Songjeong tea café with gamtae myeongnan financier: Suwolgyeonghwa

Songjeong has so many cafés where you can sip coffee with a sea view. Whenever I'm in Songjeong I naturally end up at an ocean-view café, and this time I tried a slightly different kind of Busan Songjeong café — Suwolgyeonghwa (수월경화).

It's a tea café right in front of Songjeong Beach where you can enjoy tea alongside Korean-style desserts. It's earned a Blue Ribbon, so I was curious what the place would be like. It keeps a Korean feel while the space still looks sleek, and best of all, the Songjeong sea view out the window — with the beach train passing right below — was really beautiful. The visuals were lovely, but after actually tasting everything, each menu item stuck in my memory too, so let me introduce them one by one.

Where is Suwolgyeonghwa, and where do you park?

Suwolgyeonghwa is right in front of Songjeong Beach, so it wasn't hard to find. The address is 188 Songjeongjungang-ro 6beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 4th floor, and it's open daily from 11:00 to 23:00 (last order 22:30).

• 📮 188 Songjeongjungang-ro 6beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, 4th floor
• ⏰️ Open daily 11:00–23:00 / last order 22:30
• 📣 Order on the 4th floor
• Seating on 3rd and 4th floors
• 🚘 Piloti parking available under the building

On weekends around Songjeong, parking can sometimes be a reason to hesitate before choosing a café.

Suwolgyeonghwa has a parking space in the piloti on the ground floor, but it's not huge, so it can fill up during busy times. If it's full, there's a paid parking lot right in front too (₩1,500 per 30 minutes).

After parking, you go through the building entrance and up the stairs.

The mood at Suwolgyeonghwa starts at the entrance

Suwolgyeonghwa felt a bit special from the moment you step inside. You push past a curtain at the entrance and climb the stairs, and somewhere the sound of gentle water flows, while round moon-shaped lights glow softly from the ceiling. At the top of the stairs, a large mirror faces you, reflecting the moon-shaped light behind — creating a scene like looking at the moon reflected in water.

It felt like a space that really matched the name Suwolgyeonghwa, which means 'moon reflected in water, flower reflected in a mirror.'

3rd floor or 4th floor: which one should you sit on?

Once inside, the name and the atmosphere of the space matched quite well. It's centered on wood tones with Korean elements placed throughout — not the heavy feel of a traditional tea house, but a Korean sensibility styled in a modern way.

Suwolgyeonghwa uses both the 3rd and 4th floors together — you order on the 4th floor, then pick whichever seat you like on either floor.

The 3rd floor has floor seating too, so it feels a bit cozier and calmer, while the 4th floor is bright and open, great for looking out at Songjeong Beach.

Looking around the 4th floor, there was also a corner selling Suwolgyeonghwa's own blended teabag teas.

Since I smelled several teas at the counter myself before ordering, seeing this corner made me feel like Suwolgyeonghwa isn't just about the atmosphere — they're quite serious about tea too. If you visit Suwolgyeonghwa, I really recommend sitting at a window seat with a good view of the sea.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the blue Songjeong sea stretches out wide, so once you sit down your eyes naturally drift toward the window.

Another great thing is that the Haeundae Beach Train passes right in front, and when the colorful train rolls into the calm sea view, the mood shifts entirely.

Even while chatting over tea, whenever the train passed I'd find myself glancing out the window, snapping photos and videos.

Songjeong's sea and the beach train captured together in one frame was really pretty. There's a QR code on the table where you can check the beach train schedule, which makes it easy to time your photos or videos.

Taking pretty photos with the ocean view as a backdrop was nice, but honestly the moment itself — sitting with a cup of tea, watching the sea, and catching the beach train go by — was what stayed with me most.

The Suwolgyeonghwa menu and the 10-tea scent sampler

Before ordering, there's a spot at the counter where you can smell ten different teas.

Rather than choosing just from the tea names or descriptions, I loved that you can smell each one and pick what suits your taste.

Even people who don't know much about tea could compare scents and choose more comfortably. And the first thing that catches your eye at Suwolgyeonghwa is the signature Dalbodeure box, so we ordered that too.

• 🎈 What we ordered
• ✅️ Dalbodeure box
• ✅️ Hojigabae
• ✅️ Jeju Breeze

As soon as our order arrived, we were busy taking photos before anything else, haha.

With the Songjeong sea and blue sky through the window as a backdrop, everything photographed beautifully.

What comes in the Dalbodeure dessert box

Dalbodeure (달보드레) is pure Korean for 'sweet and soft.' Each piece is set neatly in the box, and the moment I saw it I gasped, 'wow, so pretty.'

