Half of girl drinkers engage in risky drinking; rate among middle school girls nearly double that of boys

While the share of teenagers who drink alcohol has been declining, the proportion of those who do drink and engage in "risky drinking" remains high — and among girls who drink, more than one in two meets the risky-drinking threshold.

An analysis of data submitted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker So Byung-hoon of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, along with the KDCA's Youth Health Behavior Survey, shows that the current drinking rate among girls fell for three consecutive years — from 9.0 percent in 2023 to 7.5 percent in 2024 and 6.1 percent in 2025. Among girls who actually drink, however, the risky-drinking rate rose over the same period.

The current drinking rate refers to the share of students who consumed at least one drink in the past 30 days. The risky-drinking rate measures the share of current drinkers whose average single-occasion intake over the past 30 days reached or exceeded a moderate threshold — defined as five or more shots of soju for boys and three or more for girls.

The risky-drinking rate among girls who currently drink rose for three consecutive years, from 50.1 percent in 2023 to 50.2 percent in 2024 and 52.0 percent in 2025. In 2025, more than one in two girls who drank met the risky-drinking criteria.

Among current drinkers in 2025, the risky-drinking rate stood at 42.1 percent for boys and 52.0 percent for girls — a gap of 9.9 percentage points.

The gender gap was particularly pronounced among middle school students.

The current drinking rate among middle school girls declined from 5.1 percent in 2023 to 4.1 percent in 2024 and 3.4 percent in 2025. Yet in 2025, 44.8 percent of middle school girls who drank engaged in risky drinking — nearly twice the 23.4 percent recorded for middle school boys.

"The overall decline in youth drinking rates is a positive development, but we must also pay close attention to the fact that those who do drink are engaging in risky drinking," So said. "We need to strengthen prevention education tailored to students' developmental stages and drinking patterns, and build a robust support system so that teenagers who need help can access appropriate counseling and assistance."