How drunk was I last night?

Well, sad to say I wasn’t very drunk, but I cannot say the same for a number of my co-workers.  I have talked about the drinking culture here in Korea before, and last night was another exercise in alcohol, human, and cultural tolerances.  So, be prepared for 2 blog entries in a single week.  I can hear the imaginary gasps of shock and amazement...

With the coming of two new, awesome local teachers, and the completion of term tests, we set forth to enjoy massive amounts of Korean food.  And there was soju, there was so much soju.  Dinner was something of a delight for me.  Small strips of thinly sliced beef were placed on our metal, in-table grill, and cooked to perfection.  We then dipped these slices of beef in coarse salt, which reminded Rachel of some traditional Jewish meals.  Thick slices of beef along with mushrooms and onions were placed on the grill as well.  And while Rachel did not enjoy this food as much as the pork that we have gone back to many times, I thought that this was the best local food we have had to date.  

Did I mention that there was soju?  Did I mention that my boss was pouring me shots?  There is a very odd feeling of peer pressure that the locals have perfected to an art.  Some of my co-workers have said that they do not like soju, and some have said that they don’t like drinking at all.  But that did not stop them from being pressured into consuming large quantities of the vile liquid.  Rachel leaned over and asked me “If they don’t like it, then why are they drinking?”  My answer confused her even more.  They feel compelled and to an extent obligated.  Rachel’s response was to ask if she was the only one with the balls to say “No I don’t want that”.  Yes.  Yes you are Rachel, and I am very proud of you for that.  The culmination of this peer pressure came in the form of one of our newest teachers (who told me earlier that she does not like soju) was compelled to share a shot of the stuff with all 13 of the others around the table.  By the last few (myself included), she was begging not to have a whole lot put in her shot glass.  

To clarify there are a number of “rules” to drinking in Korea.  If anyone is curious take a look at the following two websites for further information.  

http://www.korea4expats.com/article-drinking-customs-korea.html


http://www.korea4expats.com/article-drinking-norms.html

There is something very strange about sitting next to your boss, your boss’s boss, and their boss, all of whom are drinking large amounts of alcohol.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind drinking large amounts of the stuff, but there is a point at which it starts getting silly.  But it is when the night moved on to its next phase is when things get really strange and interesting.  I am of course talking about the fabled Nore-Bang or Karaoke room.  Like drinking, it is considered something that really can’t be refused.  Rachel was wise enough to duck out when she got the chance to.  I was not so lucky.  My reputation preceded me, and our finance officer and the CEO both have heard me in my classes singing and being entertaining.  This of course meant that I was obligated to go in and sing.  One of my bosses was in front of the table in a flash, microphone in his hand, singing his heart out.  Now one thing that makes this more interesting is that your performance gets scored by the machine.  After every song, a percentage appears on the screen showing how close you got to the original song.  The CEO then declared that he would pay anyone who gets 100% 10,000 won (about $10) from his own wallet.  Well after a little song from Oasis, I earned myself 10,000 won.

 

I didn’t stay very long, but when I did leave, I saw all the people who were in charge were off to another restaurant for more food and more drinks.  Now I don’t know what time people made it home, but there were a fair number of people who came to work the next day in the same clothes that they were wearing the night before.