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South Korean coffee shops rank third in sales in the world, just behind China and far behind the United States.

Published: 2026-04-04 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/04, Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information Please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style) in South Korea, from a cup of coffee for breakfast to a cup of coffee after lunch, there are so many people that Korea has become the third largest coffee shop republic in the world in more than a decade. On the 17th, information consulting from Euromonitor, a special research agency, was available.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

In South Korea, a large number of people start with a cup of coffee for breakfast to drink a cup of coffee after lunch, which has made South Korea the third largest coffee shop republic in the world in more than a decade.

According to an analysis of the global coffee market (2007-2018 outlook) by Euromonitor, a special research firm, the United States has the highest annual sales of coffee (chain coffee shops, etc.), with annual sales of $26.1 billion (2018 provisional), ranking first with an overwhelming advantage.

In second place is China, which is changing from a "tea-drinking country" to a "coffee-drinking country". Sales grew from $300m in 2007 to $5.1 billion in 2018.

In third place is South Korea, which is growing rapidly into a big coffee consumer. Sales of coffee shops in South Korea rose rapidly from $600m in 2007 to $4.3 billion (estimated at 4.87 trillion won) in 2018. During this period, the ranking of countries also rose from 7th to 3rd. If you take into account South Korea's population (51.81 million), South Korea's per capita coffee consumption is higher than that of the United States, which ranks first (329.09 million).

The reason for the surge in sales in Korean coffee shops is that with the long-term consumption of popular coffee, coffee has gradually become a "habit" of the public. And because "caf é students (people who study in coffee shops)" and other people go to coffee shops for study or parties, it is also one of the reasons to equate "coffee consumption" with "space consumption".

In addition to the sales of coffee shops, the sales of capsule coffee and instant coffee are also part of the coffee market. In this area, the United States still ranks first with sales of $14 billion (2018). According to the survey, South Korea's sales in this field are 1.9 billion US dollars (10th, about 2.1536 trillion won).

Coffee was once considered to be the main cause of waste of foreign exchange. But since the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, coffee has become South Korea's main export. Just as South Korea, which does not produce crude oil, develops petroleum products into a major export product. According to statistics from the Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Corporation (aT), the export value of coffee products (instant coffee, coffee spices, etc.) was about 270 million US dollars last year. "this is due to the increase in exports to overseas markets such as China and Indonesia," said Huang Daoyuan, minister of food export at aT.

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