South Korean cafes fight students who do not leave

In the wealthy neighborhood of Seoul, Hyon Song-ju has a dilemma.

His cafe is sometimes cagongjok, the term for predominantly young South Koreans who like to study or work at a cafe, but there is a limit.

He says that recently one client has created a working space in his cafe, which included two laptops and a six -port power to charge all his devices – all day.

“I ended up blocking outlets,” he says BBC.

“It is difficult to launch a cafe with a high rent, if someone takes a place all day.”

The cultural phenomenon of whom is playing in South Korea, especially in areas with many students and office workers. They are often dominated by cafes on a much larger scale than other Western countries, such as the UK, where those who study often surround others to chat.

And Starbucks Korea warned this month that a The minority of the people goes further than the laptops justFor example, the attraction of desktop monitors, printers, dividing tables or leaving tables unattended over a long period.

Now the network has launched nationwide recommendations aimed at containing “small numbers of extreme cases” when complex settings or long blank places violate other customers.

Starbucks said employees do not ask customers to leave, but if necessary to provide “recommendations”. He also referred to previous cases of thefts when customers left unattended things, calling new recommendations “step to a more convenient store environment”.

It seems that it does not hold back the more moderate anyone, for whom Starbucks has been a refuge in recent years and continues to remain.

On Thursday night, the Starbucks branch in the Gangn area in Seoul is buzzing with customers who study, headed for laptops and books.

Among them is a-18-year-old student who has abandoned the school and prepared for the entrance university exam “Suneung”.

“I get here at about 11 am and stay until 10 pm,” she says the BBC. “Sometimes I leave my belongings and go near.”

During the visit to Starbucks, we did not see bulky equipment, as new recommendations were issued on August 7, although we saw one person with a laptop, keyboard and mice. Some customers still leave their places unattended for a long period, and laptops and books that spread over the tables.

Asked if his new restrictions on visible changes, Starbucks Korea told the BBC that it was “difficult to confirm.”

Starbucks’s step reactions were ambiguous. The most welcome policies as a long time exceeding the step to restoration of normality is how cafes are used.

This is especially the case among those who visit Starbucks for a vacation or conversation that said it has become difficult to find places because of someone, and that the muted atmosphere often made them feel self-consciousness about the conversation freely.

Few criticized this as excessively, saying that the network abandoned its previously practical approach.

It reflects a broader public debate in South Korea on the occasion of Kimengok, which he has been writing since he started shooting in 2010, coinciding with the growth of fashioned coffee networks in the country. This continued to grow when there is an increase in cafes by 48% in the country, the National Tax Service, which has been approaching 100,000, reports.

About 70% of people in a recent poll with more than 2000 gene -scores in South Korea by recruiting the Jinhakssa platform said they studied at least once a week.

The case with “Sheeping” and related problems are a difficult balance, and independent cafes that fight a similar business have launched a number of approaches.

While Hyun has been experiencing customers who bring several electronic devices and tuners work stations, it says such extreme cases are rare.

“It may be two -three people out of one hundred,” the cafe owner says for 15 years. “Most people are carefully treated. Some even order another drink when they stay long, and I’m completely okay.”

Hon cafe, which locals also use as a space for conversation or private tutoring, still welcomes Cagongjok as long as they respect the total space.

Some other CAFE franchises even provide them with outlets, individual tables and longer renovated.

But others have taken more strict steps. Kim, the owner of the cafe in Jeonju, who asked the BBC to remain unknown, presented the “without the training zone” after repeated complaints about the monopolization of space.

“Two people will come and take a place for 10. Sometimes they go on food and return to study for seven -hour hours,” he says. “We eventually put up a sign, saying it is a space for conversation rather than studying.”

Now its cafe allows for a maximum of two hours for those who use it to study or work. The rule does not apply to regular customers who just drink coffee.

“I pursued a policy to prevent potential conflicts between customers,” Kim says.

So, what is behind the trend and why do so much in South Korea feel the need to work or study in cafes, not in libraries, joint jobs or at home?

For some cafes, it is not just the surrounding space; It’s a place to feel justified.

Yin Jin Mo, 29, tells the BBC about his growth experience in the receptionist. “The house was not a safe place. I lived with my father in a small container, and sometimes he closed the door outside and left me alone.”

Even now, in the adult, it is difficult for her to stay alone. “As soon as I wake up, I go to the cafe. I tried the libraries and studied the cafe, but they felt suffocating,” she says.

Later, Ms. Mo even during the year spent her own cafe, hoping to offer space where people as she could feel comfortable and learning.

Professor Choi Ra-Yang from Ansan University, who has studied life education for more than two decades, views someone’s cultural phenomenon, which is defined by South Korea’s hyper-compound society.

“This is a youth culture created by the society that we have created,” she says the BBC. “Most Cagongjok are probably looking for work either students. They are under pressure – whether it is from scientists, work safety or living conditions that have no windows and no place to study.

“In a sense, these young people are victims of a system that does not provide enough public space for work or study,” she adds. “They can be considered a trouble, but they are also a social structure product.”

Professor Choi said it’s time to create more inclusive spaces. “We need recommendations and conditions that allow you to study the cafe – without breaking others – if we want to realistically place this culture.”