When I first started asking people in various forums about Korea, somebody told me "the primary social activity is drinking." Seeing as of how I don't mind a drink every now and again, I decided I was fine with that! Though I really haven't done much drinking here in Korea- mostly 'cause I'm still not 100 percent recovered from the jetlag yet, and so by the time 8:00 or so rolls around, I'd rather go to sleep than have a beer. Shocking, I know.
Which isn't to say I've gone prohibition! Far from it. In fact, on Friday night, I roamed around- at which point I found a beer bar not too far from my house. Neat! It's nothing like a beer bar back home, I fear, but I'm glad I found it. Especially since they had Duvel! Tasty, tasty (and pricey) Duvel! They tried to serve it to me on ice, however, which I found to be somewhat blasphemous. Thankfully, they understood 'no ice!' easily enough (the no-doubt horrified expression on my face probably helped) Still, at least I know where I can find a decent treat for myself if I need one.
Not all the beer here is bad, though. I've found something called "Black Beer Stout" which I think is Korean, and tastes not-terrible. I think I may have found my Korean beer of choice, but who knows what I'll find next?
Anyway, as mentioned before, after the graduation ceremony last night, the bosses took us out to dinner/drinks. We went to a sashimi place, where we all took off our shoes and sat on the floor around a low-lying table in some little room, whereupon they piled food and booze in front of us. Eating in one of these traditional Korean resturants is odd, as the food does. Not. Stop. I'm sure there's some order to the courses, but it seems like every time you thought you were done, they'd bring another platter full of...uh, something. Next time I go to a joint like this, I'm bringing my camera so you can see just how much food they wind up serving.
Now, I don't particularly care for sushi/sashimi, but that's what we were eating, and I was pretty hungry at the time. Eventually, I just thought to myself 'what would Les Stroud do?' and dug in. I'd been watching a lot of Survivorman before I left the States, see. Honestly, it wasn't too bad- except for the fact that sashimi really isn't good drinking food. I'd much rather have something more...substantial than artfully arranged raw fish to mix around with a pint or three, y'know?
From my first impression, Korean-style drinking is...impractical. As for one, you're not allowed to pour your own drink; the other people at the table do it for you. You're supposed to hold the glass or the bottle with both hands, or put the other hand on your elbow. There's some other business about turning away from your elders when you drink, but they told me not to bother with that since I'm not actually Korean. There's probably a whole bunch of cultural history behind this, but ultimately it's one of those Korean customs that's geared to create a sense of community and/or hierarchy.
Soju, a sort of rice wine, is the favorite drink of a lot of Koreans. I had some for the first time last night, and, well, I honestly couldn't say I care for it that much. It's too sweet for my tastes- kinda like...I dunno, mediciney vodka? Thankfully, there was beer as well- again, the crappy lager, but it was fine for the occasion.
This is also when I discovered something called "So-Mak," or the soju bomb. Basically, it's a shot of soju mixed into a glass of beer (maekju, in Korean- hence, soju + maekju = somak). The soju is enough to give the beer some character (and booze), and the beer is enough to cut the sweetness of the soju.
This...is a dangerous combination. Once I drank one, I realized that I could get a bit sloppy on these if I wasn't careful. Which, given a belly full of raw salmon, didn't seem to be a very pleasant proposition. But I know how to pace myself, and I stuck to just beer and water (separately, mind) so I came out alright. Not even a hangover this morning!
All and all, it was a fun evening. Most of the conversation was about the food, as the Korean teachers educated me on the proper way to eat this or that. I did run into some younger (and drunker) Korean dudes when I went to the bathroom, who were quite enthusiastic in practicing their English. Funny little experience, really.
So after about three hours of food and booze, we wrapped up. The bosses paid for everything (as is the tradition), so bonus on that. I was a little buzzed by the time we were done, but not too much. I certainly didn't have any trouble finding my way back to my apartment, at least. This didn't stop the other American teacher from calling me afterward to make sure I did, but I'm glad he's looking out for me. There's still a lot to take in about Korea- and I haven't even left this little ten block radius around my apartment yet!
Though that'll be fixed soon- on Tuesday, I'm gonna meet up with my cousin and one of her friends for various touristy hijinks in Seoul proper. I'm looking forward to it! Pictures and a proper report will come soon enough. Stay tuned!
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