I had always wanted to visit one of Korea’s numerous animal cafés. You’d be absolutely stunned by the type of animals they actually keep in these cafés. These include meerkats, sheep, and even alpaca!
In 2019 I finally got the chance to visit one of the most popular dog cafés in Seoul: Bau House.
NOTE: Google says Bau House is permanently closed. However, I have yet to find any further information on Google or Naver to back this up! If you have any updates on this, please kindly let me know in the comments!
I was too excited by the prospect of spending my evening with cute doggos that I forgot to snap a photo of the prices, but here’s a photo from a Naver blog dated 2019.
You’re essentially paying close to SGD10 for entrance fee (you get to stay for as long as you want!) and SGD3-4 for a canned drink. It’s obviously overpriced. But to be fair, it is already pretty reasonable compared to the amount you might be paying in animal cafés elsewhere.
Now for the main highlight – the dogs!! Some of them are the café’s resident dogs. Others are brought here by their owners to enjoy playtime with their fellow dogs / taken care of by the café staff.
The outside area is where the smaller dogs roam around. You can actually go further inside the café to play with the bigger dog breeds if you’re not too afraid. Although I do have to say that the larger dogs did tend to growl and bark a lot louder, which can be scary for little kids!
I think we spent about 2-3 hours here just sitting on the couches and having the dogs snuggle next to/on our laps. It honestly felt very comforting and was a perfect way to relax after a long day.
Also props to the café staff! They are constantly alert and cleaning up as and when necessary, and looking out to make sure that the dogs (& humans!) are all good. Just in case you’re a little afraid of dogs and need some extra assurance.
The only downside to visiting Bau House is the amount of dog fur you might get on your clothes afterwards.
There may also be a hint of a smell that lingers on after your visit. So be sure to bring along a change of clothes or some perfume if you’re headed elsewhere after your café visit.
DIRECTIONS
Address: 394-44 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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