This study examines cafe culture as one of the keywords for understanding contemporary Korean society. Cafes have become an important space for many Koreans in their daily lives. As a first step in understanding its characteristics, this paper focuses on the period from the 1860s, when coffee was introduced, to the 1950s, when ‘Dabang’(Korean-style cafe) became established. The analysis revealed that from the perspective of users, it was found that coffee and dabangs during this period were a culture shared by certain groups of people. Also, it has been confirmed that instant coffee from the U.S. military PXs, and the Korean War had a significant impact on the popularization of coffee and dabangs.