Discover a Korean Bakery Cafe Near Seoul

If you have already visited a few cafés in Seoul, you probably know that Korea takes café culture very seriously.

But there is another side of Korean café culture that many international visitors never see: the enormous bakery cafés outside Seoul.

These places are often much bigger than a normal city café. Instead of squeezing a few tables into a small building, many cafés in Gyeonggi-do and other regions have huge parking lots, multiple floors, bakeries, restaurants, outdoor terraces, gardens, shopping areas, and even spaces for pets.

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One of these places is Nine Block Jungdaedong in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do.

It is part café, part bakery, part lifestyle store, and part pet-friendly destination. If you want to experience a different kind of Korean café culture, this is a fun place to visit.

If you want to find similar places during your trip, open Naver Map and search:

베이커리카페 (beikeori kape)

🔊 Listen: 베이커리카페

Meaning: Bakery café

You will find many large cafés around Seoul, especially in Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, and other areas outside the city center.

Where Is Nine Block Jungdaedong?

Nine Block Jungdaedong is located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, southeast of Seoul.

The café is close to Samdong Station on the Gyeonggang Line, although visiting by car is much more convenient.

One big advantage is the parking lot. Large cafés outside Seoul are often designed for drivers, so parking tends to be much easier than at cafés in central Seoul.

Useful Korean expression:

주차장 (juchajang)

🔊 Listen: 주차장

Meaning: Parking lot

If you are planning a café road trip in Korea, this is a useful word to recognize.

Why Are Huge Bakery Cafés So Popular in Korea?

Large bakery cafés have become especially popular around Seoul and in provincial areas.

Land is more expensive and space is limited in central Seoul, so cafés there are often smaller. Once you drive outside the city, however, cafés can become enormous.

Many people do not visit them only for coffee.

They go there to:

• spend time with family or friends
• take photos
• eat brunch or desserts
• work on a laptop
• bring their dogs
• enjoy outdoor spaces
• shop
• spend several hours relaxing

In that sense, a Korean bakery café can feel more like a small lifestyle complex than a simple coffee shop.

Nine Block Jungdaedong is a good example of this trend.

First Impression: This Place Is Huge

The first thing I noticed was the size of the building.

The exterior has an industrial and slightly vintage look, and the overall space feels much larger than a typical café.

There is also a dedicated area for dogs, which immediately makes the café stand out.

Useful expression:

반려동물 (ballyeodongmul)

🔊 Listen: 반려동물

Meaning: Pet / companion animal

You may see this word at pet-friendly cafés, hotels, parks, and restaurants in Korea.

A Café and a Lifestyle Store in One Place

The interior is divided into different areas.

One section feels almost like a department store, with clothes, shoes, accessories, and pet-related products on display.

There is even a classic car inside the building, which gives the space a unique atmosphere.

I was surprised by how many products were being sold.

This is one reason Korean mega cafés can be fun to explore. You may go in expecting coffee and end up spending half an hour looking around the shop.

The Main Café Hall

The main café space is wide and comfortable.

There are plenty of tables, and unlike many busy cafés in Seoul, the tables are not packed closely together.

The high ceiling also makes the space feel much more open.

Some artwork created by children was displayed around the café, which added a warmer and more creative feeling to the interior.

The wooden tables and simple industrial design also worked well together.

It is the kind of café where you could easily bring a laptop and stay for several hours.

Useful Korean expression:

자리 있어요? (jari isseoyo?)

🔊 Listen: 자리 있어요?

Meaning: Is there a seat available?

This can be useful when visiting a busy café.

The Bakery Section

Of course, this is not just a coffee shop.

There is a separate bakery section with many different kinds of bread and desserts.

Korean bakery cafés usually offer much more variety than a basic café, and people often order several pastries to share at the table.

Useful Korean word:

빵 (ppang)

🔊 Listen: 빵

Meaning: Bread

And if something looks delicious, you can ask:

이거 뭐예요? (igeo mwoyeyo?)

🔊 Listen: 이거 뭐예요?

Meaning: What is this?

That is one of the easiest and most useful Korean expressions when exploring a bakery.

Coffee, Juice, Pasta, Sandwiches and Bingsu

The menu is much larger than I expected.

In addition to coffee and drinks, Nine Block also serves food such as pasta and sandwiches.

There are also Korean-style shaved ice desserts.

빙수 (bingsu)

🔊 Listen: 빙수

Meaning: Korean shaved ice dessert

When I visited, the menu included both mango bingsu and classic red bean bingsu.

This is another reason large Korean cafés are popular. You can visit for coffee, lunch, dessert, or all three.

What I Ordered

I ordered an Americano and a fresh peach juice.

Both were good, and I especially liked the atmosphere of the café.

One small detail I noticed was the card placed on the serving tray. The design looked surprisingly premium, which matched the overall branding of the café.

There was also a large coffee machine displayed inside, so the café had plenty to look at even beyond the food.

A Pet-Friendly Second Floor

One of the most interesting parts of Nine Block Jungdaedong is its pet-friendly area.

The second floor is designed so visitors can spend time with their dogs.

When I visited, it was raining, so the area was almost empty.

But the facilities were clean and spacious enough even for large dogs to move around comfortably.

There are tables, separate facilities, and grassy areas where dogs can spend time outside.

Useful expression:

강아지 (gangaji)

🔊 Listen: 강아지

Meaning: Dog / puppy

If you travel in Korea with a dog, searching for 애견동반 카페 on Naver Map can help you find pet-friendly cafés.

애견동반 카페 (aegyeondongban kape)

🔊 Listen: 애견동반 카페

Meaning: Dog-friendly café

Outdoor Terrace

There is also an outdoor terrace.

Unfortunately, the weather was hot and rainy when I visited, so I did not spend much time outside.

But during spring or autumn, this would probably be one of the best parts of the café.

Korea has beautiful weather during those seasons, and sitting outside with a coffee is much more enjoyable than during the humid summer.

How to Find Huge Bakery Cafés in Korea

If you want to visit cafés like this while traveling in Korea, do not only search in central Seoul.

Open Naver Map and try searching these Korean terms:

베이커리카페
Bakery café

대형카페
Large café

애견동반 카페
Pet-friendly café

You will usually find many more large cafés in places such as Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, Paju, Yangpyeong, Namyangju, Gapyeong, and other areas surrounding Seoul.

Some of them are destinations worth visiting on their own.

Is Nine Block Jungdaedong Worth Visiting?

If you are already traveling around Gyeonggi-do or driving outside Seoul, Nine Block Jungdaedong is worth considering.

It has a large café space, a bakery, meals, shopping, a pet-friendly area, and an outdoor terrace all in one location.

This is not the kind of café where you simply drink one coffee and leave after 20 minutes.

It is more like a place where you can slow down, walk around, eat something, shop a little, and spend a relaxing afternoon.

For international visitors who want to experience modern Korean café culture beyond Seoul, a large Korean bakery cafe near Seoul like this can be a surprisingly fun part of the trip.

Before You Go

Use Naver Map rather than relying only on Google Maps when traveling in Korea.

Search 베이커리카페 and zoom out around Seoul. You may be surprised by how many massive cafés appear around Gyeonggi-do.

If you enjoy coffee, desserts, architecture, or unusual places to relax, adding at least one large Korean bakery café to your trip is worth it.