South Korea's Coffee Market Reports Huge Boom in Both Specialty and Budget – CoffeeTalk

Diversification in consumer demand for coffee drinks has significantly expanded the coffee market in South Korea and enhanced its export capacity, as reported by the government on Tuesday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs highlighted that the consumption patterns have evolved from a dominance of instant coffee mixes to a more varied palate embracing roasted coffee beans and specialty beverages. This shift reflects a growing “market polarization,” where premium specialty coffees are increasingly contrasted with budget-friendly alternatives.

According to data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, sales in 2024 across the roasted coffee segment reached over 1.3 trillion won (approximately $917 million), marking an average annual growth rate of 15.8 percent since 2018. Following this category, ready-to-drink coffees and instant coffee products generated 1.1 trillion won and 404 billion won in sales, respectively. In contrast, sales of coffee mix products have been declining since 2018, indicating a pivotal transition away from traditional coffee mixes towards roasted varieties.

The influx of global coffee brands into the Korean market has further stimulated growth. Foreign companies are leveraging South Korea as a pivotal testing ground for entering broader East Asian markets, affirming its status as a “key test bed” for global coffee ventures. As of 2024, Korea imported over 200,000 tons of coffee beans worth about $1.4 billion, reflecting a 5.8 percent increase from the previous year. This reliance on imports has not hindered the growth of coffee exports, which reached $230 million, representing a 4.6 percent increase from the previous year. Notably, instant coffee products constituted 98 percent of the total export volume, while exports of roasted coffee beans surged by 46.8 percent year-on-year as of May 2025.

In 2023, Israel emerged as the leading importer of Korean coffee products, surpassing China, with 18.1 percent of the export market share, followed by China at 15.4 percent, along with Australia, the Philippines, and Chile. The director general of the Food Industry Policy Bureau, Jung Kyung-suk, commented on the dynamic nature of Korea’s coffee ecosystem that accommodates both premium and affordable markets as consumer preferences evolve.

Despite a decline in the number of coffee processing businesses—down 8 percent to 1,660 in 2023—the number of consumer-facing coffee shops has risen by 5.7 percent to 106,452. The proportion of coffee shops within the food service sector increased from 9.3 percent in 2018 to 13.4 percent in 2023, indicating that one in every seven food service establishments is now a coffee shop. Overall, the domestic coffee market was valued at 3.7 trillion won in 2024, marking a substantial growth of 35.6 percent since 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 5.2 percent.

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