Koreans Turn to Mild Alcoholic Beverages - PROAZN.COM COMMUNITY: Asian Men and All Races of Women Coming Together

AZN · #1 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 11:37 PM

Koreans Turn to Mild Alcoholic Beverages

By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

More Koreans are turning to mild alcoholic beverages instead of hard liquors, reflecting a growing interest in healthy lifestyles, statistics showed.

According to the National Tax Service (NTS), Koreans consumed 3.3 million kiloliters of beer, soju, and other alcoholic beverages in 2007, up 3.8 percent from the previous year. The alcoholic consumption has been rising each year except for 2005, when the consumption fell to 3.1 million kiloliters from 3.2 million kiloliters of the previous year.

Beer took 60.3 percent of total consumption, followed by Korea's distilled liquor soju at 29.3 percent. Whiskey took 1.1 percent of total alcoholic consumption.

NTS said the statistics show consumers' preference for low-alcohol beverages as a growing number of people are becoming health conscious. Beer consumption grew 5.5 percent and liquor made from fruit, including wine, grew 35.7 percent.

Even in the soju market, competition to lower alcoholic content is evident. After launching 25 percent alcoholic content soju in 1962, soju producers have been reducing further, launching ``low-proof soju'' of 19.8 percent and even 19.5 percent in 2006.

Koreans, who each consumed 72.43 bottles of soju in 2006, consumed 0.39 bottles less in 2007.

The beer market, meanwhile, is expanding. Korean adults consumed 107 bottles of beer in 2007, up 4.5 percent from the previous year. A variety of beer products, including black beer and the ones containing fiber, helped beer manufacturers expand their consumer base. Imported beer took 1.8 percent of the total beer market last year.

Most of all, the wine market saw notable growth. Koreans consumed 38,000 kiloliters of wine in 2007, 2.53 times more than what they consumed in 2000. Koreans consumed an average of 2.03 bottles of wine last year, markedly growing from 1.48 bottles of the previous year. NTS said the concern on health and people regarding drinking wine as a sophisticated cultural activity boosted wine consumption. Imported wine took 85.4 percent of the total wine market last year.

chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr

forgetting4u · #2 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 11:47 PM

I so want to try Soju, even though I hear it is disgusting and strong but I can hold my own.

dreamer26 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 10:02 AM

Soju isn't any stronger than vodka.

From what I can tell from my visit to Korea last month, they like their booze and their coffee weak, and their kimchi strong.

shiz · #4 (**permalink**) 11-04-2008, 05:57 AM

I really didn't find the soju that strong. I was drinking a bottle each night with dinner.

Gai Daigoji · #5 (**permalink**) 11-05-2008, 03:17 PM

Are you talking the liter bottles or the regular pint sized ones?

I like Soju.

**mangohare** · #6 (**permalink**) 11-05-2008, 07:08 PM

Man it takes skill and grace to be a good drinker these days where everything is a disease...lol

Where have all the fun drunks gone these days? I do have some friends who doesn't change much after they had a few. I like hanging with them when they drink. Its kinda spiritual almost.

wackem · #7 (**permalink**) 11-05-2008, 07:15 PM

I drink to relax, although that may be a bad thing. Should drinking be viewed as a disease anyhow? I say, neigh!

**mangohare** · #8 (**permalink**) 11-05-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wackem

I drink to relax, although that may be a bad thing. Should drinking be viewed as a disease anyhow? I say, neigh!

Within this modern grind of ours, I think drinking often leads to it being a disease even though it doesn't have to be...Behaviors get messed up through multiple factors rather than just alcohol addiction.

I think drinking was intended to relax a body after a full day. Isn't that the original intent? who knows.