Anmok Beach Coffee Street

The Coffee Street along Anmok Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, is regarded as Korea's first street dedicated to coffee culture, lined with ocean-view cafes where visitors sip their drinks facing the open sea. From humble beginnings as a row of vending machines in the 1980s, the street has grown into a cluster of distinctive specialty cafes, and it played a decisive role in establishing Gangneung's identity as the coffee city of Korea. Full-height windows frame the sandy shore of Anmok Beach and the horizon of the East Sea in a single view, and the street draws especially large crowds during the annual Gangneung Coffee Festival. The signature way to experience the street is a slow walk between cafes, coffee cup in hand, in the salt-tinged sea breeze.