파로호전통찻집 - Take a trip to Paroho Tea House

IT'S TEA TIME!!

No no not that kind of tea...

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아니라고~

Yeah no.

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Getting warmer?

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There we go. Much better.

I'm finally getting around to writing this review for my friend's amazing tea house. I hope it entices thousands of customers for her. I plan to submit this to various other websites I'm familiar with to spread the word, but that also means I'm going to have to tone down my crazy and pretend to be professional... a least a little bit. ... Just sometimes.. I guess I can always edit out crazy bits.. Oh forget it! This is just a normal Gabby-style post.

Also, a note before we start, most of the below pictures I took over several different trips in different seasons (obviously)... the tea shop only just opened last fall (2015) so you can see a lovely variation of early autumn to winter.


Okay here we go!


So you've found yourself in Hwacheon, or hey, maybe you've just made it to this northeast province, Gangwon-do. There's mountains and rivers and it's all so beautiful~ wouldn't a nice cup of tea just hit the spot? (yes)

Paroho Tea House is the best place to maintain the atmosphere of natural Korea and traditional culture. It's not located in a city or even one of the many countryside towns, but actually right by a traditional Korean house pension. That's it. Seriously nothing else. There's the pension and Bukhan River and mountains on mountains. Pretty wonderful right?

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To get here you just head straight out from Hwacheon town. There's a street along the river AND a fenced off bike path that makes a great 25 minute walk or faster bike ride.
You can tell you're headed the right way because just after you leave town you'll see this epic fish and map of the bike trails around Paroho.

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Whether you're travelling by car, bike, or foot, you'll definitely see this gas station about half way there.

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Keep on going~ But be sure to take your time and enjoy the view ;)

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Finally you can kind of sort of see the tea house/pension in the distance~

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On the bike path there will be a wooden bridge... even though it looks pretty DON'T CROSS IT. THERE IS A TROLL!! cough.. I mean once you cross it it's a long while before you can go back up to the main road... so unless you want to super backtrack... turn here to the main road!

In case you forget about my advice, there's also several hand painted signs that advertise the tea house and the pension (if you read Korean... and if you don't, there's a cute little tea cup for the wonderful universal language of art~)

This is also your first hint of my friend, Darin's super talent~ ooooh foreshadowing~

After you've made it to the main road you'll see the below two signs (which also light up at night so you can't miss it)

Take your cue and turn towards them (to the left if you're following my trail and heading there from Hwacheon). After hiking up a hill you'll see these two buildings:

Paroho Hanok (traditional Korean house) pension

AND THE TEA HOUSE!!! 

(with my ugly bike hanging out front as well..)

GO INSIDE (this is like a RPG game isn't it? Kinda?)

What do you see??

OMG this place is so cute and full of artwork!

Wait, who's this?

It's Darin of course! You may have seen her in some of my other posts, and I'm sure I've mentioned her before. She is my best friend in Hwacheon, and this whole tea house is her's! The three photos directly above this comment were all taken the day I got a message from her saying the tea house finally opened (hence the congratulatory bouquet and comparatively bare walls). 

These days the whole place is covered (seriously like every other 10cm) in traditional art like calligraphy, hand-made paper lanterns, fans, painting, and miniature pottery like you see below. But I bet you didn't know that about 99% of all these are MADE BY DARIN HERSELF.

YES SHE IS SO SO SOOOO AMAZING!!! 

 The above flower is kept alive by a bit of water in the mini bowl. Both the flower and berries/dried flowers/branches (see below) that aesthetically weave through the tea shop are all locally obtained (grown on the trees surrounding the pensions or were flowers gifted to her (my flower gift made a brief appearance too!))

Even that green fan was colored and has intricate calligraphy Darin decorated herself. See, Darin went to a special college and got a degree in traditional Korean arts, specifically tea culture, but I think she also focused on traditional writing methods. Some of the wall decor is in traditional Chinese characters, but the majority is all beautiful Korean characters, hangul.

Darin has to stay in the store all day, every day, so when she doesn't have customers and has free time, she just makes more calligraphy. (Yeah she's that casually AMAZING)

(These three photos surrounding this comment are all from Darin's Instagram~ I didn't take them)

She also wears a casual-style hanbok every day! Hanbok is Korea's traditional dress/clothing and it really helps keep the atmosphere authentic right?

You can also see in the above photo (plus a few other random ones) two teal/green tables right? Those are actually doors from old hanok (remember? traditional Korean houses) that Darin painted and use as tables and dividers for her store. She actually spent months working with her family and preparing to open this tea house. 

Don't believe me? See for yourself:

짜잔! 

(above three photos also credit to Darin)

The thing I really wish I could explain to you all is how charming all the calligraphy is. Some have whimsical and philosophical phrases, and others are clever puns with the word tea.

