A recent survey by Baedal Minjok (Baemin), South Korea’s leading food delivery platform, found Friday that 91 percent of people watch videos -- such as TV or streaming content -- while eating alone.
The findings come from Baemin’s “My Solo Dining Skill” campaign, a celebration of surpassing 1 million users of the platform’s “han-geureut (one bowl)” category. The company launched the service in late April to cater to the growing number of single-person households, removing minimum order requirements and simplifying the process for solo eaters.
The survey, with approximately 100,000 respondents, also showed participants ate alone while listening to music (5 percent), looking in the mirror (3.4 percent) or browsing social media (0.5 percent).
When asked how they cope with loneliness while eating solo, more than half of participants replied that they place a stuffed animal nearby, while 47.3 percent said they dine with a pet.
According to the company, the most ordered items in the category were rice dishes (16 percent), followed by fried chicken (15 percent) and noodles (14 percent). Notably, fried chicken, normally a dish that's hard to find in single portions, rose in popularity due to special menu collaborations with brands like BBQ.
Baemin stated that after launching the one bowl service, order volume nearly doubled, while the number of available menu items increased by 150 percent.
“Our newly launched ‘han-geureut’ category is receiving broad attention,” a Baemin official said. “We plan to continue introducing menu options that were previously difficult to order alone due to portion size, composition or minimum order requirements, while also offering various benefits and promotions.”
hyelimchung@heraldcorp.com
