“I OPENED the café in 2002 when board-game cafes weren’t so popular. I opened it simply because I loved board games. I wanted to spread my love for board games with others in Sinchon. I wanted to create a place for other board game enthusiasts like me. I am just a person who loves having casual conversations with people over a board game. 

   “We also have customers who come for the classical and antique games we have in the café. As the longest-standing board game café in Sinchon, we have some classical games in our possession such as the “Alea Series” and the “Rio Grande Games”. Although they look very rugged and worn-out now, these board games are worth well over ₩100,000. We also have the original limited editions of “Acquire,” “Age of Renaissance,” “The Traders of Genoa,” and the “Pig Pile” game series, which are some of board-game manias’ all-time favorites. Although the other editions of the games are still available and are being produced, they are of subpar quality when compared to their original predecessors in my opinion. The modern versions of these games now have cheaper plastic or cardboard chips, which weigh much less and feel rather cheap. Also, the publishing companies now differ so the art illustrations and the quality of the cases are very different. Although to an average player it would not make a big difference, experienced board game players usually notice.”

   “Although I knew Yonsei University was right next to our café, I didn’t expect to connect with it and its students to the extent that this café has. The fondest connection the café and I have with Yonsei University is meeting my husband, who was once just a regular customer from Yonsei University. I was a young sa-jang-nim* and he was a young Yonsei student studying Economics. We started talking, then playing games, then fell in love, and now we are married and have a family. Another family that I made from Yonsei University in this store was with my part-time workers. We had so many sweet Yonsei students work for us, many of them staying for more than 3 years, which is a very long time for students. I was even invited to one of the past worker’s wedding last week. Many of them worked at the café because of their love for board game cafés. It feels so surreal looking back because they were just college students back then and now, they are in their …s with families of their own. I still remember playing games with them until the morning after we closed the shop for the day and talk about our daily lives. I am so thankful that they remember me not as just a sa-jang-nim but as their friend and family.”

   “We have many Yonsei students who come here for club activities and for freshman or sophomore group meet-ups. All huddled up in their gwa-jam**, it’s always nice to see a group of friends make memories together in my store. I would say that our board-game café is great for those who are meeting for the first time. Board-games let people get comfortable and become less worried about what they say. I may be biased, but I personally think that coming to a board-game café is much more rewarding than most other popular activities done by students such as drinking or partying, where they lose control of who they are and wake up feeling tired the next morning without really getting to know anyone. But in board game cafés, you spend quality time with friends or those you have never met before. You have to work together on solving puzzles or have friendly banter in competitive games. In the end, it is a rewarding experience on a personal level and a social level as you become better at a game and get to know someone more. Overall, I have seen many Yonsei students come here awkwardly as strangers but leave more comfortably with people they can now call friends.”

   “Fun-café isn’t simply a board-game café. It is home to the many memories and friendships our customers have built over the past 17 years. From Yonsei students to board-game manias, our customers have always left having more than when they came into the café. This café is a sheltered place that barely changed from what it was 17 years ago: same location, same *sa-jang-nim*, and the same feeling. You might come to play an antique board game, but leave with something more, take it from the *sa-jang-nim* who met her husband!”

*Sa-jang-nim: A store owner in Korea. 

**Gwa-jam: A social group of students from the same faculty.