Free coffee is everywhere in Jeju Island ! Prefer hand-brewed over Starbucks

▲ Hand-brewed coffee shops can be found all over Jeju Island.

Reported and photographed by Xiao Wanning, reporter in Jeju Island

No matter where you go on Jeju Island, you’re bound to come across coffee shops of all sizes, with a wide variety of business types. Some let you soak your feet while sipping coffee, others offer sea views by the beach, and even in the most deserted areas, you might find a mobile coffee truck. Just how much do they love coffee? Local resident Ms. Fu said she feels something’s off in her body if she doesn’t have a cup every day. She also mentioned that in recent years, chain coffee shops can no longer satisfy locals’ needs, and unlike on the Korean mainland, on Jeju Island, Starbucks doesn’t do as well as hand-brewed coffee.

Koreans enjoy a cup of coffee after meals, so over 80% of restaurants on Jeju Island are equipped with free automatic coffee machines—a user-friendly design that perfectly caters to coffee lovers, though the taste tends to be sweeter. Ms. Zhuang, who has traveled around Korea, was surprised to find that almost all restaurants on Jeju Island offer free three-in-one coffee. She said that although most restaurants in Seoul also have coffee machines, only on Jeju Island did she see completely free three-in-one hot coffee.

▲ Over 80% of restaurants on Jeju Island have free coffee machines, but the coffee provided is three-in-one and the taste is also relatively sweet.

Cafés on Jeju Island also have their own unique characteristics and positioning, such asSeawater footbath cafésTake “Byeonsianheon Steam?锐?昔?” for example—a seaside café located in Seogwipo City that mixes seawater hot springs with fresh water,allowing visitors to enjoy the pleasure of soaking their feet while having coffee.Because the mixture of seawater hot spring and fresh water neutralizes the properties, soaking your feet feels as smooth as a hot spring without the stickiness of seawater.

▲ At the seawater footbath café, you can soak your feet in filtered seawater mixed with fresh water while enjoying your coffee.

There are alsoHand-brewed cafés scattered along the eastern coast,each with its own charm. Some use large floor-to-ceiling windows to let natural sunlight flood the interior, offering a bright and clean vibe, while others use the sea view and windows to create a beautiful scenic painting, allowing visitors to blend into the surrounding landscape and become a part of the scenery themselves.

▲ Although there are many cafés on the eastern coast of Jeju Island, each one has different features, so even with high density, they still attract customers from all walks of life.

Another noteworthy mention isMobile coffee trucks—each appearing in different locations, catering to different customer bases. For instance, coffee trucks by the roadside usually only serve coffee, juices, and similar drinks, whilethose by the seaside may also sell shaved ice and ice creamto meet the needs of those playing in the water.

▲ % Mobile coffee trucks also have different positioning—some mainly serve coffee and juice, some offer shaded areas by the roadside, and some by the seaside even have ice shavers and sell cold drinks and refreshing iced coffee to cater to beachgoers.