Where am I? You are Here (Café)!

Recently, I visited the very popular You are Here Café with a few friends. Now, I didn’t know this until I actually went to the café, but it’s actually owned by Eat Your Kimchi and Talk to Me in Korean.

For those of you who don’t have a clue who or what Eat Your Kimchi and Talk to Me in Korean are, they are YouTubers well known for making videos on all things Korea or Korean. Many people are probably more familiar with Simon and Martina (the married couple who moved to South Korea from Canada, and the creators of Eat Your Kimchi) who make videos about Korean culture and the culture differences between Korean culture and Western culture. Talk to Me in Korean makes videos that are more centered on learning Korean language.

The café is located in Hongdae, which is the area around and named after Hongik University. Hongik University has one of the nation’s best fine arts colleges, and thus, rather appropriately, the area surrounding the university has an urban, young, artsy vibe. Almost somewhat obviously, Hongdae is an area that provides entertainment, and thus is one of the centers of club culture in Korea. While the area itself is bustling, the part of Hongdae that the café is located in is actually quite calm and residential.

The café is unique, not only in their amazing dessert and beverage menu, but also the fact that there is a ‘classroom’ within the café in which they have language lessons. They also have ‘language exchange’ nights where people gather and just talk to one another, learning about different languages and cultures (and just getting to meet new people!). They also have a ‘Speaker’s Corner’ which is basically a booth where you can go in and speak to a camera about your thoughts on the ‘assigned topic.’ The camera records your message and you can get a chance to be featured in one of their videos!

The café has an awesome and friendly atmosphere where you can go to meet new people, learn new languages and/or cultures and munch on some delicious snacks. So, whenever you’re in town, stopping by You are Here Café is a must.