itself, which satisfied me as a total coffee addict, haha.

If you usually enjoy americanos, I think you'll like it without any hit-or-miss worry. The coffee time at Bonghwangdang was all the more satisfying thanks to its solid fundamentals! Enjoying good coffee, my eyes naturally drifted to the desserts.

Sumakse cookie set: a Gyeongju travel dessert

Cafe Bonghwangdang displays a variety of desserts, and the one that especially caught my eye, and that I'd recommend as a Gyeongju travel dessert, was the sumakse cookie set~~

A sumakse is the round roof tile that decorates the end of a traditional tile roof, and I found it unique that the cookies capture the sumakse shape, which recalls the cultural heritage of Silla.

Since we're in Gyeongju, enjoying a dessert full of traditional beauty that only fits Gyeongju is another fun part of the trip, right~ 😝

What flavors do the sumakse cookies come in?

The sumakse cookies at Cafe Bonghwangdang come in five flavors: yuja (citron), matcha, mugwort, black sesame and strawberry. Each ingredient's color shows in the cookie, so lined up together they look even prettier and more colorful 👍🏻

The lineup is varied too: fresh yuja and strawberry, bitter-sweet matcha, and nutty, distinctly Korean mugwort and black sesame.

I think flavors made with traditional ingredients like mugwort and black sesame especially suit the sumakse design. Each flavor has its own color and character, so it's fun both to look at and to choose from.

Are sumakse cookies a good Gyeongju souvenir or gift?

I think the sumakse cookies would go well with coffee, and since they look so unique, I'd also recommend them as a Gyeongju souvenir.

They're not ordinary cookies but a dessert that carries local character, so giving them to family or friends on your way home would be meaningful. Recommended!! Sharing your Gyeongju memories through a tasty dessert sounds like a lovely idea 💝

Final thoughts on Cafe Bonghwangdang in autumn Gyeongju

Cafe Bonghwangdang in Hwangnidan-gil was a café I really wanted to visit on this Gyeongju trip, and in person it was even more relaxing and satisfying than I'd hoped. The wide, comfortable space, the solid, tasty coffee, the dessert with Gyeongju's character — nothing left me wanting.

Above all, what I'll remember longest is the view of Daereungwon while drinking my coffee. After all, we don't look for cafés on trips just to drink a cup of coffee. It's also a time to enjoy the atmosphere you can only feel in that place, rest for a moment in the middle of a busy trip, and make another memory. In that sense, I think Bonghwangdang was a space where I could fully feel the leisure of a Gyeongju trip.

The autumn mood and the tranquil scenery of Daereungwon suited each other so well that this will stay in my memory even more 🍀 Next time I come to Gyeongju, I'd love to meet Cafe Bonghwangdang by Daereungwon in another season.

A good cup of coffee while looking at a view that's so Gyeongju — that alone was reason enough to visit!

If you're looking for a café with a great view in Gyeongju's Hwangnidan-gil, or want some relaxed time during your trip, I recommend visiting Cafe Bonghwangdang. If you want to remember autumn in Gyeongju a little longer, enjoy a cup of coffee here ❣️