<Anchor> It
's friendly economy time.
Reporter Han Ji-yeon is also here today (the 7th).
It is widely known that Koreans like coffee quite a bit, and there is a result that shows how much they like it.
Let's clear things up a bit.
<Reporter>
Koreans like coffee to the extent that the word 'coffee republic' comes up.
When we look at the annual coffee consumption, we add 2 cups to what we drink every day, which is the second highest in the world with 367 cups, which is more than double the global average of 161 cups.
It was France that surpassed Korea, with 551 cups the most.
However, in terms of the number of coffee shops, Korea has the overwhelming majority.
If you look around, there is no coffee shop in every alley.
The number of coffee shops per 1 million people was 1,384, far surpassing that of Japan, which ranked second with 529.
The size of the coffee market last year was also $4.3 billion, exceeding 6 trillion won in Korean money.
In terms of world ranking, it has grown to the third place after the United States and China. However, considering that Korea has 55 million people, the United States has 350 million people, and China has 1.4 billion people, our consumption is huge. You can see it like this.
Experts expect Korea's coffee sales to reach 8.6 trillion won next year.
<Anchor>
Since I drink a lot of coffee, I think I can save quite a bit of money just by reducing the amount of coffee I drink.
<Reporter>
Yes, there are research results like that, and it turns out that quitting coffee can save you more than 1.2 million won a year.
More than 7 out of 10 Korean adults drink at least one cup of coffee a day, and it has been found that they spend an average of 104,000 won a month on coffee alone.
There was a reason for the increase in the number of coffee shops. As for the cost of purchasing coffee, specialty store coffee was the highest at 40.5%, and ordering food through a delivery app was 25.5%, so 66% of the money was used to drink specialty store coffee.
Because they spend so much money on coffee, many people bring capsule coffee machines into their homes.
It was found that 3 out of 4 people surveyed use a coffee machine.
But if you can see it, your hands will often go there.
When a coffee machine was brought in, 75% said they drank more coffee and drink more, but 44% said that it was certainly helpful in reducing the cost of eating out because they ate less expensive coffee outside.
<Anchor>
That's right.
Coffee is really expensive.
Yes.
I can't remember very well, but it's all up these days.
Have coffee prices gone up too?
<Reporter>
Yes.
At the beginning of this year, many coffee shops raised the price by 500 won, and now it is often over 4,000 to 5,000 won.
<Anchor>
That's right, I posted it earlier this year.
That is why convenience store coffee competitiveness is increasing.
<Reporter>
Yes, it's because you can drink it for 1,000 won, and you might think that the taste or quality is not good because it's cheap.
Convenience store coffee sales are showing a double-digit growth rate recently. One convenience store company sold 190 million cups of coffee last year, up 26% from the previous year.
This year, it increased by 20-30% compared to last year.
All four convenience stores sold 50,000 cups last year, and even if they sold the cheapest 1,200 won Americano, they earned more than 600 billion won from coffee beans.
The price is one-third of that of coffee shops, and the cost-effectiveness is high, but the quality and taste are not inferior.
Coffee itself is often made with beans from famous producers or specialty coffees that have scored 80 points or more out of 100.
In fact, I recently blindly tested the products of four convenience stores and specialty stores with baristas from the Korean Coffee Association, and convenience store coffee took the top spot.
On the other hand, the famous specialty coffee shop, as we all know it, ranked only 5th.