Order 'A Cup of Coffee' and Study All Day No More... "Additional Orders Required After 3 Hours"

Troubled by Customers Occupying Seats All Day

A notice stating "Additional orders required after using for more than 3 hours" has been posted at a coffee franchise store, sparking controversy.

An Ediya Coffee store, troubled by the so-called Kagongjok (people who study for long hours at cafes) who occupy seats all day after ordering just one cup of coffee, has taken measures, and most netizens responded by saying they "understand the store owner's feelings."

On the 22nd, multiple online communities actively shared posts containing photos of notices titled "Ediya Coffee recent situation" and "Ediya's decision."

[Photo by Online Community Capture]

The notice states, "Additional orders required after using for more than 3 hours," and "Please place additional orders when using the store for a long time. We kindly ask for your understanding."

This is not a policy from Ediya Coffee headquarters. It is known to be a last-resort measure applied only to certain stores where Kagongjok gather. The notice is understood to have been created and used directly by some franchise stores.

In fact, stores located in residential areas or those mainly serving office workers did not have such notices displayed.

Upon hearing about this policy, self-employed business owners responded with comments like "3 hours is already very generous."

In the self-employed community "Apeunikka Sajangida" ("Because It Hurts, I'm a Boss"), various business owners expressed sympathy, saying, "It must be hard for employees to check this every time," "Isn't 3 hours a reasonable time? Staying longer harms the business owner," and "Being able to use air conditioning in summer and heaters in winter for 3 hours with just one cup of coffee is already a lot."

Previously, the so-called Kagongjok have been a headache for cafe owners for a long time. They order one drink but occupy power outlets and seats for extended periods, hindering the influx of other customers.

With rising prices and increased public utility costs such as electricity bills, the cost of running cafes has significantly increased, making turnover rates even more important.

Complaints from self-employed business owners have been ongoing. On June 15, a story about two students who stayed for more than 9 hours at a university-area cafe was shared on the Naver self-employed community "Apeunikka Sajangida." They took turns sleeping and ate outside food, disrupting business. On June 7 of the same month, a customer even brought a printer and occupied a seat for 2 hours.

There is also research indicating that for coffee businesses to break even, the time a customer spends at a table should be less than 1 hour and 42 minutes.

In 2019, the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute announced research results based on non-franchise cafes, assuming an average monthly sales of 9.16 million KRW, a take-out ratio of 29%, 28 business days, 12 hours of daily operation, an average menu price of 4,134 KRW, and an average of 8 tables. The study found that the time a customer uses a table should not exceed 1 hour and 42 minutes to surpass the break-even point.

This means that customers who sit for 3 to 4 hours after ordering one drink cause losses in store sales and turnover rates.

As a result, there have been cases where stores limit the usage time for customers who stay much longer than average, block power outlets, or prohibit specific activities such as doing assignments.

Previously, in September 2009, there was a Supreme Court precedent that put a stop to long stays by Kagongjok. The Supreme Court ruled that "long-term seat occupancy is an act that significantly hinders cafe operations and can be considered business obstruction (interference with business), subject to punishment."

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