It's Your Bias's Birthday, How will you Spend the Day?

There is truly no better place to live as a K-pop fan than in Korea. Anyone close to me knows that I am one of the biggest multi-fans, and there are so many K-pop groups that I like. One thing that Korea has that I wish the US had is its extensive cafe culture. For a chill day in the city, there are so many unique cafes stretching across not only the city but the country. Combining two of my favorite things, K-pop and Cafe Culture, Korean fans have created the phenomenon of “birthday cafes” as a unique way for fans to celebrate their favorite Idols’ birthdays. Fans can rent out cafes and decorate them with photos, custom merchandise, and so much more to celebrate their favorite idol. 

Studying at Yonsei puts you at a 30-minute walk and 10-minute bus ride from Hongdae. There is so much buzz around Hongdae, but I am here to start the K-pop Birthday cafes Buzz. A very ‘standard’ b-day cafe experience is that when you order there are anywhere between 3-6 options in drinks, it often being iced americano, peach tea, milk tea, some sort of ade (green grape ade, pomegranate ade, etc) I will warn you when going to these cafes bring extra water because the drinks are extra sweet. You will get a pack of the art of the cafe along with a cup of your favorite drink. Then from there you can look around and take photos, and some of the ages have exhibitions/ exhibition rooms where they print out fan photos of your idol at their concert, fan meetings, or other events. A lot of the time, there is a chance where you can even go home with one of the photos. 

The Lucky Draw table is where you test your luck. For 2,000 won, you can take a chance at winning things as small as keychains, to photocard holders, to fan banners, and even the photos you see on the walls of the exhibitions. I have never been to a cafe where the lucky draw has been more than 2,000 won, so that is a pretty standard price. I will warn you that I have been both very lucky and very unlucky, so be cautious when choosing how many times you do a lucky draw. For the lucky draws they take cash and other bank wiring/Kakao Pay a bit for that, you need a Korean bank account and/or phone number, so I would suggest packing and planning ahead on how many lucky draws and cafes you are planning on doing, and bring the proper amount of cash. 

Now, how do you find cafes and know which ones you want to visit? The website Duk-place is your one-stop shop for B—day cafes all across Korea. You can look at the art of each cafe, the lucky draw options, and even see which ones are closest to you and what idols have upcoming birthdays. I hope that this has. Help feed your K-pop addiction, and who knows, maybe you can make a new friend at one of the many K-pop birthday Cafes across Seoul City! 

Dukplace website: https://dukplace.com/en