Work Hard, Play Hard

As promised, a post dedicated to the Korean drinking culture.

Drinking is more than just acceptable in Korea, it is encouraged. It is a cultural thing. I don’t want to give off a wrong impression because Koreans actually work very long and hard hours, however, they can also balance it with heavy drinking. Might I say that it is part of the culture that some foreigners have enjoyed assimilating to, as well. After work, men routinely take Soju shots throughout a beer-drinking session. It is common for businessmen to be passed out on the street or in the subway station. This country is very safe as far as violence and thievery go, so the following day's hangover and their wife's justified anger end up being the worst of their problems.

Even my younger students know what’s up. They are aware of the drinking culture firsthand because they have seen their fathers come home and know just what drinking does to them. Their English skills may be limited, but motioning a drink followed by arm-waving and a crazy face is a very communicable language. For better or for worse, they think it’s hilarious...I do my best to suppress my own laugh.

Unfortunately Korean beer is not very good, even by my lowly beer standards, but is typical  when groups go out to dinner. Foreign beer is available but is rather expensive. At dinner, Korean beer is very often accompanied by a distilled rice liquor with 20% alcohol called soju. I think the taste is best described as watered-down vodka, though that doesn’t exactly make it any more tolerable. It is very inexpensive and can be purchased at any convenience mart, many of which even have tables you can sit at to eat or drink right there. This coupled with Korea’s lack of open container laws is a good way to start of a night. Sojurade can be concocted with Gatorade and soju. While incredibly affordable, the downside is that soju seems to lend itself to worse hangovers than other liquors or alcoholic beverages.  You get what you pay for, I guess.

Another option is makgeolli (Korean rice wine) which you can also buy bottled at convenience marts for a good price, as well. So far I’ve mostly passed on it as it has what I might call…a rotting taste. And that it looks like milk. To be fair, there was a sparkling makgeolli served in a restaurant that I thought was decent. Makgeolli goes hand-in-hand with pajeon, a delicious savory green onion pancake. There is a range in quality, so it may be likely that I just don’t find enjoyment in the bottom-of-the-barrel makgeolli. It's growing on me, though.

To my dismay, wine as I know it in the States is expensive. Cheap American brands are a few times more expensive here and it is painful to pay good money for bad wine. We do have a wine store just down our street, and while most of it is dismayingly expensive by college student standards, Bethany and I have gotten in the habit of buying what we have affectionately named “gamble wine.” These bottles are on discount because they are starting to age…in a bad way. It's not high quality but I’m actually finding that I like it pretty well as far as red wines go. The best part is that the lady who runs the shop often throws in a third bottle for free!

Despite a post entirely on alcohol, I want to make it quite clear that I personally have not been drinking to excess. It is quite common to stay out until the sun rises, but so far I have found that I like being in bed quite a bit before that. I must I value sleep more than many Koreans do. However, there is lots of fun to be had all over the city no matter what time you head home. One of my favorite nightlife areas is a little place called Hongdae...