Line Friends are the mascots/stickers for the Line app. An application from Japan for keeping in touch for free around the world, calling or messaging. They also have special features that allow you to add one of their official accounts to your chats that will translate for you and your friends. Super handy. There are two stores in Seoul, the main one we went to had 3 floors packed with stuff and people. My friend that I was spending vacation with is a huge fan of Line and Kakao, so we ended up going to both stores while on vacation.
First we met up with her agent for teaching here in South Korea at the Line Cafe (there was a Talk cafe for Kakao but they no longer have any Kakao merchandise or even a Kakao theme so we only stayed long enough to figure out how to get to the Line store) The Line Friends Cafe and Store is located on Garosugil, or the tree-lined street in Sinsa-dong.
If you want to have time to take photos with the statues at the Line store or the giant Brown (bear) plush in the front door it’d be best to get there right when the store opens, at noon. Because even just an hour into the store being open on any given day it can be suffocatingly packed. They have statues and toys for the Line characters.
The cafe was on the bottom floor, they sell Line character shaped macaroons, cakes, and drinks. I ordered a maple cupcake and a honey ginger tea. The maple cupcake was dry and filled with more nuts then cake. It wasn’t particularly good, but the tea was, with fresh ginger at the bottom of the cup. They also came with little wooden forks that were odd and difficult to eat with.
The cafe doesn’t have a ton of space for seating.
The main floor has shopping and check out, which can become a long line. The upper level has clothes and a little exhibit. There are shirt samples out on hangers but the ones to buy are in plastic on a shelf under the shirts.
The other Line store is on a lower level of a mall somewhat near Dongdaemun station it’s a lot smaller with fewer items, but a lot easier to look at things and less packed.