The Identity of a Local Café in Gyeongju

Identity of Local Café in Gyeongju — The Identity of a Local Café in Gyeongju

Coffee Place, a café that frames the ancient tomb mounds of Bonghwangdae in Gyeongju through its windows, offers a glimpse of the humble, endearing charm hidden behind the city's brilliant history. We asked Jeong Dongwook, who has run Coffee Place for 13 years now, about the present and future of a local café.

Interviewer Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee Jeong Dongwook (Owner of Coffee Place)

These days, I find myself constantly checking secondhand marketplace apps in search of a used table. Every time I search for “furniture,” a listing titled “Closing down, selling tables and chairs cheap” catches my eye (most of the time it's expensive furniture, so my heart aches even as I click). It makes sense—over 2,000 cafés close down in Seoul alone every year (see the Hankyoreh article from November 21, 2022). If that's the state of things in Seoul, I imagine conditions must be far harsher in the provinces.
Maybe that's why I was so curious about the survival secrets of Coffee Place, which has held onto the same spot for over a decade. I never asked Jeong Dongwook directly, ‘How did a small neighborhood café manage to survive?’ but I could infer plenty from his answers. Here is our interview, one steeped in his genuine devotion to coffee and love for his neighborhood.

Could you give us a brief introduction to Coffee Place?
We're a coffee company based in Gyeongju. We run a small store and a roasting factory.

What made you decide to settle in Gyeongju?
I wanted to try doing coffee somewhere other than my hometown. After closing a store I'd run for about two years, I traveled around to different cities, wondering where I should live. That's how I ended up settling in Gyeongju. Once I was here, I couldn't think of a reason not to choose it.

Since opening the café in 2010, is there a customer who has stayed most memorable to you?
We opened on July 10, 2010. I still remember the third customer who came in that day. I asked them, ‘Is the coffee alright?’ And they replied, with a rather unimpressed expression, ‘It's a bit weak.’ The fact that I never got to make them another cup still weighs on me.

What did you focus on most when designing the interior?
First, I placed the bar near the entrance. There were two reasons for this. One is that the view outside our window is really lovely, and I wanted whoever was making the coffee to be able to work while taking it in. The other is that we intended for the store to have a high proportion of takeout orders, so I wanted the flow of customers picking up orders to not overlap with those staying to enjoy their drinks. I also made the bar table long and narrow, hoping for more active communication between the barista and customers. At a bar table, strangers might end up sitting side by side or across from each other. I wanted to create that kind of scene, and I think it worked out. Honestly, I don't focus too much on the space itself. I care more about the way people experience drinking coffee.

You've steadily worked on fun projects and collaborations like ‘Monthly Coffee Place*’ and ‘Read Project**.’ What drives you to keep trying new things like this?
Honestly, when I first started out in coffee, there were so many projects I wanted to try. But once I actually opened a business, I found I had no room at all for that kind of thing. Most of the projects we're running now are things I'm only just now finally getting to realize. Also, when I'm talking with the staff I work with and a fun idea comes up, I try to make it happen if at all possible. There's a lot I learn from the younger folks. If I had to name a driving force, I suppose it would be a firm resolve to live an enjoyable life.
*A project selling a bundle of 10 coffee drip bags featured over the course of a month.
**A collaboration with writers in which a novel or essay is printed on the drip bag packaging, posing a fundamental question about what ‘reading’ really means.

Aside from the Nodong location, you have several other branches. How are they run?
In many cases, a regular customer expressed interest in running a branch themselves, and that's how it started. We don't draw up any formal contracts. Aside from the beans, we don't distribute any supplies or materials either. They use the same name but run their own individual stores. What we do share is the same commitment to making good coffee.

I heard that a barista who recently joined moved down from Seoul just to work here. Why do you think Coffee Place has become a place baristas want to work at?
I think the region of Gyeongju itself offers a huge advantage. Our second batch of interns came from Seoul, Gwangju, and Ulsan respectively, and all of them were worn out from their studies and previous jobs. Spending a year working in Gyeongju, at Coffee Place, seems to carry a meaning that goes beyond mere labor. I think there's also a sense of hope that this is a place where they can properly learn coffee.

What does delicious coffee mean to you?
That's a really tough question. There are some general ways to define delicious coffee, but the feeling of deliciousness exists in individual moments, so it's very hard to define in a single phrase. I can only point to somewhat vague and unclear criteria, such as a clearly perceptible aroma, a flavor that blends with that aroma without overpowering it to create richness, a clean and smooth texture, and an appropriate concentration.
Speaking not as someone who makes coffee but as someone who drinks it, I find that I'm fine with coffee being a bit weak or a bit strong. I think what matters more than concentration is how specifically the flavor comes through. Try checking whether the cup notes listed on the menu or the bean bag come across as convincing. If they do, that's probably delicious coffee.

Among the places you've traveled to for coffee, which one left the deepest impression?
Fuglen in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan is the one that stays with me most. I visited in the evening, and the barista greeted me warmly. The store was packed with people, but it didn't have that giddy tourist-spot feel—it felt natural. The coffee was memorably delicious too. I also loved the quiet, dimly lit alley leading up to the store.

Do you have your own know-how for finding a local café you like while traveling?
Googling it? Just kidding (laughs). I tend to look at the menu composition. It shows at a glance what the place is aiming for. If a menu is centered around whatever's trending at the moment, I tend to avoid it. Quite a few first-time customers at our store have told me they came in after noticing neighborhood locals gathered inside as they passed by. That could be another method too.

Is there a place in Gyeongju you'd recommend visiting without fail?
Hmm, I think Gyeongju is a beautiful city in itself. Among its neighborhoods, the one where our Nodong branch of Coffee Place sits—centered around Bonghwangdae—retains that endearing, humble charm of Gyeongju. When I first came to Gyeongju and was looking around the whole city, I happened upon Bonghwangdae and decided right then that I had to open my store here. Its official name is the Nodong-ri Tomb, but locals in Gyeongju call it Bonghwangdae—this massive mound (believed to be a tomb) with about a dozen trees growing on top. Across a narrow two-lane road sits the Noseo-ri tomb cluster. I think once you've walked through this area of tombs, you'll finally feel Gyeongju in your bones. If you get hungry while walking around the neighborhood, you can fill up on pizza at Domi or soothe your appetite with gelato at Halta Boca. At night, you can enjoy a nice whiskey or wine at Steel Room or Bar Prep.

What are your plans or goals going forward?
I'm a textbook P type, so my goal each day is simply to live it fully—I don't really have set plans.