For those who want to take a break from the world and zone into a book, Chaeg Bar is the venue for you. Hidden in the back alleys of Yeonhui-dong, this low-lit new concept bar has all the amenities you need to keep yourself focused: small individual LED lights, faint jazz in the background, and of course, alcohol. It’s a place where books and alcohol hold hands to provide an excellent experience. There’s just one rule, “Keep calm and drink a book,” as noted on all of the brown paper napkins provided. In order to help customers “keep calm,” the bar does not allow a group of more than 3.
At first glance, the initial thought running through your mind might be that this bookstore/library/bar is quite small. Wait until Chaeg Bar's bartender leads you to a bookshelf with a small button attached to it. As he presses it, making the shelf slide, the revealed is whole another space with a bar and corners you can snug into with your book and a cocktail.
As for the bar, the menu is, once again, linked to reading. It offers suggestions with the reference to the percentage of alcohol you should drink—a short poem or a long essay is each to be accompanied with the right amount of, let's say, imagination booster. Cocktails that appear in stories have been recreated to let you to feel like a character within the book. For instance, the Gin and Tonic on the menu comes from the quote in Norwegian Woods by Haruki Murakami: “Sometimes, when the world gets too hard to live in, I come here for vodka and tonic.” If you are unsure of what to order, just tell the bartender what you're looking for, what kind of mood you're in. He will notify you of the name of the cocktail, the ingredients that go in, and which scene it appears in a book.