Starbucks Korea connects people with stories of coffee

With stores in more than 10 locations around the world, Starbucks creates positive change by growing together with partners, customers, coffee farmers and neighborhoods. 

Joining hands with local societies

Training 1,290 older baristas

Starbucks signed a mutual growth agreement with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, and Café Owner Cooperative Organization to establish a foundation for communication and cooperation for continued mutual growth within the café industry in 2022. Starbucks is supporting aging small business cafes in need of support, with Starbucks’ interior and facilities maintenance contractor providing signage, doors, awnings, painting, flooring, carpentry, and woodworking. In March 2019, Starbucks also signed a win-win business agreement with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Senior Club Association to collaborate on creating sustainable, high-quality jobs for seniors, and in September 2019, opened a senior barista training center at the Gunpo Senior Club for more than 500 senior cafes nationwide. Through this program, the number of senior baristas who have completed barista training reached 1,290 by 2023. 

Young talent program for the last 10 years

Fostering 101 young talents

Since 2015, Starbucks has partnered with child welfare organization Green Umbrella to fulfill the dreams and goals of 101 young people. After finishing the program, more than 40 of them is now pursuing their dreams by attending graduate school or entering a variety of careers, and this year’s 10 recipients will receive scholarship support of KRW 3 million per semester from the second to seventh semester of their freshman year. Once a year, Starbucks selects top performers to receive an internship at the Starbucks Support Center or a Starbucks global travel program. Starbucks donates 300 won per item sold at Community Stores 1 and 2 to a fund for youth talent development, totaling 2.4 billion won to date.