Up the Stairs to Bunkasha in Euljiro

How Euljiro Became Hipjiro

Euljiro was once a place you came to for printing, hardware or tools. By day you heard machinery and saw deliveries going in and out. At night most businesses shut up shop. Over the past several years, other things have found a place in those lanes.

The district picked up the nickname Hipjiro as distinctive cafés and bars moved in. Many used the buildings that were already there. Finding the way into one can be an experience in itself.

Bunkasha is one of them. A pin on a map takes you to the right building. The facade gives you little reason to think there’s a café inside.

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Finding the Entrance

The first sign you see is for Hoseong P&P on the ground floor. For a moment I thought I’d come to the wrong address. Cafés in Euljiro often give themselves away only once you’re inside the building.

The entrance is next to the print shop. A narrow flight of stairs goes to the second floor. On the way up I still felt as though I was walking into a workshop or an office.

The room only reveals itself when you open the door. The industrial building has one atmosphere at street level and another at the top of the stairs.

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The Room on a Friday Night

By the time I arrived on Friday night, the room was full. There were a lot of young people, and the sound of people talking and laughing mixed with the sight of phones out for pictures at the tables.

It’s smaller than I expected, with the old structure of the ceiling and walls still visible. You can feel that the room has changed uses.

Some Euljiro cafés are more memorable for the character of their rooms than for how long you’d want to sit. Bunkasha has that quality.

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Ordering the Pancakes

The best-known thing on the menu is the pancakes. I ordered some with drinks. Several tables around us had done the same, and I watched people take pictures while we waited for ours.

When they arrived, the taste was fine. It didn’t leave as strong an impression as the room.

I’d remember the visit as an extension of a night in Euljiro. Dessert gave us a reason to go upstairs.

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Somewhere to Continue the Evening

I’d had dinner at Andongjang and wasn’t quite ready to go home. Bunkasha felt like a natural next stop, a place to finish a conversation or pause once more before the day was over.

Other tables seemed to be there for similar reasons. Some looked as though they’d come after dinner. Others were taking a break before a bar or coming in from a walk around Euljiro.

That’s how the café found a place in the evening. The room made more of a difference than the menu.

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A Bit of the Neighborhood Shop Inside

By the counter, the café had some of the character of a small general store. Retro lighters, handkerchiefs and key rings were laid out nearby. They looked like things you might find in an old stationery shop. Somehow they belonged with the district’s industrial past.

It was easy to look through them with a drink in hand and pick one up out of curiosity. The little display gave people something else to do while they were there.

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A Café That Belongs in Euljiro

The cafés here can be difficult to find. The search, the stairs and the sudden change when you open a door have a way of staying with you.

I remember the walk up to Bunkasha and the noise of the Friday crowd more clearly than the pancakes.

I’d come out of dinner and into another scene in the same neighborhood. It’s a room I remember together with the streets around it.

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