The Age of the Dabang

A Place to Meet

In 1927, a shop known as the first dabang (coffee shop) run by a Korean opened in Gwanhun-dong, Seoul. A dabang was where people met over coffee, listened to music and made plans. After the war, dabang spread across the cities. Each red dot on the map is one dabang.

Why?Homes were small and there were few places to meet. In a dabang, you could pay a little and sit for a long time. Some dabang became gathering places for writers, painters and filmmakers.

Learn moreThe first dabang was called "Kakadu." It is said to have been opened by the film director Lee Gyeong-son, but sources disagree on the year (1927 or 1928) and on who really ran it. The red dots come from dabang license records kept by city and district offices, and few records from before the 1960s survive. The records show that most dabang opened in the 1980s and 1990s, and many closed in the 2000s.

When

1927 → 1990