“Why do we confine ourselves within familiar molds?” Border, a multi-cultural brunch cafe located at the end of an alley on Seongan-gil in Cheongju, started from this very question. What kind of experience would be possible if we didn’t draw lines between food and culture, daily life and art, and the unfamiliar and the familiar? Border is a space that imagines beyond boundaries and redraws the landscape of everyday life. Rather than being fixed to the genre of a "brunch cafe," it is closer to a platform that flexibly varies. Border’s CEO, Hwang Sang-hyuk, previously worked in face-to-face sales while simultaneously serving as a band art director, directing and styling music videos. The cultural sensibility and planning skills he has accumulated have become the foundation of the current Border. This place, where he plans seasonal menus, designs the texture of the space, and continues collaborations, serves as both his studio and laboratory. It crosses boundaries starting with its brunch menu. It proposes unfamiliar culinary cultures using ingredients not commonly found in Korea, such as hummus and falafel, and captures the essence of the season on the plate each time. In the summer, menus such as tomato pasta, basil berry sandwiches, and Korean melon prosciutto salad fill the table. Here, ceramics by artist Kim Bo-hyun, finished with torn edges and asymmetrical curves, add visual resonance and tension. From exhibition-style pop-ups that weave the entire space into a single story to catering collaborations unfolding on the tables, pop-up events are also a process of expanding cultural boundaries. CEO Hwang describes Cheongju as a city where sincere experiments can continue because local culture flourishes and the city remains open to new endeavors.

Brunch Cafe

2nd Floor, 22-1, Sajik-daero 361beon-gil, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju- si

Tel 0507-1342-1575

Opening Hours Tue-Sun 11:30-21:00 (Closed Mon)

Edit Danbee Bae

Write Jihyeon Moon

Photograph Kihun Jung