Single origin coffee and dual distinction: coffee shops in contemporary South Korea

Nate Ming Curran and Michael Chesnut

Chapter 28 in Research Handbook on the Sociology of Consumption, 2026, pp 332-340 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter examines the intersection of language and coffee shops in Seoul, South Korea. Drawing on Bourdieu's notion of distinction, it explores how English and Korean are deployed on signage in specialty coffee shops there. The study identifies the premium that English provides in terms of price, and discusses various ways that English-only coffee shops differentiate themselves from other specialty coffee shops. The data include photographs of the menus, exteriors, and interiors of 89 outlets in the Seungsu-dong area of the city. The chapter argues that the English-only premises function as a site of dual distinction whereby customers can signal their cosmopolitan identity via identification with two traditional markers of distinction in Korea: English and coffee. Implications and potential avenues for further research are also discussed.

Keywords: Coffee shops; Bourdieu; Distinction; Cosmopolitanism; South Korea; Linguistic landscape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310500
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