record korea Wednesday, December 25, 2024 10:00 On December 24, 2024, Korea Chosun Biz published an article titled “One year after the pee beer incident…Chinese beer imports halved, Japanese beer fills the vacancy.” Last October, a video was spread on Chinese social media showing a man urinating in what appeared to be a warehouse where beer ingredients were stored. It was later reported to be the third factory of Tsingtao Beer, one of China’s most famous beers. In response to this “urination incident,” the importing company and relevant authorities in South Korea stated that “the beer in question has not been imported into the country,” but consumer reaction was lukewarm, and now, about a year after the incident, imports of Chinese beer have been halved. Instead, it is Japanese beer that has seen an increase in sales. According to the Customs Agency’s Import/Export Logistics Statistics System, the volume of beer imported from Japan from the beginning of the year to October was 76,700 tonnes. Taking into account that alcohol consumption will be higher than average in the October-December period, imports for the entire year are expected to approach the all-time high of 2018 (86,700 tons). During the same period, beer imports from China amounted to just 21,100 tonnes. It’s not even half of what it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Even taking into account the volume at the end of the year, it is thought to be difficult to exceed 25,000 tons. Imports from China peaked in 2019 (58,200 tons). Chinese beer began to gain market share in the Korean market in the mid-2010s. This coincided with a period when the boom in Chinese cuisine and lamb skewers led to an increase in the number of specialty stores. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of lamb skewer specialty stores in the city increased from 313 in 2010 to 643 in 2017. Tsingtao Beer also became well known through its advertisement ‘Tsingtao is the best for lamb skewers’. Meanwhile, Japanese beer was so popular that it maintained the number one position in the imported beer market from 2010 to 2018, but import volumes fell sharply in July 2019 after the boycott of Japanese products began. In 2018, it rose to 86,700 tons, but fell to 6,500 tons in 2020. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided and the boycott movement calmed down, Japanese beer imports began to gradually increase. Since May 2022, Japanese beer has continued to grow in both import volume and import value. Korean internet users responded to this article with comments such as, “I can’t believe there are still people buying it even after that video has been circulating,” “It’s strange that there are still people who are willing to pay money to buy it,” “What are the stores that still sell Tsingtao beer thinking?”, “I don’t like Japanese politics, but Japanese beer is delicious,” and “This would be a laughing stock abroad.” Comments such as “He was shouting “No Japan” and drinking Qingdao, then the urination incident happened, and now he’s back in Japan again (lol)” and “No, no Japan” have been posted. (Translated and edited by Mae).
Recochai: “Damn it. Nida doesn’t import our beer, but imports Japanese beer. In my anger I’m going to take out my lion-sized chili pepper and fire it!!!”
The reason Korean beer tastes so bad is because they skimp on the amount of hops, which is so small that it ends up tasting like a beer-flavored shochu highball.
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