COVID-19 Second Year... Eating, Drinking, and Desserts All Alone

Daesang Cheongjeongwon Anjuya Honshul Fan and model Lee Gyu-hyung. Photo by Daesang Cheongjeongwon

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] #A, a young professional living alone in Seoul, habitually opened a delivery application (app) as soon as lunchtime started during remote work. For nearly a year, A has been relying on delivery food for all three meals a day. The evening hours spent having a beer with friends disappeared after social distancing measures were strengthened. When craving a drink after work, ordering alcohol and snacks through a convenience store app and turning on the TV has become a daily routine.

◆Single-serving Bingsu and Pizza Popularity= On the 10th, as the so-called ‘honjok’?people who eat meals, drink, and have desserts alone?increased, one-person menus from dining and food companies have gained popularity. Ediya Coffee’s ‘single-serving bingsu,’ launched in May, sold over 350,000 units each in June and July this year, totaling more than 700,000 units. This accounts for 67% of Ediya Coffee’s total bingsu sales. Coffee Bay also saw a roughly 40% increase in single-serving cup bingsu sales in July compared to the previous month. GoPizza, a single-serving pizza specialty brand, nearly doubled its sales last year to 10.7 billion KRW from 5.6 billion KRW the previous year, and Domino’s Pizza opened a ‘single-serving pizza’ category on its ordering app last month, surpassing 50,000 orders within a month.

Food companies have also started developing products targeting the ‘honjok’ market. Daesang’s ‘Anjuya Honsul Fan’ set, which was available for pre-order last month, sold out its initial 1,200 units within a day of release.

◆Living Alone Becomes the Norm= According to the 2020 Seoul Food Survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 69.2% of respondents said they eat alone at least once a week. Reasons for eating alone included ‘no one to eat with’ (72.3%), ‘lack of time’ (37.7%), and ‘dislike of eating with others’ (11.6%). Notably, among those aged 30 and under, a higher proportion (32.4%) chose to eat alone because they wanted to eat the food they like.

The culture of drinking alone at home, known as ‘honsul,’ is also rapidly becoming established. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation’s ‘Alcohol Market Trend Report,’ only 46.4% of 300 adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide chose ‘at home’ as their drinking location in 2019, but this figure surged to 87.3% last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of drinking shifted as well: in 2019, ‘socializing’ (37.1%) was the top reason, but last year, ‘drinking alone’ (45.2%) increased significantly, surpassing socializing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.