Special Moments with Coffee and Scenery
In the 1990s, coffee vending machines appeared at Anmok Beach, then home to a quiet fishing village, and quietly but surely set change in motion. People were captivated by the “experience” of sipping a warm cup of coffee while gazing out at the open sea, and as word spread of the mood and romance of coffee by the sea, Anmok Beach grew in popularity. Before long, cafés of every style began to cluster along Gangneung’s beaches.
Coffee with a sea view has grown beyond a simple pleasure to become part of the tourism and culture Gangneung has to offer. Coffee connects people with nature, and people with culture. Let’s set out on a special journey along the path coffee has opened, from Anmok Beach to Yeongjin Beach.
How Coffee Gives You Time to Unwind
Anmok Beach
The coffee vending machines that appeared at Anmok Beach in the 1990s won people’s affection as informal “roadside cafés,” known locally as gil café or gil dabang. That affection built up over the years and gave rise to today’s Gangneung Coffee Street. Located at Anmok Beach, Gangneung Coffee Street is an attraction that nearly every visitor to Gangneung makes a point of seeing.
Sit in a café overlooking Gangneung Coffee Street, sip your coffee while gazing out at the distant horizon, and you will notice what the sea and coffee have in common: in their company, time seems to slow down. That is why everyone at Anmok Beach, whether drinking coffee or simply visiting the beach, looks so relaxed. Perhaps people come all the way to Gangneung for a cup of coffee because they want to let go of the tension of hectic daily life and enjoy a slower pace.
A New Landscape Revealed by Coffee
Sageunjin Beach
Head north from Gyeongpo Beach along Haean-ro, the coastal road, and you will come upon colorful concrete wave breakers (tetrapods) and a structure shaped like a pair of angel’s wings. Thanks to its striking design, the Sageunjin Undersea Park Viewing Platform on Sageunjin Beach has become a favorite photo spot for younger visitors. There is also an outdoor gym where you can work out with a view of the sea, which makes the beach all the more appealing to fitness enthusiasts.
You could, of course, step into this beautiful scenery and come away with a photo to remember, but it can be just as rewarding to sit in a café with a good view, coffee in hand, and simply take in the landscape. As you linger over the view, as if admiring a rare work in a gallery, coffee adds a touch of artistic inspiration. Wherever coffee leads you, there is a scene that only Gangneung can show you.
Coffee Makes Even Small Moments Special
Sacheonjin Beach
Located near Sacheon Port, Sacheonjin Beach is a quiet retreat for travelers who want to escape the crowds. Its charms include a rocky islet you can reach by crossing a small bridge in fine weather, flocks of seagulls drifting lazily between the sandy beach and the sea, and clear water that is ideal for snorkeling. The café street along the coastal road is another.
Strolling along a beach that is only a few steps away, quietly sipping a coffee, may be one of the small luxuries Gangneung offers. In the morning you can watch the sunlight glittering on the water, and in the late afternoon you may catch the evening glow coloring the sky and sea. These are ordinary moments you might otherwise walk right past, but something makes you stop and stay inside the scene for a while. Isn’t that the charm of coffee in Gangneung?
A K-Drama Landmark to Enjoy Over Coffee
Yeongjin Beach
If there is one title you cannot leave out when talking about Yeongjin Beach, it is Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, the drama also known as Goblin. This small, quiet seaside village shot to fame on the back of the drama’s popularity. The scene in which the two leads, Eun-tak and Kim Shin, first meet on the breakwater at Yeongjin Beach sent devoted drama fans from all over the country hurrying to Gangneung. Even now, a decade after the drama aired, many people still have their photo taken on the breakwater where it was filmed, striking the same pose as the characters.
Yeongjin Beach also has a dense cluster of sea-view cafés along the coastal road, and the window seats looking out on the breakwater are rarely empty. Everyone, after all, wants the same thing: an unobstructed view of scenery you can find nowhere but Gangneung, and nowhere but Yeongjin Beach. Sip your coffee while reliving the emotions of the drama, and before long you may feel like the lead in a film or drama of your own. The fantasy may fade quickly, but it is yours for as long as it takes to finish a cup of coffee.
Coffee is everywhere, and so is the sea. So why is Gangneung a coffee city? The answer lies in the scenery, mood, and experiences that only Gangneung offers, born of the pairing of sea and coffee. That is what makes Gangneung a coffee city, and what leads people to see coffee here not as a mere beverage but as a distinctive local culture.
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