coffee meets the sea...a festival held in one's birthplace

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In the deepening autumn, Gangneung, Gangwon Province, is hosting the Gangneung Coffee Festival, a representative autumn festival.

This year, it will be held at Anbang Beach Coffee Street, the birthplace of the festival, so you can feel the charm of coffee in harmony with the sea.

Reporter Song Se-hyuk reports.

[Reporter]
a coffee picnic in the shadow of a coastal pine forest

Against the backdrop of the blue sea, tourists enjoy a cup of coffee.

The coffee scent combined with the sea breeze adds to the autumn romance.

[Kim Dorim / Mangwoo-dong, Seoul: There are many things to enjoy and drinking coffee in front of the sea makes me feel refreshed and good.]

The experience of making coffee yourself is also popular.

Depending on how you roast coffee beans and extract coffee, you can feel a different taste.

[Lee Jinsoo / Ipam-dong, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do: I think that's the best part because I can make and drink whatever I want]

In the 1990s, Anbang Beach, where more than 100 coffee vending machines were installed, emerged as a hot spot where people could enjoy the sea and coffee at the same time.

Since then, as famous baristas have settled down and developed coffee culture, Gangneung has grown into a "coffee city."

The Gangneung Coffee Festival, which marks its 16th anniversary this year, is being held at Anbang Beach Coffee Street, its birthplace.

More than 20 events have been organized, including the "100 Meals for 100 People" event, where 100 citizen baristas will present hand drips, and the experience of roasting coffee beans.

[Lim Seungbin / Director of Gangneung Cultural Foundation: The sea and pine scent are deep, so it's a place where you can relieve your tiredness by drinking coffee here]

As a practice for environmental protection, festivals are minimizing waste emissions by using multi-use cups instead of disposable cups.

The Gangneung Coffee Festival, colored with the scent of coffee with autumn foliage, runs until Sunday.

I'm YTN's Song Sehyuk.