Although the prevalence of cigarette smoking has declined in Western countries over the past few decades, a comparable decline among males has not been observed in Asian countries, especially in South Korea, where approximately 40%–50% of men and 4%–8% of women have been identified as smokers, and there is a pressing need to understand the background of cigarette smoking in these populations. The present study is a narrative review of the research literature on cigarette smoking in South Korea. First, we describe the social, economic, and cultural factors that impact cigarette smoking in South Korea. The paper also reviews the available peer-reviewed literature comprising observational studies and interventional studies, including randomized controlled trials. The extant literature on smoking in Korean Americans is also reviewed. Cigarette smoking in South Korea has been relatively understudied, and this review identifies priority areas for future research, including the use of mobile interventions.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Investigating Social Proliferation in Korean College Students’ Smoking Perceptions and Behaviors YoungJu Shin, Yu Lu, Rebecca Leach Western Journal of Communication.2025; 89(1): 46. CrossRef
Association of low employment quality with cigarette smoking, smoking initiation, and smoking cessation: A 16-year longitudinal study in South Korea Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won, Jin-Ha Yoon Social Science & Medicine.2025; 366: 117629. CrossRef
Blood eosinophil count and treatment patterns of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in South Korea using real-world data Chin Kook Rhee, Yu-Fan Ho, Sumitra Shantakumar, Tim Holbrook, Yein Nam, Kwang‑Ha Yoo The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine.2025; 40(1): 78. CrossRef
Radiological Changes in Chest Computed Tomography Findings of School Cafeteria Workers: A Comparative Study With Age-matched Controls Jung Hee Hong, Jin Young Kim, Kiook Baek Safety and Health at Work.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Low household income increases the risk of tuberculosis recurrence: a retrospective nationwide cohort study in South Korea C. Chung, D. Jeong, H. Sohn, H. Choi, Y.A. Kang Public Health.2024; 226: 228. CrossRef
Parent–Offspring Associations of Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics: Findings From the 2014 to 2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Manh Thang Hoang, Sun Jae Jung, Hokyou Lee, Hyeon Chang Kim Journal of the American Heart Association.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Forecasting the future prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in Korea through 2048: an epidemiologic study employing autoregressive integrated moving average models Ji Eun Kim, Shin Ju Oh, Chang Kyun Lee Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.2024; 39(5): 836. CrossRef
Cancer Risk Following Smoking Cessation in Korea Eunjung Park, Hee-Yeon Kang, Min Kyung Lim, Byungmi Kim, Jin-Kyoung Oh JAMA Network Open.2024; 7(2): e2354958. CrossRef
Effectiveness of digital tools for smoking cessation in Asian countries: a systematic review Khang Wen Goh, Long Chiau Ming, Yaser Mohammed Al-Worafi, Ching Siang Tan, Andi Hermansyah, Inayat Ur Rehman, Zahid Ali Annals of Medicine.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Association Between Temporary Employment and Current Smoking and Change in Smoking Behaviors: A Prospective Cohort Study From South Korea (2009–2018) Seong-Uk Baek, Min-Seok Kim, Myeong-Hun Lim, Taeyeon Kim, Jin-Ha Yoon, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won Journal of Epidemiology.2024; 34(10): 459. CrossRef
Combined effects of smoking and alcohol consumption on the risk of liver cancer according to metabolic syndrome: A nested case–control study in South Korea Thi Tra Bui, Eunjung Park, Hee‐Yeon Kang, Jin‐Kyoung Oh International Journal of Cancer.2024; 155(4): 654. CrossRef
Development of a Risk Score to Predict Short-term Smoking Relapse Following an Inpatient Smoking Cessation Intervention Hwang Sik Shin, Yoon Hyung Park, Sung Soo Lee, Yong Jin Cho, Jun Tack Kwon, Youngs Chang, Mee-Ri Lee, Young Hwangbo Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health.2024; 36(4): 329. CrossRef
