Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Signs Agreement to Develop and Brand “Busan-style Coffee Beverage (RTD)”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that today (11th) at 11:00 a.m. in the 7th-floor International Protocol Room of City Hall, it will sign a “Business Agreement for the Development and Branding of Busan-style Coffee Beverage (RTD*)” with three World Coffee Champions, the Busan-Gyeongnam Dairy Cooperative, BGF Retail Co., Ltd., and GS Retail Co., Ltd.

*RTD (Ready To Drink): Beverages manufactured for immediate consumption (cans, bottles, packs, etc.)

The ceremony will be attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon; ▲ 2019 World Barista Champion Jeon Joo-yeon ▲ 2021 World Cup Tasters Champion Choo Kyung-ha ▲ 2022 World Cup Tasters Champion Moon Heon-gwan ▲ Kang Rae-soo, Head of the Busan-Gyeongnam Dairy Cooperative ▲ Min Seung-bae, CEO of BGF Retail Co., Ltd. ▲ Jung Chun-ho, Vice President of GS Retail Co., Ltd., who will sign the agreement.

This agreement has been arranged to strengthen the distinctiveness and competitiveness of the local coffee industry by developing and branding a Busan-style coffee beverage (RTD) through collaboration between the city of Busan—home to World Coffee Champions—and local enterprises.

▲ The City will provide policy and administrative support for product development. ▲ The three World Coffee Champions (Jeon Joo-yeon, Choo Kyung-ha, Moon Heon-gwan) will be responsible for recipe development, quality consulting, brand direction, and promotion. ▲ The Busan-Gyeongnam Dairy Cooperative will utilize its own infrastructure to manufacture, distribute, sell, and promote the beverage. ▲ BGF Retail Co., Ltd. and GS Retail Co., Ltd. will support product sales and market expansion through their nationwide distribution networks.

The developed beverage will be unveiled for the first time at the “Coffee Day in Busan” event in September through a tasting session. Feedback from the tasting will be reflected in the final product, and the beverage will be launched within the year after selecting its name with public participation. The product name will be determined in September through recommendations from citizens, industry experts, and World Coffee Champions, followed by a preference survey.

<Overview of “Coffee Day in Busan”>

• ●Date/Location: September 20 (Sat) – September 21 (Sun), 2025 / Domoheon (located in Suyeong-gu)

• ●Theme: “The Aroma of Korea’s First Coffee, Blooming Again in Busan”

• ●Participants: Approximately 300 people, including coffee industry professionals and citizens

• ●Main Programs: Citizen experience programs on the history and culture of coffee in Busan

• ●Host/Organizer: Busan Metropolitan City / Busan Technopark
  ※ “Coffee Day in Busan” is inspired by the historical record that coffee was first consumed in Korea on September 16, 1884, in Busan. The event commemorates the beginning of Korea’s coffee culture, reinterpreted in a modern way.

Through this agreement, the City expects to ▲ strengthen the competitiveness of the coffee industry based on public-private cooperation ▲ strategically commercialize the “Coffee City Busan” brand ▲ return part of the proceeds from product sales to society to establish a sustainable, virtuous local economic cycle.

Meanwhile, Busan is the first city in Korea where coffee was consumed, the first in the nation to enact coffee-related legislation, and the first in Asia to successfully attract and host the “World of Coffee” event, solidifying its status as a true “Coffee City.”

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “It is a great fortune to be able to brand coffee infused with Busan’s unique flavor and character, linking it to the city’s identity. This agreement ceremony goes beyond simple product development to jointly plan Busan’s coffee culture and innovative ideas with the private sector, spreading them into citizens’ daily lives. We will actively support the unification of local coffee talent and corporate capabilities to take new steps toward the future of ‘Coffee City Busan.’”