South Korean enthusiasm for wine has cooled, with imports down in the first half for a second straight year; the popularity of whisky among young generations has rapidly grown and with more people dining out post pandemic.
Local wine importers are increasing sales of premium products and diversified markets.
Wine imports fell 10.8% to 31,300 tons in the first half from a year earlier with values down 7.9% to $274 million, according to customs data on Wednesday.
The import volume of the alcohol made from fermented grapes fell by 13.2% in the January-June 2022 period from a half-year record of 40,400 tons logged in the same period of 2021.