By Chris Lau and Yoonjung Seo, CNN
South Korean veterans drink coffee at an observation deck of the Starbucks Coffee in Gimpo.
Photo: SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Coffee lovers with a keen interest to catch a glimpse of life in the world’s most reclusive nation should get ready to travel: Starbucks has the perfect spot for them to hang.
The American chain’s latest outpost in South Korea is located on an observation tower at the border with North Korea, allowing patrons to sip on their brews while looking out at the hermit kingdom from across the Jo River that separates the two sides.
The 30-seat cafe is located at the Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo city, about 20 miles north of the capital Seoul. It’s near the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), one of the world’s most heavily armed borders.
Customers packed the observation deck outside the cafe its first day of business on Friday, 29 November. Those who wished to avoid the cold huddled indoors, sipping coffee.
On a clear day, customers can expect to see some farms and low-rise buildings in Kaepung county just across the border. With a decent pair of binoculars, or a camera with ultra-zoom capabilities, visitors may even be able to see people strolling around.
North Korean citizens walk in Kaepung, in this picture taken from the top of the Aegibong Peak Observatory.
Photo: Soo-hyeon Kim / Reuters
“I wish I could share this tasty coffee with the people living in North Korea right in front of us,” local resident Baek Hea-soon, 48, told Reuters.
Lim Jong-chul, an 80-year-old man who fought in the Vietnam War, was another patron. “The concept of security felt rigid and tense, but now, with this cafe here, it feels more peaceful and reassuring,” he said.
North and South Korea are technically still at war, as no treaty to end the 1950 to 1953 Korean War was ever signed. Fighting came to a halt following an armistice.
Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo called the location “unique” as it represented the “charm of Korean culture”.
Local authorities have been leveraging the historical significance of the site to boost tourism.
Customers inside the Starbucks coffee shop with views of North Korea.
Photo: SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg / Getty Images
The ecopark where the tower is located was originally the site of Hill 154, where the two Koreas and their allies fought fiercely during the war. There are several observatory towers along the border between the two sides.
The Starbucks outlet is one of only a few ways for South Koreans and international tourists to get a look inside North Korea, even if it is from afar, without setting foot there.
It offers an alternative to tours of the DMZ, which draws tonnes of tourists travelers each year, according to the Korea Tourism Organisation.
According to two tour companies with connections to the isolated country, North Korea is set to reopen limited international tourism by the end of this year, nearly five years after it completely sealed the country’s borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cafe opening comes during a time of tension between the two sides. In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea.
In October, Kim further threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy South Korea if attacked, after South Korea’s president warned that if the North used nuclear weapons, it would “face the end of its regime”.
– CNN