Translations:History of coffee/73/en

South Korea

Coffee's first notable Korean enthusiasts were 19th century emperors Sunjong and Gojong, who preferred to consume it after western-style banquets. After Korea's first coffee shop opened 1902, coffee was enjoyed by Korea's elites, who viewed coffee as a symbol of western culture and status. Coffee was later introduced to the general public in the 1950s by American soldiers stationed in Korea. The number of small, individually owned coffee shops, called dabang, increased rapidly; by the late 1950s, there were over 3,000 of them. In 1976, Korean beverage company Dongsuh Foods introduced the coffee mix, a mixture of instant coffee, creamer and sugar packaged in individual packets. This product contributed to the popularization of instant coffee, and later became an office staple after the Asian financial crisis. By the 1980s instant coffee and canned coffee had become fairly popular, with a more minor tradition of independently owned coffeehouses in larger cities. Toward the end of the century the growth of franchises such as Caffe Bene and Starbucks brought about a greater demand for European-style coffee, and led to the decline of dabangs.