When I traveled to Korea last year, I noticed that there are so many coffee shops even on one street. But even before that, I’ve learned a little about Korean coffee culture from its dramas. When a couple goes out to date, they would meet in a 카페(café) and order two cups of coffee. There are also vending machines for coffee in colleges or on the rooftop of the building, where people can have a small cup of coffee and chat with their friends.
From a drama I’ve watched, I learned that Koreans love to order “아아”, short for 아이스 아메리카노 (Iced Americano). It is so commonly ordered that it has a shortened word for it. Even in winter, people love ordering it with ice. However, according to the Kraze, coffee was introduced to Korea about 121 years ago. The first person in Korea who tried coffee was Emperor Gojong, after which coffee shops and cafés started to appear in Korea. Now, a lot of young people or couples would go to a coffee shop and chill for an afternoon.
Nowadays, Korean cafés have grown so much that this industry becomes very competitive. Every café wants to distinguish itself from others, and thus more cafés are trying to have their theme or concept to make people stay and remember it. A lot of Korean cafés are good places for photo takings, which would attract more young people who are active on social media. Many cafés will have white walls with simple wooden decorations, which creates a healing atmosphere as soft music is played in the background. Despite the well-decorated shop, the display of the coffee is important too. If it is not for takeout, coffee will be served in a glass bottle, usually with a wooden plate under it as well. There will also be small cakes or bread served beside the coffee.
There are also many themed cafés in Korea. For example, there is a snoopy-themed café in Seoul. The cups are painted with the Snoopy characters, the cookies are made in the shape of Snoopy, and there are many decorations related to Snoopy as well. In general, it is a cute shop that would attract young people there to hang out and chat with their friends. There are many other themes designed by the cafés in South Korea, such as vintage, Cotton Candy, and Line Friends. They are called the “Instagrammable cafés” since people would go there for good photos to post on Instagram. This café culture is formed in South Korea in recent years. I want to try it out with my friends someday and I think it would be really interesting.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyDfoS9E6I0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ncNbguX8M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DY6MyDYhx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0LdUlGewLQ
http://www.thekrazemagazine.com/latest-updates/2019/5/12/the-caf-culture-of-korea
Comments
Your post reminds me of my trip to Korea three years ago. I remembered that there are so many different types of cafe in the street, and younger generation will take photos and hang out together at cafe. Cafe is more like a social place in Korean rather than just a place for drinks.
A cafe themed with line friends sounds adorable! I like that you pointed out the rise of "instragrammable cafés". As our social media usage grows, there is definitely a rising trend of going to places that are 'aesthetically pleasing' and that would look better in pictures, and a lot of newly established businesses, especially ones like cafés and restaurants, place a huge focus on how the place is designed. This trend goes to the extent where a place can be making food that doesn't taste very good, but is extremely "instagrammable" so it attracts more customers. I don't know if I find this sad, or if it's just another 'adapting to changing times' situation.
Hi Maggie, this was a really cool post. I didn't know that Emperor Gojong was the first person who tried coffee 121 ago years. The development of cafes consequently after he did just shows how far the Korean cafe industry has come a long way and these days there are truly so many different types of cafes in Korea. It has definitely become trendy and many people like to go to cafes for the purpose of uploading on SNS which brings more and more customers to that cafe. It is so popular that in more Korean populated cities and areas, Korean cafes have started opening up and they give a glimpse of what Korean cafes in Korea are truly like.
There's really so many types of cafes in Korea. People really look for pretty cafes simply for a picture on their social media. Because these "hot" places are so commonly shared on social media, cafes really blow up with social media. Nowadays, there are a lot of pet cafes including dogs and cats. I think they are pretty popular and I wish I could visit on someday.
Last summer I went to Seoul, I was amazed by the density of coffee shops, you can see coffee shops everywhere. There are many styles of coffee shops in South Korea, some of them are simple but warm, while others are distinctive. I also like the pet coffee shop very much, a pet coffee shop I've always wanted to go to has lots of cute pet pigs.
Hi Maggie! This post is so cute! The themes are so fun, I had no idea Snoopy would be so popular in Korea. Taking pictures is really common in Korea as well, so that's a good business tactic to include that aspect in their brand. I also like the glass bottle serving idea. The aesthetic is cute, so it encourages people to order in which helps the environment a bit by using reusable glasses.