How to Spend a Day in Mangwon: Seoul Neighborhoods Series

Mangwon may be my favorite neighborhood I’ve visited so far in Seoul! A quaint, still fairly residential neighborhood filled with cafes and small businesses, Mangwon has a home-y charm that’s hard to find in a mega city like Seoul. 

This past Sunday, the weather and air quality were great, so I decided to spend the day wandering around the area. Here’s what I did! 

I arrived in the neighborhood around 3:30pm for a late lunch at Salt House Deli. Salt House is a European-style deli, serving sandwiches, made with fresh bread baked in house, and other small plates. I ordered the Jamon Fromage sandwich, and it was so good! I highly recommend this as a chill spot to come solo for lunch, like me, or with friends for early afternoon charcuterie, perhaps to celebrate the end of midterms or finals. 

Next, I left the restaurant and wandered along the street where I found two secondhand stores. I walked into Chemical Sisters first, a super cute shop that had lots of going-out tops and dresses and a ballet-core skirt that I really regret not buying. I then walked next door to Terrace Wear, a store specializing in “American vintage.” If you want to find the perfect pair of old Levi’s or look through rows of American graphic tees, this is definitely a place to check out. 

I then made my way to Mangwon’s main street, stopping in shops that I had starred on Naver Maps, as well as any that caught my eye from the street. A few of my favorites were a design store called Warm Grey Tail, a home goods store called Front Desk (which would be the perfect place to find a lamp for your dorm), and a cafe-turned-secondhand-store called Make Zero Zone. 

After shopping around for a while, I was ready to sit down, so I headed to an espresso bar called Monsieur Bubu Coffee Stand. I sat at the hightop inside, sipping on my drink and people watching. This spot also had a takeout window on the left side of the building, so you can order a coffee to go if you want to do more exploring. 

While my drink at Monsieur Bubu was delicious, it was very rich, so I left the espresso bar in search of a something more refreshing. I decided to backtrack a little and stop into Eert, a modern and very aesthetic teahouse I had walked past earlier. I ordered an herbal tea to drink while I read my book. 

It was getting close to 7:00pm at that point, so I packed up my stuff and walked to Mangwon Hangang Park. I walked along the riverside path and watched the sun set behind the bridge before I headed home for the night. 

And that’s everything I did in Mangwon! Below, I have listed the names and addresses of the spots I mentioned (plus many more!). I hope you get the chance to explore this cute little neighborhood during your time in Seoul.  

 

Cafes

Monsieur Bubu Coffee Stand (listed on Naver as Musyu Bubu Coffee Stand)

453-12 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul 

Eert (Iialti Mangwon)

415-33 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Tea Nomad

414-83 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

House of Vinyl, Mangwon Branch

405-17 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Cafe Paper Forest (Jongi Sup)

457-30 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Moeul

57-278 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Restaurants

Salt House Deli (Salted Jip Deli Mangwon)

57-38 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Mangwon Market

414-109 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Shops

Chemical Sisters

57-68 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Terrace Wear 

57-67 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Warm Grey Tail (Wom Grey Tail)

403-12 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Front Desk

421-10 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Make Zero Zone Vintage Shop

421-35 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Lightfull Studio (Raitpul Studio)

394-2 Mangwon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul

Sights

Mangwon Hangang Park 

467 Mapo-gu Seoul