South Koreans boycott Japanese beers

South Korea | Imports of Japanese beers have slumped to almost zero in August, after consumers have taken to shun Japanese products – a boycott which was sparked by a bitter dispute between Seoul and Tokyo.

Data by South Korea’s statisticians, which were released on 16 September 2019, show that Japanese brewers shipped only USD 223,000 worth of beer to South Korea in August, down 97 percent from USD 7.57 million last year.

Before the boycott, Japanese beer had long been South Koreans’ favourite alternative to their domestic beers, topping the import tables since 2010.

Today, beers from China, the Netherlands and Belgium have the biggest shares of imports.

Commentators say that Seoul and Tokyo have been embroiled in a trade dispute since July, when Japan tightened export controls on three chemicals, essential to South Korean tech companies.

The restrictions followed a series of court rulings in South Korea, which ordered Japanese firms to pay for forced labour during World War II. Japan’s imperialism in the first half of the 20th century included the colonisation of the Korean peninsula.

South Koreans have mounted a widespread boycott of Japanese goods, including beer, cosmetics and cars.