국내 카페 파사드(façade)에서 읽어 낸 문화적 의미

Abstract

Nowadays, coffee is a fundamental treat for Koreans in everyday life; furthermore, the café has been developed by combining coffee drinkers’ diverse tastes and lifestyles with cultural elements, which has in turn formed “the café culture”. Many cafes have incorporated modern city scenery with a succession of clear glass or open-type façades in order to tempt consumers. This study follows the approach of Walter Benjamin, who strolled around the city using a critical review approach to examine the spatial characteristics of the open café façade, which has become a typical part of the Korean cityscape, and elicit their social and culture meanings. The metastatic-type and open-type façade, in contrast with the enclosed façade that was a typical feature until the 1980s, creates an atmosphere of refinement and brightness that strengthens the café’s status. However, in Korea, the open café façade with a “folding door” has rapidly spread, and is different from the European-style open-air café; this open façade is a progressed form of Western arcades or stores formed with glass and iron. This study also indicates that the folding door-façade resulted from heterogeneous encounter with the traditional Korean floored room, and considers how such an open façade changes customers’ experiences in different season and weather. In addition, although the modern social stratum such as the bourgeoisie and Korean noblemen, or “yangban”, have disappeared, this study argues that elaborate social stratification exists in café spaces. As Baudrillard pointed out, this reflects the characteristic of a postcapitalism society in that everything－not only objects, but also tastes, spaces, and bodies－has changed to a commodity sign. In spite of this critical observation, the open café façade might play a dynamic role of change and transition as a “threshold” or “liminal space” with the possibility of producing fresh consciousness through diverse experiences and events.