Empty liquor bottle, full cola glass

“It’s a new student welcome party or an opening general meeting, so even if there are a lot of groups, alcohol isn’t served like before. If there are 10 tables in the store, 7 of them only drink cola.”

These are the sighing words of Mr. A, who has been running a bar in the Sinchon university area for five years. Gone are the days when the 'pour and drink' drinking culture was considered a romantic part of college life. In March, with the spring in full swing on campus, face-to-face events became more active, but the sight of alcohol bottles piling up on bar tables disappeared.

A university bar whose sales fell by one-tenth

Lee Jae-hong, who has run a tripe restaurant in Anam-dong near Korea University since 1997, said, "In the past, we used to drink at least one and a half bottles per person, but these days, on average, it's about one or two drinks. There are many days when we don't drink at all." At his store, alcohol sales have decreased by one-tenth of what they used to be, and tripe sales have also fallen by 40%. Business hours, which used to run until 4 a.m., were shortened to 11 p.m.

Jang Hong-bok, who has run a bar in Sinchon for 27 years, said, "Even if 8 people come, we can barely drink one or two bottles." According to financial data analysis, the number of bar card payments has decreased by 76.6% in the past year compared to 2023, and the number of bar industry affiliates has also decreased by 19.7% compared to three years ago.

Statistics from Seoul’s commercial analysis service also support this. The number of pubs and bars in the Seoul area continues to decline, from 16,512 in 2023 to 15,312 in 2024 and 14,200 in 2025.

“It’s inefficient to waste the day with a hangover.”

The perception of alcohol among college students itself is changing. Mr. Kim (22) of Yonsei University said, “It feels very inefficient to drink too much and then spend the next day with a hangover,” and added, “The atmosphere that encourages drinking definitely seems like an old-fashioned culture.”

Mr. Choi (23) of Korea University said, "I heard a lot from my seniors about the 'bowl style' of drinking makgeolli in a bowl, but these days there is almost no such culture. Even after parties for large events such as the Ko-Yonjeon Games, people enjoy events such as train rides rather than drinking."

According to the National Health Statistics of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the average daily alcohol consumption of people in their 20s in 2024 will be 64.8g, a sharp drop of more than 30% from 95.5g the previous year. This is lower than the average daily intake of people in their 60s (66.8g).

Topography of drinking culture changed by Corona

The starting point for this change is the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Lee, who has run a bar in Anam-dong since 2008, recalled, “Before the coronavirus, the bars around this street were most crowded between midnight and 1 a.m., but the stores that closed at that time did not come back.” As alcohol-centered events such as MT and new student welcome parties were suspended during the pandemic, a culture of not drinking alcohol naturally became routine.

Behind this trend lies a new lifestyle trend. 'Sober Curious' refers to the attitude of intentionally reducing or avoiding drinking for a healthy life, and 'Healthy Pleasure' refers to a stress-free and enjoyable way of managing one's health. This is a shift in values ​​that has emerged as people in their 20s place importance on health and efficiency in a fiercely competitive society.

Future outlook [AI analysis]

Lee Young-ae, a professor of consumer studies at Incheon National University, analyzed, "These days, people in their 20s are a generation that values their own happiness and health, so they tend not to engage in activities that are not beneficial to their health, such as drinking."

The college town bar ecosystem is at a fundamental turning point. As 'Heeya' owner Kim Hyun-tae said, "an era has arrived where it is no longer possible to make money using the old methods." An increasing number of bars are attempting changes such as adding non-alcoholic drinks to the menu, but there are limits to recovering sales.

In the future, university bars are likely to evolve away from competition over quantity and price and toward providing differentiated experiences. Non-alcoholic cocktails, highballs that are good for taking pictures, and identity changes to ‘snack restaurants’ are emerging as survival strategies. As one bar operator said, we are entering an era where it will be difficult to survive unless we establish ourselves as “a place where you can come without drinking.”

The decline in drinking among people in their 20s appears to be a generational change in values ​​rather than a temporary phenomenon. This will have a structural impact on the entire alcohol industry and is expected to lead to the expansion of the non-alcoholic beverage market.