A culture that respects individual circumstances and preferences is taking hold at holiday gatherings, replacing the once-automatic practice of pressing drinks on family members and relatives. With growing interest in moderate drinking and health management, and a wider range of non-alcoholic products on shelves, choosing not to drink has become an ordinary consumption choice.
According to the 2025 Liquor Industry Information Survey released recently by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), consumers who drink at least once a month drank an average of 8.8 days per month in 2025, down from 9.0 days in 2023. The average amount consumed on drinking days also fell to 6.6 glasses from 6.7 over the same period.
As both the frequency and volume of drinking decline, more consumers are turning to non-alcoholic products. Lotte Mart's analysis of non-alcoholic product sales in the first half of this year showed a 25.4% increase from a year earlier. Non-alcoholic products' share of total alcoholic beverage sales also expanded to 13% in the first half of this year from 6% in 2021.
In the past, such drinks were widely seen as a substitute for people who could not drink because they had to drive or had health concerns. More recently, the category has broadened into beverages consumed for atmosphere and taste. Non-alcoholic beer-flavored drinks, which retain beer's distinctive flavor and crispness while reducing the burden of alcohol, have emerged as the leading product group.
Holidays such as Chuseok are when this shift stands out most. People who must drive to and from their hometowns or have travel plans such as visiting ancestral graves can choose these drinks without hesitation, as can those cutting back on alcohol to manage their health and condition.
Hitejinro Beverage is targeting this shift in consumption by broadening the occasions for drinking Terra Zero 0.000. In a recently released advertising campaign, the company placed the product in situations where beer has traditionally been off-limits — Monday mornings, temple stays and reserve forces training — with the message "Why not?" The campaign emphasizes that non-alcoholic beer-flavored drinks can be enjoyed as part of daily life, breaking from the notion that beer belongs only to certain times and places.
Fewer Drinking Sessions for Those in Their 20s and 30s: Health Over Intoxication
The change in drinking habits is most pronounced among younger generations. According to a survey of people in their 20s and 30s conducted by I&Survey in March this year, 54.1% of drinkers in those age groups said they prefer low-alcohol beverages. Another 23.2% said they choose non-alcoholic drinks for health management and dieting.
Other survey findings point to a broader change in alcohol consumption. According to Open Survey's Alcohol Consumption Trend Report 2024, the share of people drinking wine fell 9.2 percentage points among those in their 20s and 7.4 percentage points among those in their 30s from a year earlier. Analysts say consumers are moving away from a pattern centered on high-proof or premium liquor and increasingly choosing drinks to suit their own circumstances and purposes.
Health management is where people in their 20s and 30s are directing their attention instead of drinking. According to the Korea Health Supplements Association, the level of effort those age groups put into health management in 2024 was 1.5 times that of 2016.
Health-related spending by younger consumers also stands out at convenience stores. Among customers buying from health categories, those in their 20s and 30s account for 62% at GS25 and 87.4% at CU. CU's health functional food sales grew 14.9% in 2021, 41.0% in 2022 and 26.7% in 2023. Olive Young's health category sales rose 27% from a year earlier.
Interest in exercise is also growing. According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, South Korea's health and fitness club market, valued at $475 million (about 720 billion won) in 2025, is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.64% through 2030.
Industry watchers say the trend is hard to dismiss as a passing fad. As more consumers adjust how much and how they drink based on their own condition and health rather than simply drinking as much as possible, the way alcohol is consumed in the market is itself changing.
