Tag Archives: urban sketching seoul

Coffee drinkers of Seoul

This is the latest bunch of observational drawings from the sketchbook I just finished.

If you have been following this blog, you know that I like to visit cafes often, which Seoul had no shortage of (every other building has one), to observe and sketch people drinking their coffee and doing whatever they do while they are at it which is a great variety of things.

There’s light reading for pleasure, there’s heavy-duty studying for entrance exams, then there’s intermittent reading and checking online stores on the phone by the side; there’s celebrating life’s important milestones, there’s debating with colleagues, arguing with family, catching up with friends, there’s watching a soap opera with a loved one and there’s working alone knee-deep in reports and presentations, there’s lunching while on a break from work, catching a break in between shopping and once in a while there’s staring vacantly into space.

My sketchbook bears testimony to all that happens over a cup of coffee.

This particular set was drawn during the winter months, which is why you see warm clothing on people’s backs or piled on chairs and tables next to them depending on the heating inside the cafe.

Hope you enjoy seeing the drawings as much as I enjoyed drawing them!


This guy was having an animated conversation with his friend (not imaginary) and was thrusting a lot of thumbs-up in front of his face


(L) Studying but also checking the phone for updates (R) Looked like their’s was a long-standing friendship


(L) Someone other than me who owns a lurid pink jacket in Seoul (R) Someone who likes to fold their scarf neatly even when no one’s looking. 


This couple was so captivated by whatever they were watching that they remained still like statues glued to their iPad for the longest time. 


(L) Two Zara employees on their lunch break (R) Someone straight from Bruno Magli, consuming a $6 salad and tapping her feet to cafe music. 


(L) She’s no Jack and she’s not dull (R) Somebody kept this guy on hold for a very long time and never for once did he lose his temper. 


(L) Thick glasses and a big fat SAT study guide (R) She ate the cake and saved the cherry until the very end. 


One sassy lady in green pants and round glasses catching up with her friend. 


(L) Nose in the cup, finger on the screen (R) Ruminating in a power suit. 


(L) Edgy hairstyle on someone who looked rather mild-mannered and affable 


Girl at the next table turned 15 and I got to sketch her! That delicious cake with strawberry topping was from Tous Les Jours.


When I sketched an argument in progress. “Explain yourself, Bob. Linda, calm down”


I could never pull off a pixie hat with a straight face but she did it so well