Crappy Gabby translate time: 

window shade: These days I wish (I) had nothing to do.

Framed piece: More than just "protecting" me I wish you'd watch over me, More than just "expecting" (things of) me I wish you'd wait for me.

UNGH translating is so hard. I can't convey how similar these comparing phrases sound in Korean which makes it so much more meaningful... JUST KNOW THAT IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND THAT DARIN IS AMAZING. Oh and have I mentioned that she is amazing?

Once you've finished goggling at the amazing interior you better do what you came to do and order that tea~ Let's take a look at the menu:

Okay, okay. For those of you who don't read Korean, relax. I honestly can't explain this whole menu to you because I'm a tea idiot. BUT basically everything is delicious and you can't go wrong. The majority of your options are tea that you can brew yourself and drink more and more of (you get a little kettle with additional hot water). There are a few though that Darin mixes herself into a stew like tea and it comes in a really big cup (and you don't get refills).

The below two (adorable) cups show the difference. Right is a giant cup of jujube stew tea. Left is an ity-bity cup of yum yum green tea. (You can tell I know a lot about this stuff with these very accurate names). 

Unlike myself, Darin really does know her stuff. You can just ask her for something like if you're really cold, or tired, or you've got cramps, or want something light. She will know exactly what to give you. Each person has to order at least one tea (no ordering just one to share!) and it comes with all kinds of different mini tea snacks (that she also often MAKES HERSELF).

No matter what you order, it'll be fantastic, and only 6,000 won.

(cough my mini pumpkin pies appear again! cough)

(Oh isn't that paper lantern behind Monica really pretty? Guess what? YEAH DARIN PAINTED THAT TOO)

photo by Darin

Oh hey DARIN IS AMAZING.

I go to the tea house whenever I can, since it's now the only way I can see my friend. But also because I'm Darin's fan club president, I mean what? We are friends...

I had a really quiet birthday since no one in town really knew about it (I feel stupid telling people it's my birthday, like hey! Make me feel special. Right now.) But Darin's birthday is just two days after mine, so I went to surprise her and she actually insisted we celebrate together. Her whole family came out to eat cake and sang to both of us and GAH it made me so happy. They are the sweetest bestest people.

JUST KNOW THAT DARIN IS AMAZING. SO GO TO THIS TEA HOUSE AND GIVE HER YOUR MONEY ALREADY.

Want more info? Want to make a reservation (at the tea house or pension)?  Lucky you I took pictures of Darin's business cards~

You do know that if you click on the pictures they get bigger, right?

Also be sure to check out www.paroho.kr

their website which has tons of professional photos and more info (if you can read Korean...)

See you there~ 

Gabadedee

Hwacheon is prettier than your... place. Yeah.

Photo credit to Darin + her drone skillz

카페꼼마 Cafe Comma: Study cafes in Korea

Hi de ho~ Computer dwellers lo~ Welcome to my blogy-bo~

 

Whew~ enough of that..
Happy almost Valentines Day (better known as Single Awareness Day)~

Can you feel the love toni~ght?

In vein of that, I, a proud (not exactly, but at least comfortable) single, cannot avoid the slight tinge of loneliness as this much commercialized holiday approaches. I have tried in the past few weeks to meet various humans and join in the dating crowd through certain very reputable phone apps... and let's just say I've quickly given up on that recreation. I went to Seoul last week and found myself very much without any dates, and very much with a desire to continue studying Korean.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation, allow me to inform you of a wonderful type of cafe that is in Korea, STUDY CAFES! No more couples canoodling while you, very much alone, want to get something done. No silly laughter and jaunty music to disturb your productivity. These places are for serious folk who work as quietly as my university library during midterms to finals (aka the whole school year).

Well that is actually a huge exaggeration. I had read as much on other "travel blogs" (aka websites that exoticise Korean/foreign cultures to get more views and actually don't represent nor even slightly try to understand the country) before going and was surprised with how normal they actually were. These cafes still have friends and couples coming in together and chatting. There is no unspoken vow of silence. The music is more mellow so you can get work done. There is one key element in my opinions that makes a cafe a "study cafe": books.
(You may even hear the term book cafe instead of study cafe)

These cafes have lots of books. Which, really, is perfect for the solo cafe traveler and even cafe hopping with companions who appreciate occasional silience and literature.



After browsing a few websites, and reading about these "study cafes", I set out on Friday hoping to divide my time between two study cafes nearby the area I spent the night in, Hongdae.*

*Hongdae is in the northwest-ish area of Seoul, but nowhere near as far out as the airports, so it's comparably central. It is actually very near where I spent my first summer in Korea back in 2012 at Ewha University. If you remember~ that area was surrounded by universities and young people. Hongdae is next to yet another university and is where everyone goes to party. There's lots of hip places for young people not just during the evening but also throughout their day. There's a lively indie music scene and street dance performances that you can find in warmer months along all the side streets. And, of course, SO MANY CAFES.


