Koreans have a deep affection for coffee, which has become a common part of daily life. Regardless of the season, it is customary to enjoy coffee while working, chatting, and going about everyday activities. As coffee preferences have diversified and become more sophisticated, the roasted coffee market has experienced remarkable growth. With more consumers brewing coffee at home, this market has experienced an impressive annual growth rate of 17.4% since 2018. In addition, coffee accounts for 32.5% of beverages sold in convenience stores and supermarkets.
Nearly half the population consumes 2 to 3 cups of coffee daily, and about 90% of Koreans drink at least one cup daily. Large corporate cafés, backed by multi-billion-won investments, open almost daily and populate the outskirts of almost every urban area. It is not uncommon to see cafés that can accommodate hundreds of customers.
For instance, C, the chairman of a large conglomerate, receives weekly roast beans from P, a celebrity who grinds and brews himself. In Busan, renowned art collector Park is a fan of fermented coffee from LHK Fermentation Lab and enjoys visiting popular roasting cafés to compare different types of fermented coffees. With the growing trend of refined coffee preferences, boutique coffee shops that specialize in developing and supplying unique beans are also gaining popularity.

Lee Hyun-goo, head of the LHK Fermentation Lab, graduated from university and worked for Korea’s leading food company, Doosan Foods, where he developed various types of sugar, including oligosaccharides and modified starches. He dedicated 20 years of his career to fermentation and became one of Korea’s top experts in the field. After leaving the company, he focused on the development of fermented coffee. With the rapid growth of the coffee market in Korea and the global recognition of most coffee beans, he set out to use his expertise to change the coffee paradigm.

Lee ferments coffee beans by inoculating them with cultured bacteria before roasting, a process that adjusts the human and growth hormones in coffee and maximizes its nutritional value. This fermentation enhances the coffee’s aroma and acidity, increases beneficial compounds such as saponins and isoflavones, and reduces caffeine content. While regular green beans do not last long on the shelf, typically less than a month, Lee’s fermented coffee can be distributed for at least six months to several years.

Coffee has become a local drink in Korea. At Marrakech, a newly opened Moroccan café in Cheongdam-dong, coffee priced at tens of thousands of won per cup is selling well. Meanwhile, affordable brewed coffee for 1,200 won can be found in convenience stores nationwide. Once referred to as the “strange broth from the West” in the late Joseon Dynasty, coffee has become Korea’s most popular beverage in just a century. Today, Korea leads the world in coffee culture and is a major exporter of various coffee products.