Starbucks Turns Into Storage for New Flight Attendants' Bags... Argue Back When Asked to "Clear Them"

"30 People Order 5 to 10 Drinks, Then Return 2 Hours Later"
Gwanghwamun Store Turned into Storage During U.S. Embassy Visa Interviews

Gwanghwamun Starbucks filled with flight attendants' bags. Yonhap News

It has recently been reported that the Starbucks near the U.S. Embassy in Gwanghwamun has been suffering early every morning from being filled with "flight attendants' bags." Because tables and chairs are covered with flight attendants' bags, regular customers have nowhere to sit.

According to Yonhap News on the 10th, at around 7:00 a.m. on the 9th, 30 to 40 seats, or about 80% of one side of the store's hall, were tightly packed with bags and no people. The owners of the bags are new flight attendants from a Korean airline. While they were at the U.S. Embassy for their crew visa interviews, they treated this Starbucks as a private lounge and used it as a storage place for their bags.

The store manager told Yonhap News, "Thirty people come in and order only 5 to 10 drinks, then they all leave their bags and go out, coming back two hours later after the interviews are over," adding, "According to the staff, they have come at least five times recently."

The manager said, "When we asked them to clear the seats for other customers, they responded, 'We placed orders, so why are you asking us to move?'" A citizen identified as Mr. A, who witnessed the scene, also said, "They kept arguing with the staff as if saying, 'What did we do wrong?'," adding, "I would have been less upset if at least someone had been sitting there."

The U.S. Embassy does not allow large bags such as suitcases to be brought inside due to the risk of terrorism. Nevertheless, the flight attendants brought their bags with them, which is believed to be due to the airline's unique culture of requiring crew members to maintain prescribed uniforms and items even when they are off flight duty.

The airline said, "We apologize for causing inconvenience to customers and the store," and added, "We will strengthen guidance and training for our employees to prevent such incidents from recurring."

At Starbucks, which allows seat use even by customers who have not placed an order, inconsiderate behavior such as installing desktop computers and printers or setting up partitions like those in study rooms continues to be observed.

A Starbucks official said, "We are guiding customers that if they leave their seats for a long time, there is a risk of theft or loss of their belongings, so they should take their belongings with them when they move."