Image: Soju advertisement featuring Jennie of K-pop group Blackpink. Credit: Lotte Chilsung
Not long ago, Koreans were renowned for their prodigious capacity and fondness for alcohol. But the latest data from the National Tax Services 국세청 suggest that Koreans’ binge-drinking days may be behind them, with South Korea’s production of alcoholic drinks at a 27-year low.
Domestic alcohol shipments for 2025 totaled 2.99m kiloliters, down 21.5% from a decade ago. All three major categories of alcohol - beer, soju 소주 and makkeolli 막걸리 - saw a significant and consistent decline in the past decade.
