Garden Cafe With A-Frame Cabins and 15 Salt Breads

A cafe that appears out of nowhere amongst rice paddies

Drive about 20 minutes from central Cheongju (a city roughly 90 minutes south of Seoul), and a cafe suddenly appears in the middle of rice paddies. Toseong Village. Even the name doesn't sound like a cafe. I didn't actually seek it out myself — my family said "let's go check that place out," so I tagged along. The moment we arrived, I was genuinely gobsmacked. In the garden cafe grounds, wooden A-frame cabins with triangular roofs lined the pathways, with leftover cotton bolls still clinging between them and strings of festoon lights draped overhead.

It was late March 2026, and ten of us had gathered for a family outing. The daytime temperature had climbed enough that sitting outdoors wasn't cold at all. Perched on a bench with a spring breeze and a chocolate latte in hand, I honestly couldn't tell whether I was at a cafe or a picnic.

A-frame cabins lined up across the garden

White A-frame cabins with triangular roofs stand in a row across the garden — every single one of them is cafe seating, not glamping accommodation. The first time I clapped eyes on them, I genuinely thought we'd rocked up to a glamping site. Between the cabins, trees that hadn't quite leafed out yet stood bare, with festoon lights strung overhead. I reckon the atmosphere completely transforms at dusk. It's early spring now so the garden looks a touch sparse, but apparently by May it's smothered in Shasta daisies. Weekends reportedly have quite a wait, so you're better off aiming for a weekday. And in person, the scale is considerably larger than photos suggest.

Walk further into the garden and you'll spot two glass greenhouses. A-frame cabins on the right, floor-to-ceiling glass greenhouses on the left. In winter, sitting outside is obviously a non-starter, so most people drink their beverages inside the cabins or the greenhouse. Today being late March, a fair few people had ventured outdoors, but mid-winter would be a different story entirely. The trees are still bare and the soil is exposed, so I'll be honest — it's not exactly a picture-postcard scene right now. But apparently summer brings hydrangeas and autumn brings pink muhly grass, so it's essentially a completely different cafe each season.

Car park guide — you will get confused on your first visit

There's a wooden sign at the entrance, but we completely missed it the first time. The car park is split into two areas: the main one at the front holds about 15 cars, and the rear one fits roughly 10 more — so about 25 to 30 spaces in total, all free. The trouble is, the main car park looks a bit like an industrial estate, so we didn't even register it as belonging to the cafe. We assumed it was some other business and parked at the back, then had to walk ages to reach the actual cafe. Ten of us trudging along going "are we sure this is right?" — still makes me laugh. If you pop "Toseong Village" into your sat nav, just look for the wooden sign and park right next to it.

Up close, each cabin is surprisingly tall. Cypress trees are planted between every cabin, naturally dividing each space — and it's more private than you'd expect. You can barely see who's sitting in the cabin next door.

Outdoor seating — the best spot when the weather's nice

Besides the cabins, there's plenty of outdoor seating. Chunky wooden tables each with a parasol, and behind them a long flower bed where cotton bolls were still hanging on from last season. On a day like today, this was honestly the prime spot. The sun was warm but the breeze was just right — there was simply no reason to go inside a cabin. Potted cypress trees between the tables gave it that lovely balance of feeling both open and cosy at the same time.

Main building entrance and practical information

The main building entrance. There's a chalkboard sign by the door reading "one drink per person minimum to use the cafe and garden." On the glass door to the right, you'll find the opening hours, cabin instructions, and a notice that pets aren't allowed. The building exterior is black steel framing with large glass windows, so you can see straight through to the outside. One thing that did disappoint me: when we said we'd be sitting outdoors, they served all our drinks in disposable cups. Sit inside and you get a proper ceramic mug; sit outside and it's all takeaway cups. Ten drinks for ten people, all in plastic — couldn't even take decent photos. If you want Instagram-worthy shots of your drinks, ask for a ceramic mug inside and carry it out yourself.

With ten of us, we had to order ten drinks. I went for a chocolate latte (about £3.60), my dad got a café latte (about £3.35), and my mum plus the rest of the family mostly ordered strawberry lattes (about £3.85). The ten drinks came to roughly £37 in total, and once we added salt bread and financiers it crossed £53. Split between ten people, that's about £5.30 each — not bad at all, really.

