Koreans Drank 9 Bottles of Makgeolli Apiece in 2009

With the booming popularity of makgeolli, Korean adults consumed an average of 9.19 bottles (750 ml per bottle) per person of the traditional rice wine last year, a report reveals.

According to the report by the National Tax Service released on Tuesday, the volume of delivery of makgeolli soared 47.8 percent from 176,000 kiloliters in 2008 to 261,000 kiloliters last year.

The delivery volume of the rice wine had showed a slight increase of 2.9 percent in 2005 and 2.4 percent in 2008 before it skyrocketed last year.

In 1972 makgeolli accounted for a whopping 81.4 percent of the total delivery volume of alcoholic beverages in Korea, followed by soju with 11.3 percent and beer with 5 percent. It was overtaken by beer in 1988 and began to trail soju in 1990.

In recent years, makgeolli's market share had hovered around 5 percent. But consumption has surged thanks to the craze for the liquor from last year, pushing up its market share to 7.8 percent in 2009 and 12 percent in the first quarter of this year.