‘Leaving a café seat for more than 30 minutes is inconsiderate’ versus ‘What’s wrong with stepping out briefly?’

How long can a café customer leave a table unattended before it becomes inconsiderate? That question has sparked debate on South Korean online communities, where users have complained about people leaving their belongings behind in cafés and other public places.

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The third time you visited the store today, and every time you came, you used it for at least five hours.

One café owner wrote on Threads that he had asked a particular customer to use another store. The customer had visited three times, he said, and stayed for at least five hours on each visit. The owner added that he did not object to customers studying, reading or knitting, but said the absence had gone too far.

During the first visit, the customer reportedly left the table for an hour and stayed at the café for about six and a half hours before leaving ahead of closing. The customer left a tablet, textbooks, a tumbler and clothes on the table, making it difficult for staff to touch or clear the belongings.

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I do not touch people who study at cafés, read or knit, but even the employees working with me said this was too much.

One commenter said another customer had once gone out to eat and returned carrying a cup from a different café. The commenter questioned how someone could leave their belongings behind, eat elsewhere and then return, while the broader debate split between calls for a 30-minute limit and those who saw a brief absence as harmless.

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I once saw someone go out to eat and come back carrying a cup from another café.