Seoul’s Must Try Animal Cafes

One of Seoul’s biggest draws for its locals is the cafe scene. There are countless amounts of new cafes, either specialized in quirky menu offerings or beautiful interiors or both, popping up in every neighborhood of the city all the time. But besides that, another type of a café that’s been a hit with the city’s coffee lovers are ones where you get to ogle at and even pet some furry babies. That’s right, cafes with animals! So what kind of animal cafes exactly does Seoul have to offer its people?

DOG CAFES

All around the city you can find yourself stumbling upon a café, with a dozen of human’s best friends happily greeting you right at the door. Some of the dogs at these cafes are owned by the café’s owner, however customers are allowed to bring their own dogs for some play time or pet sitting as well. Playing with a dog has never been as much fun as it is when you get to play with many of them at the same time!

CAT CAFES

Of course Seoul also has just about many cafes for our other favorite pet. Though cats may not be as easy to play with, it’s sure fun to watch the shenanigans they get to when they’re not sleeping! And you’ll find them to be especially sociable if you go at a time the café is full… or if you come bearing treats.

SHEEP CAFÉ

Why, yes, there indeed is a sheep café in Seoul and it is right in the middle of Hongdae! It’s one of Seoul’s longest standing animal cafes at that, too! Though the sheep may not be as social and playful as dogs and cats are, it’s still a delightful sight to see. And if you ask the staff, they’ll usually allow you to feed them. Beware though that while one of them is rather shy, the other will get extremely excited to be getting fed by you.

RACCOON CAFES

There was a time when these were all the rage, and some of them are still around. The audience’s views on whether raccoon cafes are a good or a bad thing as far as animal cafes go is sharply divided between loving it and hating it. Now, raccoons are actually rather cute and somewhat sociable, so in that sense you could have a blast visiting a café with a couple of them present. However, keep in mind that they’re also nowhere near as tame as dogs and cats, so you better be careful or you might land in some hot water with them.

MEERKAT CAFES

The latest animal café trend to hit Seoul was the meerkat cafes. It’s also been the one meeting with the most opposition due to the fact that meerkats aren’t exactly domesticated. If you do decide to give a meerkat café a go, please do only visit the one called Meerkat Friends, located in Hongdae. Their treatment of the meerkats (and the reason for owning them) can be better vouched for. They also keep their meerkats in a separate area, only letting a small group of people in at once and just for 10 minutes at a time.

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Now that you can start getting into exploring the animal cafes of Seoul, which one is the first one on your list to visit? Do tell us!