Cafe emerges as a favorite spot for Korean students to study

Students study in a cafe in Seould (Photo: www.seouleats.com)

This month, most of Korean University students are facing mid term examinations. Fitting the general image of Asian students being smart and diligent in their studies, Korean students are studying hard to prepare for the exems.

In my home country of Indonesia, most of the time, college students are studying at their own homes, friend’s house, library or places in the universities.

What I found interesting in Korea is that the students seem to find a fun way of studying and preparing themselves for their examinations.

During the examination period, in the vicinity of Korea University to which I am attending, it will not be difficult for anyone to find cafes full of students reading books or using laptops. They are studying in the cafes enjoying coffee or other their favorite beverages and snacks.

Koreans show a strong penchant for coffee in recent years, you can find that cafes like Starbucks, Coffee Bean, as well as Cafe Bene, a Korean franchise coffee shop or other coffee shops enjoy booming business.

But, the interesting thing is that when the examination period comes, the atmosphere in the cafes would turn into study rooms for college students like the classrooms in schools.

In a usual study room, you are not allowed to talk and sometimes to drink or eat inside. But studying in a café gives you more freedom to talk and discuss with your classmates about the subjects for the examinations, allowing far more relaxed atmosphere of studying than in schools.

If you have been studying for quite a long time, you would need a break. Then, you can enjoy waffle or bread or even a refreshing ice cream. But for this cool weather in autumn, a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate would be perfect.

You might wonder how would you concentrate in such a public space to study. But I would say that the café turns into a nice place conducive to studying since most of the customers are students who are also studying, so they would have chit-chat in between their study but it would not bother you much since they are polite enough to keep their voice low.

So, if you are a foreign student regardlss of being regular or exchange, try the experience of studying in a café sometimes. It would present you with a new point of view of studying.

When you are bored being in your room or in library, you would want to find fresh air or new atmosphere to give you a new spirit to study. Then, café could be an option for you.

Why you should be so serious when you study. I would suggest you to try experiencing the Korean students’ unique tradition of studying in cafes while studying in Korea.

Meidyana Rayana Intern Reporter news@theasian.asia