Gwanghwamun café with non-coffee mugwort tea and milk tea: Lemangdoré
In short
Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a bakery café filling the 1st to 3rd floors of a building on Mugyo-dong street between Seoul City Hall and Cheonggyecheon in Jung-gu, Seoul. Unable to drink coffee that day, the writer ordered the early spring mugwort tea at 6,500 won and the milk tea at 7,500 won: the mugwort tea tasted clean and cool like barley tea with no bitterness, and the milk tea was less sweet than expected. Between the decaf and non-coffee drinks and the floor-to-ceiling city view on the 2nd floor, Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun works even for a date with someone who can't drink coffee.
Good to know
- Hours
- 08:00–21:00 (last coffee order 20:30)
- Location
- Mugyo-dong street between Seoul City Hall and Cheonggyecheon; building floors 1–3
- Parking
- No on-site parking; nearby SFC Mall parking (no validation)
- Early spring mugwort tea
- 6,500 won
- Milk tea
- 7,500 won
- Drip coffee price range
- 7,000–10,000 won and up
- Baked treats
- Madeleines and financiers at nearly 5,000 won each, also sold as gift sets
- Floor layout
- 1F ordering, coffee bar and goods; 2F city-view seating; 3F Fritz Hansen furniture, available for private bookings
- Price reference
- ₩7,000 ≈ $5.1 · ₩10,000 ≈ $7.3 · ₩5,000 ≈ $3.7 (2026-09-25)
as written by the visitor on Aug 18, 2026
These days it's not too hot and the weather's nice and cool, so I went for a walk around Gwanghwamun and stopped by Lemangdoré, famous for its city view — here's my post about it.
Where Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is, opening hours and parking
Lemangdoré is known for its drip coffee, which I sadly can't have right now since I'm preparing for pregnancy. Prices are usually in the ₩7,000–₩10,000 range, so if you love drip coffee, definitely visit.
- Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun
- Hours: 08:00–21:00 (coffee orders close at 20:30)
- Located on the Mugyo-dong street between Seoul City Hall and Cheonggyecheon, spanning the 1st–3rd floors
- No parking on site — use nearby SFC Mall parking, no validation provided
Is Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun worth visiting if you can't drink coffee?
The biggest strength of Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is that they do hand drip with a wide variety of beans to choose from, and they also have decaf and non-coffee options for people who can't enjoy coffee — for someone like me under a coffee ban, it's basically an oasis.
How much are the madeleine and financier gift sets?
One nice thing about Lemangdoré is that they sell madeleines and financiers separately as gifts. The downside is they're pricier than expected — almost ₩5,000 each... but I guess it doesn't matter if they taste good.
I looked it up and apparently these are the same items given as VIP gifts by Gucci, so maybe the price isn't so crazy after all. They'd make a great gift for friends or acquaintances who love baked goods, or for weddings and celebrations — even the box feels luxurious.
Cookies, egg tarts and croissants at the bakery counter
They also sell all kinds of other desserts — cookies, egg tarts, croissants, and more — so it's fun just browsing. You can taste traditional French flavors here, and apparently the owner of Lemangdoré loves chausson aux pommes (French apple turnover). I think Lemangdoré might be the only place in Korea where you can get that taste without flying to a French bakery.
A look at the goods corner on the 1st floor
On one side of the 1st floor, they sell various products, and Lemangdoré's trademark seems to be a little heart. Looking around slowly, I found tumblers, socks, and other kinds of merchandise on display — fun to browse.
Seating floor by floor and private bookings at Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun
The 1st floor is where you order coffee and baked goods, with a coffee bar, whole bean coffee, and various goods for sale. The 2nd floor has a variety of seating with a wide-open city view out front — great for people-watching on a nice day. The 3rd floor is decorated with Danish furniture brand Fritz Hansen and set up for group bookings, meetings, and gatherings — good news for nearby office workers who need a space to book for meetings.
How did the early spring mugwort tea and milk tea taste?
The early spring mugwort tea was ₩6,500 and the milk tea was ₩7,500. The mugwort tea tasted better and more savory than I expected — no bitterness at all, more like drinking cool barley tea. My husband had the milk tea and said it wasn't as sweet as he thought it'd be. He finished it quickly, saying he was fascinated by how the color looked just like yogurt.
The 2nd-floor window city view and the best time to visit
Looking outside through the big floor-to-ceiling window on the 2nd floor, it's fun watching people pass by. Being near Gwanghwamun, there are lots of office workers, but you also spot plenty of foreigners. My husband and I visited at a somewhat off-peak time, but there were still more people in the café than I expected. I'd love to come back sometime when the fall leaves are in full color, or when snow is pouring down — I imagine each season feels completely different, and I definitely want to visit again.
There's a madeleine cake model made of red madeleines, just like Lemangdoré's signature red heart.
I tried to take this shot with as few people as possible showing — there are so many different chairs and tables that figuring out where to sit is its own fun little dilemma.
There are little tags stuck under the chairs — turns out they're Fritz Hansen brand chairs, and sitting in one to try it out felt pretty great.
Where it is
17 Mugyo-ro, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 중구 무교로 17 1층, 2층, 3층
