Bar Cham

Bar Cham feels less like a speakeasy stunt and more like a quiet temple to Korean drinking culture. The hanok is small, the lighting is soft, and BJ Lim's team treats soju and regional distillates with the same care other cities reserve for Scotch or agave. You sit close to the bar, hear the story behind each province on the menu, and leave understanding why Seoul's cocktail scene stopped copying London and started looking inward. It is not a quick stop: the room rewards one unhurried round and a counter seat if you can get one.

The address is a traditional hanok on Jahamun-ro 7-gil in Seochon, a short walk from Gyeongbokgung station on Line 3 through alleys of tiled roofs and low wooden gates. Slide open the door and you step into an oak-scented room where cham, the Korean word for oak, shows up in the bar top, shelving, and seating. About ten seats line the counter and a few small tables; groups larger than four cannot be seated together. The mood is calm and focused rather than loud, and the team switches easily between English and Korean. Expect soju shots in clay cups and a cheerful geon bae! before the night is out.

Start with the Wonju, which pairs mowallin, an organic Wonju rice distillate, with mezcal, corn cream, corn silk, black pepper, and egg yolk in a serve that reads Korean terroir through a modern lens. The deodeok Negroni uses the native root vegetable and Korean bitters for a subtly spiced twist on the classic. Chungju Gimbap builds on soju and makgeolli with wasabi shrub, cucumber, lemon, and sesame oil, while Hamyang washes damsol rice spirit with ghee, Korean apple brandy, ginger, and Islay whisky. Tell the bartender whether you want bright, savoury, or spirit forward and let them steer you through the regional list.

Bar Cham is at 34 Jahamun-ro 7-gil in Seochon, Jongno-gu, a few minutes on foot from Gyeongbokgung on Line 3. It opens Wednesday to Monday from 18:00 to 01:00 and closes every Tuesday. Reservations are essential: book through CatchTable or call +82 2-6402-4750, and plan for a maximum of four guests at one table. If the room is full, add your name to the waitlist and drink at Pomme, BJ Lim's nearby apple-spirit bar, until a seat opens. Cocktails run ₩19,000 to ₩25,000 each.

BJ Lim opened Bar Cham as one of the first rooms in Seoul to treat Korean spirits as the main event rather than a garnish. The bar sources native alcohols from across South Korea's provinces, builds menus around regional names like Yeoju, Jeju, and Hamyang, and uses Korean bitters, deodeok, and rice distillates in ways that would feel forced elsewhere but land naturally here. Lim won World Class Korea in 2015 and has since added Pomme and Cham in Season to his Seochon circuit, but Cham remains the anchor where the hanok setting and oak woodwork match the drinks philosophy.

Bar Cham placed No.34 on our 2026 Asia ranking, down from No.6 in 2025, while remaining on The World's 50 Best Bars extended list at No.53. The jury still cites its pioneering Korean-culture-first ethos, the depth of its regional spirits programme, and a hanok room that feels inseparable from the drinks. Seoul placed four bars on the 2026 Asia list, led by Zest at No.3, with Alice at No.14 and a fourth entry rounding out the capital's showing. Cham's drop reflects how competitive the Korean bar scene has become, not a loss of identity.