South Korean cafe ranks continues to grow

The number of South Korean cafes continues to grow at a brisk pace, according to a government recent study.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission reported there were 15,036 coffee shops in South Korea as of 2018, an increase of 7.9 percent (1105 shops) over the previous year. The rate of increase was the highest among all types of restaurants.

The data may be a year out of date, but anecdotal feedback from the industry suggests the trend endured into last year

As of 2018, average annual sales for South Korean cafes amounted to 231 million won (US$190,000), which was 6.5 percent more than in 2017.