Even if you don’t use the KakaoTalk messaging app, chances are that you’ve seen the adorable Kakao Friends characters before. The most popular Kakao Friends characters are undeniably Ryan (the lion, not a bear!!) and Apeach, the absolutely cute & feisty peach.

Kakao Friends stores are ALL over Korea, and many locals and tourists who want to get their hands on Kakao Friends merchandise will flood these stores.

The flagship store in Hongdae is special though! It sells one of the largest varieties of Kakao Friends merchandise I have ever seen in Korea. It also used to feature a cafe on the 3rd floor that has Kakao Friends-themed food & beverages. Read on for more information!

Store Information
[B1] Kakao Friends Concept Museum
[1F-3F] Kakao Friends Product Store
[3F] Ryan Café

I admit that I’m a sucker for cute food and cute decor. Hence, I specially made the trip to this Kakako Friends store to eat gelato in winter…

Unfortunately I didn’t snap a photo of the menu. But a quick search online + some digging through my memory tells me that they were not on the cheap side. To be fair, most cafes in Seoul are not cheap, and the themed ones really jack their prices up a fair bit.

Other than eating Insta-worthy food in an Instagrammable location, I do recommend dropping by this flagship store if you’re a die-hard Kakao Friends fan. It is very accessible, right outside one of the Hongdae station exits, and the store is extremely easy to spot from afar because of the huge Kakao Friends sign.

My only word of caution: be prepared to splurge a fair bit here!

UPDATE: The Ryan Cafe has since been closed and converted into other cafés! I went once in 2022 and another time in 2023. As of October 2023, the Kakao Friends Hongdae Flagship Store now contains OMO Café.

I personally find the food and drinks from OMO Café very yummy, but the prices are RIDICULOUS. I would suggest skipping the desserts entirely unless you’re ok with paying close to USD 5 for one tiny piece.

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Directions

Address: 162 Yanghwa-ro, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

[Subway]
Hongik University Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, Airport Railroad, Gyeongui-Jungang Line), Exit 8.
Make a U-turn and Walk for approx. 50 m.

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