Indoors — honestly, nothing special

Walk inside and it's just a cafe. White walls, grey floor, bakery display to the right, counter to the left. That's it. All the excitement you built up looking at the cabins outside just quietly deflates once you step through the door. It's not bad — it's just unremarkable. The big windows let in loads of light, but you don't particularly fancy lingering here. You pick your bread, collect your drink, and your feet naturally carry you back outside. This garden cafe is about the garden, not the interior.

The bakery display — fifteen varieties of salt bread alone

The artisan bakery display. Salt bread is piled high on every tray, with financiers, croissants, perilla truffle salt bread and more lined up by variety alongside. There's barely any cake — it's almost entirely bread. This is the place that sold out 500 salt breads in 4 hours at a bakery festival, and one look at the display and you understand why. There's a Balmuda toaster available in the shop so you can warm up your salt bread yourself before eating it.

From salt bread to tarts and sandwiches

The salt bread is packed tight on the trays. Coarse salt crystals are pressed into the tops and the crust is a gorgeous golden brown. They're plumper than I expected. About £1.75 each. Pop one in the Balmuda toaster and the outside goes properly crispy whilst butter oozes out from inside — ten of us each grabbed one and they vanished in seconds. So much butter your fingers get properly greasy. If you've ever had a buttery croissant from a proper French bakery and thought "I wish this were saltier," this is basically that — but better.

Egg tart and chocolate tart. The egg tart had a beautifully caramelised top, and the chocolate tart was dusted with pistachio. The pastry layers were fanning out like flower petals — really caught my eye.

The financier tray. Plain, sweet potato, raspberry — several flavours. The sweet potato financier had a glossy sheen that made it look beautifully moist. My mum tried one, turned to me and said "go get me another one," so back I went.

Butter rice cake, about £0.90. Probably the best value item on the entire menu. Next to them were gift boxes with little heart-shaped windows — I spotted quite a few people buying them as presents.

Raspberry financier in the middle, with a few plain financiers and madeleines remaining on either side. It was the afternoon, so gaps were starting to show on the tray. The popular ones clearly sell out fast.

Croissant and crookie. The croissant had beautifully defined flaky layers, and the crookie had a visible chocolate layer through its cross-section.

I couldn't tell you the exact names of all of these. There was bread with chocolate coating and pearl sugar on top, bread with crunchy crumble, bread with heaps of yellow crumble. There were so many varieties that trying to read names and choose simultaneously was simply impossible. Just grab whatever looks good — that's the only strategy.

Black sesame salt bread on the left, strawberry cream salt bread on the right. The strawberry cream one was practically bursting with strawberries and cream between the halves — it looked rather heavy. Sadly I didn't get to try it; our tray was already full.

Prosciutto and rocket sandwich next to a strawberry cream open sandwich. You don't exactly expect a neighbourhood bakery cafe to be selling cured ham sandwiches. Bit of a surprise, that.

The butter rice cakes appeared on yet another display elsewhere in the shop. The fact that they've scattered them across multiple spots tells you just how well they sell.

Chocolate almond salt bread. Dark chocolate dough with almond flakes pressed in — noticeably bigger than the standard salt bread. If you've got a sweet tooth, this is your pick.

Perilla truffle salt bread and crumble salt bread. The sheer number of salt bread variations they've created is genuinely impressive. I counted them up — well over fifteen.

In the chilled display case, a fresh strawberry cream cake. Halved strawberries layered between the sponge, whole strawberries heaped on top. It's strawberry season in Korea right now, so they were beautifully plump.

Right beside it, a chocolate strawberry cake. With all the bread on offer, I'd assumed they wouldn't have cake at all, but there were cake slices in the chilled case too. Roughly two varieties, both strawberry-based.

A garden stroll — walking through the cotton fields

We headed outside with our drinks. The cabins have numbers on them — 4, 6, 7. You walk along the stone pathway looking for an empty cabin to duck into. Between the cabins, cotton bolls were in full bloom. From a distance it looked like white dots scattered across the entire garden, with triangular rooftops lined up behind them — properly lovely scene. In the background, you could just make out the apartment blocks of the city, and that contrast was oddly charming.

