Why Korea’s craft beer boom lost momentum

A customer takes a can of Gompyo Wheat Beer from a refrigerator at a CU convenience store. Courtesy of BGF Retail

By Hankookilbo

• Published May 9, 2026 12:05 AM KST
• Updated May 9, 2026 1:34 PM KST

Highballs, whiskey and Gompyo’s exit hit Korea craft beer

Gompyo Wheat Beer helped make craft beer mainstream at Korean convenience stores. Six years later, the beer that symbolized the category’s breakout success is being discontinued.

Daehan Flour Mills, the flour maker that owns the Gompyo trademark, is leaving the beer business. The move aims to resolve a three-year dispute with former partner Sevenbrau over alleged technology leaks.

Industry officials say the decline reflects a broader market downturn. Craft beer grew rapidly through novelty branding and convenience store distribution, but lost momentum as consumer tastes shifted.

The viral wheat beer, a nationwide hit that sold 60 million cans over three years, will disappear once existing inventory runs out. While Daehan Flour Mills cites the Sevenbrau dispute as the official reason, industry insiders point to a more complex reality. Craft beer sales have weakened, and the Gompyo brand has lost its former strength.

The trademark holder had little incentive to maintain the business amid an ongoing legal battle. The retreat, however, is not limited to a single brand.

Craft beers that dominated convenience store shelves a few years ago are rapidly disappearing. The trend leaves one of Korea’s most dynamic consumer markets wondering where the momentum went.

Short golden age gives way to bankruptcy pressure

In the 2010s, craft beer in Korea was considered a premium market for enthusiasts. Gompyo Wheat Beer’s launch in 2020 changed that, making craft beer easily accessible at convenience stores.

Brewers rushed out collaboration beers with non-beverage brands, including shoe polish and toothpaste makers. Cans with unusual designs spread on social media, turning novelty into a major sales tool.

The market peaked in 2021 when Gompyo Wheat Beer became the top-selling beer at convenience stores. However, the boom was short-lived, as drinking trends shifted toward highballs and whiskey in 2022.

The market is now reorganizing around traditional brewers focused on quality rather than visual appeal. Meanwhile, companies that relied on convenience stores face mounting pressure.

Sevenbrau, which parted ways with Daehan Flour Mills, faces similar pressure. The company posted losses until 2019, but recorded 11.8 billion won ($8.7 million) in operating profit in 2021.

Its performance plummeted after the trademark contract ended in 2023. Daehan Flour Mills then partnered with Jeju Beer to release Gompyo Wheat Beer Season 2, dealing Sevenbrau a major blow. Sevenbrau kept the original recipe but replaced its bear character with a tiger, releasing Daepyo Wheat Beer. However, demand did not return to earlier levels.

“The beer sold well because of the symbolism of ‘Gompyo,’” an industry official said. “Once the Gompyo name was removed, even the same beer lost its appeal.”

“Moreover, since Daehan Flour Mills released Season 2 with a similar taste, many people did not know that ‘Daepyo Wheat Beer’ was actually the original,” the official added.

Hanul & Jeju, Daehan Flour Mills’ new partner, is also accumulating losses. It was the first craft beer company listed on Korea's tech-heavy Kosdaq market in 2021. Sales reached 28.4 billion won that year but have declined annually, falling to 13.8 billion won in 2025. Its largest shareholder has also changed repeatedly over the years.

Hanul Semiconductor took over after participating in equity financing in 2025. Separately, Y Brewery, operator of the Bronx franchise, filed for bankruptcy protection in January due to poor performance.

Convenience store model becomes trap

Many in the liquor industry say the craft beer slump was predictable. Major beer companies utilized nationwide distribution networks, while smaller craft breweries relied heavily on convenience stores.

This reliance was logical. Entering large discount stores or restaurants requires consistent mass-production capabilities. Smaller craft brewers lacked the ability to produce at that scale, leaving convenience stores as their most realistic path forward.

However, the channel that provided mass visibility also eroded the category’s identity. As highballs and whiskey gained popularity, craft beers lost shelf space to these fast-growing alternatives.

Once craft beers disappeared from convenience store shelves, their direct contact with consumers plummeted. Industry officials said the convenience store push weakened craft beer’s core appeal.

Major brewers focus on light lagers, but craft beer’s true strength lies in diverse flavors. As brewers chased attention, they prioritizing quirky packaging and novelty names over taste as they flooded the market. This overheated competition and significantly increased consumer fatigue.

Price and shelf-life demands added further pressure. Brewers cut costs to maintain low retail prices and extended shelf life to remain viable. Both choices damaged craft beer's fundamental quality.

“To meet convenience store sales prices, companies cut costs by raising the proportion of adjunct ingredients,” an industry official said. “As they went through pasteurization to extend shelf life, the taste and quality that are the strengths of craft beer declined."

Discounting deepened the problem. Craft beer became a regular part of convenience store promotions, offering specials of four cans for 10,000 won, cementing its image as a short-lived hit.

At the same time, Japanese beer has slowly recovered from the 2019 "No Japan" consumer boycott sparked by a Seoul-Tokyo trade and history dispute. This sales rebound further squeezed craft beer’s market position.

Expansion leaves brewers with high fixed costs

Overinvestment exacerbated the crisis. Many craft beer companies expanded, expecting the boom to continue. When demand weakened, they were left burdened with high fixed costs.

Amazing Brewing Company built a brewery in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, in 2019 for mass production. In 2021, it raised 8 billion won in Series B funding for a second Icheon brewery.

Similarly, Sevenbrau spent 30 billion won in 2022 to build a factory in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

Both companies expanded their production capacity just as consumer demand weakened. The mistimed expansion left them burdened with high fixed costs as the market contracted.

Broader alcohol slowdown darkens outlook

The 2026 outlook remains bleak, with the slowdown extending beyond craft beer. Korea’s overall liquor market, including soju and makgeolli, has plummeted.

According to the National Tax Service, domestic liquor shipments totaled 3,151,371 kiloliters in 2024, dropping 2.64 percent year-on-year. This marks the lowest level since relevant statistics began in 2006. Shipments have fallen for three consecutive years since peaking at 3,268,623 kiloliters in 2022. Analysts expect 2025 and 2026 figures to reflect this continuing downward trend.

A fading social drinking culture at workplace and a broader shift toward moderate consumption are suppressing sales. Craft brewers now face both a category-specific backlash and a nationwide decline in alcohol consumption.

The question is whether mass-market craft beer will remain a short-lived fad or rebuild after a painful correction. Survival depends on moving beyond the convenience stores that made them famous.

“It will be difficult with the existing sales method centered on convenience stores,” a liquor industry official said, noting the saturated shelves.

“Only by reviving the essential values of craft beer — distinctive taste and diversity — finding new sales channels and securing loyal customers will there be a chance of success,” the official added.

For Korea’s craft brewers, the next stage depends less on producing the next viral can and more on rebuilding the quality, variety and loyal customer base that initially defined them.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.