Alcohol Consumption Dips in South Korea as Whisky Makers Struggle

〈anchor〉[Anchor]<br /> <br /> It is time for our Friendly Economy segment with reporter Han Jiyeon. Han, it seems that alcohol is not selling very well these days.<br /> <br /> 〈reporter〉[Reporter]<br /> <br /> It has shrunk to a historic low.<br /> <br /> Domestic alcohol shipments have hit a 27-year low, the lowest since the 1998 IMF foreign exchange crisis.<br /> <br /> If you look at company dinner gatherings these days, people tend to wrap it up after the first round and head straight home.<br /> <br /> This is not just a feeling; it has been confirmed by the numbers.<br /> <br /> Last year, total alcohol shipments dropped to 2.988 million kiloliters, falling below the 3 million kiloliter mark.<br /> <br /> A threshold that had not been broken once since the IMF crisis has now collapsed.<br /> <br /> Thinking that people might still drink a decent amount of soju, we checked, but beer, soju, and makgeolli (traditional Korean rice wine) are all on a downward slope simultaneously.<br /> <br /> Beer shipments dropped by 7.2 percent last year alone, marking the third consecutive year of decline. Soju also fell for the third straight year, dropping below 800,000 kiloliters.<br /> <br /> Makgeolli has been declining continuously for five straight years without a single break.<br /> <br /> Drinking habits have also changed.<br /> <br /> Those who drink alcohol at least once a month used to drink 9 days a month on average, but that has now decreased to 8.8 days.<br /> <br /> Even per-drinking-session consumption has steadily edged down from 6.7 glasses to 6.6 glasses.<br /> <br /> The demographic that drinks the most is men in their 30s, who consume about 8.1 glasses per day when they drink.<br /> <br /> When looking at where and how people drink these days, buying alcohol at convenience stores and drinking alone at home—known as "homsul" or "honsul"—has firmly established itself as the major trend.<br /> <br /> 〈anchor〉[Anchor]<br /> <br /> It seems that expensive liquors are facing a similar situation.<br /> <br /> 〈reporter〉[Reporter]<br /> <br /> Whisky companies, in particular, have seen prominent deterioration in their business performance.<br /> <br /> Operating profits have been cut in half, and some places have seen drops of over 70 percent.<br /> <br /> Looking first at the company that distributes Johnnie Walker, its domestic operating profit plummeted from 18.2 billion won to 9.4 billion won last year, while its net income swung from a surplus of 15.1 billion won to a deficit of 11.2 billion won.<br /> <br /> As a result, the company recently accepted applications for voluntary retirement from all employees, marking the first time since 2024, or two years ago.<br /> <br /> The company that sells Ballantine's and Royal Salute is also in a bad situation. <br /> <br /> Its operating profit plummeted by over 70 percent, and its net income shrank to one-seventh.<br /> <br /> Golden Blue, a homegrown whisky company, even turned to a net deficit in the first half of this year.<br /> <br /> Some companies have gone as far as cutting costs.<br /> <br /> Lotte Chilsung also accepted voluntary retirement for the first time in 75 years since its founding, back in November of last year.<br /> <br /> Amidst all this, there were exceptions.<br /> <br /> Finding new breakthroughs through low-alcohol and non-alcoholic, so-called "zero" products, total non-alcoholic beer sales in the first quarter of this year surged by 30 percent compared to the same period last year.<br /> <br /> Notably, OB Brewery leveraged its non-alcoholic and alcohol-free products to maintain the number-one manufacturer market share in the household non-alcoholic beer market.<br /> <br /> The importer of Tsingtao beer also turned a deficit into a surplus last year by promoting its non-alcoholic beer.<br /> <br /> 〈anchor〉[Anchor]<br /> <br /> What is this next story about?<br /> <br /> 〈reporter〉[Reporter]<br /> <br /> Department stores are expanding services that custom-prep everything from fruits and vegetables to fish and meat according to customer preferences.<br /> <br /> Related sales have also shot up sharply.<br /> <br /> Watermelon cutting services at department stores are the pioneers of customized food preparation.<br /> <br /> Many of you are probably quite familiar with it by now.<br /> <br /> Bringing home a whole watermelon and trying to fit it into the fridge or cutting it up yourself is no easy task, so this service is quite useful.<br /> <br /> Hyundai Department Store first introduced this service in 2021 as a first in the retail industry.<br /> <br /> It is free to have fruits like watermelons or vegetables like carrots and cabbages sliced however you want.<br /> <br /> At the two hottest branches, an average of 150 people visit daily.<br /> <br /> At one branch, 9 out of 10 customers buying watermelons use this service, drawing such a strong response that other department stores naturally could not just stand by.<br /> <br /> Lotte Department Store also washes watermelons, melons, and pineapples, cuts them to the desired size, and packages them.<br /> <br /> Related sales in the first half of this year surged by a whopping 90 percent compared to last year.<br /> <br /> At one branch, an instant corner even opened where customers can choose their preferred combinations of fish, vegetables, and seasonings. After this corner opened, sales of fresh seafood—fish distributed fresh right after being caught—jumped by over 45 percent.<br /> <br /> Shinsegae Department Store cannot be left out.<br /> <br /> It preps and portions marine products according to cooking purposes and packages them.<br /> <br /> At one branch, the number of users for watermelon and melon cutting services increased by 95.8 percent compared to last year.<br /> <br /> Why are department stores so dedicated to these prep services?<br /> <br /> The answer is simple.<br /> <br /> To compete with online shopping malls, offering fresh, high-quality ingredients combined with taking care of cumbersome food preparation is currently the weapon department stores can put forward.<br /> (Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.