Components of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test Associated with the Exacerbation of Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Na Young Kim, Junhee Han, Yong Il Hwang, Yong Bum Park, Seoung Ju Park, Jimyung Park, Ki-Suck Jung, Kwang Ha Yoo, Jin Hwa Lee, Chang Youl Lee Respiration.2024; 103(6): 326. CrossRef
Substances use among a sample health care workers in Iran: prevalence, pattern of use and gender differences Fahimeh Mohseni, Fariba Zare, Behzad Garmabi, Alireza Azizi, Seyed Mohammad Mirrezaie Journal of Substance Use.2024; : 1. CrossRef
Impact of electronic cigarette use on the increased risk of diabetes: the Korean Community Health Survey Wonseok Jeong, Seungju Kim Epidemiology and Health.2024; 46: e2024029. CrossRef
Unveiling the Impact of Smokers’ Self-Construals on the Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Campaigns: A Comparative Analysis of E-Cigarettes and Combustible Cigarettes Dong Hoo Kim, Ji Mi Hong International Journal of Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Sex differences in age-varying trends of depressive symptoms, substance use, and their associations among South Korean adults: A Time-Varying Effect Modeling (TVEM) analysis of a nationwide sample Hanjoo Kim Journal of Affective Disorders.2024; 361: 596. CrossRef
Assessment of Epidemiological Data and Surveillance in Korea Substance Use Research: Insights and Future Directions Meekang Sung, Vaughan W. Rees, Hannah Lee, Mohammad S. Jalali Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.2024; 57(4): 307. CrossRef
Relationship between smoking experience and risk of suicide mortality in South Korean adults: A nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study Hyo Jin Park, Byoungduck Han, Bongseong Kim, Kyungdo Han, Seohwan Kim, Hyunjoo Kim, Kyoungjoon Youn, Hyun Jin Park, Yong-kyun Roh, Youn Seon Choi, Ga Eun Nam, Seon Mee Kim Journal of Affective Disorders.2024; 367: 67. CrossRef
Resistance to anti-smoking messages related to the higher smoking stigma of Korean female smokers Seung-Hyuk Ha, Gi-Eun Lee, Jang-Sun Hwang, Jang-Han Lee Frontiers in Psychology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Relationship between perception of body image on obesity and smoking status by age group in women: Findings of a seven-year Korean National Survey Hye Jung Hwang+, Youngmee Kim+, Won-Kyung Cho Tobacco Induced Diseases.2024; 22(October): 1. CrossRef
Association of food insecurity with the use of tobacco products and urine cotinine-measured smoking intensity: evidence from a population-based study in South Korea, 2019–2021 Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won, Jin-Ha Yoon Tobacco Control.2024; : tc-2024-058754. CrossRef
Tobacco Use in Korea: Current Epidemiology and Public Health Issues Jong Eun Park, Woo Min Jeong, Ye Jin Choi, So Young Kim, Kyoung Eun Yeob, Jong Hyock Park Journal of Korean Medical Science.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Age-period-cohort analysis of smoking prevalence trends among career military personnel in South Korea Sunju Jung, Heewon Kang, Sung-il Cho Tobacco Induced Diseases.2024; 22(December): 1. CrossRef
Motivational and behavioral mechanisms underlying generalized health risking behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in smokers Jiwon Park, Seungmin Lee, Xiaosi Gu, Vincenzo G. Fiore, Sunhae Sul, Dongil Chung Scientific Reports.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Association Between Lifestyle Behavior and Health-Related Productivity Loss Among Korean Employees Young Joong Kang, Mo-Yeol Kang Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.2024; 66(12): 1009. CrossRef
Sex differences in the impact of diabetes mellitus on tuberculosis recurrence: a retrospective national cohort study Dararat Eksombatchai, Dawoon Jeong, Jeongha Mok, Doosoo Jeon, Hee-Yeon Kang, Hee Jin Kim, Hee-Sun Kim, Hongjo Choi, Young Ae Kang International Journal of Infectious Diseases.2023; 127: 1. CrossRef
Associations between precarious employment and smoking and regular exercise: Results from a Korean longitudinal panel study from 2005 to 2020 Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jong-Uk Won Preventive Medicine.2023; 168: 107420. CrossRef
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire Nosheen Reza JACC: Heart Failure.2023; 11(3): 288. CrossRef
Factors associated with successful smoking cessation in men
with or without cardiovascular disease or cancer: Nationwide
