Bacchus Drink: Korea's Energy Tonic, D vs F, Caffeine and Price

Bacchus F, the convenience store version. The label prints 120mL. Photo by 남종현 (Nam Jong-hyun), CC BY 2.0 KR.

Bacchus-D (박카스D), 10 x 100 ml — Dong-A's pharmacy formula, on AmazonAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Bacchus (박카스) is the small brown bottle with a blue gear logo that sits by the register in every Korean convenience store. It is a non-carbonated taurine-and-B-vitamin tonic made by Dong-A Pharmaceutical (동아제약), sold as a drink since 1963, and by the company's own count Koreans had bought 24.2 billion bottles of it by the end of 2025.

The Bacchus drink comes in two main versions, D and F, and the English web keeps mixing them up. English Wikipedia's Bacchus page says Bacchus F is the one "with its higher content of 2000 mg of Taurine." Dong-A's own product pages say the opposite: Bacchus D has 2,000mg, Bacchus F has 1,000mg. The smaller bottle is the stronger one, and you can only buy it in a pharmacy.

Below, every number is checked against a Korean source: what is in each bottle, what it costs this month, why the two versions live in different shops, and when not to buy it.

Last updated: 13 October 2026. Ingredients from Dong-A Pharmaceutical's product pages; convenience store price from CU's official catalogue, read 13 October 2026.

Bacchus Drink: Quick Guide

What Is in Each Bottle: Bacchus D vs F, Ingredient by Ingredient

Dong-A publishes the full active-ingredient table for each product on its Korean website. Here they are side by side, per bottle:

The difference comes down to two lines. D has double the taurine in a smaller bottle. F swaps half the taurine for 100mg of carnitine and adds 20ml of liquid. The caffeine and the four B vitamins are the same.

So when Koreans search 박카스 D F 차이 ("Bacchus D F difference"), one of the most-suggested Bacchus searches on Korean search engines, the answer is short. D is the taurine-heavy pharmacy bottle. F is the bigger, milder retail bottle with carnitine. Korea's health press agrees: Kormedi (코메디닷컴) ran the same comparison in August 2026. It added that research does not clearly show more taurine means less fatigue. Double the taurine is a label fact. Twice the effect is not proven.

You might like: Korean Drinks Guide: what to buy in a Korean convenience store, with the price, sugar and caffeine of every bottle

Why Korea Sells One Drink in Two Versions

The split comes from how Bacchus is sold, not from any dosage law. Here is what the records show.

Until July 2011, Bacchus was a 일반의약품 (over-the-counter medicine), and Korean law kept those in pharmacies. From 21 July 2011 the Ministry of Health and Welfare reclassified 48 OTC products, Bacchus among them, as 의약외품 (quasi-drugs). That meant supermarkets and convenience stores could sell them.

Pharmacists did not want to lose their best-known bottle, so Dong-A made two products. In August 2011 it brought back the Bacchus F name and filed a new F formula as a quasi-drug for general retail: 20ml more liquid, half the taurine, and added carnitine. It had stopped making the old F in March 2005, when the 2,000mg Bacchus D replaced it. Bacchus D stayed with pharmacies. Dong-A has supplied D only to pharmacies ever since, and Korean pharmacy press was still reporting that policy in 2019, when online sellers started undercutting it.

Both are the same legal class today. MFDS's drug database (의약품안전나라) lists 박카스디액 and 박카스에프액 as quasi-drugs. Korea's quasi-drug standard for tonic drinks prints both formulas side by side, with no rule tying taurine content to where a bottle may be sold. You may read elsewhere that anything over 1,000mg of taurine must stay in pharmacies. That is wrong, and an earlier version of this page said it too. The standard does contain a 1,000mg figure, but it is the daily cap for generic tonic recipes. Bacchus D is a separately listed formula, and nothing in the standard decides where a bottle is sold.

In short, Dong-A made one bottle for the pharmacists who had sold Bacchus for nearly fifty years and one for everyone else.

Bacchus Caffeine: Is It Bad for You?

The answer is printed on the bottle, in Korean.

Dong-A's dosage line, identical on both products: 15세 이상 성인 : 1일 1회 1병을 복용한다. 15세 미만은 복용하지 않는다. Adults 15 and over: one bottle, once a day. Not for under-15s.

That wording is required by MFDS's quasi-drug standard for both formulas, not added by marketing.

The caffeine is low. Both versions contain 30mg. For scale:

One bottle is about 7.5% of the adult daily caffeine limit. If caffeine is your worry, Bacchus is one of the milder things in the fridge. The coffee next to it is much stronger.

The real caveats are elsewhere. Bacchus is a sweetened tonic, so it contains sugar. Because it is a quasi-drug, it does not carry the food-style nutrition panel that soft drinks do, which makes sugar harder to check than on the Vita 500 beside it. The one-a-day limit applies to the whole formula, not just the caffeine. If you take medication, are pregnant, or react badly to taurine, ask in a pharmacy. That is where Bacchus D is sold anyway.

