Century-Old Company HiteJinro Regains No.1 DNA

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] On the 20th, marking its 96th anniversary, HiteJinro is a representative long-established company in South Korea that has continuously overcome numerous crises and hardships since its founding in 1924 and has been consistently loved by customers.

HiteJinro, which enjoyed its heyday by holding the number one market share in the soju and beer sectors for a long time until the late 2000s with brands like Chamisul and Hite, faced a growth stagnation period over the past decade due to competition from rival beer companies. Overcoming difficult times, in March last year, HiteJinro launched Terra, a clean lager made from 100% malt grown in Australia’s pristine regions, with a do-or-die determination, quickly establishing itself in the market. As of the end of May, just 14 months after its launch, Terra sold 860 million bottles, which translates to 22.7 bottles per second (based on 330ml bottles). Terra showed the fastest sales speed among HiteJinro’s beer brands in the early stages and is changing the landscape of the domestic beer market.

The ‘Jinro’ brand, launched last year with a newtro concept that restored and reinterpreted designs from the 1970s and 1980s, attracted the 20s and 30s generation with its novelty and evoked nostalgia among older generations, gaining popularity. Jinro surpassed 100 million bottles sold within seven months of its launch and recorded 300 million bottles sold as of May, 13 months after launch. Having regained its number one DNA, HiteJinro will celebrate its 100th anniversary in four years, becoming the first in the domestic liquor industry to reach this milestone. HiteJinro has left many ‘first’ records in various fields within the Korean liquor industry.

◇ The First Liquor Company in Korea = HiteJinro’s history began with Jincheon Brewing Company, established on October 3, 1924, in Yonggang County, Pyeongannam-do. The year 1924 was a major turning point in Korea’s liquor history as it marked the founding of the country’s first modern liquor company. The product name Jinro (眞露) combines ‘眞’ from Jinji (眞池), the production site, and ‘露’ (ro), meaning dew, referring to the distillation method where the drops of alcohol form like dew during the pure grain soju distillation process.

After the Korean War, Jincheon Brewing Company relocated its operations to Seoul and has dominated the domestic soju market for 50 years since becoming the number one soju brand in the 1970s. In particular, Chamisul, Korea’s representative soju, has grown into a global brand, ranking first in worldwide distilled spirit sales for 18 consecutive years since 2001.

◇ The First Beer Company in Korea = HiteJinro traces its roots to Chosun Beer Co., Ltd., established on August 9, 1933, in Yeongdeungpo-eup, Siheung County, Gyeonggi-do. Chosun Beer had a capital of 6 million won and a factory size of about 100,000 pyeong, which was considered a very large facility at the time. Yeongdeungpo was regarded as the best area for water quality, and four months after Chosun Beer’s establishment, ‘Sohwa Kirin Beer,’ the predecessor of today’s OB Beer, was also established in Yeongdeungpo in December 1933.

Chosun Beer became the first in the beer industry with its non-pasteurized beer ‘Hite’ and changed its company name to ‘Hite Beer’ in 1998. The ‘Terra’ beer, launched in 2019, is a mega-hit product currently selling 22 bottles per second.

◇ The First UN Military Supplier in Korea = Although the Yeongdeungpo factory was partially destroyed during the Korean War in 1950, Chosun Beer transformed into a private company in 1952 and focused on rebuilding the factory. As a result, it was selected as the first supplier to the UN forces stationed in Korea in 1954, gaining recognition for its quality.

Building on its selection as a supplier to the UN forces in Korea, Chosun Beer won the Prime Minister’s Award at the first National Product Exhibition in 1962 and received the highest gold awards in three categories (bottled beer, export canned beer, and domestic canned beer) at the 1968 International Congress of Food Science and Technology (I.C.S.P).

◇ The First Advertising CM Song in Korea = Korea’s first CM song, ‘Cha Cha Cha,’ became a huge hit when introduced on radio and TV, becoming a popular tune even among children who had no connection to alcohol. The catchy lyrics and lively melody made it a favorite, and the advertisement was also produced for theaters, receiving great responses during a time when regulations on products and advertising time were lax.

◇ The First Beer Export from Korea = In March 1962, Chosun Beer became the first Korean company to export bottled beer overseas. Having gained recognition for its taste domestically, it naturally expanded into exports, laying a foundation for significant growth. At that time, Chosun Beer was responsible for supplying the UN forces in Korea, and considering the international political authority of the UN, this military supply is seen as linked to Korea’s first beer export.

Also, in 1968, Jinro first exported Jinro Soju to Vietnamese troops dispatched to Vietnam, receiving a positive response in the Southeast Asian market. In 1972, with the development of ginseng liquor and the establishment of an overseas sales department, HiteJinro began exporting various liquors, building the foundation for its current overseas market expansion.

◇ The First Research Institute in the Korean Liquor Industry = Jinro, which surpassed Samhak to become the number one soju brand in 1970, opened Korea’s first liquor research institute in December 1974 to further develop its accumulated brewing technology. This institute played a pivotal role in Korea’s liquor history by developing famous Korean liquors such as soju, wine, and fruit liquors. The products prepared here for the future have dominated not only the domestic but also the global distilled spirits market to this day. Representative products include ‘Chamisul’ and ‘Jinro.’

After the launch of the HiteJinro Group, this institute developed into the largest liquor research center in Korea, covering both beer and soju, playing a major role in HiteJinro’s growth into Korea’s largest liquor company.

HiteJinro is preparing for another 100 years. A HiteJinro official stated, “In line with the stature of a 100-year company, as a leading Korean liquor company, we will pioneer new paths based on our long-standing brewing technology and authenticity to prepare for another 100 years.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.