Festival Highlights
Why Gangneung is Korea’s Coffee Capital Festival Attractions: Roasting, Bread & Dessert Visitor Info and Café Travel Tips📍 Venue: Gangneung Anmok Coffee Street, Gangwon-do
☕ Main Features: Coffee roaster workshops, dessert market, artisan bakery street, barista competitions, café culture tours
Why Gangneung is Korea’s Coffee Capital
When it comes to coffee culture in Korea, **Gangneung** holds a special place. Located on Korea’s scenic east coast, this seaside city isn’t just known for its beaches and pine forests—it’s also the birthplace of Korea’s independent coffee movement. The **Gangneung Coffee Festival** celebrates this heritage with passion and purpose. In the early 2000s, a group of artisan roasters and café owners began opening independent shops along Anmok Beach. These pioneers roasted their own beans, experimented with blends, and introduced hand-drip brewing methods to a market dominated by instant coffee. Their focus on craft, storytelling, and quality drew visitors from across the country. Today, Anmok Coffee Street is a nationally recognized destination, home to more than 40 unique cafés, each with its own view, concept, and flavor identity. The festival was launched to honor this growth—and to showcase Gangneung’s role in shaping Korea’s third-wave coffee scene. Over the years, the Gangneung Coffee Festival has expanded into a vibrant urban celebration of flavor, design, and café lifestyle. It brings together roasters, bakers, artists, and travelers to celebrate what coffee represents: comfort, creativity, and community.
Festival Attractions: Roasting, Bread & Dessert
The 2025 Gangneung Coffee Festival offers an immersive experience into all things warm, sweet, and aromatic. From interactive roasting booths to handmade pastry markets, every corner of the festival is brewed for pleasure.
1. Roaster Experience Zone:
Try your hand at roasting beans with the help of expert baristas. Choose your green beans, watch them crack and turn golden, and leave with your own custom-roasted pouch. Bean origin stories and roasting profiles are explained in multiple languages.
2. Artisan Bread & Dessert Market:
Sample and purchase freshly baked sourdough, Korean sweet red bean buns, croissants, cinnamon rolls, and vegan breads. Paired with local drip coffees or cold brews, it’s a paradise for food lovers.
3. Specialty Café Street:
Explore curated pop-up cafés from across Korea. Each booth offers a signature blend or concept drink—everything from espresso tonics to sweet potato lattes. Café owners host tastings and brand storytelling sessions.
4. Dessert Pairing Lab:
A guided tasting workshop where baristas and bakers walk you through coffee and dessert harmony. Discover how acidity, roast level, and temperature affect the match with dark chocolate, cream cakes, or nutty cookies.
5. Barista Championship:
Watch the country’s top baristas battle it out in latte art, brewing, and storytelling. The competition is open to the public and features live commentary, audience voting, and tasting booths.
6. Coffee Design & Art Fair:
Browse an exhibition of café interior designs, ceramics, handmade mugs, coffee art prints, and upcycled café décor. Buy limited-edition tumblers and tote bags from local designers.
7. Family Bean Playground:
For children and families, there's a playful bean art zone where kids can create mosaics using real coffee beans, play "coffee bean bowling," and enjoy mini baking classes. The entire festival space is accessible, beautifully lit at night, and filled with the scent of roasted beans, butter, and cinnamon—a true autumnal dream.
Visitor Info and Café Travel Tips
Planning to visit the Gangneung Coffee Festival? Here’s how to enjoy it fully:
🚄 Getting There:
From Seoul, take the KTX to Gangneung Station (approx. 1.5–2 hours). From there, local buses and taxis can take you directly to Anmok Coffee Street.
🏨 Accommodation:
Stay near Anmok Beach for morning café views. Popular options include boutique hotels, beach guesthouses, and café-hosted rooms. Book early—rooms fill up fast during the festival weekend.
🎟 Entry & Fees:
Festival entry is free. Some workshops and tasting sessions require advance reservations or a small fee (₩5,000–₩20,000). Festival passports are available for café hopping discounts.
🍂 What to Wear:
November in Gangneung is cool and breezy. A coat or layered outfit with comfy shoes is ideal for walking between venues.
📸 Instagram Spots:
- Rooftop cafés overlooking Anmok Beach - Latte art station with mirror ceiling - Coffee bean mural wall near the Main Plaza
🛍 Souvenir Tips:
Bring home limited-edition beans, handmade mugs, artisan jams, café-themed candles, and coffee-scented soap. Don’t forget to pick up your own festival cup as a keepsake. Whether you're a lifelong barista or a casual coffee drinker, the Gangneung Coffee Festival offers a perfectly brewed balance of flavor, learning, culture, and coastal charm.