Drinking in Korea

The Korean culture, or what I know of it so far, it a very community based, socially focused culture. Everything is done in groups and always in public. For example, going to a restaurant by yourself is considered, well, weird. If you go out with friends, you go out, no to someone's house. If you buy something, it is customary to share that something with however many people are in your group. Bonding as friends / co-workers / a couple is very important, and the #1 way of doing that is by going out and having drinks.

Drinking here has some interesting features. First off, refusing a drink is basically one of the seven deadly sins. You  must accept the drink, but you don't necessarily have to drink it. Any empty cup on the table is prone to being refilled at any time. It is customary to have others fill your drink, and you fill theirs. There are specific ways of accepting the drink, and when drinking one must turn slightly away from the eldest at the table, unless amongst friends of the same age. These things aren't hard to get used to.

The two main drinks here are makgeolli and soju. Makegeolli is basically like a wine made out of rice. It is easy to drink, inexpensive, and surprisingly tasty. Soju is a heavier drink, even less expensive (a bottle will run about $1) and taste almost exactly like a slightly watered down vodka. These two drinks can be fine anywhere, along with a variety of local and imported beers. All stores, and I mean all stores, will have coolers with plenty of options and an area outside for you to sit and drink.

Drinking with co-workers will be interesting. When I am placed at my school, I will be invited to go drinking with the school staff. And because of the respect levels of the Korean heirarchy, however much the principal decides to drink is about how much the rest of the staff should drink. So, if he doesn't drink much, then you wait to have more drinks after he has left. If he does drink a lot, then I maybe leaving my cup full at times to take it easy. Either way, being drunk in public is by no means wrong here and you cannot be arrested for it. That doesn't mean everyone is stumbling around, but at the same time, I'm sure it happens.

So, ya, drinking here is a vital part of the culture and goes with the idea of sharing and community that is threaded in their lifestyle. They love to have fun as a group and spend time getting to know eachother. There is a saying that the Koreans drink as much as they work. They work a lot.