Rising dining costs and MZ workers' allergy to after-work obligations have thinned corporate calendars, leaving December unusually light — and restaurants unusually empty.
At a fried chicken pub near Gwanghwamun, the year-end peak barely registers. On a recent Friday night, a staff member said the owner hadn't even come in. Bookings were that thin.
In Myeongdong, Kim, who runs a samgyeopsal (pork barbecue) restaurant, said it doesn't feel like year-end at all.
"By early December, these streets are usually so crowded you can barely move," he said, gesturing outside. "But look — it's empty."
Next door, the story is the same.
"Business is down from last winter," an employee said. "And it's not just restaurants. Even people in real estate say it's slow."
According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose 2.4 percent year on year in November to 117.2 (2020=100). While housing and public service costs stayed relatively stable, personal service prices climbed 3 percent, with dining-out prices up 2.8 percent — enough to make another round of grilled pork feel like a luxury.
The pressure is showing in survival rates. The National Tax Service says the three-year survival rate for 100 major livelihood industries, including food service, has slipped to 52.3 percent, meaning fewer than half of new businesses make it past their third birthday. The figure has been falling steadily since 2022, a sign of cooling domestic demand.
But what's happening on the ground is not just about prices. It's also about culture.
Nearly eight in 10 respondents (79.2 percent) said the overall workplace atmosphere now leans toward avoiding company dinners. Even when they do happen, they tend to end early: 76.2 percent said gatherings wrap up faster than before, and 57.5 percent said evening drinking sessions have increasingly been replaced by lunch-time meals.
For many workers, that's a relief. More than 70 percent said the stress of attending company dinners has eased, while 63.9 percent said they feel less pressure — or guilt — about skipping them altogether.
Not everyone is celebrating. Regret over the decline in company dinners is strongest among older workers and senior managers. While 60.5 percent of executives in their 60s said they miss the tradition, only 41.1 percent of entry-level employees felt the same.
And despite the new "voluntary" label, social pressure hasn't disappeared. Six in 10 respondents (60.7 percent) said that while attendance is technically optional, they still feel they have little choice. Lower-ranking employees, in particular, worry that skipping dinners could still carry consequences.
Park, 27, who works in the public sector in Seoul, puts it bluntly.
"I really don't want to go," she said. "If we have to meet, lunch is enough — and it should be during work hours."
Lee Chun-ae, 57, who works at a tax office in Seoul, agrees, with limits.
"Once every three months is plenty," she said. "And if there is a dinner, it should end after the first round."
For restaurants, the quiet December is painful. For many workers, it feels like progress — proof that the era of endless year-end drinking may finally be over.
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