Korean cafe culture, which is a bigger deal than you expect
Korea has an extraordinary density of cafes and they serve a social function rather than a caffeine one. How they work, what to order, and why some have queues around the block.
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Cafes are living rooms, not coffee stops
Korea has one of the highest cafe densities in the world, and the reason is spatial rather than culinary. Homes are small and often shared with family, so meeting friends, studying, working and dating all happen in cafes. People stay for hours and nobody minds.
This means the product is partly the room. Expect serious investment in interiors, generous seating, reliable wifi and plentiful power sockets. A cafe with a view over the sea or a valley is a destination in itself, not a convenience.
It also means prices look high relative to the coffee. You are paying rent on a table for as long as you want it, which by local convention you are entitled to.
What to order
Iced americano is the default drink to a degree that has become a national joke, ordered year-round including in deep winter. If you want to blend in, that is it.
The interesting local drinks are elsewhere on the menu: misugaru, a nutty roasted grain shake; grain lattes; yuja tea in winter; and increasingly good single-origin filter coffee in specialist shops.
Bingsu, shaved milk ice with toppings, is a summer institution and is normally sized for two or more people to share. Ordering one each is a common visitor mistake.
The regional cafe phenomenon
Some of the country's most striking cafes are deliberately nowhere near a city. Enormous glass-walled buildings sit on hillsides, beside reservoirs and along the coast, built to be driven to and photographed.
Gangneung's Anmok beach is the best-known cluster, having grown from a strip of beach coffee vendors into a proper coffee street. Gangwon and Jeju both have a well-developed scene of this kind.
These are genuinely a reason to travel to a region rather than an afterthought once you arrive, and they are frequently the nicest building in a small town.
Practical notes
Chains are everywhere and reliable, but the independents are where the interest is. A cafe with a hand-lettered sign and eight seats is usually the better coffee.
Ordering is at the counter, you take a buzzer, and you collect your own drink. Tables are not served.
Many cafes close later than restaurants and are a reasonable evening destination in towns where little else stays open.