Korean cafe culture that foreigners find hard to understand

 

You probably have been to a cafe since you came to Korea. If that’s the case, have you ever witnessed something that you didn’t quite get it? Today, we’ll look at Korea’s cafe culture that foreigners may find it a bit hard to understand!

1. Iced Americano

Most people drink their coffee hot in foreign countries, and some don’t even have ‘iced coffee’ on the menu. Koreans, however, love cold coffee – especially an ‘iced americano.’ This is the menu that’s probably sold the most around all cafes in Korea. Foreigners may find it hard to understand as the ice may tone down the taste and scent. Iced americano, however, is a type of coffee that Koreans must have. This is expressed through the popularly used slang, eol-juk-a (얼죽아: short version of 얼어 죽어도 아이스 아메리카노), which means iced americano even if I freeze to death.

2. Studying at the cafe

Korean students and college students often study at cafes! In fact, one study suggests that a proper amount of noise can increase the level of concentration. This may be an influential finding for you can often see students who are studying at cafe franchises or large-scale cafes!

3. Leaving personal belongings on the table and going to the toilet or somewhere else

This is probably the most difficult thing to understand in the eyes of a foreigner. In most cases, an average Korean is not interested in other person’s belongings left on the cafe table. Many actually put their things on the table just to make sure they can grab their seats before ordering. That’s how safe Korea is.

Next time you visit a Korean cafe, why not take a look to see how many of the above you witness? :)