Traditional liquor is going on 'K-Wind'...But the reality is David and Goliath.

Added fruit/herb scent...Changes to consumer tastes
Interested in Korean liquor culture abroad such as 'pork belly soju' ↑
Global Market 'Fierce Competition'...Need to make a large investment

[Anchor]
Recently, as the popularity of Korean food such as ramen and kimchi has increased overseas, interest in our traditional liquor is also growing.

Traditional liquor companies are also trying to change with a variety of scents and ingredients.

However, there are many obstacles to overcome in order to succeed in overseas markets.

Reporter Oh Dong-gun covered it.

[Reporter]
One or two glasses!

The alcohol that visitors taste and enjoy is our traditional liquor.

[Kim Yeon-soo / Osan City, Gyeonggi-do | I liked it a little bit because it was fresh and clean. It's delicious.]


Our traditional liquor, which maintained its unique taste, is changing to suit the tastes of modern consumers, including the addition of fruit flavor and herbs.

[Choi Seung-yoon / Seocho-dong, Seoul: I think scent is the most important thing. [What kind of scent or characteristics are there?]

In particular, as our various drinking cultures such as 'soju with pork belly' appeared in dramas and movies,
Overseas interest in
traditional liquor is also increasing.

[Olga / Russian tourist: I think the desire to preserve the tradition is so beautiful and it's a drink that everyone can enjoy]

In fact, exports of traditional stocks have peaked since the COVID-19 period, but

Exports fell 7% and 2.5% last year, slowing down.

According to UN data, Korean alcohol accounts for the top 30 alcohol markets in the world, which is currently weak.

But that means that there is also a high potential for growth in the future.

The problem is that the global liquor market is highly competitive and requires a lot of investment in all facilities necessary for export.

[Joo Bong-seok / CEO of Korean liquor bottle shop: The most urgent thing to do is to deliver raw and raw wine, so it takes time to move, so it can affect the quality.]

In the case of French wines, which hold 19% of the global liquor export market, compared to the center of large-scale wineries

Most of Korea's traditional liquor businesses are small businesses, with 90.7% of them having sales of less than KRW 1 billion.

In addition, the industry analyzes that it takes a long time for new alcohol to squeeze in the gap at a time when traditional alcoholic beverages of each country are already in place.

Moreover, it is difficult to establish export strategies as consumer demands are subdivided, such as looking for expensive premium alcoholic beverages or preferring alcoholic beverages.


, traditional Korean liquor that seeks to enter the global market by inheriting the popularity of ramen, kimchi, and Korean food.

However, the obstacles to become a new growth engine for K-food also seem clear.

This is YTN Oh Dong-gun.