As I think I've mentioned before, Korea has a big cafe culture. Particularly, themed cafes. So far we have visited a cat cafe, dog cafe, hello kitty cafe, and a sheep cafe. This time we went to something different. At the Mustoy Cafe in Hongdae, you can color these small little ceramic dolls called Mustoys. while sipping on some coffee or iced tea.
I had read about this cafe online and on a few blogs, and we thought it would be a good activity to do on our last rainy afternoon in Seoul during the Seollal weekend. The cafe is small but cute, with shelves lining the room with many colorful and interesting Mustoys. There aren't many tables but we got a seat before the cafe started getting much busier later in the afternoon.
The owner of the cafe was so friendly and she was really keen to chat to us. She explained to us the process before we could get started. There are a couple dolls you can choose from and they range in price. The dolls are big, small, white, have cat ears, have different head styles, are colorful or even can hold pencils. The prices range from 15 000won to 20 000won, The standard doll is 15 000won and this includes a drink of your choice and the pens you use to color the doll. After we chose our dolls, we were given cards that we could practice our design on. The dolls lining the shelves give you some good inspiration but in the end I decided on the Korean character of Petty. Dean chose to to draw a minion and Marcel a soccer player (which eventually seemed to turn into himself).
After our preparation, we got started on the fun part. There were so many color pens to choose from and we didn't have to worry about mistakes because you can "rub out" using alcohol and ear buds. It was really peaceful drawing our dolls and listening to the classical music in the cafe. The owner kept walking by to check how we were doing and chat some more.
When we were finished, our dolls were wrapped up and neatly packaged. I even bought 2 more dolls as part of a gift set which costs 30 000won. The set includes 2 dolls and color markers too. I plan to add Pororo and Doraimon to my collection. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon at the Mustoy Cafe and I can highly recommend it if you are looking to do something artsy and relaxing in Seoul.
Directions.
We actually struggled to find this place a bit. I had read various instructions online but we still got lost and walked around for quite a while in the rain, Anyway, I found this business card online which gives much clearer directions. When you are in the right street, the cafe is obvious and has a big white doll outside.
.JPG)
