Do you like coffee and cafes? Why or why not?

How has café culture changed in Korea?

When you think of South Korea you think of K-pop, Gangnam’s bright lights, and huge companies like Samsung and Hyundai or North Korea.

However, people don’t know about South Korea’s obsession with coffee.

In 2016 it was reported that Korea had reached ‘peak coffee.’ Since then the number of cafes in Seoul became18,000. This makes Seoul the city with the highest number of cafes per person in the world. This is much more than the home of Starbucks and San Francisco.

Not only have Koreans embraced café culture, they have gone out of their way to do something interesting. For example, there are bold café ideas like dog, cat and raccoon cafes. There are flower shops that serve coffee, cafes with DJs, cafes with artwork, cafes in old warehouses and factories. Even very small cafes have their own roasting machines. Some people have a café as well as their full time job.

Starbucks is the largest chain in Korea and is famous for kicking off the coffee craze.

Where did this coffee craze start? Some think cafes became a place where people could escape. A place away from the stress of the work and home. Rental space in Seoul is expensive. The average living space for each household is just over 62sq m. That is why many cafes are careful in their design and make exciting spaces out of small places. Coffee lovers will also travel a long way to cafes that are famous so they can take photos to post to Instagram and other social media sites.

Coffee has been part of Korean culture since the late-19th century. But for many years it was seen as luxury and elite. Korea’s growing prosperity and disposable incomes meant people had more money to spend on extra things like coffee.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=2, B=1, C=8, D=3, E=6, F=5, G=4, H=7

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. The stalker was obsessed about her.

2. To change we must embrace new ideas and throw away old

3. JinHie is going out of her way to prove she can be the best.

4. The mayor has a bold plan to make public transport the best in the world.

5. Tomorrow, the meeting will kick off at 9am.

6. Special forces soldiers are the elite of the army.

7. Most prosperity in Korea has happened in Seoul.

8. People buy these cheap disposable shaving razors.

    

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. What do you think caused Korea’s obsession with coffees/cafes?

2. Are there other things like cafes that Koreans have embraced from other countries? Describe them.

3. How much would you go out of your way to visit a restaurant or café that somebody famous goes to?

4. Why would it be bold to make a new type of café?

5. When did Starbucks kick off in Korea? Why do you think Starbucks style of coffee kicked off?

6. Describe an elite brand that you would like to own. Why?

7. What other trends has prosperity kicked off in Korea?

8. Why is it important for a country that people have disposable income?