Asia: South Koreans drinking more low-alcohol drinks, less excessively
the hankyoreh
By Kim Yang-joong, Medical Correspondent
August 28, 2016
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety says more consumers prioritizing flavour and aroma in their drinking choices
This year, South Koreans’ consumption of fruit soju and other low-alcohol drinks has increased, alongside a drop in excessive consumption of high-alcohol drinks, a new study shows.
According to the results of a survey of drinking habits in the first half of this year released on Aug. 26 by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the average number of fruit soju and other low-alcohol drinks (13% to 14% alcohol by volume, or ABV) consumed at a single drinking session increased from 2.2 drinks in 2013 to 6 drinks in the first half of this year.
The survey, which ran from July 8 to 15, involved 2,000 men and women at least 15 years of age in South Korea’s 17 main administrative districts.
In contrast, the average number of drinks of beer, soju and makgeolli (Korean rice beer) consumed at a single drinking session decreased from 5.6, 6.4 and 3.2 in 2013 to 4.9, 6.1 and 3.
“Flavor and aroma appear to becoming more important criteria for selecting alcoholic beverages,” the Ministry said.
In terms of overall alcohol consumption, the average amount consumed in a single session is similar to the appropriate amount of drinks recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to minimize risk.
The survey found that men have 1.4 more drinks of soju than the WHO’s recommendation of 5.9 drinks, but men have 0.1 and 0.8 drinks less than the 5.6 drinks of beer and the 4.6 drinks of makgeolli recommended by the WHO.
Women were found to be consuming 1.4 more drinks of beer, 1.6 more drinks of soju and 0.4 more drinks of makgeolli than the recommended amounts of 2.8, 2.9 and 2.1, respectively.
Among those who have drunk an alcoholic beverage over the past six months, the percentage who have engaged in high-risk alcoholic consumption jumped from 66.2% in 2012 to 82.5% in 2013 before falling to 58.3% in the first half of this year.
In the case of soju with a 17% ABV, high-risk alcoholic consumption is defined as 8.8 or more drinks for men and 5.9 or more drinks for women.
There has also been a drop in the percentage of people who drink boilermakers (a shot of whiskey added to a glass of beer, called “bomb cocktails” in Korean). The percentage in the first half of this year was 45.7%, which was about 10 percentage points lower than 2013 (55.8%).
At the same time, there was a slight increase in the percentage of people drinking “energy boilermakers” (a blend of booze and high-caffeine energy drinks), up from 11.3% in 2013 to 12% in the first half of this year.