Starbucks has been taking over the world in so many ways. It is a profitable enterprise that deals with the legal addiction to coffee of close to a billion people worldwide.
Tourism and Starbucks appear to be a business of peace. Coffee can play an important role here, as demonstrated by the chocolate girl in Saudi Arabia at a Starbucks in Riyadh.
For those few proud KPA soldiers that may be able to smell the coffee or see the hot chocolate through their minoculars, Starbucks customers at this South Korean store can now watch activities in the North Korean town of Kaephung from their coffee shop windows.
Once the incoming US president, Donald Trump, continues his love affair with North Koreans’ great leader, Kim Jon-Un, he may be able to pick up a Starbucks Cappucino when he steps into North Korea next time – or better invite Kim and invite him for a coffee at Starbucks, since the store is not yet taking the North Korean Won as a form of payment.
Starbucks is about to bring North Korea closer to its customers.
Starbucks has announced opening a new coffee shop at a vantage point on the South Korean side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The unique location will enable inquisitive customers to enjoy lattes, espressos, and cappuccinos while overlooking nuclear-armed North Korea.
The coffee shop is located within the Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo City, approximately 20 miles north of Seoul, South Korea. From its terrace, guests can view a segment of the Han River deemed neutral waters and the North Korean town of Kaephung, located just over a half-mile away.
On clear days, visitors can use café telescopes to observe North Korean residents engaging in daily activities across the world’s most heavily fortified border.
The Aegibong Peace Ecopark is located at the site known as ‘Hill 154’, which was heavily contested during the Korean War and changed control several times throughout the three-year duration of the conflict. Due to its close proximity to the DMZ, visitors to the park are required to complete an entry form and undergo a background check conducted by the Korean Marine Corps.
The Korean War concluded with an armistice agreement in 1953; however, it was never officially resolved. This truce resulted in the division of the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel, creating a separation between the communist North and the capitalist South.
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a highly fortified area that extends 160 miles in length and approximately 2.5 miles in width, situated along the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. This zone acts as a border barrier, effectively dividing the peninsula into two distinct regions. It was created to function as a buffer between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), as stipulated in the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953, which involved negotiations among North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command.
Both North and South Korea have established extensive fortifications and observation posts along the DMZ, with North Korea reportedly housing over 10,000 artillery pieces positioned along its border, including in the mountainous regions behind Kaephung.
According to a 2020 report by the RAND Corporation, approximately 6,000 of these artillery units can target major South Korean urban areas. The report estimates that in the event of a conflict between the two Koreas, over 205,000 individuals could lose their lives in cities such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gimpo within just one hour.
During the opening ceremony, the mayor of Gimpo stated that Starbucks’ arrival to the DMZ symbolizes a display of strength for South Korea, illustrating the “strong security on the Korean Peninsula through the establishment of this renowned capitalist brand.”
New Starbucks establishment opened amidst escalating tensions between the two Koreas. Earlier this year, North Korea initiated the launch of balloons filled with refuse and waste towards Gimpo and Seoul, as a reaction to South Korea’s distribution of propaganda leaflets into Northern territory, while declaring that its artillery units stationed along the border were prepared to “open fire.”
Last month, North Korea also destroyed sections of road leading to South Korea. North Korea claims that the destruction of these roads was a response to ongoing South Korean drone operations within its airspace, as well as the joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea earlier in the month. According to the official statement of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, joint US-South Korean exercises were “provocative war drills for aggression.”
Starbucks was established in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at Pike Place Market in Seattle, the company initially operated as a wholesaler of coffee beans.
Under the leadership of Howard Schultz, who served as chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000, Starbucks transitioned into a coffee shop specializing in espresso-based beverages and experienced significant expansion throughout the West Coast of the United States. As of November 2022, Starbucks boasted a total of 35,711 locations across 80 countries, with 15,873 stores in the United States alone. Among the U.S. locations, more than 8,900 are operated directly by the company, while the rest are licensed establishments.
Most likely, Coffee Bean is making plans as well.
