[Exclusive] K-Alcohol Is Booming, but Yakju Exports Are 'Sluggish'... Just 1/58 of Other Alcoholic Beverages

Yakju exports fall for third straight year... widening gap with other alcoholic beverages
Pasteurized yakju and takju also required to display best-before dates

Amid the growing global popularity of K-culture, opportunities for Korean traditional alcoholic beverages to expand overseas are increasing. However, last year, exports of yakju amounted to just one fifty-eighth of exports of other alcoholic beverages. Calls are growing for the current regulations, which require even pasteurized yakju and takju to display a best-before date, to be made more reasonable.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Kwon Chilseung of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, yakju exports totaled $593,000 in 2025, while exports of other alcoholic beverages reached $34.155 million. Of total alcoholic beverage exports of $356.724 million that year, yakju accounted for 0.1%, other alcoholic beverages for 9.5%, and takju for 4.1%.

Kwon Chilseung, policy committee chair of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap News

Yakju exports fell for three consecutive years, from $821,000 in 2023 to $709,000 in 2024 and $593,000 last year. Exports of other alcoholic beverages totaled $30.207 million, $27.864 million, and $34.155 million over the same period.

Under current regulations issued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, takju and yakju must display a best-before date regardless of whether they have been pasteurized. Industry representatives say applying the same standard to pasteurized products, which have improved shelf stability, could constrain their production and distribution.

In 2010, when labeling requirements for alcoholic beverages fell under the Liquor Tax Act, pasteurized takju and yakju were exempted from the requirement to display a best-before date. However, the exemption was not carried over when the labeling requirements were transferred to the framework of the Food Sanitation Act in 2013. As a result, pasteurized yakju and takju remain subject to the best-before date labeling requirement.

On the Lamp, a Korean traditional alcoholic beverage made with traditional ingredients such as rice, nuruk, and water and featuring BTS member Jin, was classified as another alcoholic beverage rather than yakju because vitamin C was added. This is one example of how the current system can classify a beverage differently depending on additives, even when it is made using traditional methods.

“The global popularity of K-culture has opened up a great opportunity to introduce our traditional alcoholic beverages to the world, but we are the ones holding back their chances of expanding their reach globally,” Kwon said. He added, “The fact that the previous exemption for pasteurized yakju and takju was not properly carried over during the transfer of regulatory authority between ministries reflects a gap in regulatory management.” He stressed, “We should review unreasonable regulations and rationally improve labeling standards by taking shelf stability and pasteurization into account so that our traditional alcoholic beverages can be competitive in the global market.”

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