New
Starbucks Korea has banned customers from consuming outside food and drinks in all of its stores starting Monday.
Signs posted inside numerous Starbucks chains in Korea now ask customers to “please enjoy only food and beverages prepared by the store.”
![Stills from a viral video on social media from last year showing customers at a Starbucks Korea store eating tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and fried side dishes [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/14/b459afa9-903d-4d96-b18e-513dd748b5ed.jpg)
Baby food for infants accompanied by a guardian is permitted as an exception.
Until now, Starbucks Korea allowed customers to eat outside food inside its stores, under the condition that it did not have strong odors. The policy shift derives from continuous complaints over customers bringing in “excessive” outside foods — such as tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and fried side dishes, which drew widespread criticism on social media last year.
In other reported cases online, some customers brought in lunch boxes and some people exploited the previous policy by eating only outside food without making a purchase from the store.
“The new restriction ensures that all customers are guaranteed a pleasant stay, as well as to maintain hygiene and order within our stores,” a Starbucks Korea official said.
BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]
No More Outside Food In Starbucks. Is Tteokbokki To Blame?
A Starbucks Korea store in Seoul on Jan. 24 [NEWS1]
Starbucks Korea has banned customers from consuming outside food and drinks in all of its stores starting Monday.
Signs posted inside numerous Starbucks chains in Korea now ask customers to “please enjoy only food and beverages prepared by the store.”
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Stills from a viral video on social media from last year showing customers at a Starbucks Korea store eating tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and fried side dishes [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Baby food for infants accompanied by a guardian is permitted as an exception.
Until now, Starbucks Korea allowed customers to eat outside food inside its stores, under the condition that it did not have strong odors. The policy shift derives from continuous complaints over customers bringing in “excessive” outside foods — such as tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and fried side dishes, which drew widespread criticism on social media last year.
In other reported cases online, some customers brought in lunch boxes and some people exploited the previous policy by eating only outside food without making a purchase from the store.
“The new restriction ensures that all customers are guaranteed a pleasant stay, as well as to maintain hygiene and order within our stores,” a Starbucks Korea official said.
BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]
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