Korea has one of the most exciting café scenes in the world, from sleek specialty roasters to themed cafés built for photos. But long before the first international coffee chain arrived, Koreans had their own kind of coffee house: the dabang. These old-fashioned tea and coffee rooms were where people met friends, waited for dates, talked about art and politics, and requested songs from the DJ. Most have disappeared, but a few historic dabang survive, and a new wave of retro cafés is reviving their style for a younger generation. For visitors, stepping into a dabang is a little like traveling back in time. This guide explains what a dabang is, how it became the center of Korean social life, what to order, where to experience one in Seoul today, and what makes it so different from the modern cafés you’ll find on every corner.
Quick Vocab
retro coffee and tea house – da bang
tea – cha
room – bang
coffee with cream and sugar – da bang keo pi
instant “mix” coffee – mik seu keo pi
traditional herbal tea – ssang hwa cha
ginger tea – saeng gang cha
egg yolk – no reun ja
retro / nostalgic style – re teu ro / nyu teu ro
“Could I have a ssanghwacha?” – ssang hwa cha han jan ju se yo
What Is a Dabang? A Short History
The word dabang combines da, meaning tea, and bang, meaning room, but these places served coffee as well as tea. Coffee first reached Korea’s elite in the late 19th century, and a hotel coffee room opened in Seoul’s Jeong-dong neighborhood around 1902, inside the Sontag Hotel, which served foreign diplomats and high-ranking officials of the Korean Empire. Public coffee houses came later, during the Japanese colonial period. Around 1923, a tea room called Futami opened in Seoul, and in 1927 Kakadu, opened by filmmaker Lee Kyung-son at the entrance to Gwanhun-dong, became the first modern-style dabang established and operated by Koreans. In 1933, the famous modernist poet Yi Sang even ran his own dabang, called Jebi. Dabang clustered in Myeongdong and Jongno, and from the 1920s through the 1950s they became gathering places for Korean artists and writers, who met there to discuss art, write, and hold poetry readings and music appreciation sessions. By the mid-1950s, there were reportedly more than 50 coffee houses in Myeongdong alone. Coffee spread to ordinary Koreans after the Korean War, when instant coffee arrived through the U.S. military, and dabang began serving it widely. In September 1970, Korea produced its first instant coffee, and Koreans started drinking coffee at home as well. In the 1970s and 1980s, dabang became more decorated, more specialized, and in some cases more luxurious. Then, from the 1990s, dabang gradually lost ground to coffee machines, refined new drinks, and eventually international coffee chains; the first Starbucks in Korea opened in 1999. Today, true old dabang are rare, but the word lives on in cafés that celebrate the retro style, and even in the Korean name of a major coffee chain, Paik’s Dabang.
More Than Coffee: Why Dabang Were the Center of Social Life
To understand dabang, you have to imagine life before smartphones. When people couldn’t text “running late,” meeting someone meant agreeing on a firm time and place in advance, and a dabang was the natural choice. The first person to arrive would order a drink and wait for the others, sometimes for quite a while. Dabang were where business deals were discussed, where friends caught up, and where couples met. Although they were for adults, they became popular dating spots for young men and women. They were also spaces for ideas. During the years when Korea was struggling for democracy, dabang near universities served as hangouts where young students listened to music and discussed philosophy, literature, and art. One historic dabang near the old Seoul National University campus was such a regular meeting place for students that they nicknamed it “Classroom 25.” Music was central to the experience, too. The 1970s saw the rise of music dabang with youthful DJs, who sat in a booth, took song requests from customers, and played records for the room. For many, the music dabang was Korea’s first themed café. This is the biggest difference between a dabang and a modern franchise café. Today, many people visit cafés to study, work on laptops, or grab a drink to go. A dabang was about people: sitting across from each other, talking for hours, and sharing a space with everyone else in the room. The drinks were simple, and nobody was in a hurry. In a dabang, the coffee was almost an excuse to be together.
What to Order: Dabang Coffee, Ssanghwacha, and Traditional Teas
Dabang menus were refreshingly simple compared with today’s long café boards. The signature drink was dabang coffee, a mixture of coffee, creamer, and sugar. Every dabang had its own ratio, and in the 1980s and 1990s there was a popular debate about the best way to make it. That sweet, creamy taste became so beloved that it inspired Korea’s famous instant “mix coffee,” a single-serving packet of coffee, creamer, and sugar created in December 1976 and still found in offices and vending machines today. One unusual old custom was adding an egg yolk to coffee. Because people worried that black coffee might upset an empty stomach, some dabang served coffee with an egg yolk floating in it, especially in the morning. Tea was just as important, and the most iconic dabang tea was ssanghwacha, a traditional herbal tea; from the 1930s through the 1980s, it was the most popular item in dabang culture. It’s made with medicinal herbs such as licorice root, cinnamon, and astragalus steeped in hot water, then topped with jujubes or pine nuts and a raw egg yolk, which is gently cooked by the heat of the tea as you drink it. The flavor is warm and herbal, a little like traditional Korean medicine in a cup. Other classic drinks include ginger tea and other traditional herbal teas. If you see a dabang-style herbal tea with an egg yolk on top, don’t be alarmed; it’s part of the tradition. Stir it gently or let it warm through, take a slow sip, and enjoy something you’ll never find at a modern chain café.
