Finally I am able to get a good shot of the new coffee shop in Icheon, Starbucks. It opens around January or February this year. The second floor before is an Italian restaurant called Fresco, then at the first floor left side of Chai Wok is Family Mart a 24-hours convenient store. The Chinese restaurant (Chai Work) is now very small compare when the Starbucks is not yet on the site it is wider with three rows of table and chair, now only two rows left.

Other people might think having Starbucks in Icheon is good but not all the time I have noticed that since Starbucks was present some of the local coffee shops are now empty or there’s only few people inside while Starbucks is full. You can see students near the bus terminal carrying Starbucks cup, sipping their coffee and etc.,

Yeah Starbucks is just across the bus terminal just few steps away. Before there is a Mister Donut coffee shop across the terminal but one year didn’t passed it is gone now, occupying the place is a shoe store beside Skechers. While Skechers before is a pillow and blanket store.,

You know I can’t still get over with the thought of what happened way back in Seoul two years ago, we always shopped in a Family own supermarket but one day a chain supermarket was built just at the back of the old supermarket, every time we shop the items are becoming lesser, fridge are empty and the sales clerk are gone what left is the two old couple (I guess the owner), it was saddening to witness how they loss their business.

In our remaining stay in Seoul the old couple gave us a big container of Kimchi and when it was all eaten up they want to give us more but we declined because we are only going to stay for few days and we are going to left our apartment. I don’t want to left the apartment, I still want to shop at their store but I can’t do anything my husband’s contract already expired and we need to transfer to his new work place.

I don’t know what happened next, if they already closed their supermarket or they transfer their supermarket to other place. I am hoping for the best for them, I can stop my tears remembering this sad memories.

That’s what happened when big chain companies built on a certain place, the local people loss their earnings and way of living. So until now we don’t visit Starbucks here not because we don’t patronized the shop but because we don’t drink coffee on coffee shop unless we are traveling.