Shinsegae Central City Opens 5th Youth Coffee Lab for Youth Support Program

Shinsegae Central City Youth Coffee Lab 5th Term Opening Ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Shinsegae Central City Youth Coffee Lab is producing its fifth skilled entrepreneur and launching startup support. Youth Coffee Lab is Shinsegae Central City's flagship youth startup support social contribution program, which began at Pami Station in 2019.

Shinsegae Central City announced on the 31st that it successfully held the opening ceremony for the 5th Youth Coffee Lab on the 29th at Pami Station in Gangnam, Seoul. The opening ceremony, resumed after two years due to COVID-19, was attended by Park Joohyung, CEO of Shinsegae Central City, executives and employees, and Kim Yongdeok, chairman of the Social Solidarity Bank. Former Youth Coffee Lab leaders also gathered to support the new start of the 5th cohort.

Now in its fourth year, Youth Coffee Lab continues to produce talented young leaders. Kim Minho and Ha Cheangbi, leaders of the 4th and 5th Youth Coffee Lab cohorts, achieved top rankings last month at the ‘2022 World Coffee Championship’ held in Milan, Italy. The WCC is the world's largest coffee competition, dividing coffee champions worldwide by category to showcase their skills.

Kim Minho, leader of the 4th cohort, is a domestic champion who won the ‘2020 Korea Coffee Roasting Championship’ and ranked 6th in the roasting category at the 2022 Milan competition. Kim transformed Youth Coffee Lab into a ‘latte hotspot’ with his signature menu ‘Dunggulle Cream Latte’ and specialty roasted beans demonstrating his roasting skills.

Leading the 5th Youth Coffee Lab, Ha Cheangbi plans to introduce a new flavor with her signature menu ‘Nuts Go Latte.’ Nuts Go Latte is a creamy latte made with Lotus cookies, a sweet drink that anyone can enjoy smoothly regardless of age or gender. Last year, Ha won the domestic category of ‘Coffee in Good Spirit,’ a cocktail menu blending alcohol and coffee.

Former Youth Coffee Lab leaders continue to maintain successful startups. The 1st cohort leader who opened ‘Coffee Sniffer’ has opened a second branch in Centerfield, Yeoksam-dong, following the first store near City Hall Station. The 2nd cohort’s ‘Declan Coffee’ is known as a bakery hotspot near Sungshin Women’s University, and the 3rd cohort opened ‘ONC Coffee’ near Gangnam-gu Office Station.

The biggest feature of Youth Coffee Lab is experience. For young people dreaming of starting a business, operating a store inside a terminal visited by over one million people daily offers an opportunity to gain business know-how from menu development to staff management. Recruitment targets prospective entrepreneurs aged 20 to 39, and anyone interested in cafe operation can participate.

Youth Coffee Lab will continue to actively discover and support talented applicants. Park Joohyung, CEO of Shinsegae Central City, said, “It is a meaningful moment to hold the opening ceremony of Youth Coffee Lab after two years,” adding, “Shinsegae Central City will continue to provide active support for young people pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.