Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The King of Kwangju]

When I left Korea they were just opening the first Starbucks there. I remember that it took the western chain some rethinking of what would work in Korea, as opposed to what would work in the west.

In the west, the thinking went, we drop in for coffee and take it out. In Korea, it was more of a date thing, and people expected to sit in the shop for the puniggi and hang out.

So the Starbucks was built 3 or 4 stories and every seat was a window seat (I never saw it personally).

Last Friday a new chain opened up in my neighbourhood here in Toronto. It's called Far Coast and is owned by Coke. They aim to take over Starbuck's high-end market.

Coffee was free and so I went to check it out and was immediately struck by how much it resembled a Korean coffee shop (in the late 90's at least). Not only the decor, but the whole concept - it's a 3 story place with plenty of windows and places to sit. It's in the most expensive part of the city, and meant as a destination, not a place to drop in and leave.

I had no one else to share this observation with (at least no one who cared) so I thought I would drop it into off-topic.

Here are some pics:
http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2006/09/inside_far_coast_cafe/

[Novernae]

Ick... they're using pods!

Not that I expect Coke to pay any attention to quality. It means no grinding, no staff training, no good flavor....
Starbucks for that matter lost a lot when they switched to automagic machines. Though now their barristas can be even less trained and even more dispensable, so I guess they gained there.