Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy visits raccoon café in South Korea

They call them trash pandas in North America.

But in South Korea, raccoons are the celebrated. At least at one Seoul eatery.

And for one American ski racer, cuddling the masked critters at the Blind Alley was even more exciting than competing in the Olympics.

“They really do love trash! 😂” Gus Kenworthy posted on social media. “This raccoon cafe was honestly the highlight of my trip to Korea so far (no offense Olympics)!🗑🐼”

Happened.

Kenworthy truly does love all animals.

You might remember Kenworthy as the athlete who saved puppies during the Sochi Olympics. The freeskier was among a group of foreigners who worked to save strays from slaughter in 2014. Now, he tells US Weekly he plans to do the same again in PyeongChang where he competed in the slopestyle event.

“I’m visiting a dog farm with the Humane Society International on the 23rd,” the skier told the magazine. “It’s pretty likely I’ll bring one back with me.”

But back to the pit-stop at a most unusual cafe.

One is blonde, er albino, er, just plain odd.

“They really do love trash!” Gus Kenworthy wrote on Twitter of his visit to the Blind Alley in Seoul.

Kenworthy, by the way, won silver in Sochi.

So he’s no slouch. Hardly trash.

But on this day, just hanging around taking selfies.

Not your usual coffee date. Gus Kenworthy/Twitter

As you do.

The Blind Alley features raccoons. Yes, raccoons. Gus Kenworthy/Twitter

So forget cat cafés, kitty pubs or owl coffee houses.

Raccoons are so hot right now.

But be warned if you visit. Not all the reviews have been top of podium

Some on TripAdviser patrons complain about the animals being stressed out or boring to watch as they spend their time sleeping.

Photos Gus Kenworthy/Twitter

About the author

Recovering newspaper reporter.

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