The Rest of the Bacchus Family: Decaf and the New Bacchus O

Dong-A's Korean product pages cover the four Bacchus drinks you are most likely to see:

Bacchus O is the newest. Dong-A launched it on 31 July 2026 as a 30ml "energy shot", rolling out to pharmacies and Olive Young (올리브영) first, with online stores to follow. On 17 September it added a pharmacy-only 20-vial pack; pharmacies also sell single vials. Dong-A had not published a price when we checked.

Bacchus Decaf is the one to know if caffeine keeps you awake: F's 1,000mg of taurine, no caffeine listed. The price tracker pyony.com lists it at ₩1,000 a bottle in GS25 and 7-Eleven, often on 1+1 or 2+1 deals, though not every store stocks it.

Bacchus Price in Korea, October 2026

What the table means in practice:

1. The convenience store price is fixed. The pharmacy price is not. Each pharmacy sets its own retail price. Dong-A raised the D supply price by 10.9% from 1 March 2025 (Dailypharm), so expect small differences between pharmacies.
2. For D, buy the box. 박카스 한 박스 가격 (price of a box of Bacchus) is a top Korean Bacchus search for a reason: at ₩8,000–9,000 for ten, you save about one bottle in ten.
3. A convenience store box of F saves nothing. The 10-pack costs exactly ten singles. For F in bulk, a mart or online box is cheaper.

A 1970s Bacchus-D bottle. The label prints BACCHUS-D and 100cc. The D name is older than today's formula: the current 2,000mg Bacchus D went on sale in March 2005, replacing the Bacchus F of that time (Medical Times, 2011). Photo: 한국문화정보원 (Korea Culture Information Service Agency), KOGL Type 1.

Where to Buy Bacchus, and What to Say

Bacchus F: any convenience store. CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and emart24 all stock it in the drinks fridge.

Bacchus D: a pharmacy (약국). Look for the word 약국 and a green cross. In city centres, near subway exits and around hospitals there is usually one within a few minutes' walk. No prescription is needed, because it is a quasi-drug. Say "박카스 디 주세요" (Bacchus D juseyo, "Bacchus D, please") or "박카스 한 박스 주세요" for a box. Pointing at your phone screen works too.

Do not expect a convenience store to sell you D. A shop that stocks one version usually does not stock the other. That is the whole point of the split.

Bacchus O: Olive Young or a pharmacy. It is new, so stock is still patchy.

For how Korean pharmacies work in general, read EpicKor's Korean healthcare guide for tourists.

How Koreans Actually Drink It

Bacchus is a one-shot drink, usually drunk standing up. The bottle is small on purpose. Koreans do not sip it at a table for twenty minutes. They drink it cold in two or three swallows, often at the counter and often mid-task.

It shows up at particular moments:

• Before or during physical work. The brand has been tied to manual labour for decades.
• During long study or overtime sessions, alongside convenience-store coffee.
• As a small gesture. Handing someone a Bacchus is a common, low-key way of saying "thanks for the effort", in an office, on a building site, or to a delivery driver.
• Given to older relatives, often by the box, almost as a courtesy item.

It is not aimed at young people the way Red Bull is. It is closer to a household staple that happens to come in a medicine bottle.

An empty Bacchus F on a wet outdoor bench: the way most bottles end up, drunk in a few swallows between errands. Photo by Kth696586, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Don't Buy Bacchus If…

Honest advice, because the bottle's reputation is bigger than what is in it:

• You just want caffeine. A ₩1,000 Bacchus gives you 30mg. Convenience-store coffee costs a little more and gives you several times as much. Bacchus is not a substitute for Red Bull or coffee.
• You are caffeine-sensitive and drinking late. Buy Bacchus Decaf instead, or the caffeine-free Vita 500 next to it. Our Vita 500 guide explains how that orange bottle beat Bacchus into convenience stores by ten years.
• You are under 15, or buying for a child. The label says no, and in Korea that is a regulatory instruction.
• You are buying a box of F in a convenience store to save money. You won't save anything (see the price table). Buy singles, or go to a mart.
• You want "double strength" because the bottle is bigger. The bigger bottle is the weaker one. If you want the 2,000mg formula, you need D, from a pharmacy.

Buying Bacchus Outside Korea

The D/F split is a Korean arrangement between Dong-A and Korean pharmacies and means nothing elsewhere. Sister company Dong-A ST sells Bacchus in every overseas market except Vietnam. Bacchus sales hit a record ₩351.7 billion in 2024, of which ₩83.6 billion came from Dong-A ST's overseas sales, with Cambodia the main growth market (Dailypharm, February 2025).

If you buy abroad:

• Do not assume an overseas listing matches the Korean bottle. Check the volume and the ingredient panel on what actually arrives.
• Taurine is the number to check, not the letter or the bottle colour.
• In the United States, English Wikipedia says Bacchus is distributed by Dong-A America in a 3.3 oz glass bottle, about the 100ml size of the Korean pharmacy bottle.

