Beer in Seoul
Beer history, breweries and beer culture in Seoul (South Korea).
Korea’s first brewery opened here in 1908. Today districts such as Itaewon and Gyeongnidan have many craft breweries and taprooms.
Breweries in Seoul
OB (Oriental Brewery)
Founded in 1933 as Showa Kirin. Its best-selling beer is Cass; today the brewery belongs to AB InBev.
Known for: Cass, OB Lager
Hite
Founded in 1933 as Chosun Breweries. In 1993 it launched Hite lager and renamed itself after it in 1998.
Known for: Hite, Terra
The Booth
Started in 2013 as a small bar in Gyeongnidan and became one of the country’s best-known craft breweries.
Beer history of Seoul
- 1908
Korea’s first brewery opens in Seoul.
- 1933
The forerunners of Hite and OB are founded. They dominate the market for decades.
- 2012
The Economist writes that North Korea brews better beer than the South. In the same year Magpie starts brewing in Seoul.