South Korea’s drying booze culture leaves bars parched: ‘I just order cola’

“I hardly drink at all – one or two glasses of beer at most.” Kim Min-ha, a 21-year-old student at Sookmyung Women’s University, recently headed to a cafe with fellow club members after a meet-up. They each ordered one of the newly released drinks and chatted for a while before parting ways. On the rare occasions that they do go out for beer, only a few actually order alcohol. Kim said the gatherings usually start at 6pm and end around 8 or 9pm. Kim’s experience reflects the growing spread of...