Per capita consumption of coffee in Korea per year

How about drinking a cup of coffee after lunch? Koreans usually enjoy a cup of coffee after meals. Therefore, we can see many Koreans who are waiting in line in front of coffee shops to buy a cup of ‘joe’. Interest and love for the hot beverage is growing stronger, so the demand for it has increased annually. There are almost no places left that we can’t see a coffee shop or coffee. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, coffee intake is much higher than the intake of kimchi and japgok-bap. Also, per capita consumption of coffee in Korea is about 2 cups per day and 338 cups per a year.

Why do people drink coffee and like it? The typical effect is keeping people awake. However, merely shaking off sleepiness is not its only effect. The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee in Switzerland announced drinking 3-5 cups of coffee a day can prevent Alzheimer’s dementia up to 20%. Also, it is verified a cup of coffee is full of constituents preventing aging and cellular oxidation. However, its adverse effect also exists. By drinking coffee, we can get an irregular sleeping pattern and cause stomach problems like heartburn from acids in it. Loss of vitamins like calcium and iron, as well as tooth staining also occurs.

The speciality Korean coffee shop market is already saturated and it was a ‘Red ocean’ for a few years. The more interest and love of it increased, the more coffee stores popped up without any decreasing both two ones. Since many coffee houses were already settled, new shops should find it difficult to compete well. However, it showed an objective aspect for few years. You may notice many coffee shops being built around you.

Finally, it seems lots of coffee shops are closing up regardless of serving branded coffee. One of the brand coffee shops that closed some of its chain stores is ‘CaffeBene’. The franchise began to fail and close some shops and opened very few branches in the past 4 years. In fact, consumers can buy or seek coffee everywhere like in a market, a convenience store, or fast food restaurant (ex, Lotteria) except coffee shop. Accordingly, the coffee market can be large but it seems rather narrow and small.

The reason for coffee staying popular in Korea is because of Koreans’ love for it. However, ‘too much is as bad as too little’. An immoderate coffeehouse market has a bad influence on the national economic slump and excessive consumption in coffee can ruin your health. Whatever it is, moderation is better than immoderation.

Choi Hyeon-kyeong  -

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