Where to Experience a Dabang in Seoul Today
The most famous historic dabang still operating in Seoul is Hakrim Dabang, on Daehak-ro in Hyehwa. It opened in 1956 and is considered the oldest active café in Seoul and among the oldest in the country, after Samyang Dabang, in Jeonju. For decades, it was a favorite of Seoul National University students and of prominent writers, poets, and artists, and it has been designated a Seoul Future Heritage site. The interior is decorated to evoke nostalgia, reflecting its long history, and it serves coffee and tea as well as cakes, parfaits, and ice cream; its homemade cream cheese cake is especially popular. To find it, take Seoul Subway Line 4 to Hyehwa Station, leave by Exit 3, and walk about a block; the café is on the second floor. Its opening hours have long been from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., but it’s worth checking before you go. Hyehwa itself is Seoul’s theater district, so a visit pairs nicely with an evening show. Beyond the historic dabang, a new generation of retro cafés is reinterpreting the style, part of a larger wave of interest in dabang culture.
What Foreigners Notice First, and How a Dabang Compares With an American Diner
The moment you step into a dabang, you’ll notice how different it feels from a modern café. The interior is often filled with wooden furniture, old sofas or upholstered chairs, warm lamps, and vintage decorations, rather than minimalist white walls and bright lighting. Music is usually softer and older, sometimes played from records, and it sets a relaxed, nostalgic mood. The seating is arranged for conversation, with tables meant for sitting face to face rather than long counters for laptops. Ordering is simpler, too. Instead of a long board of espresso variations and seasonal drinks, menus are short and focused on classics like coffee, traditional teas, and a few desserts. Most importantly, the pace is slow. People settle in and stay for a while, talking, reading, or simply listening to the music, and no one rushes you to leave. For American visitors, the closest comparison may be a classic old diner or a long-running neighborhood coffee shop: a place with its own regulars, its own personality, and a sense of history in every booth. The difference is that a dabang carries a century of Korean modern history, from colonial-era artists and post-war coffee to student debates during the democracy movement and DJs spinning records in the 1970s. That’s why it’s worth skipping one trendy tourist café during your trip and visiting a dabang instead. You won’t just be drinking coffee; you’ll be sitting in a space where Korea’s past and present meet. Order something you’ve never tried, like ssanghwacha, take your time, and let the room tell its story.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is a dabang the same as a modern Korean café?
Not exactly. Dabang are the older generation of Korean coffee and tea houses, with simpler menus and a slower, more social atmosphere. Many modern cafés borrow the name or style, but the experience is different.
What is “mix coffee”?
It’s Korea’s single-serving instant coffee packet that combines coffee, creamer, and sugar. Created in 1976, it was inspired by the sweet, creamy dabang coffee and is still popular in offices and vending machines.
Why is there an egg yolk in the tea?
Adding a raw egg yolk to ssanghwacha, and sometimes to coffee, is an old dabang custom. The heat of the drink gently cooks the yolk, and for coffee, it was once thought to make it gentler on an empty stomach.
Is Paik’s Dabang a traditional dabang?
No. Paik’s Dabang, known in English as Paik’s Coffee, is a modern Korean coffee chain that borrows the word dabang in its name. For a traditional experience, visit a historic dabang or a retro-style café.
My Take
In Korea, a dabang was the café of the old days. I remember it not just as a place to drink coffee, but as a space where people met and talked. The atmosphere is completely different from today’s franchise cafés. The drinks were classics like coffee, ssanghwacha, and ginger tea, and the menu wasn’t complicated like at today’s cafés. I ordered ssanghwacha, a traditional herbal tea, and it came with an egg inside. It had a strong smell of Korean herbal medicine, and after the first sip, what I felt was a healthy, tasty flavor. It was honestly pretty good. If I were recommending something to a foreign friend, I’d strongly tell them to experience a place like this at least once instead of a café made for tourists. It’s a place that’s full of the feeling of old Korea. You’re not just drinking coffee; it’s an experience where Korea’s past and present connect.
Sources
- Visit Seoul – Dabang: Old Korean coffee shops: english.visitseoul.net
- Asia Society Korea – The mood of coffee: asiasociety.org
- The Korea Times – How coffee, not tea, became Koreans’ favorite drink: koreatimes.co.kr
Suggested Reading
Korean Café Culture: Iced Americanos, Café Manners, and What Changed With Animal Cafés
From dabang to today — how modern Korean café culture works, and the manners to know.
Makgeolli Guide: Types, How to Taste It, and Traditional Bars in Korea
Another taste of traditional Korea — rice wine, jeon, and the cozy atmosphere of a traditional pub.