Bakbongdam Review: A Unique Large-Scale Cafe in Hwaseong Near Suwon, South Korea, Set Inside a Renovated Kooksoondang Brewery
The spring weather was way too nice to stay home,
so I headed out for a cafe run just outside the city.
This time, I checked out Bakbongdam,
a newly opened large-scale destination cafe in Bongdam, Hwaseong.
It’s a cafe created by renovating a former Kooksoondang brewery,
and it had already started getting buzz
during its soft opening in February.
Location of Bakbongdam in Hwaseong Near Suwon, South Korea
Bakbongdam, one of the newest cafes in Hwaseong, sits right on the border
between Suwon and Hwaseong.
Technically it’s in Hwaseong,
but the location is close enough that calling it a Suwon cafe wouldn’t feel off at all.
There’s an entrance near the main gate of the Ssangyong Yega apartment complex,
and while there is a bus stop nearby,
it’s far from any subway station, so driving is definitely the easiest option.
As I got closer, the retro sign started to come into view,
and you can even spot the small Kooksoondang lettering on the right.
Parking at Bakbongdam
The property is huge, so the parking lot is pretty spacious too.
That covered area with the Kooksoondang roof you see over there
is also part of the parking area, and there’s plenty more space around it.
From above, it looks about this big.
And even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were already this many people.
If you park in the main lot and head to the cafe,
you pretty much have to go up those stairs.
I noticed families with strollers looked a little uncomfortable,
and beyond strollers, I immediately wondered how wheelchair access worked.
There’s actually a separate accessible vehicle entrance
on the opposite side along the main road.
Regular cars can’t enter through there,
since it’s reserved for accessible vehicles only.
This is the way you need to enter.
On the map, it looks like this.
Anyway, if you come in that way,
there are two dedicated accessible parking spaces behind the building.
Outdoor Space and Exterior
This is the view you get when you park in the main lot and walk up.
Since it’s a factory-conversion cafe, the building itself is massive,
and the whole place leans hard into that industrial vibe.
I was wondering why the cafe was called Bakbongdam,
and apparently it comes from a playful mix of Bongdam Park—
like “Park Bongdam,” which turned into Bakbongdam. Kind of cute, honestly.
It really is industrial design at its purest.
If it were me, I probably would’ve filled this area with tables,
but they did a great job preserving that minimalist sense of open space.
There’s also a courtyard-like area that’s nice for a quick stroll.
And yes, there’s an elevator that goes up to the second floor too.
First Floor Ordering Area
Even the ordering area is laid out with tons of breathing room.
Bakbongdam in Hwaseong can basically be summed up
with three keywords: bread, greens, and alcohol.
They sell baked goods, salads made with vegetables they grow themselves,
and everything from traditional Korean liquor to imported alcohol.
It felt relaxed because I went on a weekday,
but I heard people line up to order on weekends.
Behind the kitchen, there’s something that looks like a brewery tap setup,
but it didn’t seem to be in use yet.
Maybe they’ll eventually serve draft makgeolli here?
I wanted to walk through the space first,
so I’ll get into the menu a little further down.
On the first floor, there’s the brewery, bottle shop, and smart farm,
while the second floor has a tasting room and the main customer hall.
Brewery Area
First up, the brewery space right next to the ordering area.
I assumed the brewery had been completely shut down and turned into a cafe, but it looks like they may still be brewing something here.
I doubt this is where they do full-scale mass production,
so my guess is they kept part of it to preserve the identity of the Kooksoondang cafe concept.
That’s just my personal theory though, so take it lightly.
There are also old liquor-making machines displayed
in the outdoor area on the first floor—maybe distillers?
Farm-Up Smart Farm
In the building across from the ordering area, they grow plants.
It’s a smart farm space called Farm-Up.
You can’t actually go inside the smart farm,
but you can peek in from outside like this.
They grow butterhead lettuce there,
and it’s actually used in the cafe’s salad menu.
Bottle Shop: Wine, Traditional Korean Liquor, Whiskey, and More
In a separate building next to the brewery,
they also run a bottle shop.
I thought Kooksoondang only made makgeolli and traditional Korean liquor,
but apparently they’ve also been importing overseas alcohol,
including wine, for a very long time.
