In South Korea’s Gimpo city, a Starbucks cafe has opened that offers more than hot drinks and a selection of bites to eat. This specific branch provides its customers with views into one of the most reclusive countries in the world.
The cafe is opened up on an observation tower at the border with North Korea giving those who stop off for a coffe a chance to have a peak across the Jo River and into the hermit kingdom.
The cafe proved to be a success from its opening on November 29 as the obersavtion deck was packed with crowds of people having a look over to the other side.
It is quite a promising view – on a clear day customers should be able to see a few farms and low-rise buildings in Kaepung county just past the border.
While with the aid of binoculars, or a camera with ultra-zoom features, those who visit the cafe might even get the chance to see people walking about.
Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo branded the location as “unique” as it represented the “charm of Korean culture”, CNN reports.
The location of the Starbucks at Aegibong Peace Ecopark is one of the few ways for South Koreans and international visitors to get a peak into what it looks like in North Korea.
“I wish I could share this tasty coffe with the people in North Korea,” Baek Hea-soon, 48-year-old Gimpo resident, told Reuters.
Despite the ongoing tensions between the war-divided Koreas, Gimpo is just one of the border cities that have attempted to transform the border sites in aims of boosting tourism.
Gimpo’s ecopark where the observatory is located was the original site of Hill 154, a place where the two Koreas and allies fought throughout the war.
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), one of the world’s most heavily armed borders, near the park does also provide tours where people can learn all about the war while viisting former battle sites.
According to the Korea Tourism organisation, the tours do in fact attract high numbers of tourists each year. However, this Starbucks cafe offers an alternative and inventive way to see life in the reclusive nation.
