In the past two years, the number of coffee shops in South Korea has only grown.

In September 2013, while still living and teaching in Busan, I had an idea to chronicle the vast number of caffeinated businesses South Korea has on offer. I dubbed it “All the Coffee in Korea.” I had big plans, including reviewing all the coffee in Korea. I stopped after reviewing one, the BC800 Coffee and Tea which had recently opened in humble Jangnim.

I don’t even remember there being a Starbucks in Jinju eight years ago. I remember Holly’s Coffee and that’s really it. And now, you can hardly find any of those. But, don’t worry, there are plenty of other options.

Knowing my ambitions would far outpace my output, I decided to approach this project a little differently, a little more streamlined. My plan is thus, as outlined in my photo gallery of the same name on my Facebook page.

“Koreans consume more coffee than kimchi for the first time in history. Judging by the number of places they can get their fix, it’s easy to see how. I decided to chronicle as many of them as I can. No doubles will be counted, even in different cities. Let’s see just how much java makes The Land of Morning Calm a bit jittery by noon.”

The following are all in Gimhae, my current city, located west of Busan.