Where
did Korea’s coffee culture come from?
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.
obsession
|
A
|
1
|
To totally accept something, to hug
|
embraced
|
B
|
2
|
To be totally crazy about something
|
out of their way
|
C
|
3
|
Brave, confident
|
bold
|
D
|
4
|
Getting richer and more wealth, improving
|
kicking off
|
E
|
5
|
The very best
|
elite
|
F
|
6
|
To start, to begin
|
prosperity
|
G
|
7
|
Able to throw away, use one time only
|
disposable
|
H
|
8
|
To make an extra effort to do something
|
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.
The stalker was obsessed about her.
To change we must embrace new ideas and throw away old
JinHie is going out of her way to prove she can be the best.
The mayor has a bold plan to make public transport the
best in the world.
Tomorrow, the meeting will kick off at 9am.
Special forces soldiers are the
elite of the army.
Most prosperity in Korea has happened in Seoul.
People buy these cheap disposable shaving razors.
Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the
words/phrases in your answer.
What do you think caused
Korea’s obsession with
coffees/cafes?
Are there other things like
cafes that Koreans have embraced
from other countries? Describe them.
How much would you go out of your way to visit a restaurant
or café that somebody famous goes to?
Why would it be bold to make a new type of café?
When did Starbucks kick off in
Korea? Why do you think Starbucks style of coffee kicked off?
Describe an elite brand that you would like to own.
Why?
What other trends has prosperity kicked off in Korea?
Why is it important for a
country that people have disposable
income?