The development of coffee culture and the rise of its business have resulted in creative changes in Gangneung, which has a rich history of tea ceremony tradition.
Residents of Gangneung who used to get their instant coffee from vending machines at Anmok Port now frequent hundreds of specialized cafés that serve professionally hand-dripped coffee and specialty coffee.
Traditional hanok and ancient rural farmhouse buildings are being transformed into cafés and sophisticated cultural spaces.
A coffee museum showing the history of coffee, a cafe displaying a variety of coffee cups from around the world, and a coffee farm growing coffee in a greenhouse demonstrate that coffee consumption in Gangneung extends beyond mere beverage consumption. Gangneung's coffee menu combines local specialties to create new menu items, including black sesame lattes and soft tofu coffee. Coffee-related desserts, such as coffee bean bread, coffee sand cookies, and coffee jam, also grew in popularity.