Desktops and printers in coffee shops? Starbucks Korea tells customers to 그만 해
- Reference: 1755108788
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/13/no_desktops_starbucks_korea/
- Source link:
The Korea Herald [1]reported last week that Starbucks stores in the country had introduced a ban on electronics, aside from the cafe-friendly use of laptops and small electronics.
"Personal desktops, printers, power strips, partitions, etc. cannot be used in the store," reads a sign from a Korean Starbucks location photographed by the Korea Herald and machine-translated by The Register .
[2]
Starbucks confirmed the policy change. "While laptops and smaller personal devices are welcome, customers are asked to refrain from bringing desktop computers, printers, or other bulky items that may limit seating and impact the shared space," a company spokesperson told The Register . "Starbucks remains committed to being a welcoming third place for coffee and connection, and where community thrives in every cup, every conversation, and every visit."
[3]
[4]
Dragging excessive technology into coffee shops isn't exactly a problem unique to South Korea. Improv Everywhere made a [5]hit video by having comedians drag desktops into coffee shops 17 years ago, and social media [6]posts [7]about [8]desktops in [9]coffee [10]shops continue to [11]pop up on occasion.
Unlike in the West, where such weirdos have been dismissed as … uh … weirdos, South Koreans have actually come up with a term for folks who obsessively work in coffee shops: [12]cagongjok .
[13]Starbucks brews up AI to support baristas instead of replace them
[14]Brewhaha: Turns out machines can't replace people, Starbucks finds
[15]How to snoop on passwords with this one weird trick (involving public Wi-Fi signals)
[16]First-world problems: The pumpkin spice latte is here, but the Starbucks loyalty card app has wiped my balance
The word, a combination of cafe and the Korean words for studying (gongbu) and tribe (jok), suggests a whole subculture of folks who study and work at Korea's cafes and coffee shops, the number of which has been skyrocketing of late. As of late 2022, there were more than [17]100,000 coffee shops in Korea - double the number of convenience stores, a 4.5 percent increase from the year prior and double the number that existed in the country in 2016.
The English language Korea JoongAng Daily [18]noted that, as of 2020, South Korea was the second-highest coffee consumption nation in the world, trailing only France and just ahead of the United States.
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In other words, Koreans love coffee - and working in public, apparently. Combine those two things and you have an epidemic of comedic proportions on your hands that only a politely-worded sign can address, asking cagongjok to respect the space of others instead of recreating jokes from the internet of the 'aughts. ®
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[1] https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10550038
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJ0K9YKBSEbwgfM-heB0PAAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJ0K9YKBSEbwgfM-heB0PAAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJ0K9YKBSEbwgfM-heB0PAAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKEeHREK2nQ
[6] https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/6uo2q9/so_a_customer_did_some_work_on_a_computer_today/
[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/1bdio8/somebody_bringing_their_desktop_computer_to/
[8] https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/8pe6i1/what_is_the_etiquette_of_bringing_a_monitor_to_a/
[9] https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/18fzqf7/please_do_not_be_the_guy_yes_it_is_always_a_guy/
[10] https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/1kc9dn2/is_bringing_your_desktop_monitor_with_you_a_thing/
[11] https://www.reddit.com/r/MiniPCs/comments/1f2ll83/a_portable_mini_pc_setup_for_coffee_shops/
[12] https://m.koreaherald.com/article/3162147
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/11/starbucks_ai_baristas/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/30/starbucks_finds_machines_cant_replace/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/13/wifi_beamforming_side_channel_attack/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/25/starbucks_app_titsup/
[17] https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-01/business/industry/Cafes-nationwide-top-100000-to-double-convenience-stores/2080344
[18] https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-01/business/industry/Cafes-nationwide-top-100000-to-double-convenience-stores/2080344
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJ0K9YKBSEbwgfM-heB0PAAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Now I understand
I have never understood how Starbucks became so big. From the land of supposed coffee snobs (Pacific Northwest, USA) their coffee tastes like burnt shite.
Is it the nasty tasting syrup gimmick?
Re: Now I understand
The nasty tasting syrup is the only way people can bring that stuff down... though the Norwegians with their red Friele coffee have a lot to answer for as well. Burnt. Nasty.
Re: Now I understand
They(.no) have a justification - healthy life (espresso is like heroin for them).
Re: Now I understand
>> I have never understood how Starbucks became so big.
Americans will buy anything. Starbucks is universally corporate drab.
Perhaps the coffee snobs don't know what they are drinking. I'm sure they know all the terms, where all the beans come from, and so on. But... American cuisine. McDonald's is referred to as a restaurant. Mars bars in the USA tasted like crap when I was there. They are not the same as Mars bars in the UK. However Peter Paul almond joys are very tasty.
Re: Now I understand
For those of you too young to remember the alfresco dining experience in the UK before chains.
A cafe would have an urn of tea, containing a large number of tea bags, more boiling water would be added during the day.
If you were some sort of effete social dandy you could order coffee - and an ancient tin of Mellow Birds would be found under the counter, anda half teaspoon would be grudgingly added to a tea cup
Ordering a burger meant taking your life into your hands by eating whatever grey frozen thing the COOP had on offer that week
No desktops? Fair enough.
But how about typewriters? For the ultimate hipster?
tribe (jok)
We have a similar sounding tribe here in the north of Britain.
icon -> jok alert
In the UK they are starting to monetize this kind of stuff.
In Bournemouth (a dead seaside town) there are a number of short term office co-working spaces that are starting to pop up. i.e:
https://footprintarchitects.co.uk/bournemouth-co-working-space-opened-at-bobbys/
Theres A Blast From The Past
Bobby's a name that I still remember fondly, rather than it's mutation into Debenhams!
Ludites
This is what led to the industrial revolution.
Freelancer artisanal home weavers would take their looms and hang around in artisanal coffee shops all day but then the owners of the dark satanic mills complained ....
Now I understand
"Starbucks remains committed to being a welcoming third place for coffee and connection, and where community thrives in every cup, every conversation, and every visit."
I've always wondered how they can make coffee so badly. It's from the staff throwing up in your cup after reading this kind of stuff from corp HQ.