Foreign beers gain popularity here

By Kim Jae-won

Koreans have long been accustomed to two types of beers from two domestic breweries _ Oriental Brewery (OB) and Hite-Jinro _ that dominate the market. However, there is a sign of change as consumers turn their eyes to import beers seeking to taste something exotic and unique, customs and industrial data showed Wednesday.

According to data from the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the nation imported beers worth $25.2 million in the first five months this year, up 27.3 percent from a year ago. In 2011, 118.1 million bottles of foreign beers were sold reaching more than 100 million for the first time.