In this study involving self-report questionnaire data from 955 tenth-grade students in three locations within Korea, we address the meanings of alcohol use and delinquency for Korean youth. Findings (a) supported a facilitative role for alcohol, but not delinquency, with respect to perceived peer social competence; (b) indicated negative associations of both alcohol use and delinquency with parental relations, valuing academic achievement, and collectivistic values, and positive associations with friends' risk behaviours; (c) showed no relationship of these behaviours with self-esteem, coping, parental permissiveness or individualistic values; and (d) revealed that perceived benefits of alcohol use and delinquency include not only social facilitation but also exploration and assertion of independence, suggesting a potential connection, as in Western societies, between risk taking, and identity exploration.