https://youtu.be/d3doOva61QU
Hi guys! I’d like to introduce you to Contoyner Hongdae Toy Cafe ( 컨토이너 홍대 카페 트와이스 연예가중계 촬령장소), a vintage shop and toy cafe in Seoul, Korea.
Contoyner is both a vintage cafe and toyshop. It is located on the second floor and rooftop of a building in Hongdae. The store opens at 12 noon (sometimes they open late) and they close at 11:00 PM. It is definitely a place that caters to university students and younger crowds.
The rooftop seems to change from time to time, but it provides many opportunities for great pinky pastel girly photos. I found that a lot of the props were dirty and a little run down, but that’s probably to be expected with lots of people touching them and taking photos, along with weather exposure. In any event, it’s a nice place to lounge when the weather is nice out, and you can spend an inordinate amount of time here posing for that pretty shot without any shame, because you can be sure that everyone is doing the same thing!
As far as the vintage toy shop goes, Contoyner carries a ton of Nightmare before Christmas merchandise, as well as Toy Story merchandise. They have a variety of other products, including Sailor Moon, Disney, Q Posket, One Piece, manga and anime characters, and other random items such as a Frosted Flakes Tony the Tiger clock and things like that. It’s a fun place to just go and browse. I think it may also double as a toy museum of sorts, because a lot of the merchandise is not for sale.
If you want to visit the Instagram-worthy rooftop, you must order a drink first from the bar on the second floor. They carry a variety of sweet looking beverages, with prices ranging from about $5 to $7. I chose the most natural one which was a mango fruit smoothie. It came with a small cup of salty pretzels (a perfect accompaniment!) as well as a swimmer Japan coaster that was incredibly cute.
Fun fact: Contoyner served as the backdrop for a Korean variety show called 트와이스 연예가중계 on an episode featuring the Kpop girls group, Twice (트와이스). You can watch the video here:
Address: 314-9, Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Directions to Contoyner:
Subway: Sangsu Station (Seoul Subway Line 6), Exit 1. Walk out of the subway and go straight. Turn right at the first street, you will see a fork in the road. Bear left. Turn left at the next street, and make another left at the next street. You will start walking down a road that is a dead end. Contoyner is on the second floor of one of the buildings on your left. Look for the Christmas tree with donuts. If you reach the “no face” Japanese restaurant underground, you’ve gone too far.
Instagram: contoyner