Drinking In Korea - KOMBEE!!
Koreans are not shy when it comes to drinking. They will be very friendly, and will not be too shy to try out any English expressions they know many times during the night. By the end of the night, you’ll likely end up at a “singing room” to bust out a few tunes. There are Western Style bars in most of the larger cities that will be a common hang-out for foreigners. In general, most Korean bars will only serve beer, soju, or whiskey sold by the bottle. Wine is very hard to come by, especially by the glass.
Before I came here, I heard Korea had the 2nd highest rate of alcoholism in the world. This surprises me even more because when I talk with my Korean friends, they aren’t big drinkers at all. Koreans tend to work very long hours during the week, and often on the weekends. With Nationmaster.com an excellent source for stats on most anything, I found that Korea is 16th currently in the world for total alcohol consumption. I was unable to find proper statistics for the rate of alcoholism.
Cultural tip - it is very normal for co-workers, even with the boss, to get totally smashed when out together.
Koreans tend to drink only beer or soju, and a night of beer ($3/500ml Glass) will quickly lead to soju. Soju is a rice alcohol that is 22%. ($2/bottle at a restaurant or $1 at your supermarket) It is drank from small shot glasses. Soju doesn’t really taste that good, but the Koreans will tell you they love it, even as they make harsh sounds after each sip. I prefer to order the lemon soju when it’s available. It isn’t as strong at 12%, and also tastes much better. Soju hangovers are not much fun at all.
Another great option is fruit soju, unfortunately it’s only available at certain places.
Cultural tips
- It is a Korean custom to always make sure your neighbors glass is filled up quickly after he finishes it. I’ve forgotten many times and my Korean friends have always understood.
- Always pour, drink, and receive a refill with your right hand.
- It is socially acceptable to drink in public in Korea.
- When filling your neighbors drink, be sure to show the appropriate respect by holding your left hand to your chest and bowing your head slightly. This level of respect shown changes depending on the age difference between the 2 people. [link – cultural tips]
Drinking options
Bar
The bars in Korea come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be a small local watering hole, that can hold only 10 people, or a larger place that can hold over 100. The drink options will be beer or soju. 10% of the places may allow you to buy an entire bottle of hard alcohol. When buying an entire bottle, scotch whiskey is usually the only option. Wine or mixed drinks are not available at most Korean bars. At some places it will be expected that you order at least menu item. Deep fried foods or fruit will be your options. For “service” you’ll usually get various peanuts, Korean style popcorn, almonds, popcorn, or dried squid. All refillable if you finish them.
Western Bar
Seoul has a variety of bars or clubs that will make you feel like you haven’t left your own country because there will be so many foreigners. Drink prices may be steep, so be prepared. The bars will be open until most people leave. You’ll love this while you’re still in the mood to party, but it won’t feel so good the next day, or walking home in the sunlight.
In Gwangju, there is one bar that is owned by 2 guys from Canada. They do a great job of keeping us local foreigners happy. They really cater to our needs with western menu items such as pizza slices or tacos. They also have a variety of mixed drinks and even wine available. With a great house band, as well as event nights such as Trivia Night, darts, open mic night, a house DJ on Saturday, and poker tourneys and Simpson’s on Sundays they have created quite a following.
Prices –
- Cocktails - $4 each, or 3 for $10.
- Beer – $3.00
[link – http://www.mdspeakeasy.com/]
There are other Western Style bars in Gwangju. Some will have mixed drink options, but many will still require that you buy an entire bottle of alcohol if you don’t want beer or soju. The price is about $100 per bottle, but that will include mix, and you’ll get a huge tray or fruit. It ends up to be the same as if you and your 3 friends ordered 20 drinks total.
A glass of wine is not an easy thing to find in the bars. Also, don’t expect to ask for anything exotic such as a Chocotini or a sex on the beach and have the bartender know what you mean.
Nightclubs
Nightclubs in Korea will play a mix of rap, house and even ballads. They can be a lot of fun when in a large or small group. Lots of people will be dancing, and the music is generally quite good. Generally, to enter you will have to buy a table. This means your group will pay a set amount, say $35 for a table, which includes your cover, your first drink each, and often a plate of fruit. After that you can either buy beer, coolers, a bottle of hard alcohol, are mixed drinks at some places. There may be certain age restrictions at some nightclubs as well, meaning you may be too old, or inversely, even too young for a certain club. One difference is that because most students or young people do not have jobs, they will not have much spending money, and may not drink at all when out, or they will only have a few drinks.”
Fruit Soju
This is a pitcher of real fruit punch (grape, kiwi, strawberry etc.) blended with soju. We always order extra bottles of soju to make sure it’s strong enough. Since it’s hard to taste the soju, it can get you pretty silly.
Soju Tent
Yes this is a huge tent outside, that serves, you guessed it – Soju! Some will have beer available as well. You will be expected to order some menu items here. This is fine because the soju is cheap. Don’t expect to have model waitresses at the soju tents! Most patrons are older Korean people, but are very friendly. This can be a good stop to quickly get you in the mood to party.
Supermarket
This is a simple one. Because you can buy beer or soju at every single corner supermarket, sometimes we just decide to go to a super to have our beer. We’ll pull up a chair to an outdoor plastic table, and enjoy our beer outside. Saves us money, we get fresh air, watch people walk by and our beer stays cold in the super’s fridge. Sometimes we’ll even sit down with some locals from our block. The conversation can be challenging, but my Korean gets a lot better after I drink some soju for confidence!
The park
Yes sometimes we’ll venture away from our little super to relax in the grass of a nearby field. A few cold beers in the sun can be a great Saturday afternoon.
Mountain drinking
For many Koreans, there’s nothing like doing a healthy hike, followed by drinking some cloudy, thick white alcohol from tin bowls. It’s called mokali or dong dong ju. Both are dirt cheap, but neither taste that good, in my opinion. People on the mountains are always very friendly so they’ll always look to share their drinks and food with you.
Rooftop
All of the best house parties I’ve been to in Korea, have taken place on people’s roofs. There is lots of space, the fresh air is great, and the pizza guy will deliver your pizza to the roof.
