Early-morning quiet at a Seogwipo ocean-view café: Forest Jeongbang

Forest Jeongbang, an ocean-view café in Seogwipo, Jeju. I've been deep in a nostalgia trip lately posting about Jeju.. today I want to introduce this gorgeous ocean-view café I visited in Seogwipo, Forest Jeongbang!

Where is Forest Jeongbang, and when does it open?

• Address: 9 Chilsimni-ro 214beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea, 1st and 2nd floors
• Hours: Daily 09:00–19:00
• Group seating, takeout, parking, pet-friendly

This Seogwipo café is called Forest 'Jeongbang' because it sits near Jeongbang Waterfall, the only coastal waterfall in Asia. It's close to all the major Seogwipo sightseeing spots, so it's perfect for a break in the middle of your day — it's only about a 5–10 minute drive from Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market, Jagujicheon Park, and Lee Jung-seop Street.

There's a dedicated café parking lot right next to some gorgeous palm trees, so parking was easy at this large standalone café.

A Pokémon and a Hello Kitty greet you at the café entrance haha. I feel like I ran into Hello Kitty everywhere while traveling around Jeju.

Inside Forest Jeongbang: sofa seats and window views

The inside of Forest Jeongbang had this really appealing open, spacious feel. Through the big floor-to-ceiling windows, palm trees and dreamy tree landscaping unfolded outside.

The seats were spaced really generously too, all set up with comfortable-looking chairs and sofas.

The first floor is great, but if you want an even better view, head up to the second floor! Looking out from up there felt even more wide open and refreshing.

There's even an outdoor terrace, so I bet sitting outside would be even nicer during the cool spring or fall. When I visited the sun was blazing hot, so we sat in the cool indoor seating instead. Sitting in a blasting-AC interior while looking out at the bright outdoor scenery is really the best.

The ocean view and forest view from the comfortable sofa seats were amazing. The sofa seat we sat at was genuinely so comfortable and nice — but I was too busy sitting in it to take a photo of the sofa itself, haha. Rather than the trendy-but-uncomfortable chairs you see so often these days, having so many sofa seats where you can comfortably linger was one of the real strengths of Forest Jeongbang.

How do the Jeongbang Waterfall Latte and tangerine yogurt rice cake taste?

Forest Jeongbang isn't just about the scenery — the drink and dessert quality was excellent too.

• Jeongbang Waterfall Latte ₩7,500
• Iced Americano ₩5,000
• Tangerine Yogurt Rice Cake ₩8,500

This was my first tangerine dessert since arriving in Jeju, so I ordered it with high expectations. The yogurt made it nice and tangy, and it went really well with the tangerine. It wasn't too sweet either — just sweet enough, which honestly made it even better.

The signature menu item at this Seogwipo café, the Jeongbang Waterfall Latte, is overwhelming just from the color, right? I'd never seen a pistachio latte that blue before, haha. And true to its striking color, the flavor was sweet and bittersweet at the same time. Highly recommend it if you love pistachio like me!!

And of course you can't skip the classic iced americano. The combination of the three menu items worked really well together. Since I visited in the early morning right after breakfast, there were barely any other customers, and sitting there quietly taking in the Jeju scenery through the floor-to-ceiling windows — that was real healing. Being able to soak up the ease of a Jeju trip while quietly admiring the nature and sea was what made this Seogwipo café, Forest Jeongbang, a place I'd love to visit again.