Look, I'll hold my hands up—as a writer often on the move, I've holed myself up in coffee shops with my laptop to write articles before, eking out my drink for far longer than necessary to make the most of a wall socket. I've never been brave enough to bring in a more substantial piece of gear, though, but it appears the phenomenon is particularly widespread in South Korea, as local Starbucks stores have been placing notices discouraging customers from bringing in desktop PCs, bulky items—and even printers.
The Korea Herald reports that Starbucks premises across the country have been placing polite notices on the tables discouraging "cagongjok", a term for those who work or study for hours in coffee shops, from bringing in substantial pieces of equipment (via The Register). According to the Herald, Starbucks Korea says some customers have been setting up large monitors, printers, and cubicle-style dividers to create working spaces in the establishments, which is taking things a little too far towards the anti-social, if you ask me.
South Korea has the fourth largest number of Starbucks stores of any country in the world, with over 2,000 establishments currently churning out overpriced and vaguely disappointing coffee (my personal opinion, don't @ me) across the nation. The country has seen an explosion in café culture in recent years, to the point where industry experts have warned of an oversaturation of the market, given the estimated 100,000+ stores currently in operation.
As a result, it appears South Korean coffee-hounds have become somewhat over-comfortable with the idea of getting some work done in their local 'bucks. Some have reportedly taken to placing printers on nearby chairs (do we still print in South Korea? I had no idea), negating the opportunity to have the local coffee shop bore sit next to you and tell you about their Warhammer collection. Just things that have happened to me? Perhaps.
The phenomenon isn't just Korea-based, either. Check out this absolute madlad with what appears to be a full gaming setup, making the most of their latte (watch the beard, the foamed milk gets everywhere) and the opportunity for some free Wi-Fi.
Comment from r/digitalnomad
Not only do they appear to have transported the full rig in an over-sized duffle bag, but they've also perched a substantial gaming router on top of the PC case for the very best internet connection. Gotta keep those pings down while you're gaming on the go, folks. Very important.
All joking aside, it's no surprise that coffee shops are pushing back against the idea of cluttering up their establishments with large pieces of equipment. Me personally, I reward my coffee shop workspace arrangements with the purchase of an expensive cake as a thank you. Also, it stops me from receiving evil looks from the staff on a regular basis. We've all got to get along, haven't we?