Starbucks opens a cafe with a view of North Korea

Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—

Coffee lovers who have a keen interest in getting a glimpse of life in the most secluded country in the world should prepare for a trip: Starbucks has the perfect place for them to stay.

The American chain’s newest outpost in South Korea sits atop an observation tower on the border with North Korea, allowing guests to sip their beer while approaching the hermit kingdom from across the Jo River that separates the two sides look.

The 30-seat cafe is located in the Aegibong Peace Ecopark in the city of Gimpo, about 20 miles north of the capital Seoul. It is close to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), one of the most heavily armed borders in the world.

On its first day of business on Friday, November 29, customers huddled on the observation deck outside the cafe to avoid the cold and drank 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 good pair of binoculars or a camera with ultra-zoom capability, visitors may even be able to see people walking around.

“I wish I could share this delicious coffee with the people living right in front of us in North Korea,” local resident Baek Hea-soon, 48, told Reuters.

Lim Jong-chul, an 80-year-old man who fought in the Vietnam War, was another sponsor. “The concept of security felt rigid and tense, but now, with this cafe here, it feels more peaceful and calming,” he said.

North and South Korea are technically still at war, as a treaty ending the 1950-1953 Korean War was never signed. After a ceasefire the fighting stopped.

Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo called the place “unique” as it reflected the “charm of Korean culture.”

Local authorities are using the site’s historical significance to boost tourism.

The eco-park 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 observation towers along the border between the two sides.

The Starbucks outlet is one of the few opportunities for South Koreans and international tourists to glimpse the interior of North Korea, even from a distance, without setting foot there.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, it offers an alternative to tours of the DMZ, which attracts countless tourists every year.

North Korea will 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, according to two tour operators with ties to the isolated country.

The opening of the café comes at 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 also threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy South Korea in the event of an attack, after the South Korean president warned that North Korea would “face the end of its regime if it used nuclear weapons.”