the self-employed and alcoholism

A hospital specializing in treatment of alcoholism surveyed 692 patients and found out that the biggest occupational group among them were the self-employed (11%), followed by housewives (5%) and construction laborers (4%). (Story in Chosun Ilbo.) This doesn't yet tell what the proportion of alcoholism is in specific occupations, only the occupational ratios among treated patients, among whom the self-employed may have been a majority in the first place. (And we know that there are a lot of them in Korea, some 1/3 of the economically active people.) I know that shopkeepers can take a shot of soju every now and then, quite often actually, but the fact that they have no-one to do their work for them seems to curtail excessive drinking. Which makes me think that this survey was meant to be an ad for the hospital, as it coincided with the first anniversary of the foundation of the place. Categories at del.icio.us/hunjang: self-employment ∙ food/alcohol