The 14th edition of the Gangneung Coffee Festival will be held at the Gangneung Olympic Park Ice Arena for four days, from Friday to Monday.
The indoor arena's first and second floors will be set up as coffee brewing, tasting, and product selling booths, while food trucks and resting areas will be installed outside the arena.
This year's festival will be run as an eco-friendly festival, according to the Gangneung Culture and Arts Foundation, the main host of the event.
"We have consistently held waste-reduction initiatives in prior festivals. But this year, we hope to expand it further to actual participation from visitors." a GCAF festival staff member told The Korea Herald.
While multiuse cups were provided for tasting sessions last year, this year’s festival encourages participants to bring their own tumblers and mugs. Plastic cups are completely banned within the compound during the festival period.
Those who post photos on social media using tumblers at the festival site will be given a chance to participate in a lucky draw event for round-trip airline tickets, sponsored by Fly Gangwon airlines.
The festival’s signature program, a performance called “100 People 100 Tastes,” will be held as a hybrid event, on site and online.
A total of 200 participants will simultaneously present their coffee extraction methods, with 100 participants livestreaming online and the other 100 at the arena. After the demonstration, free coffee will be handed out to the visitors.
A number of barista tournaments will take place during the festival.
The Korea Brewers Cup is a selection match for the barista who will competing at the 2022 World Brewers Cup. The preliminary rounds are scheduled to be held Friday to Sunday and the winner will be chosen after Monday's final round.
A barista competition hosted by Gangneung City, the Gangneung DaVinci Beverage Recipic, will be held on Friday. Organized by the Gangneung Coffee Research Society, the match is divided into two categories -- creative beverage using local ingredients and signature coffee beverage.
Several other competitions, including the 2022 Korea Roasting Championship, Gangneung Barista Award and Gangneung Coffee Hand Drip Award will take place at the festival arena and are open to visitors.
Meanwhile, a special meetup opportunity for coffee lovers called Cafe-in will be hosted on Sunday at the Gangneung Culture and Arts Foundation. Both novice and professional baristas are welcomed to drop by and share information on various beans and coffee making.
The image of Gangneung as a city of coffee originates from the 1980s, when canned and instant coffee vending machines lined the streets of the east coast city.
Gangneung has been hosting the annual coffee festival since 2009. Through the city’s nimble adoption of various coffee trends and business, Gangneung has become a leading city in the country's coffee industry.
