Whether you like sea or not, it cannot be denied that, everyone has certain expectations of the sea. In a seaside, we always feel exceptionally comfortable and relaxed. Green waves and blue sky, high mountains and distant view, people hold all the kinds of scenery in awe. A psychological study about awe made by a team of Tsinghua University and UC Berkeley says that, the nature would trigger the stress response in the brain and make people feel humble and friendly. For young people in the city who are tired of work and live a difficult life, the sea, or even everything of the nature, is the most effective mitigation of their negative emotions. That’s where the idea of WAVEON Coffee, which is located in Gijang of Korea’s second largest city Busan, comes from.

Koreans say that, if you call the Labor Department, a recorded message of “our society is getting rid of overwork” will keep “bumping” your ears before anyone picks up the phone. Actually, Koreans have complicated feelings about work. It’s their hard work which made the country shake off poverty after war and rise to an economically developed nation. It’s also their hard work which gave birth to the renowned local brands such as Samsung and Hyundai. But on the other hand, Koreans struggle with life pressure. Every year, about 14,000 Koreans kill themselves because of work stress and burning out. According to the data of Korea Labor Bureau, the working hours of Koreans per year are 240 hours more than those of Americans. In other words, in addition to the normal work hours, they need to work 8 hours more every day. That’s why a big city is always the first place most Koreans want to run away from.

This is the initial intention of opening WAVEON Coffee. Kwak Hee Soo, the owner of WAVEON Coffee, says, “Most people visit WAVEON Coffee for the first time, probably only because they’re attracted by the sea. But soon they’ll realize that, except for the view of sea, they also get moments of relaxation and healing in a coffee atmosphere. That’s what our slogan says, ‘Relax, on the Wave’.”

For example, you can go upstairs to the rooftop of the coffee house, quietly admire the view of green see and blue sky meeting on the horizon, and comfortably wait for the sunrise or sunset glowing on the rooftop. In a word, inside this unique architecture of the coffee house, the nature and the artificial design co-exist in harmony through elements such as sea and coffee. Visitors are able to not only experience the distinctive coffee space, but also relieve their anxiety by the pureness of the nature and the mellowness of coffee.

Due to historical reasons, the connection between humans and the nature has been broken. This is the trend of social development. However, the law of nature is the law of all the laws. The final unity must be the unity of nature, and the unity of nature, economy and culture. “Who needs to be cured by the sea? What I want to do is to offer coffee of quality. So I’ve established this company. Our mission is to ‘relax on the wave, in your life, by your coffee’.” These words of Kwak Hee Soo, the owner of WAVEON Coffee, appropriately explain to us how the coffee space is able to shape our inner thoughts. Just like waves coming and going, we can find peace in this big ocean of life.