Number of cafés in South Korea 2023, by franchise

Coffee shops are common in South Korea, and many of them belong to one franchise or another. The most common franchise, aside from Starbucks, was the domestic chain, Ediya Coffee, with over 3,000 coffee shops scattered across the country. Another domestic franchise, Mega Coffee, came in second, with around 2,156 cafés.

Franchise cafés in Korea

Franchise cafés were the most popular location for purchasing coffee for South Koreans. Starbucks made the most from its many cafés in 2022.. Starbucks’ sales revenue was far greater than that of any other coffee franchise in Korea. Ediya Coffee, despite having more cafés than others, was in third place in terms of sales revenue. Of the close to 25,000 franchise coffee shops in Korea, most were open 10 to 12 hours during the day, with a few thousands being open even longer. 

Coffee consumption in Korea

Over 3.17 million bags of coffee, each bag weighing 60 kilograms, were consumed in South Korea in 2022/2023. Coffee consumption has increased steadily over the past years, and coffee has been one of the most popular drinks for Koreans, being preferred by many. According to a survey, most South Koreans consumed at least one, if not up to three cups of coffee per day.