Koreans: Addicted to Coffee or Cafes?

I don’t know if an average tourist spending a 1 or 2-weeks vacation in Seoul or other major cities such as Busan and Daegu would realise this but these cities are flooded with cafes. I began realising this after a few weeks into my stay in Seoul and there are cafes EVERYWHERE in the cities. Be it large or small, commercially or privately owned, simply or beautifully decorated… you can find an abundance of cafes with different concepts and ambience.

Well, I actually began noticing the cafes when I stumbled across a Charlie Brown cafe in Sillim, the area where I stayed. People following my facebook closely might remember the photos of a Charlie Brown cafe I uploaded while I was in Korea. The cafe was too cute that I told bf we have to go there for a date even if we don’t feel like drinking coffee. :p

Comparing the number of cafes I’ve seen in all the countries I had visited, Korea has got to be the country with the most. With random cafes along the streets, I find myself hanging out with friends in the cafes very often.

There are certainly many reasons as to why so many cafes line the streets of the large cities in Korea. A reason is probably to get away from the freezing weather outside, or having a good break from the pressure of the competitive society, but I believe that a bigger reason for Koreans to visit cafes so often is because of socialising. Hanging out, chatting, meetings, and even studying. I get this idea from their concept of DRINKING, yes beer and soju. Koreans are good at drinking, they go drinking very often because they think that chatting over a meal and sharing drinks would make them feel closer. It’s their way of socialising. I suppose that it is the same as going to a cafe. Some Koreans don’t drink or can’t drink, so perhaps a better way to get close with say, a colleague or a date is to go to a cafe!

What a name to give to a cafe. Exorcist Coffee.
If I remember correctly, the drink in the right photo is an orange peel tea. The taste was really strong, both very sweet and sour. I’m not an orange lover so it wasn’t much to my liking. I only picked that tea because it was the only tea left and I didn’t feel like drinking coffee.

I’ve seen a good amount of cafes with stocked-up bookshelves as shown in the photo above. There is the risk of people stealing them but it would great if cafes in Singapore could have free books for anyone to read!

AND THEN, there is the evolution of cafes in Korea: Dog and Cat cafes. These are where dogs and cats roam freely around the cafe while you enjoy a cup of latte. Dog-owners tend to bring their own dogs to these cafes and let their dogs socialise as well! So it’s a place for both human and pets to socialise! It is also definitely a great place for dog/cat lovers, just like me, to hang out and play with the animals.

I have actually been to the dog and cat cafes in Seoul and Daegu, and I’m sure Busan has one or two of such cafes. For people who are interested, the best dog cafe I’ve been to is called Bau House located at HongDae station in Seoul. As compared to the other dog cafes, for one it has great seats as can be seen below, and they sell treats for the dogs so it’s easy to attract them. In the other cafes, it’s difficult to play with the dogs when you don’t have any treats for them. As for cat cafes, they are not as active as dogs and they’re not as noisy as dogs, so it’s a little more quiet, for the more reserved people? ^^

Anyway, I have realised one special drink that could be found in almost every cafes in Korea but not that commonly seen in Australia and Singapore (only countries I’m familiar with). That’s the GREEN TEA LATTE! They can most definitely be found in large commercialised cafes in Korea but most of the privately-owned cafes do sell them as well. Indeed, cafes in Korea have a wider range of drinks available, besides the normal drinks that contain caffeine.

I personally love going to cafes even though I’m not a fan of coffee. I just love the idea of enjoying a cup of drink in a relaxed environment and having a good chat with friends. ^^