Entering : Reading Geography from a Starbucks Seat

Chapter 1: Hot Places: There's Always a Starbucks

Information contained in space is powerful_Ewha R Branch
Hongdae's commercial district suffering from gentrification_Hongik University Station Exit 8
Wherever people gather, there is a cafe_ Gangnam R Branch
[World Geography with Starbucks] Starbucks Seattle Park Place

Chapter 2: A Newly Born Space: Starbucks Establishes Its Position as a Symbol of Space

How was Daechi-dong, the "Big Hill Village," created? _ Daechi Eunma Intersection Branch
Can Innovation City Succeed?_ Wonju Bangok DT Branch
A city built on the site of a vanished tidal flat_ Songdo Convensia Daero DT Branch
[World Geography with Starbucks] Starbucks Shanghai, China

Chapter 3: A Place Made by Rocks: Traveling with Starbucks is Fun

Walking the winding mountain road like a time traveler_ Mungyeong Saejae Branch
Master of Transformation, a Terrain Made of Granite_ Daegu Palgongsan Branch
Taste the scenery of Jeju, a volcanic island_ Jeju Aewol DT Branch
[World Geography with Starbucks] Starbucks Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai

Chapter 4: Rivers and Seas: Adding Starbucks to Picturesque Landscapes

A place born from the harmony of mountains and rivers_Daeyangpyeong DTR Branch
A landscape created by capes and coastal terraces_ Ulsan Ganjeolgot Point
Gunsan, a city of history and reclamation_ Gunsan University Branch
[World Geography with Starbucks] Starbucks Bebek, Turkey

Appendix : Nearby Travel Destinations to Enjoy with Starbucks

The Starbucks in various parts of Korea that the geography teacher visited in person
What geographical secrets are hidden?

We live with coffee so close that there is even a saying, 'Korea is a coffee republic.'
It wouldn't be awkward to have a cafe next to a cafe, and another cafe next to that.
Teenagers turn to coffee to stay awake, and adults turn to coffee on a daily basis to the point of caffeine addiction, going beyond sleep-wake mode.
Perhaps for this reason, the number of Starbucks stores in Korea is approximately 1,660 as of July 2022, the fourth largest in the world after the United States (approximately 15,500), China (approximately 5,600), and Japan (approximately 1,700).
It's the fourth, but considering the number of stores relative to the total population, it's a surprising number.

In the winter of 2020, the author, a current high school geography teacher, read an article about Starbucks opening its 1,500th store and suddenly became curious.
"How does Starbucks choose its locations, and what geographical secrets lie behind them?" To find the answer, the author turned on a map application and examined the locations of Starbucks stores.
And I chose 12 geographically significant places and visited them in person.
"Starbucks Geography Tour" is a book that contains the process and content.

Starbucks opened a store there
There's a reason for everything

In Chapter 1, 'Hot Places - There's Always a Starbucks There', the author first sets out to find the first Starbucks store.
Where did Starbucks open its first store, a store so symbolic and crucial that it could determine the success or failure of a business? While many locations with high foot traffic like Jongno or Myeongdong were available, Starbucks surprisingly chose the location in front of Ewha Womans University.
The author decides to visit the first Starbucks store, ‘Ewha R Branch’, as his first travel destination and visits the area in front of Ewha Womans University for the first time in a long time.

The Ewha Womans University commercial district was renowned as one of the best commercial districts in Seoul in the 1990s.
The author walks along the street in front of Ewha Womans University, which was hit hard by gentrification and transformed from a fashion mecca into an officetel mecca, and retraces the history of the Ewha Womans University commercial district.
And it talks about why Starbucks chose this location as the site of its first store in 1999, and how Starbucks responded to the changes brought about by gentrification.

Following the Ewha R branch, the author moves to the Hongik University Station Exit 8 branch.
We explore the meaning behind the unique store name, "Hongdae Station Exit 8," and the relationship between the Hongdae and Sinchon commercial districts.
Meanwhile, if Hongik University Station is the busiest station north of the Han River in Seoul, Gangnam Station is the busiest station south of the Han River.
The author visits the 'Gangnam R branch' located at the Gangnam Station intersection and examines the correlation between the number of Starbucks stores and the number of floating population, confirming that locations with a high number of floating population are likely to be Starbucks locations.

