By Via Brian in Jeollanamdo comes news that Dunkin Donuts is looking to create a morning coffee culture in Korea:
With their austere interiors, Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in the U.S. cater to grab-and-go commuters seeking their morning caffeine fix. But in South Korea, breakfast is traditionally consumed at home and most customers are young women and teenagers who go for a snack in the afternoon or evening.
“I come to Dunkin’ nearly every day after lunch to drink coffee,” said Shin Min-hye, 25 years old, an office worker at a Seoul law firm who was sipping an iced coffee and eating cacao honey dip munchkins at a Dunkin’ outlet. She was there studying English with a friend. “I like to hang out here because I can stay as long as I want to….I sometimes study here for hours.”
Dunkin’ stores in Korea encourage that kind of lingering with plush orange and yellow chairs, wi-fi Internet access and plasma-screen televisions. But Dunkin’s recently named chief executive, Nigel Travis, said he wants to get Koreans into the habit of picking up doughnuts and bagels on their way to work in the morning. “The trick we need to focus on is how we build a breakfast business,” he said.
The first challenge: creating a morning coffee habit in South Korea, where older generations favor tea. To do that, the company in April opened a coffee-roasting facility in Korea — its first outside the U.S. — so it no longer has to import coffee from America. [Wall Street Journal]
I have to admit that I am a big fan of Dunkin Donuts in Korea. I used to stop there nearly every morning on my walk to work when I was stationed in Uijongbu to at least buy a cup of coffee. I much prefer Dunkin Donuts coffee to Starbucks coffee plus Dunkin Donuts coffee is much cheaper.
However, I don’t know if this will expand coffee culture in Korea? It might in fact scare them off.
This is probably more effective.
3:00 pm on June 4th, 2009 1
"plus Dunkin Donuts coffee is much cheaper". I know I date myself, but a cup of joe was 10 cents in the late 60s when I joined the military. When in Germany there was almost a riot at the NCO club when the cost went up to 25 cents a cup.
Please remind me again what you pay for a cup of coffee at 'Dunkin Donuts", it just makes my day. (All my coffee is now drank at home , Columbian, strong and fresh, at about 25 cents a mug).
3:31 pm on June 4th, 2009 2
DD is hardly a purveyor of taste in Korea but opening a roasting facility in Korea is the smartest thing they could have done, ever. Not even Starbucks has figured that out yet.
Despite the local roasting by DD, the locally roasted coffee (Ho Young-man coffee house) I get will always kill anything DD could ever roast.
Still, in an opposite direction, a morning breakfast culture eating DD is the *worst* thing a person could do, unless they like health-related problems.
9:18 pm on June 4th, 2009 3
Dunkin Donuts is more of a date destination in Korea than the breakfast destination that it is in the US. That said, Koreans will be as fat and sweaty as Americans within the next 15 years. Count on it.
11:28 pm on June 4th, 2009 4
I only stopped there in the morning usually to only buy coffee. But if I had a meeting in the morning that is when I would buy donuts for everyone in the meeting. There is no way I could eat donuts from there every day. Thanks for the tip on Ho Young-man coffee, I will have to try it out the next time I am in Korea.
9:58 pm on September 4th, 2009 5
Been treated badly being a foreigner? Just go to dunkin donuts Sungbok station branch. Been standing in line to get coolata for my children and green tea for me and when I get at the front of the line they punch in the person next to me in line's donuts instead of asking me what I want.
Next time, just put a sign up front "Foreigners Unfriendly Branch" so a person doesn't have to stand in line just so the person can be treated as if he or she does not wait for his or her turn expectantly just to be mistreated!!!
If I am dunkin donuts korea franchise, I would put better people to make sure my branches is there to serve its purpose and not serve as a racist place!!!
4:27 pm on May 18th, 2010 6
my family is really interested in Coffee Franchise like Starbucks. we are still saving money for the franchise cost.-:'
6:00 pm on May 18th, 2010 7
I used to be a Dunkin Donuts regular, but I switched to Starbucks because it's a more comfortable place to just hang out. I sit there, sip my coffee, and read for an hour. Then I leave for work.
If American Dunkin Donuts encourage me to linger, they just might win me back.
7:28 am on July 12th, 2010 8
Response to
"That said, Koreans will be as fat and sweaty as Americans within the next 15 years. Count on it."
Somehow I don't think Koreans will be as far at 'Americans'. My experience in Seoul was a lot of walking. Certainly more than what walking people do in America. Just to walking one must do to get to a subway station is enough to keep off the pounds.
8:37 am on July 12th, 2010 9
Every once in a blue moon this happens to me. When it looks like it's about to happen, I quickly ask:
여기서 선착순으로 안해요? (It's not first come, first served here?).
That usually solves the problem very quickly.
Nine times out of ten, it probably results from the person at the counter being scared of the idea of having to deal with someone who can't speak Korean.
3:37 am on October 10th, 2010 10
i would like to put up a coffee franchise in our area coz people here love to sip coffe`"~
8:34 am on October 10th, 2010 11
Now if we can just get Tim Horton's- Hell – They have one in Afghanistan! Why not Seoul!