Even if you don’t use the KakaoTalk messaging app, chances are that you’ve seen the adorable Kakao Friends characters before, with the most popular ones being Ryan (the lion, not a bear!!) and Apeach, the absolutely cute & feisty peach. Kakao Friends stores are ALL over Korea, and many of them are often packed with both locals and tourists who want to get their hands on Kakao Friends merchandise.
The flagship store in Hongdae is special – not only because it sells one of the largest varieties of Kakao Friends merch I have ever seen in Korea, but also because it features a cafe on the erd floor that has Kakao Friends-themed food & beverages. Although it is named Ryan Cafe, many of the items on the menu also feature Apeach.
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, which is why 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 jump on the opportunity to 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!
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.
THEVYPEFFECT 
It’s been three years since I left South Korea, and one of the things I miss about it is KakaoTalk 🙂
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