Starbucks opens first community store in Korea

Seattle - Starbucks Corp. opens its first community store in Korea, located in the Daehakro neighborhood of Seoul, on Oct. 1. Thirty cents from every purchase at this store will go to Green Umbrella ChildFund Korea (GUCFK) to directly support lifelong skills development for youth through the Starbucks Comprehensive Youth Leadership Program.



The Starbucks Comprehensive Youth Leadership Program is a program that builds on the collaboration with GUCFK to offer academic scholarships through graduation, combined with a curriculum focused on business acumen, collaborative communications and social consciousness as part of its aim to prepare young people from disadvantaged backgrounds for educational and career opportunities in Korea’s economy.



Located in the education and arts district of Seoul, the community store is designed as a social hub for the local community celebrating opportunities to create a positive change through an interactive community board and a unique art wall, created by local university students. Over time, the store will host workshops and seminars facilitated by business and community leaders to create dialogue and engagement on important topics impacting the community.



The Oct. 1 community store opening is Starbucks eighth community store globally and the second community store in Asia. Portion of the sales from each community Store is shared with a local nonprofit to provide young people in the community the education and career opportunities they need to succeed.



Starbucks Korea operates more than 697 stores across 62 cities and is the company’s fourth largest market outside of the U.S.