Dongnae Coffee

The first café of its kind in this neighborhood, owner Gin Lee tells us about the reaction she got when she decided to quit her company job and start Dongnae Coffee back in 2009. “Are you crazy? Do you want to throw away your money? Just be normal and get married!” Now, the café’s credited with being one of the area’s groundbreaking hot spots. Neatly ornamented with small trinkets, contemporary photography hangs on the wall and a line of fresh comic books wait to be read in one corner. Gin explains, “I’m a quiet person and I thought, even then, that there must be quiet people like me who just want a quiet space of their own.” She recommends coming with an umbrella and a book on days when it rains—the streets fill with the fresh scent of the nearby pine trees.