I went up for a closer look, and it's genuine cotton. I had no idea cotton actually grows in these fluffy cloud-like tufts. White puffs dangling from dry branches — touch them and they feel like actual cotton wool. My nieces and nephews stood staring at them for ages, and we snapped a few photos here too.

Inside the cabins — tricky to nab a spot at weekends

Inside a triangular-roofed cabin. Wooden floor with cushions laid out — shoes off to enter. Each cabin comfortably seats about four people. Open the door and you're looking straight at the garden, so it feels halfway between sitting outdoors and sitting indoors. This was a weekend, so every single cabin was occupied and we couldn't actually go inside. People were milling about with drinks in hand, hoping for one to free up, but eventually everyone gave up and headed for the outdoor tables. The cabins don't take reservations — you have to register on a tablet on-site and wait your turn.

Photo spots — the giant teddy bear and the fountain

In the middle of the garden, a life-sized pink teddy bear is sprawled across a bench. It's clutching a purple bouquet and gazing up at the sky, with the cotton field and cabins in the background — this was clearly the designated photo spot. Every person walking past stopped for a snap. My nieces and nephews plonked themselves down beside it and struck poses.

In front of the main building stands a three-tiered European-style fountain. It wasn't running on the day we visited, but someone had placed succulent planters on top, which gave it a decorative touch. Photograph from here and you capture the A-frame cabins on the left, the glass greenhouse on the right, and the outdoor seating in the centre — the entire Toseong Village in a single frame.

Group tables and terrace

A large wooden table beside the fountain. It looked about 3 metres long, with two parasols and white chairs lined up along both sides. Big enough for about ten people in a row — perfect for our group, but it was already taken.

The terrace right in front of the main building. Folding wooden tables with black metal chairs, cypress planters between the tables. It faces the car park rather than the garden, so the view isn't the prettiest, but the advantage is you can grab a seat the moment you collect your drink without walking anywhere.

Lawn in front of the greenhouse and seating overview

On the lawn in front of the greenhouse, grey round tables and mesh chairs were dotted about. Parasols here and there, and through the glass you could see the greenhouse packed with potted plants. The grass was still winter-yellow, but give it another month and it'd be green. With outdoor seating scattered generously all over the place like this, even on a weekend, as long as you gave up on the cabins there was always somewhere to sit.

Seasonal visiting tips and things to watch out for

Spring and autumn are the sweet spot for visiting this garden cafe. When daytime temperatures sit around 15–20 °C you can easily sit outside for an hour or two without getting chilly. Summer, however, requires some preparation. The only shade comes from parasols, so midday can be rather hot, and the surrounding area is entirely rice paddies. It's flat farmland near the Miho stream, so from dusk onwards mosquitoes can be a problem. If you're planning a summer visit, pack some insect repellent. Think of it like sitting in a beer garden next to a canal in the Fens — lovely setting, but the midges will find you if you're not prepared.

Summary — Toseong Village is a cafe where the garden is the star

Toseong Village is a garden cafe where the outdoor space, not the interior, is the real draw. Nabbing a spot in one of the A-frame cabins is the ideal scenario, but at weekends it's rather difficult. The outdoor seating is generous, though, so on a nice day sitting outside is actually the better option. The artisan bakery's star product is undoubtedly the salt bread, with over fifteen varieties — just choosing is half the fun. An americano runs about £3.10, a touch pricier than chain cafes, but when you factor in having this entire garden at your disposal, it feels quite reasonable. Remember that sitting outside means disposable cups, so if you want nice photos of your drinks, grab a ceramic mug inside and carry it out. There's also a second branch (Toseong Village Sannam) in the city centre, but that's a small urban shop without the garden or cabins — those are exclusive to this main location.

This article is based on our first-hand visit in late March 2026, with ten family members. There was no sponsorship or partnership — our family paid for everything. Menu prices and opening hours are correct as of our visit date and may change.

This post was originally published on https://hi-jsb.blog.