Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Art of Drinking in Excess in Korea

I am convinced, that there is no other drinking culture in the world quite like the drinking culture in Korea. There hasn't been a day yet where I haven't seen someone passed out in the street, or slumped over in a bar indefinitely. It's fascinating to watch, really.

Basically people work 6 days a week, sometimes 12-14 hours a day. And the business culture here is to take your clients out to dinner and show them a good time. That good time generally means going to a BBQ place and pounding Soju and beer for hours on end, parting ways, and stumbling home. I can't even count how many times I've seen a dressed up businessman just peeing on the side of the road, on a sidewalk, or in the bushes. Once a guy even saw me, turned while peeing, and waved at me.

What's really brought this into focus for me though, is a new website called blackoutkorea.blogspot.com. It is an epic website of pictures of Koreans passed out all over the place. Sure, it might be an invasion of privacy, BUT if you're that stupid to pass out in the worst positions and places publicly then you should really suffer the consequences.

Drinking in Korea is perhaps a bit out of control, but if you're a person with any kind of self restraint it can be a lot of healthy fun. There's no closing time, no last call at most places, an age restriction for 19 and under, and you can buy Soju for a buck and wander the streets with their lack of open container laws. It really is a fantastic playground for alcoholics.

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