I don’t know much about wine, so I mostly just did a quick
“wow, that’s a lot” lap around the shelves.
There was a pretty wide selection,
and I saw staff kindly explaining bottles to customers who asked.
They also sell a variety of traditional liquors made by Kooksoondang,
including Ryeo, Songjeolju, Jaju,
Cheonggamju, and Sasitongeumju.
They had a few whiskeys for sale too,
and since I know whiskey a little better, I looked more closely.
Honestly, every single one felt overpriced.
It’s not like they had especially rare or hard-to-find bottles either,
so I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy whiskey here.
For whiskey, E-Mart Traders would be the better bet.
Tasting Room
Next up, the second-floor tasting room.
There’s a divider with the word “술” (“alcohol”) written boldly across it.
It doesn’t seem to be in use yet,
but I could see this eventually becoming a space
for traditional liquor classes or special events.
The interior details are finished with Kooksoondang Baekseju touches.
Second-Floor Hall Seating Area
And finally, the main hall where customers can actually sit.
The whole space has that airy, minimalist feel,
but compared to how huge the place is, there actually aren’t that many tables,
so I imagine getting a seat on weekends could be tough.
The tables and chairs are all angular, solid wood pieces,
so I can see them getting uncomfortable if you stay too long.
Surprisingly, there are outlets here and there,
so on a quiet weekday it could work as a laptop-friendly cafe too.
One thing to note: I didn’t see any high chairs for babies.
It’s not a no-kids cafe, so maybe they’ll add them later.
Stepping outside from the second floor,
I also spotted what looked like an old plaque.
You can also look down over the parking lot from up here.
The restrooms are on the second floor and separated by gender,
and they were very clean. The women’s restroom even had four stalls.
Bakbongdam Menu
Now for the menu.
This is the full menu board,
but the text is tiny and honestly hard to read.
The menu photos are easier to check here instead.
Roughly speaking, prices are about:
Coffee: 7,000 to 8,000 KRW (about $5 to $6)
Non-coffee drinks: 6,000 to 9,000 KRW (about $4.50 to $6.50)
Salads: 17,000 to 19,000 KRW (about $12 to $14)
Sandwiches: 16,000 to 18,000 KRW (about $11.50 to $13)
Soup: 9,000 to 13,000 KRW (about $6.50 to $9.50)
Sides: 18,000 to 25,000 KRW (about $13 to $18)
There’s also a signature item called Bakbongdam Saecham
that doesn’t appear on the main menu board.
It comes with salad, soup, and sulppang,
which is a lightly fermented Korean alcohol bread.
The salads, sandwiches,
and side dishes are all on the pricier side.
There aren’t a ton of drink options,
but the signature drink is a cream coffee called Bakbongdam,
and you can switch the coffee drinks to decaf.
They also have a few desserts,
including ice cream, sulppang, and scones.
Even though bagel-style desserts are trendy right now,
sulppang is clearly the main dessert here, which makes sense for a Kooksoondang cafe.
There are 10 kinds of sulppang, and four of them
are cream-filled versions kept in the refrigerator.
There are also two kinds of scones.
If you order the plain sulppang, it comes with cream on the side,
and you can choose either alcoholic or non-alcoholic cream.
Proof that I paid for this myself.
Apple Custard Sulppang Review
I ordered the apple custard sulppang
because it looked like the prettiest one for photos.
For coffee, I got an iced decaf Americano.
The sulppang was packed with custard cream.
When I picked up my order, one of the staff members told me,
“This one is really good,” so I went in with high expectations.
After trying it, I realized it wasn’t just shaped like an apple—
there were actually plenty of apple pieces inside too.
The bread itself was pretty mild in flavor,
but the cream was delicious and not overly sweet, so I really enjoyed it.
The coffee had a nice nutty flavor too, which I liked.
All in all, I think this is a really fun and unusual new cafe
for the Hwaseong and Suwon area,
and it’s probably going to stay hot for a while.
Now that the weather’s warming up,
it’s a great excuse for a little drive.
Definitely worth checking out.
Bakbongdam
031-302-6123
452 Maesonggosaek-ro, Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
403 Suyeong-ri, Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
10:30 ~ 20:30 (L.O. 19:30)