Gambe!

Before coming to Korea, I read in my travel book that drinking alcohol with your co-workers is a very important part of the business culture here in Korea. The book didn't really describe it properly. It is not just your typical happy hour and go home sort of a deal. These people are all out to get drunk - very, very drunk. And they are also out to get everyone else drunk. Needless to say, when I found myself in the middle of just such an occasion, I fit right in.

The semester at my new job just kicked off, so the President of our company wanted to celebrate with all the new faculty members so he could properly welcome us to the school. So I joined 7 other new faculty members along with some of the more seasoned professors, and we went to this Korean barbecue place. I was pretty stoked about that, because I love Korean barbecue - the tables have big grills in the middle, and they essentially bring you a plate of raw meet that you cook yourself - very fun, and very delicious. Anyway, when I sat down (on the floor), I immediately knew I was in for a bit of trouble, because every place setting had two glasses - a beer glass, and a shot glass. You all know I love my beer, but shots? Not so much.

We were all sitting around just chatting when someone ran upstairs to warn us that the President was coming. So, we all stood up to greet him properly. The president came in and greeted every person in the room. We all waited for him to then sit, then we could all sit. Once he got there, the drinking began. It started with some Maekju, which is Korean for beer. Beer here is very light - like Miller. Everyone's glass was filled with beer, the President made a toast, we all yelled "A-hi-ya" or something like that, and the dinner had begun. Quickly after the beer, the waitresses began bringing in the soju. Soju is a rice wine, and it is essentially the national drink of Korea. It tastes a bit like vodka, but it isn't quite as strong. I don't particularly care for the stuff, but somehow I find it very difficult to say no to these people.

In Korea, they are very formal about how they drink. One is never supposed to fill his own glass. If you see your neighbor's glass is empty, you should offer to fill it for him or her. This approach pretty much makes the whole event about making sure your buddies are constantly drinking. The funniest part about it is that everyone is so into it. It seemed like they all wanted to just get obliterated, and they wanted to take me along with them.

The President of the company was especially interested in making sure I was taken care of. Twice in the evening, he offered me his shot glass. At first, I wasn't sure what to do about it. I thought he was asking me to fill it up for him, but it turned out that he was asking me to take his glass and drink from it - a gesture of friendship. So I took his empty shot glass, he filled it up with soju, I shot it, and then I handed it back to him and filled it back up for him. Then he shot his. And everyone cheered.

At another point in the evening, they decided it was time to do beer bombs. Typically in Korea, a beer bomb is a glass of beer with a shot of soju in it. That was too low class for us, though, so instead they bought a bottle of 17 year old single malt scotch, and mixed that with the beers. Kind of a shame that they'd do that to scotch, but who am I to judge? Again, the President was especially interested in promoting my alcoholism. So he had them mix me up a special one, and he handed it to me. Before I drank it, he said "We have rule! You must drink! One breath! If no drink in one breath, you total failure." I know a challenge when I hear it. I slammed my beer/whiskey, and they all proclaimed me a true Korean.

I was really starting to like this President. He seemed like such a good guy. Then, this guy who was sitting next to me leaned over, pointed to the President and said to me, "He is my boss. I don't like him." He thought he was whispering, but everyone heard him and busted up laughing. One of the many dangers of soju, I guess.

So the dinner went on like this. Just when I thought things were winding down, the waitresses would bring more food and more booze. We ate and drank until about 9:30. It seemed like things were wrapping up. Everyone stood up and started making their way to the exit. I figured the evening was over. I was wrong. The drunk who publicly announced his dislike for his boss grabbed my hand and started pulling me. "Round 2!" he said. "Round 2!" After all the drinking we had done for dinner, it was more like round 15, but who's counting, really?

In round 2, everyone but the president moved to a new bar where we sat and had beers. I guess that's normal for round 2. This is the round where people can complain about work. But mostly people were just having fun. Several were getting up and making toasts. We'd all yell, "Gambe!" and throw back our drinks. I even gave a toast. That went over quite well. At the end, this one woman says, "I'm so impressed. You speak English so well." And then she just busted up laughing at herself.

We stayed there for about another hour. They tried to talk me into joining them for round 3, but I just couldn't do it. I was already completely blitzed. I had mixed beer, whiskey, and soju - i knew if I had much more, it was not going to be a pretty seen. So I backed out. I wasn't the only one, though. It looked like only the hardest of the hard core boozers made it to round 3.

All in all, it was a very cool experience. I felt a little wrecked the morning after, but I recovered soon enough. I made some new friends out of the deal. And the best part - it was all on the company dime. I think I could get used to this.

That's all for now. We miss you all!

Gambe!

Godfrey