The Ministry of Health and Welfare says that women in their 20s and men in their 30s are the least health-conscious Koreans, according to a story in the Korea Joongang Daily.
The ministry’s concerns were based on the results of a national health survey.
It is thought that young women and men smoke and drink at a rate that might be linked to stress, their jobs and Korea’s corporate culture.
In Korea’s hierarchical corporate culture, young employees are expected to heed senior workers’ insistence on drinking at office get-togethers.
The findings were part of the 2013 national health survey conducted jointly by the Health Ministry and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The survey polled people of all ages within 3,840 households.