Koreans and Coffee Shops

Koreans and Coffee Shops

Koreans are serious about coffee --- at least that's what they want to be seen as. Coffee shops are "all the rage", and saying that they are a trend is conveying the craze too lightly.

Of course there is the obligatory Starbucks, Dunkin Dunuts, and even Mister Donut (a super throwback that I remember was around in the States in the 80's). Then there are the coffee shops that swear they brew authentic italian and french roasts, and have the Italian & french names. There is apparentely a bakery war going on between the two main "french"y bakeries in Korea: Tous Les Jours vs. Paris Baguette. Apparently, back in January of this year, a baker at Tous Les Jours that was going bankrupt tried a last ditch effort to bring down its competitor across the street, Paris Baguette, by baking a dead rat in a loaf of bread...

She really likes baguettes.

Tous Les Jours is bringing in the superpowers of Korean Drama and KPop as leverage...

Actress Ku Hye Sun & Popstar Rain, matching of course

C'mon. Rain wants to eat a donut. He promises the calories don't count.

I  must say, both places do well on the pastries. Almost too good.

 

Aside from the coffee shops itself, let me get to the real reason why I'm writing this post in the first place.

Whenever I'm sitting in a coffee shop doing some work (taking a breather from studio), I happen to always observe Koreans and their unique behavior. First of all, they do not treat cafes and coffee shops as Americans do -- American students go to the coffee shop to get a calm ambiance with coffee and light jazz floating through the air, promoting optimum productivity for a college student. A korean student treats the coffee shop as two things:   1) a bar, where you gather with your friends and gab and chatter loudly and smoke while listening to loud-ass pop music, and 2) a place to lovingly stare into your significant other's eyes for hours while sipping frappaccinos and taking photos of each other.

But today, I witness the most annoying thing...

This guy and his friends are taking photos of the coffee and the pastries they just bought... for 20 minutes. Okay, I admit, i take photos of most meals I've had here, but this was just absurd. So, of course, I had to take a picture of the asian guy taking a picture of the food. I thought I was being super slick holding up my phone acting like was texting.

And then after 20 minutes, they got up, and moved to another table. I'm thinking, "what? they need better light or something? what creeps."

...and then I realized there was a mirror behind me.

Who's the creep now?