Korea’s giant bakery cafes are booming. Now comes the tax crackdown

Tall trees, a long staircase and rows of tables fill the airy, three-story building, where high ceilings and broad passageways create the feel of a resort lobby. It is, however, a cafe — one of more than 10 sprawling bakery cafes situated along the Han River in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, east of Seoul. These cafes are part of a growing phenomenon on the outskirts of the South Korean capital, where coffee shops have become destinations in their own right. Customers come not only for coffee and pas