South Korea’s culture of heavy drinking has long been seen as a male-dominated phenomenon, fuelled by corporate workplace and business traditions.
But over the past decade rates of high-risk drinking for men (defined as seven or more shots of traditional soju rice wine – or five cans of beer – in a single sitting, at least twice a week) have fallen significantly among all age groups. Yet for women, the trajectory has been the reverse.
Heavy drinking has become far less common at company dinners, according to Aju Press, a South Korean news agency. But “drinking has quietly moved into the home”.
For many women alcohol has become “more varied, more accessible and more seamlessly woven into everyday life”. One “popular explanation” is that more women have entered the workforce and become “exposed to Korea’s long-standing drinking culture”, with the “double burden” of juggling childcare and household responsibilities.
But it is “difficult to attribute the increase solely to stress”, said sociology professor Kim Yoon-tae; there’s a broader cultural shift afoot. “As women’s economic and social participation has expanded, there may be more occasions when they drink at workplaces or social gatherings,” he added, citing networking events. Drinking “remains a strong part of social culture”.
Despite the shift, men still “outpaced women on every indicator”, said The Korea Times, drinking substantially more. And while South Korea’s overall high-risk drinking rate may have “come down somewhat over the past decade”, it’s still “near the top by international standards”, said Seoul Economic Daily. Its monthly binge drinking rate ranks fifth-highest among 27 developed countries, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. |
