Alcohol imports are plunging and liquor companies are posting declining earnings as Korea's 20- and 30-somethings increasingly choose health over happy hour.
Whisky imports by volume fell 28.2% to 2,880 tons in the first two months of this year from 4,012 tons a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday. Wine imports by volume also dropped 2% over the same period. Total alcohol imports last year came to $1.27 billion, down 13.5% from $1.47 billion two years ago. Industry observers say overall demand for drinking is shrinking.
Liquor makers' earnings have declined in tandem. Lotte Chilsung Beverage saw its operating profit fall 9.6% to 167.2 billion won last year from 184.9 billion won a year earlier, while revenue slipped 1.3%, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system. HiteJinro's operating profit dropped 17.2% to 172.3 billion won from 208.1 billion won, and the company posted a 9.2 billion won operating loss in the fourth quarter of last year — a period that includes the year-end peak season.
It is not just how much young Koreans drink that has changed, but how they drink. A March survey by i&Survey of people in their 20s and 30s found that 54.1% of drinkers in that age group prefer low-alcohol beverages. Another 23.2% said they choose non-alcoholic or alcohol-free drinks for health management and dieting purposes.
Open Survey's "Alcohol Consumption Trend Report 2024" also showed a clear decline in premium alcohol consumption. Wine drinking rates fell 9.2 percentage points year-on-year among those in their 20s and 7.4 percentage points among those in their 30s.
Young consumers who have cut back on drinking are redirecting their spending toward health. Health management efforts among those in their 20s and 30s increased 1.5-fold in 2024 compared with 2016, according to the Korea Health Functional Food Association. Among convenience store customers purchasing health-category products, 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. Sales in the health category at Olive Young, a leading health and beauty retailer, also rose 27% year-on-year.
Demand from people in their 20s and 30s is also surging in the fitness market. The Korean health and fitness club market is projected to grow from $475 million (approximately 720 billion won) in 2025 at an average annual rate of 7.64% through 2030, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. A running boom continues as well. Those in their 20s are actively joining event-style runs such as "night runs" and "bread runs," while those in their 30s are gravitating toward themed runs like Disney Run and Marvel Run.
Industry observers say this shift is a structural change rather than a passing fad. The spending values of young consumers in their 20s and 30s — who invest in self-care instead of heavy drinking sessions — are simultaneously driving the slump in the alcohol market and the growth of health-related industries, analysts say.
