Reuters shows how women in heavy-drinking S.Korea fuel demand for lighter booze

Reuters showed how professional women are changing the way beverage companies look at South Korea, which hard-drinking men have made Asia’s biggest alcohol consuming country on a per capita basis. As more women join the workforce in South Korea, a growing share of younger women are becoming regular drinkers, shifting consumption patterns in a male-dominated society where post-work drinking sessions are a staple of office life. Imports of sparkling wine, which is especially popular among young Korean women, rose nearly 20 percent in January-July, while wine imports overall are on track to surpass those of whiskey for the first time this year, customs data shows.