Korea’s Coffee Culture
South Korea invokes images of K-pop, Gangnam’s bright lights, and gargantuas of industry Samsung and Hyundai. This is matched by its dual image of a country constantly under threat from its northern neighbour.
Less well know is the nation’s obsession with coffee.
In 2016 Reuters reported that Korea had reached ‘peak coffee.’ Since then the number of cafes in Seoul, the country’s capital, has reached 18,000 — making it the city with the highest number of cafes per capita in the world, far outstripping the home of Starbucks and San Francisco.
Not only have Koreans embraced café culture, they have gone out of their way to distinguish themselves. In such a crowded market, there are bold concept cafes, dog, cat and raccoon cafes. There are florists that serve coffee, cafes with DJs, cafes with artwork, cafes in former warehouses and factories — and all serve a combination of self-roasted beans, unusual non-coffee alternatives and a plethora of cakes. Even the smallest units have their own roasting machines. Some people have a café on the side of their full-time jobs.
Starbucks, by far the largest chain in Korea and credited for kicking off the coffee boom, has had to up its game. Its Reserve brand, which features pour-over counters and special blends, is well represented, and their largest store which opened last year is housed in a…
