Upon leaving the noraebang I was filled with the kind of happiness that only a truly heartfelt rendition of Love Story can instill in someone. It was getting late, but our night was not quite over. Our last stop was Hongik University
Korean Universities often have school-wide festivals in May, perhaps to quell the spring fever of the students still locked in the drudgery of the semester. A video of one such festival at Yonsei University can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDg93n9fNXs
We attended the festival at Hongik University on invitation from another one of AP’s high school friends. Hongik’s festival involved less live music than the one in the video, and more student organized activities. The girl who invited us would be working in a 주막 (jumak) , a Korean Drinking tent.
Now, I should point out that I wasn’t exactly a drinker in the States. I found out very quickly, though, that the drinking culture in Korea is significantly different from that of the US. For one thing, Korean liquor, being cheap and low in alcoholic content, is frequently paired casually with dinner, or sometimes even breakfast. Drinking is more typically done in “Rounds”, wherein a group of friends sits, drinks, and talks for a while before moving on to the next activity. Because of this concentration on the social aspect of the drinking, rather than a focus on getting messed up, it’s a far lighter, arguably more enjoyable tradition here. By the same token though, it’s not usually all that appropriate to refuse to drink. For more information about Korean drinking etiquette, check the Wikipedia
The smoke filled tent was filled with college students, nursing drinks, munching on snack foods, and emphatically chattering. We sat at a plastic table for four, already equipped with a medley of crunchy snack foods, and took a look at the menu. The menu boasted a selection of staple drinks, as well as some fried foods. After placing our order, we began to converse about the evening thus far.
Our order was modest, but covered a nice range of common Korean drinks. Foremost were a couple of bottles of소주 (soju). As I mentioned in an earlier post, soju is a Korean liquor made out of starches. Traditionally rice is used in the distillation process, but other starches, most commonly potatoes, are often used by modern brands. Soju was first brewed as early as 700 years ago, but didn’t gain wide appeal until the mid 20th century.
Alongside the soju was a liter of beer and another Korean drink known as 막걸리 (makgeolli). Makgeolli is another rice-based alcoholic beverage more suitably compared to wine than liquor. Some places serve makgeolli traditionally, out of a large bowl with the help of a ladle, but it’s served more commonly by the bottle.
As the night continued, the ambient chattering got louder. We could here sections of the tent spontaneously break out in song. Having an understandably low tolerance, it wasn’t long before I took up talking to (read: at) strangers in Korean. This led to the confusion of at least a few random people, but left my comrades highly bemused. Apparently, it’s not uncommon for Koreans to insist on struggling along in English when they get drunk, so my demonstration of a Westerner’s parallel carried with it a strangely unifying significance.
This post initially said that Soju was part of Korean Culture for 700 years. This is false. The new statement “first brewed 700 years ago but only popular since the mid 20th century” is accurate. For you Koreans out there: 난 바보.