Korean population analysis Youngmee Kim, Won-Kyung Cho Tobacco Induced Diseases.2023; 21(February): 1. CrossRef
Association between the dual use of electronic and
conventional cigarettes and NAFLD status in Korean men Minjung Han, Seogsong Jeong, Jihun Song, Sun Jae Park, Cheol Min Lee, Kiheon Lee, Sang Min Park Tobacco Induced Diseases.2023; 21(February): 1. CrossRef
Mental Health and Smoking-Related Determinants of Alcohol Drinking Experience in Korean Adolescents Sook Kyoung Park, Hae-Kyung Jo, Eunju Song International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2023; 20(6): 4724. CrossRef
Persistent impacts of smoking on resting-state EEG in male chronic smokers and past-smokers with 20 years of abstinence Hyeji Lee, Yoonji Jeon, Cheolin Yoo, HeeYoung Seon, Jiwon Park, Minho Hwang, Kwangyeol Baek, Dongil Chung Scientific Reports.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
SİGARA KULLANAN KADINLARIN GEBELİK PLANLARINDA SİGARA BIRAKMA ÖNGÖRÜLERİNİN BELİRLENMESİ Gülçin NACAR, Seda HAZAR, Engin Burak SELÇUK, Sermin TİMUR Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi.2023; 32(1): 137. CrossRef
Association of smoking and dietary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults Jiaqi Zhang, Li-Juan Tan, Hyein Jung, Jongseok Jung, JiYun Lee, Gowoon Lee, Suhyun Park, BoKyung Moon, Kyungho Choi, Sangah Shin Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.2023; 33(5): 831. CrossRef
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Substance Use Among Korean College Students: Different by Gender? Aely Park, Youngmi Kim, Jennifer Murphy Child Indicators Research.2023; 16(4): 1811. CrossRef
Influence of lesion location on lesion reactivation after initial treatment in neovascular age-related macular degeneration Jae Hui Kim, Jong Woo Kim, Chul Gu Kim Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.2023; 261(11): 3139. CrossRef
Impact of the minimum wage increase on smoking behaviour: A quasi-experimental study in South Korea Yihong Bai, Chungah Kim, Antony Chum Social Science & Medicine.2023; 333: 116135. CrossRef
15-year-long risk of the lung cancer development: predictive value of chronic non-communicable diseases’ risk factors in the ageing T.M. Nikitenko, L.V. Shcherbakova, O.D. Rymar, D.V. Denisova, V.V. Kozlov, S.K. Malyutina Profilakticheskaya meditsina.2023; 26(9): 74. CrossRef
Differences in clinical features between focal and extensive types of cystitis glandularis in patients without a previous history of urinary tract malignancy Jinhyung Jeon, Jee Soo Ha, Su-Jin Shin, Won Sik Ham, Young Deuk Choi, Kang Su Cho Investigative and Clinical Urology.2023; 64(6): 597. CrossRef
COPD Risk Factor Profiles in General Population and Referred Patients: Potential Etiotypes Jang Ho Lee, Sehee Kim, Ye-Jee Kim, Sei Won Lee, Jae Seung Lee, Yeon-Mok Oh International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.2023; Volume 18: 2509. CrossRef
Association between having a meal together with family and smoking: a cross-sectional nationwide survey Gun Hee Cho, Yun Seo Jang, Jaeyong Shin, Chung-Mo Nam, Eun-Cheol Park BMC Public Health.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Do patients attempt and succeed in quitting smoking during tuberculosis treatment? A prospective cohort study Jiwon Lee, Chaeuk Chung, Sung Soo Jung, Hye Kyeong Park, Sung-Soon Lee, Ki Man Lee, Jinsoo Min BMC Pulmonary Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Fear appeal effectiveness in antismoking campaigns: do anger and smoking matter? Jae-Seon Jeong, Jounghwa Choi, Ghee-Young Noh Psychology, Health & Medicine.2022; 27(10): 2105. CrossRef
Factors associated with quitting status of smoking in Korean
men with and without chronic kidney disease: A national
population-based study Youngmee Kim, Won-Kyung Cho Tobacco Induced Diseases.2022; 20(February): 1. CrossRef
Burden of Cancer Due to Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption in Korea Yoon-Sun Jung, Seok-Jun Yoon International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(6): 3493. CrossRef
Effect of smoking reduction, cessation, and resumption on cancer risk: A nationwide cohort study Jung Eun Yoo, Kyungdo Han, Dong Wook Shin, Wonyoung Jung, Dahye Kim, Cheol Min Lee, Hyuktae Kwon, Kyu‐Won Jung, Yun‐Mi Song Cancer.2022; 128(11): 2126. CrossRef
