Drinking in South Korea

Every now and then we find ourselves going out on the town and drinking some of South Korea's finest alcoholic choices.

The most famous has to be "Soju" which is South Korea's version of Vodka, in my opinion. Koreans usually drink this straight by the shot, and at an average of $1.00 Cnd per bottle at 20% alcohol, you could easily do some major damage with this stuff. We find it is best mixed with other fluids like juice or pop and although it isn't the best alcohol we've had, it is definitely the most cost efficient.

Beer or "Mek-ju" is probably the most popular drink here for foreigners and Angèle is even finding herself with no other choice but to drink beer. Hite, also known as "Shite" by foreigners, is our favorite, although it isn't that good of a beer, it will do the job while we are here. (that rhymed, unintentionally.) The most cost efficent for drinking at home is the 1600ml bottle which is $4.30 Cnd.

Drinking is very popular in South Korea, as it is in most countries, and it is very common for a group of men to go drinking after work while the wife takes care of the kids. We often see groups of men wandering around downtown drunk out of their minds by 9pm. If you are asked to go out for drinks after work, it is considered insulting to decline, so no one does. It would be hard to be a recovering alcoholic here.

Drinking at the table with friends in Korea is quite fun. You don't usually order anything for yourself, but everything is ordered as a group and you share. You never pour your own drink, even if you get a bottle or pitcher and start pouring for everyone else. Once you're done, someone will quickly take the pitcher from your hands, grab your glass and pour one for you. Koreans are very good at noticing when your glass is low and they quickly fill it up. It's sometimes hard to keep an empty glass! Restaurants or bars never split the bill. I'm sure they would if we asked but we just figure it out for ourselves.