Unattended Honesty Cafés: Dear Chinese Tourists, Please Pay What You Owe

▲ In these staff-free honesty cafés, you have to do everything yourself.

Reported and photographed by Reporter Chen Ruizhong / Jeju

When talking about Jeju Island in South Korea, besides its beautiful scenery, the most famous descriptors are the “three abundances and three absences.” The “three abundances” refer to many rocks, strong winds, and beautiful women; the “three absences” mean no thieves, no doors (on houses), and no beggars (due to the good public security, there’s no need for locks or fear of theft). This description of the “three abundances and three absences” not only gives a rough idea of Jeju’s natural beauty but also reflects the island’s simple and honest local culture.

It is precisely because of Jeju’s kind and honest people that a unique business“honesty café”has naturally emerged on the island.

▲ Besides coffee, there are also options like milk tea, hot cocoa, and yuzu tea.

An honesty café is a place where customers must brew their own coffee, pick their own desserts, and wash their own dishes — all steps are DIY. Of course, they also calculate the final bill themselves and deposit the correct amount. There are no staff monitoring how many pancakes you take or whether you’ve paid the right amount. The whole process depends solely on two words:“honesty”.

▲ Small snacks like pancakes and crispy rolls are available for free — just take up to five for 1,000 KRW.

Currently, there are several honesty cafés on the island. One of them, “The SunSet&Hill Café,” offers drinks priced between 2,000 and 2,500 KRW, while small snacks are around 1,000 to 1,500 KRW. Even if you have a latte and five crispy rolls, the total would only be 3,500 KRW (1,000 KRW is roughly equivalent to 31 TWD).

▲ The SunSet&Hill Café is one of the well-known honesty cafés on Jeju Island.

Visitors to The SunSet&Hill Café can relax and enjoy their afternoon for just a little money, while admiring the view of the coastline and planes taking off and landing outside the window. More importantly, seeing strangers diligently washing cups and calculating their bills can make you feel the warmth and sincerity of human nature.

▲ Since The SunSet&Hill Café is located right next to Jeju Airport, visitors can easily watch planes take off and land.

However, this trust-based and honesty-driven model has gradually been undermined as the number of Chinese tourists has increased: not paying the correct amount, not washing their own cups — various misbehaviors have caused great distress to the owners of these honesty cafés.

▲ The café’s green and natural interior decoration makes it feel like a home for woodland sprites.

Therefore,The SunSet&Hill Caféthe café has displayed a large “Code of Love” sign in Chinese at the counter, calling on “dear Chinese tourists” to respect the café culture. First, it asks Chinese tourists to take responsibility and pay the displayed prices. Second, it reminds them to clean up after themselves. Third, it requests that visitors avoid making loud noises.

▲ The “Code of Love” specifically aimed at Chinese tourists.

Although I didn’t see any Chinese customers during my afternoon at the café and thus couldn’t confirm whether the situation has improved, looking around the owner’s carefully crafted space, I saw numerous thank-you cards from people around the world expressing their appreciation and love for these honesty cafés. The hand-painted price tags on the walls, the slightly worn wooden tables and chairs, and the warm lighting — every little detail conveys the pride and sense of trust that Jeju locals have in their community.

At this moment, I couldn’t help but wonder:“Is it really worth destroying the centuries-old trust and virtue passed down on Jeju Island just to save a few coins on coffee?”

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