K-Soju Takes Flight... Surpasses $100 Million in Exports After 10 Years

Last Year's Export Amount $101.41 Million
Japan $30.83 Million Ranked 1st...USA 2nd

Last year, soju export revenue surpassed 100 million dollars for the first time in 10 years since 2013.

According to trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service on the 10th, last year’s soju export revenue was 101.41 million dollars, an 8.7% increase compared to the previous year. It is the first time in 10 years since 2013 (107.51 million dollars) that soju export revenue exceeded 100 million dollars.

Riding the Korean Wave, soju exports have significantly increased, and a variety of soju bottles are displayed at the Hanaro Mart Yangjae branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

From 2020 to 2022, domestic sales of soju decreased by an average of 0.6% annually, but export revenue increased by 3.0%. Soju export revenue steadily declined from 97.57 million dollars in 2018 to 89.74 million dollars in 2019, 85.59 million dollars in 2020, and 82.42 million dollars in 2021. Then, it turned to an upward trend with 93.33 million dollars in 2022, and last year it increased further, surpassing 100 million dollars.

Looking at last year’s soju export revenue by country, Japan ranked first with 30.83 million dollars. Next were the United States (23.55 million dollars), China (10.46 million dollars), Vietnam (7.93 million dollars), the Philippines (4.47 million dollars), Malaysia (2.23 million dollars), Taiwan (2.23 million dollars), Australia (1.98 million dollars), Thailand (1.92 million dollars), and Hong Kong (1.84 million dollars). In particular, exports to Vietnam and the Philippines increased by 17.5% and 120.4%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Among the top 10 soju export countries, eight are Asian countries.

Recently, fueled by the Korean Wave through K-dramas and K-movies, exports of not only Chamisul and Jinro but also fruit soju have increased. Fruit soju has recorded significant annual sales growth since it began full-scale exports in 2017. However, fruit soju, which contains fruit flavors or spices added to distilled alcohol, is classified as a 'liqueur' rather than soju. An industry insider said, "Korean soju used to be consumed mainly by Korean expatriates overseas, but thanks to the Korean Wave, local customers have been increasing recently."

Meanwhile, the trade deficit in alcoholic beverages has deepened in recent years due to the continued popularity of wine, whiskey, and others. Last year, the trade balance for alcoholic beverages including beer, soju, wine, and whiskey recorded a deficit of 705.36 million dollars, a 10.3% decrease compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the soju trade balance showed a surplus of 99.71 million dollars, an 8.2% increase from the previous year. Last year, soju imports amounted to 1.7 million dollars, a 40.4% increase compared to the previous year. Among these, imports of Japanese soju accounted for 1.56 million dollars, representing 91.9% of the total.

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