Seoul: Imports of Japanese beer into South Korea surpassed 100,000 tons for the first time last year, driven by growing demand at convenience stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets, data showed Sunday. South Korea imported 100,322 tons of Japanese beer in 2025, marking a 22 percent increase from the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the annual imported food inspection report released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety highlighted this significant growth in Japanese beer imports. The report indicates that imports had previously peaked at over 86,000 tons in 2018 but saw a sharp decline to just over 50,000 tons in 2019. This drop was attributed to a nationwide boycott of Japanese products amid tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.

The period between 2020 and 2021 saw annual imports remain below 10,000 tons. However, a resurgence began in 2022, with imports surpassing 70,000 tons in 2023 and 82,000 tons in 2024. By 2025, Japanese beer not only reached a record high in import volume but also became South Korea's largest source of imported beer by region, overtaking imports from the European Union (EU) with a market share of 41.7 percent.

In contrast, beer imports from the EU, which had neared 200,000 tons in 2019, have been declining steadily. The imports from the EU fell to 84,254 tons in 2024 and further decreased to 63,161 tons in 2025. This shift highlights the changing dynamics in South Korea's beer import market.