Review by Ivan Liang, ETA 2014-2015

City: Busan (부산)

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Directions:  Come out of Hadan Station Exit 4. To your right should be the Gangseo Mart 강서마트 on the corner of the street. Take a left and go down that street, away from the big main street. To your left should be Namoo Coffee.

A small, quaint coffee shop that is squeezed into a hole in the wall right off the busy main avenue of Hadan, one of Busan’s transportation hubs that connects it with the surrounding towns, villages, and a massive Samsung facility.

The place is quite small and only has seating for 4, with a small bar seating 3 more almost impossibly located right next to the entrance. But it has a charm that many of Korea’s bigger coffee chains don’t really have. The counter top is rough paneled wood that has seen many open days and the tables are nestled right up against bookshelves crowded with well worn pages. Actual books! Some are even in English!

The coffee is lovingly made slowly and with care, the baristas operating their chrome Victoria Arduino espresso machine or grinding your coffee by hand before making your coffee to order.

With a small sitting area and most people coming to get their coffee to go before the morning rush hour or to sustain a long work day, you can easily come here and be alone with your work, studies, or thoughts. It can also make an intimate, off the beaten path dating spot that’s not a Starbucks or Angel-in-Us.