"One Drink After Work"... Increasing Number of Women Enjoying Home Drinking

Steady Rise in Female Drinking Rates
Trend Likely to Continue Due to COVID-19 Impact
Parenting Stress Major Factor Amid Social Changes
New Term 'Mamijus' Emerges

The number of housewives who drink at home after finishing childcare due to childcare stress is increasing. (Photo by Reader)

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] As we pass through the COVID-19 tunnel, alcohol consumption trends are also changing. The rise of ‘home drinking’ due to staying at home has become the norm, and overall, while alcohol consumption among men is decreasing, consumption among women is on the rise.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s ‘2020 National Health and Nutrition Survey Results’ released on the 28th, the monthly drinking rate among adults aged 19 and older was 60.8% in 2019 (estimated), an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. By gender, the rate for men was 73.4%, up 2.9 percentage points from 70.5% the previous year, while for women it was 48.4%, down 2.8 percentage points from 51.2% the previous year. However, looking at the overall trend, men’s drinking rate has not changed significantly, whereas women’s has increased substantially.

Ten years ago, in 2009, the male drinking rate was 75.8%, peaking at 77.8% the following year before gradually declining. In contrast, during the same period, the female drinking rate was 43.3%, gradually rising to a peak of 51.2% in 2018. According to statistics from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the high-risk drinking rate among women was 6.5%, and the monthly binge drinking rate was 24.7%. These figures represent increases of 3.1 percentage points and 7.5 percentage points respectively compared to 2005. The high-risk drinking rate refers to the proportion of people who drink alcohol at least twice a week and consume five or more drinks per occasion. The monthly binge drinking rate refers to the proportion of people who have consumed five or more drinks in a single drinking session at least once a month over the past year.

The related industry estimates that this trend has continued even after COVID-19 began spreading widely in 2020. The increase in women’s drinking rate is mainly attributed to social environmental changes such as increased social activities and employment rates among women. Another factor is the rise of so-called ‘kitchen drinkers,’ referring to housewives who enjoy drinking. With limited outdoor activities and increased time spent at home, combined with restrictions on children’s daycare and school attendance, many women are relieving parenting stress with alcohol after ‘yuktoe’ (parenting + leaving work). In the U.S., a new term ‘Mommy juice’ has even emerged to describe this phenomenon.

Professor Lim Myung-ho of Dankook University’s Department of Psychology explained, “Due to the external factor of COVID-19, many women are experiencing parenting stress and depression, which coincides with the increasing trend in drinking rates. While alcohol consumption has harmful aspects, it also has a relaxing effect, so people instinctively turn to it, and this increasing trend is expected to continue.”

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