Places “for the gram”

Millennials, specialty coffee bars and the gentrification of commercial streets in Seoul

Bibliographic Data

ID8944489
AuthorsHanbit Chang (0000-0001-7156-4346, Eindhoven University of Technology, corresponding author), Bas Spierings (Utrecht University)
Year2023
Volume139
Pages103677-103677
Publication date2023-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103677
OpenAlexW4318952382
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited49

Commercial gentrification in contemporary cities is fed by the Instagrammable nature of a growing number and variety of consumption spaces. A prominent example is the rise of specialty coffee bars (SCBs), with their offline spreading and the impact of online ‘clickable aesthetics’ via Instagram. In-depth interviews and Instagram go-alongs with 17 female millennials in Seoul revealed that SCBs are often visited for their Instagrammable aesthetics and less so for the quality of the coffee. Taking pictures in “photo zones” is typical behaviour in coffee bars, often imitating symbolic images of place as proof of a successful visit. Moreover, the intertwined online and offline popularity of SCBs spurs the gentrification of commercial streets in Seoul neighbourhoods. It generates a growing dominance of replicated coffee bars lacking authenticity and drawing gentrifying businesses together in Instagrammable clusters. SCBs going viral may eventually result in the experience of “placelessness”, not only for affected local residents but also for visiting gentrifiers. Self-critical gentrifiers often stop sharing geotags to avoid further commercial gentrification of neighbourhoods and streets

Advertising · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Gentrification · Geography · Gram · Specialty · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Japanese History and Culture · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access