Starbucks Gwangjang Market: A Unique Coffee Experience in a Traditional Market
I woke up this morning with a strange sadness washing over me. Why? Lying in bed, I pondered the reason, and it hit me: the long holiday was ending tomorrow. Goodbye to the lazy, unproductive pig life spent rolling around at home... It's time for me to return to being a diligent pig.
From 'lazy and unproductive' to 'diligent' – quite the positive transformation in adjectives, yet why are my eyes sweating so much? I'm already bundled up in long sleeves and pants because of the cold, but my eyeballs seem to still be enjoying summer.
Anyway, I'm skipping over week 5 of the blog challenge with a review of empty bottles and moving straight to week 6. During the Chuseok holiday, my family and I took a short tour of Seoul, and the Starbucks Gwangjang Market branch, which was part of our tour, was quite unique, so I thought I'd write a quick post about it.
The Starbucks Gwangjang Market branch opened around the end of May this year. I've visited the Starbucks Kyungdong 1960 branch, which was renovated from an old theater in Kyungdong Market in 2022, a few times, and this one is similar in that it preserves the structure and characteristics of the market building as much as possible while still maintaining the Starbucks vibe.
The structure has three floors: the first floor is a simple cold brew bar, the second floor is the main store, and the third floor is a rooftop (but without any awnings or coverings to protect from rain or wind).
I questioned the need to write 'Gwangjang Market' as 'Gwangjang Market,' but I understand the meaning, and the rest is up to the creator's discretion, so I let it go.
I heard that it was quite crowded when it first opened, but it seems to have stabilized now, and it's mainly visited by people who come to Gwangjang Market. In my opinion, there's no need to come to Gwangjang Market just to visit this branch; it's best enjoyed as an add-on to a walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream or an indulgence in raw beef.
There are also drinks and desserts exclusive to the Gwangjang Market branch. I forgot to take pictures of the desserts, but there were donuts, silatar cake (Korean honey string cake), and promokbo (korean wrapping cloth) strawberry crepes. If I hadn't just eaten a lot of raw beef and wasn't so full, I might have tried the Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) Cream Cold Brew.
The interior is like this. Market symbols like bolts of fabric and silatar are used as decorations throughout, and the structure of the market shops remains intact. My brother said it looks like several market seafood restaurants were torn down and connected.
The view from each seat varies, but the glimpses of Gwangjang Market, especially right before the holiday, felt particularly abundant and vibrant.
The first-floor cold brew bar only has enough seating for a quick break, and the roof structure on the upper floor looks pretty cool in photos. I didn't take a picture of the third-floor rooftop bar, but since there's no awning or covering to protect from rain or sun, I think people usually just take a picture and leave.
Every holiday, we always just eat and go to a cafe, which was getting boring, so I decided to add more to our itinerary. We ended up going to Baekje Butcher Shop for raw beef → exploring Gwangjang Market (& coffee after our meal) → taking a walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream and exploring Myeongdong → watching a movie together (One Battle After Another). I don't know how satisfied my parents and brother were, but I thought it was pretty good.
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