(I'm trying to start giving credit when I can for all my random Google search image finds... so these Hongdae images are from these super awesome photographers, find them here and here ^^)


Back to the cafes~ I chose two different cafes to visit. Cafe Comma and Rabbit (Book) Cafe. (카페꼼마 and 토끼의 지혜)

 

First up, you guessed it, Cafe Comma!

There are actually multiple Cafe Commas in this part of Seoul. One is right next to Hongdae subway station, with a more utilitarian exterior, but spacious inside with many study-cubby desks. This cafe (the one I went to) is actually kinda closer to an different subway station, Sangsu, not Hongdae, but my hostel was between these subway stops and it wasn't much of a walk (to either one). I chose this one because I thought it would be less crowded.

The outside is decorated so well~ I love the stone work and trees.

The picture directly above can be found here along with a few more photos and info in Chinese.      如果你看得到汉语... (繁体字)

 

There are two levels inside this cafe. The first floor is where you order and has cute little round tables spaced out. Upstairs is where we get real comfy-looking with bigger tables. I have lots of papers and like to spread out when I study, so up the stairs I went.

This pretty white tree (OF GONDOR!) is on the wall as you go up the stairs...

 

AND I HAD THE PLACE TO MYSELF. Benefits of getting out earlyish (I got there closer to 11 o'clock... not that early) because in my last hour at the cafe, from around 12:30, the place started to get full. Well actually there was one other lady studying on the same couch before I arrived, and when she left I took these photos:

What's that in the distance? It sure looks like a lot of books...



 

OMG it is! (The above photo is by Hana Yi)

 

 

I had my own work to get done, so I didn't spend much time browsing their collection, but I really want to go back and see what else they have. It is mostly all books in Korean, divided by genre (the above photo shows the tiny Korean graphic novel (만화 manhwa) section).

 

This cafe is designed for customers to just browse and enjoy their books with coffee. If a customer enjoys the book, they can buy it as well! The cafe is actually run by a popular publishing company in Korea, and another benefit of coming early, you can get 50% off! As these books can get a lot of love, the discount is reasonable. ;)

 

The coffee itself isn't very cheap, but pretty standard for fancy cafes in Korea I think. Americano is just 4,500. Other coffee drinks in the 5,000s. Teas and juices in the 6,000s. And though I didn't try it, you can get a refill Americano (no matter what drink you originally pay for) for just 1,000.

 

All in all, a very cute cafe. Nice calm music (not like meditation calm, but like oh this song makes me smile, but not like bust out singing and dancing to the song... you know?) I'm just an introvert who prefers the feeling of having a place to myself, so I would definitely try to go early and not with the lunch crowd flow~

 

 

....

 

Next I mailed some packages and then went in search of my second cafe prey, Rabbit (Book) Cafe. When I looked at the maps earlier, it should only have been a block and a half or so from Cafe Comma. (again nearby Sangsu station).

 

This photo and many more are from a blog that pinched at my curiousity. I continued to find references to this cafe as I searched the night before; all these blogs tempting me with their stories of silence and perfect study atmosphere... and free Americano refills!

But after rounding around and around the alleys of Hongdae, wasting all my data using navigation apps, I was confounded. The cafe was no where to be seen yet my phone said I was right on top of the cafe...
I finally did another search and found this blog: 토끼의 지혜 - 문 닫음
There was nothing about the Hongdae store at all last year. No news pages. No more blog reviews. Just this one blog (above), where the blogger had also heard good things about the cafe yet couldn't find it like myself.
Apparently, they closed last year. :(
Seriously, why wasn't there a sign? How do you know a cafe is closed or not? It's like when I got lost trying to find my internship in 2012... why don't they update the maps online? (I know Google maps is usless in Korea, but even Naver maps hadn't been updated!)
Now maybe their Gangnam branch is still open, but I rarely go there so... maybe we'll never know. The great mystery of the Rabbit cafe~~

As my afternoon plans were foiled, I went shopping at a pop-up Gap store and studied a bit in a Starbucks (bleh, boring right?)

 

If you want to try and find more book cafes, check out this blog! It's in Korean, and clearly hasn't been updated since Rabbit book cafe is on there... but it's what inspired me! I want to check out the others soon~~

 

Finally I'd like to end with this very interesting looking place in Seoul:

 

I would never be found in this place, but if you do go, good luck. American smell is not something to take lightly...

 

 

HAPPY SINGLE AWARENESS DAYYYYYYY~~~

 

Love,

Gabrielle Iamanindepedentwoman Walti