[An internal structure of a study café in Seoul. Photo credit: Grace Lee]

Recently, it has been revealed that about 8 out of 10 students in South Korea spend most of their time in study cafés after school, according to a survey in 2023. 

South Korea is one of the most competitive countries in regard to education because of the culture and structure of the Korean education system. 

After school, most students go to hagwons or do their homework. 

For those students who need to study for extra-long hours, the study café is an ideal place to go.

There are many reasons why the study café is the ideal place to study for these students:

To begin with, study cafés are quiet and clean, which greatly increases the students’ concentration.  

Regular cafés, on the other hand, can be distracting because of the music and conversations that occur. 

Also, it may be hard to focus on studying at home if the students’ rooms are messy or their families are chatting loudly in the background.

Next, study cafés have a “café zone” where students can take breaks and briefly get drinks or snacks to eat. 

At home, students are tempted to eat constantly.

However, at a study café, they are only allowed to have small snacks, which  naturally controls their temptation to eat continuously.

Another benefit is that study cafés provide necessary school supplies, such as pencils, highlighters, mini poster boards, and glue. 

They even have a printer that students can use to easily print out their assignments.

In addition, study cafés can accommodate the various needs of each student. 

They are often divided into laptop zones, study zones, and group study zones.

In the laptop zone, the small noise from typing on personal laptops is allowed, while it is not permitted in the study zone.

In the group study zone, small conversations are allowed. It is often used by a group of students who have to work on group assignments together.

Furthermore, the study café is very cost-effective.

Prices vary from business to business, but it usually costs between ₩4,000 to ₩5,000 to stay for two hours, which is the usual minimum time requirement.

Students also have the option to pay for a reserved seat to use at any time, which is useful for studying before their exams.

Even though it does not cost very much to study there, the fact that students have to pay for their own workspace can also motivate them to work hard and not waste any time.

Studying at home without a time limit can make students rather lazy.

Finally, study cafés are conveniently located near schools and hagwons, making it easy for students to switch locations in a time-efficient manner. 

In short, the study café is a very well-established place to go, providing many benefits to the students who study there.

Its quiet, clean, well-equipped environment keeps students focused on their homework alongside their cheap cost and time-saving locations.

Regarding these perfect merits the Study Cafés have, it is expected that the boom in the use of Study Café would be long-lasting and more frequent.