A guest prepares free instant ramen at White Castle, a room cafe in Suwon city, north of Osan Air Base, South Korea. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
Businesses that offer their clients a temporary personal space are omnipresent in South Korea.
Some of these venues, commonly called room cafes, permit their customers to play with exotic pets, while others provide high-end gaming computers so consummate gamers can get their fix. Whatever their specialty, these businesses create an alternative space where people may relax by themselves or with friends.
White Castle in Suwon city, about 13 miles north of Osan Air Base, is typical of multirooms, or room cafes, designed for groups of people to gather in a small, private room to watch TV or play board games and video games.
These cafes are particularly popular among South Korean teens because they allow them to socialize with friends, away from their parents’ watchful gaze at home.
A kiosk at White Castle, a room cafe north of Osan Air Base, South Korea, shows the rooms available for rent and the usage time for occupied rooms. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
White Castle guests are greeted with a touch-screen kiosk where they can see which of its 34 rooms are available to rent. The fee for each person is 10,000 won, or about $7.49, and there is a two-guest minimum requirement.
There is no maximum party size or time limit in White Castle; however, if all rooms are in use, guests may be booted from their rooms based on the time they arrived.
After selecting a room and entering how many people are in the party through the kiosk, guests are required to take off their shoes and place them inside a locker that corresponds to their room number.
White Castle in Suwon city, South Korea, north of Osan Air Base, is a typical room cafe, designed for groups of people to gather to watch TV or play games. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
The business provides slippers for customers who wish to briefly step outside.
The rooms are small — about the size of a large closet — and are furnished with a table, television, pillows and blankets. A fire extinguisher, flashlight and fire alarm are inside.
The small TV can play hundreds of pre-installed movies on a server and has ports where customers may connect a video game console or a laptop.
The walls are relatively thin, meaning guests can often hear the voices of others or the sound of board game pieces clattering on the floor.
Amenities at South Korea’s room cafe include a variety of unlimited snacks, ice cream, coffee, soda and instant ramen. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
Amenities inside the communal room include a variety of unlimited snacks, ice cream, coffee, soda and instant ramen. There is also a shelf containing dozens of board games.
No Jung-hoon, an 11th-grade student in Suwon, said he and his friends frequent White Castle and other multirooms in the area.
“I typically come here to play board games with friends, especially when it’s cold outside,” No said during a recent visit to White Castle. “Here, we can lounge around and play with friends, like at a PC cafe.”
Smoking and drinking alcohol are prohibited. Guests may have food delivered to the building; however, they must properly dispose of their trash at the front door.
White Castle in Suwon city, South Korea, north of Osan Air Base, is a typical example of room cafes, which are designed for groups of people to gather to watch TV or play games. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
On the QT
Directions: Room cafes can be found across South Korea.
Times: Vary by location, but many are open from morning to late evening.
Costs: Typically about 10,000 won per person.
Food: Amenities often include unlimited snacks, such as drinks and instant ramen.
