The Culture of Concentration and Caffeine at Korea's Study Cafés
Studying is a huge part of the lives of students. In Asia especially, studying culture is huge, and there are even study cafés in Korea.
What are the study cafés?
Due to students having different study habits and possibly not having the most ideal place to concentrate at home, study cafés in Korea offer an alternative to help students focus. Some are open twenty-four hours to cater to the varying times of day that each person is most productive. Students have expressed interest in study cafés over other places to study because of the environment as well.
What does the study café offer?
Obviously, it is a place to study, but most cafés have multiple rooms with different arrangements and styles of chairs and desks. For example, some desks are closed off so you can not see others studying versus other desks that provide your own space with the capability of seeing others studying for some motivation. The creators of study cafés leave it all up to the customers and their preferred study method. Most places that you pay to enter also offer tea and coffee machines for free if beverages are needed during your study session. Others have places with food and beverages on hand for which you can pay extra. Some cafés offer a printer and laptop as well. The cafe also includes heaters, air conditioning, and may even have humidifiers do make the environment the most comfortable for their customers.
Here is an example of a set up, but there are many more:
How do you pay?
Payment depends on the cafe you are visiting. Some, like the ones that offer free coffee and tea, make you pay per hour for a spot in the cafe. Others may let you buy a beverage and that will equate to a certain amount of hours in the cafe.
Overall, study cafés have been on the rise in Korea, and hopefully will spread to different countries as well. The idea is very helpful for students, providing an area that may ensure actual studying versus environments that are too noisy or crowded.
Would you want to go to a study cafe?
