South Korea: Japanese beer sales soar in South Korea

According to data from South Korea's Export and Import Logistics Statistical System published on the 24th of December, the import volume of Japanese beer this year until October reached 76,700 tonnes. Considering that alcohol consumption typically increases in the fourth quarter, the import volume of Japanese beer this year is expected to surpass the 80,000 tonnes of 2017 and approach the record high of 86,700 tonnes in 2018, Chosunbiz reported.

During the same period, 21,100 tonnes of Chinese beer entered South Korea. This figure is less than half compared to before the pandemic. Chinese beer peaked in 2019, with an import volume more than double the current figure at 58,200 tonnes. In contrast, even considering end-of-year amounts this year, it seems difficult to exceed 25,000 tonnes.

Just ten years ago, Japanese beer was so strong in South Korea’s market that for every bottle of Chinese beer sold, three bottles of Japanese beer were sold.

However, starting in the mid-2010s, Chinese beer gradually began to increase its market share in South Korea. By 2017, for every three bottles of Japanese beer sold, two bottles of Chinese beer were also sold.

This coincides with the period when specialty lamb skewers began to increase in South Korea. According to the city of Seoul, the number of lamb skewer specialty restaurants in Seoul increased from 313 in 2010 to 643 in 2017, more than doubling. Tsingtao beer also became well-known around this time with the advertisement 'Tsingtao goes well with lamb skewers.'

A more dramatic change came in 2019. Japanese beer had been the undisputed number one in the imported beer market from 2010 to 2018. However, starting in July 2019, a boycott of Japanese products called 'No Japan' led to a sharp decline in imports. The import volume of Japanese beer, which had reached 86,700 tons in 2018, plummeted to 6,500 tons by 2020 due to the pandemic.

The ranking of Japanese beer in the import beer market also dropped to 17th at one point in November 2019. Beers from Austria, Lithuania, Mexico, and Hong Kong surpassed Japan in the domestic market.

Japanese beer imports began to slowly increase after the momentum of the boycott diminished post-pandemic. Both the import volume and value of Japanese beer have been on a continuous rise since May 2022.

In particular, Asahi Super Dry Draft Beer in cans, launched by Japan's top beer company Asahi in May last year, fueled a market that was slowly heating up. This canned beer product, consumed as if it were draft beer by opening the entire lid, even led to a rare shortage in the beer industry.

Lotte Asahi Beverage, which introduced the product to the domestic market, followed up by launching Asahi Shokusa, which emphasized scents using a different hop, targeting the market.

Shogo Ikeda, a marketing official at Japanese alcohol distributor Fujii Trading, noted to Chosun Biz that 'beer consumption in Japan has been decreasing year by year, prompting major beer manufacturers to focus on finding overseas markets capable of handling the reduced domestic volume.'

He added, 'Korea not only has consumers with higher economic power and taste levels compared to other Asian countries, but is also geographically close, reducing logistics expenses and the costs associated with spoilage.'

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