During the COVID Era, 'Home Drinking' Remains Popular... Women's Alcohol Consumption Also Increased (Comprehensive)

Home Drinking Remains Popular... Impact of Business Restrictions and Remote Work
Number of Drinking Occasions Decreases While Drinking Volume Increases
Female Drinking Rate Continues to Rise
This Trend Likely to Continue Due to COVID-19 Impact

[Asia Economy Reporters Song Seung-yoon, Koo Eun-mo] 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 mainstream, and overall, while alcohol consumption among men is decreasing, consumption among women is on the rise. This trend is expected to continue for some time due to the increase in remote work and restrictions on outdoor activities for parents after COVID-19.

◇ "A drink after finishing childcare"… Increase in women drinking = According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s ‘2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Results’ released on the 28th, the monthly drinking rate among adults aged 19 and older in 2019 (estimated) was 60.8%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. By gender, the male drinking rate was 73.4%, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 70.5% the previous year, while the female rate was 48.4%, down 2.8 percentage points from 51.2% the previous year.

However, looking at the overall trend, the male drinking rate has not changed significantly, whereas the female rate 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, the female drinking rate was 43.3% during the same period but gradually rose 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. High-risk drinking refers to drinking alcohol at least twice a week with five or more drinks consumed per occasion. Monthly binge drinking refers to drinking five or more drinks at least once a month over the past year.

The related industry estimates that this trend has continued since 2020, when COVID-19 began to spread widely. The increase in female drinking rates is mainly attributed to social environmental changes such as increased female social activities and employment rates. The prolonged COVID-19 situation has also led to a rise in so-called ‘kitchen drinkers’?housewives who enjoy drinking. With limited outdoor activities and increased time spent at home, along with restrictions on children’s daycare and school attendance, many women are relieving childcare-related stress with alcohol after finishing childcare duties, a phenomenon referred to as ‘yuktoe’ (childcare + leaving work). In the U.S., a new term ‘Mommy juice’ has even emerged to describe this.

Professor Lim Myung-ho of Dankook University’s Department of Psychology explained, "Due to external factors like COVID-19, many women experience childcare stress and depression, which correlates with the increasing drinking rate. While drinking has harmful aspects, it also has a relaxing effect, so it is instinctively sought after, and this increasing trend is expected to continue."

On the 15th, citizens were browsing wines at Emart Yongsan branch in Seoul. Emart is holding a second half wine market offering discounts on about 1,500 wine items until the 20th. With the popularization of wine, demand is increasing, and in Emart's case, wine sales from January to September this year rose 37.6% compared to the same period last year, accounting for 29.7% of total liquor sales. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

◇ Drinking frequency down, drinking volume up… ‘Home drinking’ dominance = According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation’s ‘2021 Alcohol Market Trend Report,’ the average drinking frequency of Koreans was 8.5 days per month, roughly twice a week. This survey was conducted on 2,000 adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide who drank alcohol at least once a month last year. This figure is slightly lower than the 9 days recorded in September 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease is attributed to restrictions on business operations and remote work reducing social drinking occasions. However, the average amount consumed per drinking session increased to about 7 glasses (equivalent to one bottle of soju), up from 6.7 glasses the previous year. Thus, while drinking frequency slightly decreased, drinking volume actually increased.

In particular, the popularity of home drinking, which increased due to COVID-19, remains strong. According to a survey of respondents last year on the ‘popular alcohol consumption trends,’ convenience store purchases and home drinking were recognized by 76.5% and 51.5% of consumers, respectively, indicating that home drinking-related alcohol consumption trends remain dominant. Notably, the response that alcohol purchases at convenience stores are trendy rose by 26.6 percentage points from 49.9% the previous year, showing that convenience stores are emerging as new hubs for alcohol purchases. In line with this trend, convenience stores are also increasing specialized alcohol sections within their locations.

The surge in ‘home drinking’ has led to nearly a 30% increase in imported alcohol in Korea last year. According to customs export-import statistics, the import value of alcoholic beverages last year was $1.4083 billion (approximately 1.7084 trillion KRW), a 26.6% increase compared to $1.10687 billion the previous year. The import value, which was around $857.1 million in 2016, surpassed $1 billion in 2018 with $1.04368 billion and exceeded $1.4 billion last year, increasing nearly 50% over five years.

An industry official said, "Since COVID-19, with fewer company dinners and a continued reluctance to go out, the home drinking trend has fully settled. The industry is responding by developing various new products with different flavors across multiple alcohol categories, focusing on drinks that can be enjoyed deliciously."

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