Methods of the 2020 (Wave 1) International Tobacco Control (ITC) Korea Survey Anne Quah, Sungkyu Lee, Hong Gwan Seo, Sung-il Cho, Sujin Lim, Yeol Kim, Steve Xu, Matthew Grey, Mi Yan, Christian Boudreau, Mary Thompson, Pete Driezen, Geoffrey Fong Tobacco Prevention & Cessation.2022; 8(March): 1. CrossRef
Additive effects of coexisting respiratory comorbidities on overall or respiratory mortality in patients with asthma: a national cohort study Yoomi Yeo, Hyun Lee, Jiin Ryu, Sung Jun Chung, Tai Sun Park, Dong Won Park, Sang-Heon Kim, Tae Hyung Kim, Jang Won Sohn, Ho Joo Yoon, Kyung Hoon Min, Ji-Yong Moon Scientific Reports.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Korean college students’ attitudes toward a tobacco-free campus: a cross-sectional descriptive study Min Sohn, Boae Im, Minhee Suh, Hun Jae Lee Child Health Nursing Research.2022; 28(2): 124. CrossRef
Deep Learning to Optimize Candidate Selection for Lung Cancer CT Screening: Advancing the 2021 USPSTF Recommendations Jong Hyuk Lee, Dongheon Lee, Michael T. Lu, Vineet K. Raghu, Chang Min Park, Jin Mo Goo, Seung Ho Choi, Hyungjin Kim Radiology.2022; 305(1): 209. CrossRef
Association between dual smoking and dyslipidemia in South Korean adults Wonseok Jeong, Negar Rezaei PLOS ONE.2022; 17(7): e0270577. CrossRef
Cancer Incidence Among Adults With HIV in a Population-Based Cohort in Korea Boyoung Park, Kyoung Hwan Ahn, Yunsu Choi, Jung Ho Kim, Hye Seong, Youn Jeong Kim, Jun Young Choi, Joon Young Song, Eunjung Lee, Yoon Hee Jun, Young Kyung Yoon, Won Suk Choi, Myungsun Lee, Jaehyun Seong, Shin-Woo Kim JAMA Network Open.2022; 5(8): e2224897. CrossRef
Multiple Tobacco Product Use among Adolescents with Asthma in Korea Seokhwan Kim, Kyuhee Jo International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(15): 9633. CrossRef
Smoking trajectory and cancer risk: A population-based
cohort study Minh Luu, Minji Han, Tra Bui, Phuong Thao Tran, Min-Kyung Lim, Jin Oh Tobacco Induced Diseases.2022; 20(August): 1. CrossRef
Longitudinal Changes in Smoking Habits in Women and Subsequent Risk of Cancer Thi Xuan Mai Tran, Soyeoun Kim, Huiyeon Song, Boyoung Park American Journal of Preventive Medicine.2022; 63(6): 894. CrossRef
Analysis of the Accuracy and Related Factors of Self-Reported Smoking Status according to Urinary Cotinine Concentration in Adolescents: The KoNEHS Cycle (2015~2017) Sunkyoung Jung, Sangshin Park Journal of Environmental Health Sciences.2022; 48(4): 216. CrossRef
Comparison between self-reported smoking habits and daily ad-libitum smoking topography in a group of Korean smokers Jiyeon Yang, Shervin Hashemi, Chaelin Lee, Wonseok Han, Yoojin Song, Youngwook Lim Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology.2022; 37(3): e2022020. CrossRef
Stage-emotion compatibility and the effectiveness of antismoking campaigns in South Korea: tailoring guilt and shame appeals to individuals in different stages of change Ji Mi Hong, Dong Hoo Kim Asian Journal of Communication.2022; 32(6): 529. CrossRef
Potential lipid-lowering effects of Ulmus macrocarpa Hance extract in adults with untreated high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial Ye Li Lee, Sang Yeoup Lee Frontiers in Medicine.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Did the COVID-19 Lockdown Reduce Smoking Rate in Adolescents? Seunghyup Lee, Mingee Choi, Dahyun Kim, Jaeyong Shin, Junghyun Kim International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 20(1): 139. CrossRef
Current status of tobacco use, cessation and control policy in Korea Cheol Min Lee Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 789. CrossRef
The risk of gastric cancer according to changes in smoking status among Korean men Sung Keun Park, Min-Ho Kim, Chang-Mo Oh, Eunhee Ha, Eun Hye Yang, Woo Yeon Hwang, Ann Hee You, Jae-Hong Ryoo Epidemiology and Health.2022; 44: e2022086. CrossRef
Association between Precarious Employment and Smoking and Regular Exercise: Results from Nationally Representative Surveys from 2005 to 2020 Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jong-Uk Won SSRN Electronic Journal .2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Smoking, urinary cotinine levels and incidence of visual impairment So Young Han, Yoosoo Chang, Hocheol Shin, Chul Young Choi, Seungho Ryu Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Factors Associated With the Differences Between Self-Report Smoking and Urinary Cotinine Criteria Gyeong-Min Lee, Jang-Ho Yoon, Woo-Ri Lee, Li-Hyun Kim, Ki-Bong Yoo Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health.2021; 33(4): 357. CrossRef