Where Bacchus Sits Among Korean Drinks

Bacchus is a small functional tonic, a category Korea and Japan keep and most Western markets do not. The soft drink beside it has its own naming puzzle: Chilsung Cider, sold as "cider" with no apples in it. For the free barley and corn teas at restaurants, see the Korean tea and grain drinks guide; for alcohol, the Korea drinks guide covers makgeolli, somaek and beer.

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FAQ About the Bacchus Drink

Q: What is Bacchus drink?

A: Bacchus (박카스) is a small, non-carbonated Korean tonic drink made by Dong-A Pharmaceutical and sold as a drink since 1963. It contains taurine, four B vitamins, inositol and 30mg of caffeine. Legally it is a quasi-drug (의약외품), not a soft drink. Dong-A says Koreans had bought 24.2 billion bottles by the end of 2025.

Q: What is the difference between Bacchus D and Bacchus F?

A: Bacchus D is a 100ml bottle with 2,000mg of taurine, sold only in pharmacies. Bacchus F is a 120ml bottle with 1,000mg of taurine plus 100mg of carnitine, sold in convenience stores and marts. Both have 30mg of caffeine. The smaller bottle is the stronger one.

Q: Is Bacchus bad for you?

A: The label sets the limit: one bottle a day for ages 15 and up, none under 15. The caffeine (30mg) is about 7.5% of the 400mg adult daily limit set by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Sugar is the bigger concern for most people. If you take medication or are pregnant, ask a pharmacist.

Q: How much is Bacchus in Korea?

A: Bacchus F costs ₩1,000 a bottle in convenience stores (CU's official catalogue, 13 October 2026). Bacchus D costs about ₩900–1,000 a bottle in pharmacies, or about ₩8,000–9,000 for a box of 10 (2025 ranges reported by Namu Wiki), but each pharmacy sets its own price.

Q: Where can I buy Bacchus D?

A: Only in pharmacies (약국). Dong-A has supplied D only to pharmacies since 2011, so convenience stores carry F instead. No prescription is needed: ask for "박카스 디".

Q: Is there a Bacchus without caffeine?

A: Yes. Bacchus Decaf (박카스디카페액), 120ml, has 1,000mg of taurine and no caffeine listed on Dong-A's product page. Vita 500, a different brand, is also caffeine-free.

Q: Is the Bacchus I buy outside Korea the same?

A: Not necessarily. The D/F split only exists inside Korea, and export products can differ in volume, packaging and formula. Check the taurine figure on the product you actually receive.

Sources and Further Reading

• Dong-A Pharmaceutical (동아제약) product pages: 박카스디액, 박카스에프액, 박카스디카페액, 박카스오액. Ingredient tables and dosage lines, checked 13 October 2026
• Dong-A Pharmaceutical newsroom, 7 September 2026: 63rd anniversary, cumulative 24.2 billion bottles
• CU (BGF Retail) official product catalogue: 박카스F병120ml ₩1,000, read 13 October 2026
• Seoul Economic Daily (서울경제), 14 February 2024: convenience store Bacchus F up from ₩900 to ₩1,000; 10-pack ₩10,000, 20-pack ₩20,000
• Dailypharm (데일리팜), 15 January 2025: Bacchus D supply price +10.9%, F +11.1%, from 1 March 2025
• Dailypharm, 11 February 2025: Bacchus 2024 sales ₩351.7 billion, Dong-A ST overseas sales ₩83.6 billion, Cambodia growth
• Namu Wiki (나무위키), 박카스: 2025 pharmacy and box price ranges (community-edited; used for estimates only)
• Medigate News, 31 July 2026: Bacchus O launch, 30ml, 1,000mg taurine, pharmacies and Olive Young first, online later; Dong-A press release of 17 September 2026 on the pharmacy-only 20-vial pack
• Kormedi (코메디닷컴), 28 August 2026: D vs F composition, 30mg caffeine, MFDS 400mg/300mg limits
• Ministry of Food and Drug Safety drug database (의약품안전나라, nedrug.mfds.go.kr): 박카스디액 and 박카스에프액 listed as 의약외품, registered 27 September and 17 August 2011
• MFDS 의약외품 표준제조기준, chapter 4 (자양강장변질제): both Bacchus formulas as listed prescriptions, with the "15세 이상 성인: 1일 1회 1병" dosage line
• Seoul Shinmun, 20 July 2011: 48 OTC medicines including Bacchus moved to quasi-drug status from 21 July 2011
• Medical Times, 17 August 2011: Dong-A's quasi-drug filing for Bacchus F and the pharmacy/retail split
• Dailypharm, 12 March 2019: Dong-A's pharmacy-only distribution policy for Bacchus D
• English Wikipedia, Bacchus-F: states F has 2,000mg taurine, contradicted by Dong-A's labels (checked 13 October 2026)
• Image sources and licensing are documented in this post's image-sources.md

Prices: CU catalogue read 13 October 2026; pharmacy prices are 2025 ranges and vary by store, so confirm at the counter. Ingredients re-checked against Dong-A's product pages on 13 October 2026.