[Report] "How Far Have You Drunk Beer?" Visiting the Korea Beer Industry Expo

Entrance to the '4th Beer Industry Expo (KIBEX 2022)' held at COEX, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] “The definite advantage is that you can experience a variety of beers that are usually hard to come across all in one place. It’s a pity that I can’t try them all, so I’m mainly tasting the IPAs I usually like, but the more I drink, the more delicious options there are, so I’m really struggling with which ones to buy.”

The ‘4th Korea International Beer Expo (KIBEX)’ was held for three days from the 31st of last month at COEX Hall C in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Under the slogan ‘Drink Diversity,’ this year’s event attracted visitors’ interest and curiosity with each participant showcasing their unique products. KIBEX is the only beer-specialized expo in Korea where you can meet the entire industry value chain including breweries, importers, wholesalers, and franchises. This year, it was held on a scale of 120 companies and over 200 booths.

Various beers exhibited at the 4th Beer Industry Expo (KIBEX 2022) held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

One of the most visited spots at this expo was the largest American craft beer pavilion set up in the center of the venue. The U.S. booth, prepared by the Agricultural Trade Office of the U.S. Embassy in Korea in collaboration with the Brewers Association (BA), featured 8 importers and 23 breweries. It offered a wide range of distinctive products by each brewery, including lagers and IPAs popular among Koreans, Chardonnay white wine and bourbon whiskey barrel-aged products, as well as pickle and blueberry-flavored beers, drawing continuous lines of visitors eager to taste.

Jeon Hyerim, the officer in charge at the Agricultural Trade Office of the U.S. Embassy, explained, “The U.S. craft beer market is so large and diverse that we participated hoping more people in Korea would experience a wider variety of American beers. We handle everything from promoting imported products to supporting the import of non-imported products.”

A view of the venue for the "4th Beer Industry Expo (KIBEX 2022)" held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

As the event emphasized diversity as its slogan, it was also enjoyable to discover products reflecting the unique characteristics of breweries from various regions. ‘Andong Beer’ from Andong, Gyeongbuk Province, started from the idea of how to uniquely incorporate local agricultural products into beer. A representative from Andong Beer explained, “Our wheat beer ‘Odd Eye’ uses Andong’s specialty ginger to emphasize its distinctive spicy flavor.”

Products focusing on the localization of beer raw materials such as barley also stood out. The ‘Gunsan Malt’ booth from Gunsan, Jeonbuk Province, participated with 8 products from 4 local companies. Gunsan City is working with local farmers on everything from developing beer barley varieties, establishing cultivation areas, to malt processing. Lee Sunwoo, an official from Gunsan City’s Food Policy Division, said, “We use high-quality barley from Gunsan, Buan, Gimje, and Gochang, and we plan to introduce even more beers using local agricultural products in the future.”

Alcoholic beverages other than beer also attracted attention. Especially at the ‘Bujajin’ booth, which claims to be Korea’s first premium craft gin, young male visitors showed high interest, reflecting the recent popularity of distilled spirits. Bujajin was named after a father who runs an organic herb farm in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, and his son who developed the gin recipe after learning distillation techniques in the UK and Singapore. A visitor in his 20s, Mr. A, commented, “I haven’t really tried gin before, so it’s hard to compare with other products, but the aroma and taste were much richer than I expected, so I think I’ll be more interested in it going forward.”

KIBEX is co-hosted by BeerPost, a beer content specialist company, and GMEG, a professional exhibition and convention company in the beer and liquor field, with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Craft Beer Association.