Book Cafe TOY in Hongdae

Welcome to a dreamy little place in Hongdae called “Book Cafe TOY“!

This place caught our eyes while we walked around one night, we saw lots of toys in the window and thought it was worth a peek!  This is a wonderful example of why I love small shops in Korea, someone rents the space and makes it uniquely them… no panic about making some insane rent or posh menu needed.

Korea has many Book Cafes, but was nice about this place is the owner is a fan of animation, art, and collector of toys!

Her books reflect that interest and lots are from her own collection~ she also decided to share her treasures and toys throughout the cafe with visitors ♥

It does not cost anything to come in, but the etiquette with these places is you at least buy a drink if you are going to sit down.  TOY has a variety of Tea’s, coffee, and some simple snack + Lunch dishes for you to enjoy while you read.  Whats really fun is these come out on a variety of plates she has treasured and collected through the years.

Since this is technically a book cafe~ it has a lot of books! Duh! Inside she showcases an interesting collection of books vs some of the larger cafes that carry a huge general selection to please everyone. This is her taste so she has lots of fun story books, art related reading, animation art books, comics, etc plus a small computer area that you can watch DVDS  in the corner from her collection!

She had all the “Ann of Green Gables” AKA “Red-Haired Ann” Shows from TV and Anime!!  Ahhh so awesome, I totally forgot about that live action series!

Cafe Toy also has a small collection of games you can play!

and some blankets to get all warm and comfy ♥

Inside it was very peaceful and quiet, filled with people reading her books or enjoying a chat and looking at the toy collections.

Her figures are arranged in little window cubby shrines by themes/shows for the most part~ some are older pieces you can tell she bought years ago and others are newer!

This Cafe is fun because while its a bit miss-matched and small, its obviously her collection and it feels like you are relaxing in her room and can enjoy her world.

It just has a nice very personal vibe~lots of couples just sitting in here relaxing for hours.

 

Since we had just scarfed down a large dinner across the street at New York Loft, we opted for some simple tea!

It quickly came out nice and warm with adorable Beatrix Potter saucers!

Reminds me of my childhood~ I loved Tom Kitten and his sisters!

We quickly settled down with some of her books to enjoy!

The owner has a nice collection of Robert Sabuda pop up books which I was super excited to read~ I own a few of his already, but I jump at the chance to see anything he does!  If you are unaware of this amazing artist please check out his children’s books, he is one of the most talented pop-up book creators around.

As some of you may know, Nara was an animator over at Dreamworks Animation before we moved here~ So he was delighted to see she had a large collection of CGI character toys and lots of Shrek goodies.  Its always makes him smile when he sees things he worked on someplace randomly ~ I’m the same way haha!

We ended up talking with the owner a bit about her + the cafe and found out her son is planning to study animation in college soon~ so it seems that mother and son really both have a love for these things and share a common interest ♥ that’s so sweet!

Like many cafes and small restaurants around Korea, you are encouraged to draw and leave notes on post-its around the room as decoration and to create memories.  Lots of art fans must come here (which is understandable given her selection is geared to that!) so this place had lots of pretty drawings all over the place on the cards~

Its so much fun to just walk around and look at them all ♥

 

 Gear provided up front to add your own drawing or note to the wall

 

check out this awesome bike lamp!

YUMMY!

Directions!!! The easiest way to find cafe toy is to get off at Hapjeong Station and Exit #3.  Its a crammed area so keep your eyes open and look for “American food truck” or “New York Loft” which has huge signs (hard to miss!) and very close to Cafe Toy.

Get off 합정 station exit 3.
Go straight until you hit 르노 삼성자 동차 building (240m).
Turn right and walk about 330m until you see ‘Cafe Toy’ on a building

http://cafe.naver.com/bookcafetoy

Address is

02-332-2789

서울특별시 마포구 서교동 404-19 (3rd floor)

CuteinKorea.com


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My name is Elle and I am an Illustrator & Gallery painter from California, but currently I am living in Seoul with my Korean Fiancé!

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