After visiting a café, where bringing home drinks and snacks is quite common, Café Neulbo offers a unique twist – you get to bring home your very own keychain you’ll be drawing and making from start to finish. How special is that?
Image credit: Cafe Neulbo
Mastering the art of DIY keychains: An interview with multi-passionate café owner, Youngin Choi.
How did you come up with the idea to open a themed coffee shop? What was the inspiration?
I majored in art, so I’m a part-time art teacher and part-time artist. I feel rewarded to see that people have become happy through art.
Has it always been your dream to open a coffee shop from a young age? What was the process of opening Cafe Neulbo?
Café was my dream, so I wanted to try it someday. I wanted to make a drawing café using my major and thought it would be nice if the drawing cafe was a place where I could have a happy, comfortable, and rewarding time while drawing. I thought it’d be nice to draw and make it into a key ring.
What is the meaning of Cafe Neulbo?
Cafeneulbo means cafe + sloth. Sloth means 나무늘보 ( tree neulbo) in Korean.
I like to see people happy.
Do you have special events you host in your coffee shop?
There is an event where a new exhibition is held every two or three months at the cafe. The café opens free exhibitions for young artists, so the cafe’s atmosphere changes every time.
Can you explain the keychain-making process in your café and what materials you use?
A cafeneulbo is where you make key rings. If you draw a picture on a special piece of paper called shrinkles and bake it in the oven, the picture gets smaller and you can make the key ring. You can draw the picture you want, you can trace the picture of the cafe sample book, or you can print the picture of your phone and trace it.
How much does the keychain-making activity cost?
Shrinkles cost 6,900 won ($5,31) and cell phone photo prints cost 1,200 won( $0,92)
Is there a time limit on how much people can spend in your coffee shop?
The time limit is about 90 minutes, but you can draw more if it’s not crowded.
What is your coffee shop’s signature drink?
The signature drink is roseade. I make my own cheong with rose leaves, and the rest of the drinks are delicious, too!!
Cafe Neulbo is unsurprisingly loved by locals and their keychain-making activity is documented and featured in many blogs.
The Smart Local Korea shares photos of Cafe Neulbo from different visitors and a detailed guide on how to get there here: https://thesmartlocal.kr/cafe-neulbo/
Information
Hours of Operation: Sat-Sun 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Monday: Closed
Wed-Fri 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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