SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Restaurants, cafes and sporting facilities located outside the greater Seoul area will be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. starting Monday, as the government decided to ease restrictions on their operating hours. Under the current social distancing scheme, businesses are required to close at 9 p.m., but the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Cafes and gyms in the capital area resumed normal business on Monday after the government partially eased COVID-19 restrictions in a move met with both delight and skepticism. The new guidelines, which will be in effect for two weeks until Jan. 31, allow coffee shops to offer dining in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans in the greater capital area were forced to adjust to toughened social distancing rules Tuesday as cafes banned indoor seating and moviegoers were told to eat popcorn outside theaters. The new Level 2 guidelines took effect at the start of the day after the government raised the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Cafes and gyms began to fill with patrons again as South Korea’s government loosened social distancing guidelines in the greater Seoul area starting Monday to mitigate economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on local businesses. At a branch of a coffeehouse chain in Noryangjin, southwest of Seoul, tables were [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — As the so-called ‘Level 2.5’ social distancing rules have taken effect in South Korea, customers are allowed to consume food and drinks inside bakeries, but not at franchise coffee chains in the Greater Seoul area. The government said that its decision not to include bakeries on the list of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Many government bodies in South Korea, including those in all major metropolitan areas, have made it mandatory to wear a mask both indoor and outdoor as a part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Nonetheless, voices are growing that it’s difficult to crack down on people [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — With the growing coronavirus outbreak, there are growing concerns over common infectious diseases. Amid the spiraling concern of viral infections, there is anxiety that cafes that display or allow customers to touch wild animals are in a regulatory blind spot. According to a report released Sunday by AWARE (Animal [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Approximately 1 out of 10 franchised stores selling coffee and beverages shut down last year due to sluggish sales and other factors. Experts cite heightened competition within the saturated franchise market as the main issue, resulting in a wider polarization between successful and unsuccessful franchise business outlets. According to [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean health authorities have announced plans to ban smoking completely at all cafés across the country from July. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is set to pass an amendment to the National Health Promotion Act by the end of next month, officials said on Thursday. Under the revised [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Opening a coffee shop is one of the most popular businesses being pursued by young South Koreans in recent years, data showed Wednesday, in a sign of growing coffee consumption in the Northeast Asian country. The number of coffee shops run by people aged between 15 and 34 stood [...]