Gold Prices Hold Near Seven-Week High as Markets Await U.S. Inflation Data 
European Stocks Flat as Oil Prices Rise, US CPI in Focus 
Apple Tests China’s CXMT Memory Chips for iPhones and MacBooks Amid AI Supply Crunch 
Yen Stabilizes After Intervention Slide as Australian Dollar Hits Eight-Week High 
Delta Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Atlanta After Cockpit Fumes Reported 
Nvidia Secures $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Push With Wall Street Giants 
China Inflation Cools in July as CPI Misses Forecast, PPI Deflation Eases 
Shein Scales Back Vietnam Operations as US Trade Rules Shift 
Oil Prices Set for Steep Weekly Losses as Hormuz Deal Stalls 
OpenAI Restricts Astra AI Over Cyberattack Risks 
Trump Media Says Truth API Draws 10+ Customers as Conflict Concerns Grow 
BOJ Signals Faster Rate Hikes as Inflation Risks Raise September Move Odds 
Deutsche Bank Upgrades Persimmon to Buy After Strong First-Half Results 
Airbus Joins Air India A320 Altitude Drop Probe 
Wall Street Slips as Oil Prices Surge 5% on Iran-Hormuz Uncertainty 
Goldman Sachs Sees US Stock Buybacks Outpacing Equity Issuance as AI Funding Rises 
Anthropic Signs $9.1B AI Data Center Deal With Riot Platforms 
Starbucks Korea has a new store in Seoul, and it is located in an unusual place. The coffee chain opens the very first cafe in the subway station.
As per Pulse News, Starbucks Korea, which is operating under full ownership of Shinsegae Group, usually builds its coffee shops in a spacious area, but this time, it chose to set it up in a subway outpost in the capital of South Korea.
To be more exact, the store is in Gangnam subway station, and it is expected to get many customers since it is one of the busiest stops in Seoul. Starbucks Korea said that building a coffee shop in an underground location is part of its expansion strategy in the country.
Yonhap News Agency further reported that the outlet was designed to serve the commuters, especially during the rush hours. The coffee chain aims to offer quick service to people who commute to work or school.
The new store is expected to be successful because the location not only has heavy traffic and is busy every day but its Gangnam site is also known to be an opulent neighborhood. It was said that this is one of the busiest subways in South Korea and averaging around 100,000 commuters per day.
Moreover, the consumption of drinks or food on the train is not prohibited in Seoul Metro, so this is a big advantage to Starbucks Korea. Even with a bit of COVID-19 protocol still in effect, such as wearing the masks while riding in the subway, drinking and eating are generally allowed, and this was confirmed by Seol Metro's press team's assistant manager, Park Jeong Min.
It should be noted that the local government already lifted the mask mandate in public places earlier this month. However, everyone is still required to wear them when indoors and in other closed spaces.
In any case, it was mentioned that the Starbucks in Korea's Gangnam subway is the second in the world that is operating in such an area. The only other Starbucks store that is operating in an underground station is in London's Canary Wharf station.
"At this point, the company has no plans to consider expanding to more underground locations or take-out only stores," Starbucks Korea's spokesperson said.
