If you make your way up to Hyehwa, along the main street of Seoul’s old theatre district, you will see an old moss green sign with the name Hakrim (학림) in white lettering. And on that sign you will also see that the café was established in 1956.
To get to the more than 60-year-old café, you must make you way up to the second floor. This is the original cafe, while there is also a modern roasting house also in Hyehwa.
Since the cafe was so old and iconic, my two friends and I had to wait a few minutes to get a seat. However this gave us a good chance to see out the large window looking out on the streets of Hyehwa and it’s lush green foliage.
The café had a main level, as well as a mezzanine level. All of the seats were booth style with a wooden table in between. My friends and I sat underneath the mezzanine and had a good view of the counter.
Though the café was old, it still had a lot of charm. Rather than feeling tacky and out dated, it felt authentic and like you were really taken back to more than 60 years ago.
The café’s colour scheme was of sepia hues, with lots of beiges and wooden accents. The ceiling had dark wooden beams running along it, and the mezzanine was also made of wood, stained in the same dark colour. On the mezzanine’s banister there were black and white portraits of old poets and artists, and books and small notes were plastered around the cafe. Behind the main counter there was also a wall of vinyl records and a beautiful old speaker. This was all symptomatic of the era that the café was made in.
Overall this seemed to be more of a social café. The added pressure of a waiting list also meant that you felt as if you couldn’t stay too long.
As for drinks, I had a green tea latte and my friends had an iced americano and hot americano. Both friends said the coffee was very good quality and therefore had good flavour. My green tea latte also had a good strong matcha flavour, but was not bitter. It was sweet and had a good milky taste.
Hakrim is a nice place to escape from the modern world, even for just a short time. In dead beat terms, this café is a piece of history. If you don’t mind waiting a little, this is a great place to enjoy drinks and have a good old fashioned conversation.
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