GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province ― There are more than 160 coffee houses in the east coast city of Gangneung, population 280,000.

Normally Gangneung is a popular summer spot, attracting more than 200,000 holidaymakers during the peak summer season to its famous Gyeongpodae Beach. So it’s natural that the city came up with a festival to bring in more tourists outside of the summer. This year the Gangneung Coffee Festival is held at the port city through Oct. 28.

Visitors are able to start their journey at the Coffee Museum where coffee trees are planted and one can see the beans harvested. One can also see an exhibition of Korean coffee history alongside beans from all over the world and later taste Americano and other beverages.

A contest for aspiring baristas was held to drip, siphon and roast the coffee attracted local residents and curious youths who bought roasted beans or ground coffee as well as handmade cookies and other treats.

For the environmentally conscious people, a bicycle-rental program is available: People can rent bicycles for free and receive coupons for a free cup of coffee at designated cafes ― if arriving by bike.

The roads are full of people on a “pilgrimage” of coffee houses alongside the shore of Gangneung Port. When tired, they can drop by at any of the coffee houses nearby, sit down for a cup of coffee with ice cream and spend the rest of the day chatting.

Why all of a sudden Gangneung? It all started with barista Park I-choo, who moved to Gangneung in 2001 and opened a roasting house after a successful career as a coffee maker in Seoul for over a decade. His sophisticated handling of the beans and tools put the neighboring areas, which used to be sashimi houses, bustling with coffee lovers from across Gangwon Province, and also put Gangneung on the tourism map even outside of the summer season.

You can check whether the organizing committee’s promotion is true by visiting Terarosa caf, the birthplace of the Gangneung coffee boom. Visitors are lucky to get a table at the huge caf, often waiting 30-40 minutes just to order.

“We had over 200,000 people visit the event in its third year. I assume we will have even more this year since we are having the ICCN World Intangible Culture Festival until Oct. 29,” said Ham Mi-jeong, a member of the organizing committee.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)