Mong Ted (Mong Tedu) in Paldal-gu, Suwon is a house café that appears as Sol’s house in the drama Lovely Runner, and the Korea Tourism Organization lists salted bread — sogeum-ppang — as its signature dish.
For a visitor, that means one café covers both the drama pilgrimage and a proper coffee-and-dessert stop in the Haenggung-dong café alley.
This post covers what to order (with the Korean names you can point to), the hours and closing day, the photo spots, and how to get there from Suwon Station.
Key facts — As of 2026-10-03
- The Korea Tourism Organization’s English restaurant data (TourAPI content 3413772, checked 2026-10-04) lists Mong Ted as a Lovely Runner filming location appearing as Sol’s house, with salted bread (소금빵) as the signature dish.
- The same KTO listing (2026-10-04) gives opening hours of 11:30–21:00, closed Wednesdays and holidays.
What Is Mong Ted — and Why Lovely Runner Fans Go
| Lovely Runner pilgrimage | Go on a weekday late morning — photograph the café, the blue-gate house across the alley and the yellow umbrella at the entrance |
|---|---|
| Just a café stop while sightseeing | Order the sogeum-ppang (salted bread) with a coffee; budget about ₩10,000–20,000 per person for a drink plus dessert |
| Weekend visit | Walk-in works for small groups, but expect queues outside Sun-jae’s house for photos |
| Wednesday or a public holiday | The KTO listing says closed Wednesdays and holidays — one other listing says Tuesday closed, so check on the day |
| Coming from central Seoul | Reach Suwon Station first; the confirmed leg is the last 10–15 minutes by taxi or bus |
Mong Ted is a renovated three-story red-brick house café in Paldal-gu, Suwon, and it appears as Sol’s house in the drama Lovely Runner.
The blue-gate house across the alley was Sun-jae’s residence, so fans photograph both houses in one stop.
The Korea Tourism Organization’s English restaurant data for Gyeonggi (content 3413772, checked October 4, 2026) lists the café under its Hallyu tourism information, which makes it an officially listed drama location rather than a fan-made claim.
The listing also names the signature dish: salted bread.
The name Mong Ted is said to come from the hanja for dream, with the wish that a visit stays as a good memory.
If you follow the drama, plan at least thirty minutes here — the café and the house across the alley are one two-minute walk apart.
What to Order at Mong Ted
The signature order is sogeum-ppang (salted bread), and varieties include ang-butter (red bean and butter), tomato-basil and bacon-chive cream cheese.
There is also a jambon (ham) salted bread, and the café bakes melon bread too — one reviewer preferred it over the salt bread.
On the drink side, the named signature coffees are White Sands, a cold-brew cream latte that can be ordered decaf, and A.Mongd.L, an almond-and-peanut cream espresso latte served iced only.
The menu also lists a 24-hour cold-brewed milk tea, vanilla latte, SunRise grapefruit-hibiscus iced tea, and a strawberry milk cake that recent visitors praised as soft and fluffy.
Spending runs about ₩10,000–20,000 per person for a drink plus dessert, according to visitor data.
Menu prices circulating on restaurant-data pages are undated, so treat any exact figures as reference only and check the counter board on the day.
Mong Ted Hours and Closing Day
The Korea Tourism Organization listing (checked October 4, 2026) gives opening hours of 11:30–21:00, closed Wednesdays and holidays.
That is the figure to plan around.
Other listings disagree — one says 12:00–22:00, another about 11:00–20:00, and one map listing says closed Tuesday instead of Wednesday.
The sources do not line up within the last six months, so the KTO listing is the one to follow, but a same-day check of the café’s Instagram is worth doing.
The listing date matters here, because location cafés often carry stale data.
If Wednesday is your only free day, message the café on Instagram before committing — the address there is @__mongted.
How to Get to Mong Ted from Suwon Station
From Suwon Station, the café is about a 10–15 minute taxi or bus ride, and it sits in a small alley off Hwaseomun-ro 48beon-gil that visitors report is easy to find.
The address is 14 Hwaseomun-ro 48beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, and the phone number from the KTO listing is +82-507-1338-9576.
The Seoul-to-Suwon leg was not verified from a primary transit source, so a specific train or subway route and travel time cannot be confirmed here.
For that part of the trip, the Seoul-metro route planner at koreankorea.com covers Seoul and Gyeonggi, and the day-trips-from-Seoul page lists Suwon options with directions.
