South Korea: Koreans tend to drink more frequently but daily drinking volume declines during pandemic

During the pandemic the culture of drinking solo at home prevailed in South Korea, with adults tending to drink more frequently every month, though the average daily drinking volume has declined, The Drinks Business reported on March 18.

According to the “2020 Alcohol Industry Information Survey” report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of South Korea, consumers were drinking on average nine days a month last year.

The monthly average drinking frequency has been decreasing year by year since 2016 (8.9 days), with 8.8 days each in 2017 and 2018, and 8.5 days in 2019, but a renounce was seen last year.

The survey was conducted from 2-15 September last year on 2,000 men and women aged 19 to 59 in South Korea who consumed alcohol more than once a month within the previous 6 months.

Unlike the monthly frequency, the average daily alcohol consumption has decreased (6.7 glasses), compared with 2019 (6.9 glasses).

In terms of the drinking occasion, most respondents were “drinking solo” (74.9%) and “drinking at home” (72.0%). The answers were followed by: “various types of beer” (54.9%), “buying alcohol from convenience store” (49.9%), “enjoying drinking” (49.6%), “low drinking alcohol” (34.7%), etc.

In terms of the proportion of alcohol consumption, beer accounts for the largest proportion, reaching 41.4%. This is followed by shochu (32.7%), traditional wine (15.1%), imported wine (4.5%), etc.

Compared with 2019, beer and imported wine increased by 4.5% and 0.3% respectively. On the contrary, shochu and traditional liquor decreased by 0.2% and 5.0% respectively.

Regarding the “favorite alcohol”, beer continues to reign supreme, reaching 46.3%, followed by shochu (29.3%), traditional alcohol (10.4%), and imported wine (5.3%).

According to the report, in terms of alcohol consumption pattern under the COVID, women aged 25 to 34 prefer drinking at a friend’s home or other places and consume high-priced items, whereas Men between 35 and 44 years old mainly consume alcohol at home alone.