Kid-friendly café near Sehwa Beach in Jeju: Sigan-eul Damda Gujwa

Every time I visit Jeju, I'm amazed at how many pretty, distinctive cafés there are — café touring is honestly one of the best parts of the trip. This time I want to introduce a special café right next to Sehwa Beach where I got to enjoy cool water-gazing at a reflection pool garden, pretty photos, and a proper relaxing break all at once. It's the café beloved by many as a Sehwa favorite: 'Sigan-eul Damda' (which translates roughly to "holding time").

Floating a free paper boat on the reflection pool garden

The biggest draw of Sigan-eul Damda Gujwa is definitely the refreshing, beautiful reflection pool garden set up right next to the building. Here at the garden you can take great photos, and also try the wish candle experience and a free paper boat experience. Just sitting and gazing at the calm water is enough to melt away all the fatigue built up from traveling.

Right next to the café is this reflection pool garden that puts your mind at ease just by looking at it.

It's a really great place to visit with kids too. As soon as my kids saw the reflection pool garden, they got excited and immediately started folding paper. They floated their colorful handmade paper boats on the water and stared at them with curious eyes for the longest time — it was such a pretty and proud moment to watch, haha.

There are comfortable chairs set up around the reflection pool garden so you can pause and enjoy some water-gazing, so it really felt like a healing space where you could literally 'hold time' amid a busy schedule. However you shoot it, a photo with the reflection pool garden as your backdrop comes out looking great, so make sure to snap at least one outdoor shot.

Sigan-eul Damda Gujwa opening hours and closed days

Sigan-eul Damda — Sehwa-ri/Pyeongdae-ri café, Gujwa-eup, a Sehwa favorite in Jeju Hours 12:30 - 21:00 (Closed every Wednesday and Thursday)

Turns out this café is actually famous for its flower bingsu (shaved ice dessert).

Inside the café: purple flowers and a bright, airy room

The moment you step inside, the gorgeous purple flower decorations cascading down from the ceiling are the first thing to catch your eye. Thanks to the bright floral display pouring down right from the entrance, my mood instantly lifted the second I walked in.

Even from the indoor tables, the outdoor reflection pool garden view comes right through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. Thanks to that, you can sit comfortably indoors and still enjoy the cool view even on hot or rainy days. The whole café is decorated with sentimental interior props and lighting, so for anyone who loves taking café photos, this is basically a visual heaven.

What we ordered: americano, nurungji einspänner, matcha latte and chocolate cake

Turns out this place, 'Sigan-eul Damda,' is a big Sehwa favorite famous for carrot juice and carrot cake made with fresh Jeju carrots, and for its wildly colorful 'Jeju flower bingsu.' We only found that out afterward, so we just ordered drinks and desserts based on our own tastes.

It looks sparkly even in a plain shot, haha.

• Americano: my go-to pick that I always try first at any café! The clean, nutty coffee flavor swept away my lunchtime fatigue perfectly
• Nurungji einspänner: my wife's signature pick! The savory scorched-rice (nurungji) flavor paired with soft, sweet cream made for a unique and charming drink that hit both savory and sweet at once
• Matcha latte: our first kid's choice, since she's recently gotten completely hooked on green tea and matcha! The rich, slightly bitter matcha aroma blended with smooth milk, and she really enjoyed drinking it
• Chocolate cake: our second kid's forever favorite, the classic symbol of sweetness! Wonderfully chewy and sweet, it was perfect for recharging the kids' sugar levels

The owner decorated each drink and dessert so beautifully and carefully that the whole tray sparkled with Instagram-worthy charm the moment it arrived. As they say, food that looks good tastes good too — with visuals this great, it was fun to photograph and tasted even better because of it.

Is Sigan-eul Damda Gujwa worth it near Sehwa Beach?

I highly recommend this place if you want to take pretty photos near Sehwa Beach, or just want to relax and water-gaze at a cool reflection pool garden. Be sure to stop by 'Sigan-eul Damda,' the Sehwa favorite café where you can hold onto a bit of relaxed Jeju time along with its special flower bingsu!