This blog post explores how sweet desserts and cafes have become spaces of healing and comfort in modern daily life.
The phrase ‘there’s a cafe just around the corner’ feels almost redundant now, as ‘cafe streets’—lined with multiple cafes on a single block—are a common sight throughout cities. The diverse cafe signs lining the streets each boast a unique charm, capturing the attention of passersby. What was once simply a place to drink coffee has evolved into a venue offering a cultural experience. Areas popular with young people, such as university districts, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, and Hongdae, are densely packed with cafes brimming with personality, making it easy to find one matching your taste in interior design or atmosphere. Remarkably, many cafes in these areas are almost always bustling with people. Ultimately, the increased demand for cafes has led to their proliferation on every street corner. So, what is it that draws people to cafes and fuels this demand?
While cafes were originally places to buy coffee, it’s now hard to find one that sells only coffee. Alongside bitter coffee, diverse beverages, shaved ice desserts, and sweet cakes have become staple menu items. In recent years, the trend of cafes becoming ‘dessert-centric’ has become pronounced, and now it’s common to see ‘dessert cafes’ where desserts take center stage over coffee. This goes beyond simply providing drinks; it acts as a key factor in enticing customers with sweetness. A representative brand of dessert cafes is ‘Twosome Place’. Twosome Place sells not only coffee and various beverages but also a wide array of desserts like waffles, cakes, shaved ice, gelato, and honey bread—items whose names alone evoke sweetness. The brand actively markets around these desserts. Discovering new dessert menus with each visit is another key appeal of Twosome Place. Currently, it operates over 1,400 stores nationwide, and the number of stores continues to grow steadily.
A similar brand to Twosome Place is ‘Coffee Bean’. While Coffee Bean has slightly fewer stores, around 1,000, it captures customer interest by focusing on high-quality desserts. Coffee Bean differentiates itself by offering premium desserts, including cakes made by professional pastry chefs in-store and handmade chocolates. Customers can enjoy not just coffee, but also sophisticated desserts and beverages, creating a feeling of experiencing something special.
So why have we become so captivated by the temptation of sweet desserts? The first reason to consider is the development of civilization. Generally, as civilization advances and national income rises, sugar consumption tends to increase. Sugar consumption is often seen as a measure of civilization, and sweetness has long been an appealing element that spread alongside development. As Westernized food culture expanded, the Western culinary and dessert culture, heavy on sugar, took root in Korea. This can be seen as the driving force behind Koreans’ current enjoyment of desserts.
Another factor is the proliferation of smartphones and the resulting active cultural exchange through SNS (Social Network Service). Taking photos of visually sweet desserts and posting them on SNS allows easy communication and sharing of dessert culture with people overseas. For example, the famous Japanese dessert brand ‘Mont-Shushu’ first sold its ‘Dojima Roll’ – a roll cake filled with sweet fresh cream – at its Osaka flagship store. Its visual appeal and taste became known in Korea through SNS posts by Japanese tourists and celebrities. Riding the wave of the Dojima Roll’s popularity, a Monshu-shu cafe opened in Sinsa-dong, and subsequently, Monshu-shu’s popular dessert menu expanded into Korean department stores. Furthermore, once unfamiliar desserts like French macarons and tarts spread to Korea via SNS and have since become popular menu items in Korean cafes. Now, with an environment where overseas dessert cultures are easily accessible, Korea’s dessert culture is also diversifying.
Furthermore, the increase in stress among modern people can be seen as one of the main reasons Koreans seek out sweet desserts. Everyone has likely experienced feeling better after eating something sweet. MedicalXpress, a medical news portal, published research findings stating that “sugar-added beverages regulate the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that affects stress, and have the function of suppressing the brain’s stress response.” As this research shows, the mood-boosting effect of sweetness is not just a feeling but a scientifically proven effect. This comforting effect of sweetness is why many modern people, living harsh daily lives amid economic downturns and social anxiety, seek solace in desserts.
The proliferation of café districts across Korea stems from people naturally gravitating toward cafés as places to relax while enjoying sweet desserts. Upon entering a café, the aroma of coffee mingling with sweet treats warmly welcomes visitors. In these inviting spaces, people momentarily escape daily worries, savoring desserts that delight the eyes and palate while finding comfort and psychological stability. Through small luxuries at cafes, modern people temporarily unload the burdens of their anxious reality, rest, and gain the strength and courage to live life.
Ultimately, the popularity of cafes, drawing the weary steps of modern people toward sweet desserts, can be seen as reflecting their efforts to heal themselves.
