Aesthetics of industrial cafes raise eyebrows

Energising time: People outside a cafe in the Garosu-gil neighborhood of the Gangnam district of Seoul. Large-scale cafes popping up in the suburbs of Seoul and elsewhere are also popular in the country. — Bloomberg

SEOUL: On a weekday evening, one cafe in western Seoul is about to close for the day while customers are still chatting away and enjoying their coffee.

Repurposed from a shoe factory, this cafe is one of several trendy spots across the city that attract coffee drinkers and cafe enthusiasts alike, as numerous Instagram posts tagging the location show.