‘North Korea in view from Starbucks?’ Over 120,000 visit DMZ-adjacent cafe in 7 months
A Starbucks branch at Gimpo Aegibong Ecopark in Gyeonggi Province has attracted over 120,000 visitors in seven months as of Monday, offering a rare view of North Korea. Yonhap
A Starbucks location in Korea that offers a rare view into North Korea has attracted more than 120,000 visitors in just seven months since opening, drawing both domestic and foreign tourists.
The Gimpo Aegibong Ecopark branch, which opened Nov. 29 last year, sits atop the Aegibong Peace Ecopark observatory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.
According to Starbucks Korea on Sunday, the store has welcomed over 123,000 visitors to date — an average of more than 600 per day. Weekend traffic can nearly double that figure, often passing 1,000 visitors.
The store is gaining attention for being the only Starbucks in the world where customers can sip coffee while gazing directly at North Korean territory.
From the cafe’s panoramic windows, visitors can see across the Imjin River into Gaepung County, North Hwanghae Province, approximately 1.4 kilometers away.
Located within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), access to the ecological park is restricted. Visitors must either make an online reservation for a specific time slot or purchase tickets at the on-site booth before passing through a security checkpoint.
As a result, the Starbucks cafe operates under limited hours, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., shorter than most other branches. The park itself is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
CNN highlighted the location in a November feature, describing it as “a place where you can drink coffee while looking into the hermit kingdom.”
The store is particularly popular among families, with a higher proportion of food sales, about 30 percent more than typical locations. Its unique setting has helped drive a sharp increase in park traffic as well.
From January to April this year, over 129,000 people visited the park, already 68 percent of last year’s annual total of 190,000.
The number of foreign tourists has also surged, with an average of 3,300 per month, more than double last year’s monthly average of 1,300.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.