Leave your printer at home: Starbucks Korea cracks down on people working, studying all day in cafes

Home > National > Social Affairs

Leave your printer at home: Starbucks Korea cracks down on people working, studying all day in cafes

Published: 07 Aug. 2025, 13:32 Updated: 07 Aug. 2025, 17:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The seat of a customer at a Starbucks in Andong using a printer plugged into a cafe outlet is seen in this image uploaded onto an online community [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Starbucks Korea is cracking down on so-called cagong studiers, people who work or study for hours on end in cafes, introducing new restrictions on excessive personal equipment usage.

On Thursday, Starbucks Korea sent a notice to stores nationwide instructing that customers will no longer be allowed to use desktop computers, printers, partitions or multi-tap power strips inside stores, according to industry sources.

Cagong is a colloquial term that combines the first syllables of “cafe” and gongbu, which means study in Korean.

Under the new policy, partners — Starbucks Korea’s term for store employees — will verbally inform customers to stop using excessive equipment, such as desktop computers or printers plugged into multi-tap strips, or setting up personal dividers on tables.

Starbucks also said customers who leave their belongings on tables for extended periods or occupy a multi-person table alone may be asked to move to accommodate other customers.

The measures come amid a growing number of complaints about people who use cafes as personal study or workspaces.

A tablet and keyboard behind a partition set up on a table in a Starbucks [SCREEN CATPURE]

Although some prefer the ambient noise of cafes over quiet study rooms, the trend has escalated in recent years, with some customers using cafes for hours as makeshift offices. Small independent cafes have already introduced countermeasures, such as banning stays of over two hours or disabling access to power outlets.

At one Starbucks location, a customer was recently spotted using a tablet and keyboard behind a partition set up on the table, creating a personal study booth. Another customer even brought and operated a printer by connecting it to a store outlet.

Last year, controversy erupted online after a photo showed a customer at a Starbucks in Andong using a printer plugged into a cafe outlet.

“Following a series of complaints, we reviewed the matter internally and issued new guidelines to all stores starting Thursday,” said a Starbucks Korea spokesperson. “This is to ensure a more comfortable and convenient store experience for our customers and to reduce the risk of loss or theft when seats are left unattended for long periods.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]