![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12804930.webp\")
<\/p>\nExperts say the\u00a0phenomenon reflects young people\u2019s preference for forming loose social ties without the\u00a0complexity and obligations of deeper relationships.<\/p>\n
\n An AI-generated illustration made by ChatGPT shows people drinking and chatting at a honsul bar.
\n CHATGPT\n <\/p>\n
Bars designed for people drinking alone \u2014 while leaving the door open to a casual conversation or two with fellow solo drinkers \u2014 are gaining popularity among Koreans in their 20s and 30s, reflecting a preference for casual, low-commitment social connections.<\/p>\n
Known as honsul bars, using the Korean word for drinking alcohol alone, the concept first became popular several years ago in destinations with large numbers of solo travelers, including Jeju Island. <\/p>\n
It has since spread to busy districts nationwide, drawing university students looking to spend their free time and even office workers stopping by after work.<\/p>\n
A 26-year-old office worker in Seoul is one of them, visiting honsul bars whenever they want to unwind briefly after work. They used to prefer strong drinks and elaborate food, but now choose a simple drink and casually chat with whoever is sitting next to them. They go once every week or two and have made more than five visits so far.<\/p>\n
One branch of a honsul bar franchise in Mapo District, western Seoul, had around 10 customers drinking at 9 p.m. on Aug. 12. The dimly lit bar had an L-shaped counter with around 20 seats. Customers, including an employee in the performing arts industry and a university student preparing to return to school after taking a semester off, sat in a row, sipping highballs and cocktails priced at just over 10,000 won ($7) each. Conversation ranged from studying abroad to job hunting, and some played simple card games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe advantage is that I can comfortably come alone, talk to the person next to me and then end the relationship there,\u201d said a customer in their 20s who had visited honsul bars at least three times.<\/p>\n
Other customers said the number of venues made it easy to leave when a conversation or atmosphere did not suit them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I don\u2019t click with the person next to me or don\u2019t like the atmosphere, I move to another honsul bar,\u201d the 26-year-old office worker said. \u201cI have even visited two or three places in a single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bar\u2019s owner said competition had intensified as the format grew more popular.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are around 20 bars like this in the Hongdae and Sangsu areas [in Mapo District, western Seoul] alone,\u201d the owner said. \u201cEven so, most have lines of customers waiting to get in on weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n A seat at a “honsul bar”
\n HAN CHAN-WOO\n <\/p>\n
The franchise operates around 90 locations nationwide, including 28 in Seoul.<\/p>\n
The same preference for quick, casual connections is also showing up in dating. <\/p>\n
So-called rotation blind dates, a form of speed dating in which participants take turns briefly talking with several potential partners, are also gaining popularity. Private companies organize the events, charging a fee to bring groups of strangers together for a set format and a fixed block of time.<\/p>\n
Under one company\u2019s format, 12 men and 12 women gather and speak with each person for 10 minutes over a total of two hours. Participants then exchange notes to see whether there is mutual interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI joined because I thought I could casually talk with a variety of people with less pressure than on a conventional blind date,\u201d said a 25-year-old office worker.<\/p>\n
Experts say the trend reflects a preference among young adults for \u201cfast friends,\u201d or temporary social connections that skip the complexity and obligations of deeper relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis phenomenon reflects young people\u2019s preference for forming loose social ties,\u201d said Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer science at Inha University. <\/p>\n
Lee also compared it to the recent trend of the cops-and-robbers game. The game became a recent pastime among strangers, often organized through neighborhood apps such as Karrot Market. Large groups would gather in parks to play a grown-up version of the childhood tag game, splitting into police and thieves. Unlike honsul bars, the format focuses more on games than on conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsidering the table arrangement and atmosphere, these venues are more relationship-oriented than the recently popular \u2018cops and robbers\u2019 social game.\u201d<\/p>\n
BY\u00a0HAN CHAN-WOO [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]<\/p>\n
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Experts say the\u00a0phenomenon reflects young people\u2019s preference for forming loose social ties without the\u00a0complexity and obligations of deeper…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[85,46,125],"class_list":["post-588805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}