In Chapter 2, 'A Newly Born Space - Starbucks, Establishing Its Position as a Symbol of Space', we visit a newly created urban space in an empty field and find out what role Starbucks plays there.
Daechi-dong is now known as the "number one private education district" and has become a neighborhood known nationwide, but just 50 years ago, it was nothing more than a low-lying wetland that would habitually flood whenever it rained heavily.
As Gangnam developed, large apartment complexes were built on this low-lying area, and the Daechi-dong academy district was formed.
The 'Daechi Eunma Intersection Branch' located here is a symbolic place that clearly shows the role of cafes in the academy district.

Wonju Innovation City, nestled at the foot of Mt. Chiak, is a futuristic city where nature and the city are beautifully harmonized.
Although Starbucks is rarely found in small provincial cities, interestingly, most innovation cities have Starbucks stores.
The author visits the Wonju Bangok DT branch to learn about what an innovation city is and why Starbucks is opening a store there.
Next, we head to the 'Songdo Convensia Daero DT Branch' in Songdo International City, Incheon, and think about the relationship between tidal flat reclamation, global warming, and the coffee industry's sensitivity to climate change.


In Chapter 3, 'Places Made by Rocks - Traveling with Starbucks is Fun', we visit Starbucks in mountains and islands and learn about the rocks and mountain ranges that make up the Korean Peninsula.
'Mungyeong Saejae Branch' is located at Mungyeong Saejae Pass, a mountain pass with an elevation of 642m that crosses the Sobaek Mountain Range.
We visit the Mungyeong Saejae branch and learn about the story behind Mungyeong Saejae and the process of forming the Sobaek Mountains, and think about why there is a Starbucks in Mungyeong Saejae when there is none in Mungyeong City.


Following the Mungyeong Saejae branch, the author visits the Daegu Palgongsan branch, which has a deep connection with granite.
From the Daegu Palgongsan Mountain branch, we look at the winding, undulating mountains and talk about the process of Palgongsan Mountain's formation and the characteristics of the granite mountain range.
Meanwhile, in Jeju, where I visited to live for a month, I visited the 'Jeju Aewol DT Branch', ate a Jeju-only menu, and looked at the topography of Jeju Island.
The Carrot Basalt Cake reflects on the relationship between Jeju Island's bedrock and carrot farming, while the Oreum Cheese Cake recalls the formation process and characteristics of Oreum.


Chapter 4, ‘Rivers and Seas - Adding Starbucks to Picturesque Scenery’ introduces Starbucks that are geographically significant and located near rivers or the sea.
The view outside the window of 'The Yangpyeong DTR Branch', which has been a hot topic since its opening due to its picturesque view, has many interesting points.
The blue Namhan River flowing leisurely between mountains with beautiful ridges and the sandy islands covered with bushes are geographical elements that double the charm of the Deoyangpyeong DTR point.


'Ulsan Ganjeolgot Point', which overlooks the ocean, is located in Ganjeolgot, Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City, where the sun rises first on land in Korea during the winter.
The author visits Ulsan Ganjeolgot Point to see how the combination of the cape and coastal terraces suits the location of the lighthouse, and learns about the process by which the cape and coastal terraces are formed.
Finally, we visit Gunsan University Branch to look back on how reclamation has changed Gunsan's topography and reflect on the significance of the Saemangeum Project.


It's a matter of considering Starbucks' location.
It is a process of learning how to efficiently position space.

Starbucks, which opened its first store in Korea in 1999, surpassed 2 trillion won in annual sales in 2021, solidifying its position as the overwhelming leader in sales and profitability among domestic coffee shops.
There are many different perspectives on Starbucks' dominance.
On the one hand, people praise Starbucks' business acumen, while on the other hand, they criticize it for directly impacting the sales of small coffee shops in the area.


With terms like "Starbucks Index" and "Sse-kwon" now in everyday use, the author argues that before examining the meaning of Starbucks' dominance, we must first understand how it was possible.
We need to think about how much Starbucks considers the floating population and how much consideration is given to the natural landscape when deciding on a location.
At a time when Starbucks is “taking up space with an overwhelming number of stores and the number of people using its dedicated application is approaching 10 million,” examining Starbucks’ position is no different from the process of figuring out what the most efficient location for the space is.
If you've ever walked down the street and stumbled upon a Starbucks and thought, "Why is there a Starbucks in a place like this?", you should definitely read this book.
The answer is in this book.