The UOS Times introduced the concept of zero waste and presented the practice in Magazine No. 157. In this time, in Magazine No.158, The UOS Times introduces the zero-waste coffee shop, which is located near the University of Seoul (UOS), and a convenient way to practice a zero waste lifestyle. 
 

Café Hwig is a zero-waste coffee shop in Hwigyeong-dong that does not use disposable products and plastics. “Hwig” is an onomatopoeia in Korean for quick movement or touch, similar to the English word “swoosh”. Therefore, it means that you can go and come back quickly because Café Hwig is close by. Hwig is also a combination of “Hwi” and “g” in “Hwigyeong-dong”, where it is located. 

The Hwigyeong Eo-oullim Cooperative, which runs Café Hwig, was established by UOS students and residents of Hwigyeong-dong as part of a preliminary urban regeneration project organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Young people, including students from UOS, planned, operated, and participated in the project. “Oullim” are the members of the Hwigyeong Eo-oullim Cooperative. They plan various projects such as village events and urban regeneration projects through Café Hwig.
 

Café Hwig is a place where a community that shares the eco-friendly lifestyle can actually realize it. It is a coffee shop and the living room of Hwigyeong-dong. It seeks to help communities that make use of the living room live eco-friendly lives. The coffee shop uses cups made of coffee beans, and eco-friendly paper cups that are folded for take-out. The paper cups are products of Good Pulp, which dedicates  one percent of its profit to protect the environment. The more cups used, the more the environment benefits. Café Hwig seeks to reduce plastic production and use, and to minimize environmental pollution caused by waste. 
 

Café Hwig recently initiated the “Moment Project,” which was planned by the Hwigyeong Eo-oullim Cooperative to express one moment as a concept in the form of an episode. The first Moment Project is “tumbler sharing.” Hwigyeong Value Cup was created for people who care about the environment even at the brief moment of having coffee. The Hwigyeong Eo-oullim Cooperative planned a rental project for a shared tumbler, namely the Hwigyeong Value Cup, to create a healthier Hwigyeong-dong. It cheers for people who consider the environment important and practice the eco-friendly lifestyle even while drinking coffee. The shared tumbler business helps many coffee shops in Hwigyeong-dong revitalize the use of multi-use cups and eliminate disposable ones. 
 

The coffee shop is located on the first floor of 32-2 Mangwoo-ro 19 Da-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. It is a five-minute walk away from UOS through the back gate. Son Ye-jin (Dept. of Urban Planning and Design, ’20), a member of Café Hwig, said, “Many may be interested in Zero Waste but may find it difficult to put it into practice. I hope you know that environmental protection is not difficult through this coffee shop, which is located close to the school.” In addition to the current tumbler sharing  project, many new Moment Projects are planned. Why don’t you protect the environment by visiting Café Hwig with a light heart? 

To find out more about zero-waste, visit our website and read our article!

Bae Kyeong-min 
mymnbb0@uos.ac.kr