Effect of parental smoking on their children’s urine cotinine level in Korea: A population-based study Myung-Bae Park, Chhabi Lal Ranabhat, Stanton A. Glantz PLOS ONE.2021; 16(4): e0248013. CrossRef
Importance of smoking cessation for cardiovascular risk reduction Amalie Lykkemark Møller, Charlotte Andersson European Heart Journal.2021; 42(40): 4154. CrossRef
Sex disparities and adverse cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease: results from the KNOW-CKD Chan-Young Jung, Ga Young Heo, Jung Tak Park, Young Su Joo, Hyung Woo Kim, Hyunsun Lim, Tae Ik Chang, Ea Wha Kang, Tae-Hyun Yoo, Shin-Wook Kang, Joongyub Lee, Soo Wan Kim, Yun Kyu Oh, Ji Yong Jung, Kook-Hwan Oh, Curie Ahn, Seung Hyeok Han Clinical Research in Cardiology.2021; 110(7): 1116. CrossRef
Nicotine Dependence of Electronic Cigarette, Dual Combustible and Electronic Cigarette Users Jungun Lee Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2021; 42(3): 189. CrossRef
Association between Parental Cotinine-verified Smoking Status and Childhood Asthma: a Population-based Nationally Representative Analysis Jinho Jung, Hyun Joon Park, Minyoung Jung Journal of Korean Medical Science.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Smoking Cessation in Cancer Survivors Young Gyu Cho Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2021; 42(4): 258. CrossRef
News framing of e-cigarettes: A cross-national study of the US, UK, and Korea Jin-Ae Kang, Peter Schulz, Glenn T. Hubbard, Jooyun Hwang, Adrienne Muldrow, Brenna Barber, Catherine Lochner Communication Studies.2021; 72(5): 937. CrossRef
Study on the daily Ad Libitum smoking habits of active Korean smokers and their effect on urinary smoking exposure and impact biomarkers Jiyeon Yang, Shervin Hashemi, Wonseok Han, Chaelin Lee, Yoojin Song, Youngwook Lim Biomarkers.2021; 26(8): 691. CrossRef
Cultural variation in factors associated with sudden infant death during sleep Young Mee Ahn, Kyung-moo Yang, Hong Il Ha, Jung Ae Cho BMC Pediatrics.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Lung Cancer in Korea Sehhoon Park, Chang-Min Choi, Seung-Sik Hwang, Yoon-La Choi, Hyae Young Kim, Young-Chul Kim, Young Tae Kim, Ho Yun Lee, Si Yeol Song, Myung-Ju Ahn Journal of Thoracic Oncology.2021; 16(12): 1988. CrossRef
Effects of Different Graphic Health Warning Types on the Intention to Quit Smoking Hyejin Park, Min-Young Hong, In-Seon Lee, Younbyoung Chae International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(9): 3267. CrossRef
Prevalence of thyroid eye disease in Graves’ disease: A meta‐analysis and systematic review Yip Han Chin, Cheng Han Ng, Ming Hui Lee, Jeffery Wei Heng Koh, Jolene Kiew, Samantha Peiling Yang, Gangadhara Sundar, Chin Meng Khoo Clinical Endocrinology.2020; 93(4): 363. CrossRef
Health Effects of Air-Quality Regulations in Seoul Metropolitan Area: Applying Synthetic Control Method to Controlled-Interrupted Time-Series Analysis Soo-Yeon Kim, Hyomi Kim, Jong-Tae Lee Atmosphere.2020; 11(8): 868. CrossRef
Korean male active smokers: quantifying their smoking habits and the transformation factor among biomarkers in urine and blood Jiyeon Yang, Shervin Hashemi, Wonseok Han, Chaelin Lee, Younseok Kang, Youngwook Lim Biomarkers.2020; 25(8): 659. CrossRef
Presenting characteristics and clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19 in South Korea: A nationwide retrospective observational study Hyun-Young Park, Jung Hyun Lee, Nam-Kyoo Lim, Do Sang Lim, Sung Ok Hong, Mi-Jin Park, Seon Young Lee, Geehyuk Kim, Jae Kyung Park, Dae Sub Song, Hee Youl Chai, Sung Soo Kim, Yeon-Kyeng Lee, Hye Kyung Park, Jun-Wook Kwon, Eun Kyeong Jeong The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific.2020; 5: 100061. CrossRef
Factors Associated with Indoor Smoking at Home: A Focus on Socioeconomic Status in South Korea Bomgyeol Kim, Yejin Lee, Young Dae Kwon, Tae Hyun Kim, Jin Won Noh Epidemiology and Health.2020; : e2020067. CrossRef
A Multi-Disciplinary Study Into the Drivers of Smoking Cessation in South Korea James E. Prieger, Anna Choi SSRN Electronic Journal.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Investigating the Drivers of Smoking Cessation: A Role of Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems? Sam Hampsher, James E. Prieger SSRN Electronic Journal .2020;[Epub] CrossRef
First
Prev
