Singles Spend More on Drinking

Koreans who live alone spend more on alcohol per head than larger households, and the higher their income, the more they spend on beer and less on soju.

According to a report by the Korea Rural Economic Institute on Sunday, beer and soju rank fourth and 12th in single householders' spending on processed foods but seventh and 16th among bigger households.

Overall, beer ranks sixth and soju 16th.

Wine still ranks a distant 24th among singles and does not even make the top 30 in bigger households.

Poorer Koreans spend more on soju, which delivers more of an alcohol kick for less money than beer.

Soju ranked 15th among the bottom 20 percent of income earners but 18th among the top 20 percent, while beer ranked seventh among the top 20 percent but 12th among the lowest earners.