'Maid cafe' in Seoul generates attention, controversy

A “maid cafe” where waitresses dressed in maid outfits serve food and drinks has opened in Seoul to much public attention and controversy.

Photos of ″maid waitresses″ on the Instagram page of a maid cafe that opened in Yeonnam-dong of Mapo District, western Seoul on Wednesday [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A “maid cafe” where waitresses dressed in maid outfits serve food and drinks has opened in Seoul to much public attention and controversy.

The maid-themed cafe located in Yeonnam-dong in Mapo District, western Seoul, opened Wednesday. Its tables were quickly booked after reservations started just two days before opening. The place is completely booked in March.

The maid cafe is currently the only one in Korea. Several earlier ones shut down a few years ago after being harshly criticized for commercializing sex. Maid cafes reportedly first appeared in Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood in 2001.

The introduction of this unfamiliar business to Korea has not been fully welcomed by all, with critics accusing the cafes of being adult entertainment facilities.

However, the Yeonnam-dong maid cafe is not illegal, and the cafe owner has clearly warned that guests who engage in sexual harassment or assaults will face criminal proceedings.

The cafe is reservation-only, with customers required to bring their identification cards to enter. The person who made the reservation may bring one guest.

Reservations are for an hour a day. Food and drinks such as Japanese-style "omelet rice" and melon soda are served.

The “maid waitresses” refer to the cafe's customers as their “masters.”

According to a blogger who visited the cafe on Thursday, a bell rings as the customer enters, and a person shouts, “The master is entering!”

Asking for the contact info of the “maid waitresses” is strictly prohibited, as is taking photos with the maid. Customers may take one polaroid photo with the maid.

Despite the cafe's efforts to minimize controversy, fierce criticism continues, with critics claiming the cafe is commercializing sex, with women in costumes obediently serving their “masters.”

Local residents also express concern as there are schools, kindergartens and hagwons, or private cram schools, nearby.

In response, the cafe has explicitly said that it will "ban customers in unpleasant outfits that might affect children and other people."

Meanwhile, some business owners in the area expressed hope that the cafe “could help boost business in the area.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, HA SU-YOUNG [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]