Coffee It House - Best View of Busan’s Gamcheon Culture Village

When you tap on the magnifying glass icon next to the Google search bar and enter the word ‘Busan,’ a series of pop-up images will appear, showcasing the vibrant congregation of hundreds of homes in Gamcheon Culture Village. These colorful houses take precedence even over pictures of the city by the beach, underlining the village’s significant importance to the city. Including this charming village in your Busan bucket list is always recommended.

While numerous online articles suggest what to see and how to find picture-perfect spots in Gamcheon Culture Village, this post will take you to Cafe Coffee It House, a lesser-known location that offers the best perspective of the hill-perched village.

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Gamcheon Culture Village in a Nutshell:

Nestled in Busan's Gamcheon neighborhood, this village boasts a breathtaking sight of vibrant colors and numerous idyllic art installations artfully scattered across a group of houses on a steep mountainside slope. This stunning transformation was a result of a city revitalization project dating back to 2009, and it undeniably worked like a charm. Prior to the unfortunate outbreak of the well-known virus, the art renovation had been drawing in over 2 million tourists annually.

Exploring Gamcheon Culture Village:

When you visit the village, as you approach the entrance near the information office, it’s common for most people to follow the road and embark on a photo-ops hunting quest, guided by informative signs and maps along the way. Undoubtedly, these guides will lead you to all the Instagram-worthy scenes that are prominently featured on the internet. These scenes include the captivating images of Fish Swimming Through the Alley, adorable Little Prince figurines, enchanting Harry Potter stairs, the charming Haneul Maru, and many more.

Feel free to take the same road if your primary goal is to admire those magnificent artworks. However, if you’re seeking extensive views of the charming village, then bypass the entrance and continue down the Okcheon road (옥천로). Once there, step into the most pinkish cafe of all, Coffee It House, where you can enjoy the best vistas.

Discovering Coffee It House:

During my visit to Gamcheon Culture Village, I had the pleasure of meeting the friendly and fluent English-speaking owner of Coffee It House (커피잇집), locally pronounced as copee-it-jib in Korean. The cafe had opened its doors in late 2018, offering a brief window of time to showcase its alluring charm to visitors before the pandemic struck. Although the business resumed in 2020, this hidden gem remains undiscovered by many

The coffee house occupies a two-story detached block-like structure perched on the edge of a slope, providing a panoramic view of the entire village. The striking hot pink color of the building suggests its role in adding an element of adoration to the area, and the owner is currently seeking more adventurous, off-the-beaten-path strollers to discover its charm. While visitors can easily access the cafe’s main floor, with the espresso counter situated just a few feet away from the roadway, it often goes unnoticed due to its off-the-radar location.

We arrived at Coffee It House around 10 o’clock on a Sunday. Despite the winding alleyways of the village being filled with throngs of foreign tourists, we appeared to be the cafe’s first customers of the day. As we entered, the lady, later revealed to be the owner, greeted us warmly, almost in tears, expressing her gratitude for finally having visitors. Originally, I had planned to include a brief recommendation of her coffee house in my Busan round-up, which I had been working on throughout the past week. However, witnessing her genuine joy upon seeing us and empathizing with the challenges she faced during the Covid-19 pandemic prompted me to create a separate blog entry dedicated to her cafe.

In case you’re wondering, I didn’t stumble upon the place by accident. After coming across a particular scene on Instagram, captured by a Korean travel blogger, I set out to track down the location, which eventually led me to this humble and charming cafe.

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for the drinks or the items they would serve at Coffee It House. I was so captivated by the surroundings that I didn’t even glance at the menu board behind the counter. Upon entering the first floor, my eyes were immediately drawn to the deepest corner of the room, where a breathtaking view awaited me through a large rectangular window – a colorful cluster of houses cascading down the hill. Nevertheless, the vanilla latte my boyfriend ordered for me turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

On the first floor of Coffee It House, you’ll find an inviting outdoor terrace, which serves as an ideal spot to unwind, if the weather isn’t too hot and humid or too chilly and dry. The terrace is adorned with sets of elegant, stark white patio furniture and a prominent cafe name banner against a vibrant pink wall. Capturing a photo of this named wall with the backdrop of radiant houses is a uniquely amazing experience.

From the terrace, you have the option to descend for additional seating and photo opportunities or ascend to the rooftop, where you can rent a Hanbok costume and discover the most magnificent viewpoint. It was at the highest level of the building that the image I had been seeking awaited me.

While conquering Haneul Maru, an observatory platform situated within Gamcheon Culture Village, can reward you with expansive views of the hill-perched village and the South Port of Busan (부산남항), it is from the rooftop of Coffee It House that even grander perspectives of both the village and the port can be revealed! Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this unassuming cafe when you’re in Busan 🙂

More Pictures Shot at/from the Coffee It House:

Access Map:

Essential Info About Coffee It House:

Operating Hours: Everyday 10:00 - 18:30 (18:00 Last Order)
Instagram: https://instagram.com/coffee.it.house 
Address: 부산 사하구 옥천로 115 2층 [Naver Map]

Interested in a Tour Package to Gamcheon Cultural Village?

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Coffee It House – Best View of Busan’s Gamcheon Culture Village