[These Days] Is It Not Allowed to Drink Alcohol at Convenience Stores?

A scene where Park Seo-joon (playing Min-hyuk) and Choi Woo-shik (playing Ki-woo), who made a brief appearance in the movie Parasite, are drinking in front of a convenience store.
Photo by Parasite skill cut.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The movie "Parasite" transformed the sentiments of Koreans into the sentiments of the world.

The image of a drunken man urinating in front of a semi-basement window while making loud noises, the smoke from a disinfecting machine seeping into a room, and people gathered in a gymnasium due to flooding are scenes fading from memory for us, but they are still ongoing realities in some developing countries.

Especially the scene early in the movie where the protagonist Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Min-hyuk (Park Seo-joon) drink soju at a table in front of a convenience store (supermarket) is a very ordinary moment in our daily lives, so the audience accepts it very naturally. Similar scenes are also frequently portrayed in other dramas.

As winter passes and the weather warms up, more people practice such scenes in reality rather than just in movies. In summer, the neighborhood can become so noisy that the area around convenience stores transforms into outdoor pubs. However, we should not accept such behavior as natural or comfortable because it is illegal.

According to Article 21 of the Food Sanitation Act, drinking alcohol is not allowed in convenience stores classified as rest food establishments. You might say, since you cannot drink inside the convenience store, you drink outside? Drinking alcohol at tables set up outside convenience stores is also illegal. According to Articles 16 and 68 of the Road Traffic Act, simply installing tables outside convenience stores is illegal.

According to the police, consumption of anything other than beverages or instant foods like cup noodles is prohibited inside convenience stores. Store owners who allow customers to drink alcohol may face business license cancellation, imprisonment of up to five years, or fines up to 50 million won.

Installing tables and parasols outside convenience stores and drinking alcohol is also illegal. If tables or parasols are installed without permission from local governments, unlawfully occupying roads or sidewalks, the store owner may face imprisonment of up to one year or fines up to 3 million won under the Road Traffic Act.

Especially if the installed tables or parasols obstruct traffic flow, penalties can increase to imprisonment of up to two years or fines up to 20 million won. It is natural that convenience store part-timers are unaware of these facts, and sometimes even store owners do not know that drinking alcohol at convenience stores is illegal.

However, there may be controversy over whether convenience stores are considered "rest food establishments" as defined by law. Although the prevailing opinion is that it is illegal, perhaps due to this controversy, enforcement is not carried out even if people drink in front of convenience stores. Even when enforcement occurs, it is said to be limited to guidance.

Drinking alcohol in convenience stores is very common. However, it is illegal.
Photo by YouTube Screenshot

The opposition from the convenience store industry cannot be ignored either. The presence or absence of tables outside convenience stores significantly affects sales, especially nighttime sales, where outdoor tables serve as a foothold, so store owners do not give up outdoor tables.

However, residents near convenience stores become increasingly worried as the weather warms. Many people drink beer or soju at convenience stores while shouting, smoking, and littering anywhere. Residents living near convenience stores suffer from loud noise and trash just because they live nearby.

In fact, among 112 emergency calls, there are quite a few complaints about people drinking and making noise at convenience stores during early morning hours. It is considered acceptable to have a simple drink and chat briefly in front of a convenience store.

However, whether day or night, occupying a spot for a long time and shouting while drinking should not be tolerated, should it? Beyond legality, isn’t this a matter of conscience? Just as my privacy is important, consideration for others' privacy is also necessary.

A convenience store is a convenience store when it can be used conveniently, isn’t it? A convenience store that causes inconvenience in daily life should be called an inconvenience store. This is etiquette that customers, store owners, and part-timers who use convenience stores must all be careful to observe.