The row of neatly arranged Korean-style desserts really matched Suwolgyeonghwa's mood. Each one had a different shape and pretty coloring, so I found myself taking photos before even eating.

The Dalbodeure box is made up of five desserts in total: an injeolmi (sweet rice cake) skewer, ganache monaka, whole red bean butter monaka, gamtae myeongnan financier (seaweed and pollack roe financier), and black rice sulbbang (steamed rice cake). Tasting each one, the visuals weren't the only thing that was pretty — the taste and texture were different too, so it was fun picking through each piece. They used familiar ingredients but expressed them in slightly different ways, so I found myself looking forward to what each next bite would taste like.

Why the Dalbodeure box is Suwolgyeonghwa's signature

Injeolmi skewer (chewy rice cake on a stick)

The chewy injeolmi (sweet rice cake) was generously coated in nutty soybean powder, topped with puffed brown rice. The chewiness of the injeolmi met the crunch of the puffed rice better than I expected. Even though injeolmi is familiar, it felt a little different this way.

Whole red bean butter monaka

This dessert adds French gourmet butter and nuts to whole red bean paste — the crisp monaka wafer, soft red bean paste, and the richness of the butter came together to feel like a fairly upscale dessert.

I personally love the red bean and butter combo, so I enjoyed this one a lot.

Gamtae myeongnan financier: my sister's one pick

My sister's one pick was the gamtae myeongnan financier (seaweed and pollack roe financier). She loves dessert so much I call her the 'dessert queen,' and after one bite she raved about how delicious it was.

When you think of a financier, you usually think of a sweet, buttery flavor first, right? But here, adding gamtae (seaweed) and myeongnan (pollack roe) gives it a salty edge, and the sweet-and-salty balance was really appealing. Blending a familiar Western dessert with Korean ingredients matched Suwolgyeonghwa's concept well too.

Tasting a little of everything, I could see why the Dalbodeure box is Suwolgyeonghwa's signature menu. If you'd rather sip tea while trying a bit of this and that instead of eating a lot of one dessert, this menu will feel even more satisfying.

Hojigabae, the signature drink at Suwolgyeonghwa

This drink uses hojicha, green tea roasted to a toasty finish. At first I couldn't quite picture the flavor, but when I tasted it, it was really nutty and smooth.

The distinctive toasty aroma of hojicha came through gently, and it went down so smoothly that I kept sipping without thinking.

If you're like me and enjoy nutty, smooth drinks like a caffe latte, give hojigabae a try. It paired even better with the injeolmi or red bean desserts from the Dalbodeure box.

Jeju Breeze and its lovely citrus scent

Jeju Breeze is a tea blending hallabong and tangerine with chamomile and lemon myrtle.

Even before drinking it, the aroma was wonderful. The sweet scent of hallabong and tangerine mixed with the fragrance of chamomile and lemon myrtle, so every time I brought the cup closer, a pleasant scent rose up.

Tasting it, the sweetness wasn't just in the aroma — the citrus fruit's fresh, bright flavor came through too. The two drinks had such different personalities that I was glad we ordered them together.

The explanation card that comes with every menu item

Another thing that stuck with me about Suwolgyeonghwa was the explanation card that comes with every menu item. When trying a tea for the first time, you might not know what ingredients are in it or how best to enjoy it just from the name.

But since the card lists the drink's characteristics, ingredients, and how to enjoy it, I naturally ended up reading the card first before tasting.

Once I knew hojigabae used hojicha, I noticed the nutty aroma even more, and with Jeju Breeze, knowing the ingredients made me slow down and smell it more carefully too.

It's a small detail, but it gave me the feeling that they put real care into preparing each menu item.

My honest Suwolgyeonghwa review at a glance

Songjeong has so many wonderful ocean-view cafés right on the sea. I've been to quite a few, but Suwolgyeonghwa felt a bit different from cafés that are only about the view and the mood. I liked the sleek take on a Korean atmosphere, but the tea and desserts also had a distinct character of their own.

Thinking about it, a place that's only good for its scenery or mood can feel like a one-time visit. But a place that adds good flavor and service on top of atmosphere has something that makes you want to come back with good people. Next time, I'd like to return with good company and slowly enjoy the teas and desserts I didn't get to try this time. Even without leaning on the gorgeous scenery of Songjeong's sea and the beach train, the tea and desserts alone at Suwolgyeonghwa were enough to leave a lasting impression as a Busan Songjeong café.