For the last leg, a taxi is the simplest choice if you are carrying anything or in a hurry; the bus works if you have time to check which number passes Hwaseomun-ro 48beon-gil.
Photo Spots: the Vine Arch, the Yellow Umbrella and Sun-jae’s House
Inside the courtyard, the most popular shot is the arch of orange crape-myrtle vines, which visitors say comes out looking like a scene from the drama.
At the entrance, the café keeps a decorative yellow umbrella for guests to use in photos, matching the drama scene.
Upper-floor seats look directly over Sun-jae’s house across the alley, and weekend visits queue outside the blue-gate house for photos.
Popularity data shows weekday late morning is usually quiet (about 33–45% busy), with a light early-afternoon peak around 58%, so mornings give you the light and the empty courtyard.
Keep in mind the blue-gate house is a real private residence where someone still lives, so photograph it from the street, briefly and quietly.
If photographs are the main reason for the trip, do them first and drink second — the courtyard fills up in the afternoon.
Reservations, Takeout and What Is Nearby
Reservations are bookable through catchtable.net, where the café has a shop page, though whether the page is currently active could not be confirmed.
Takeout is available, so you can pick up the salted bread without waiting for a table.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Reservations | Bookable via catchtable.net shop page (activity u) — current status unconfirmed |
| Takeout | Available |
| Parking | No on-site parking; KTO listing shows none — one review mentions nearby public parking, unconfirmed |
The café has no on-site parking, and its own reservation habits for small groups are not clearly documented — one older review mentions a one-drink-plus-one-dessert rule that may no longer apply, so check on site.
Mong Ted sits in Suwon’s Haenggung-dong café alley, a quiet residential lane of converted house cafés, and reviewers describe it as a rest stop after walking around Hwaseong HaengGung, the Joseon-era royal palace compound nearby.
For a wider plan, the Gyeonggi travel guide map at koreankorea.com puts this café alongside the other sights worth a stop in the province.
If it were me, I would go on a weekday morning, because the courtyard photo spots clear out early and the salted bread sells freshest then — that is the window I would aim for.
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Sources
- Haenggung-dong café; Sol’s house in drama; blue-gate Sun-jae (triple.guide)
- food.blogsailing.com
- Café = Sol’s house; blue-gate house across alley = Sun-jae’s (kr.trip.com)
If I Were Planning This Visit
- Double-check the closing day before you go — the KTO listing says Wednesday, but one map listing says Tuesday closed.
- If it were me, I would go on a weekday morning, order the sogeum-ppang with a White Sands cold-brew cream latte, and take the photos before the courtyard fills up.
- I would not plan a Wednesday or holiday visit on the KTO listing alone — one map listing says Tuesday closed instead.
- I would treat Sun-jae’s blue-gate house as someone’s home, not a set — a couple of quiet street-level photos, no doorbell.
FAQ
Q. Is Mong Ted open on Wednesdays or holidays?
The KTO listing says closed Wednesdays and holidays. One other listing says Tuesday closed, so confirm on the café’s Instagram if Wednesday is your day.
Q. How much is the salt bread and the ang-butter salted bread?
Exact menu prices could not be confirmed from a current source — figures circulating online are undated, so check the counter board. Visitor data puts a drink plus dessert at about ₩10,000–20,000 per person.
Q. Do I need a reservation via Catchtable?
The café has a shop page on catchtable.net, but whether it is currently active could not be confirmed. For small groups, walk-in is what recent visitors describe, with weekend queues for photos outside.
Q. How long is the trip from Suwon Station?
About 10–15 minutes by taxi or bus. A specific bus number and the exact train route from central Seoul could not be verified — use the Seoul-metro route planner at koreankorea.com for that leg.
Q. Is Mong Ted suitable for a short solo visit if I am not a drama fan?
Yes — it is a normal house café with salted bread, coffee and a courtyard, and takeout is available. The indoor space is small, so a weekday visit is more comfortable.
For a full day around the café, the day-trips-from-Seoul page lists Suwon and other Gyeonggi options with directions.
Cover photo: Mong Ted by Korea Tourism Organization — KOGL Type 1 (attribution)
#MongTed #Suwoncafe #LovelyRunnerfilminglocation #Gyeonggi #Haenggung-dong #saltedbread #daytripfromSeoul
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