Drinking the same everywhere??

About 3 years ago, I went on a tour to Korea with my girlfriend’s family. While in Korea, we were hosted by her father’s close business partner Mr Park Seunglee. Nearing the end of our stay, Mr Park invited us over to his house for dinner and drinks. The following is a recollection of my night at Mr Park’s house.

The dinner was highly enjoyable, as I got a taste of authentic home cooked Korean food. However, the interesting part was the events that followed when the drinking began. Korea has a reputation for being a place of hard drinking, as a result I was mentally prepared for the trial which was about to unfold.

The drinking session began with Mr Park pouring out Baek Se Ju* In a chorus of “Kon Bae!**” the glasses were emptied and promptly refilled. As with all other cultures in Asia, it was considered rude to refill one’s own glass. As such, it was expected of me to refill the empty glasses of the people seated around me.

However, a major difference in culture was the way in which I had to refill the empty glass. When I had to refill the glass of a person who was my senior, I had to do so with both hands (i.e hold the bottle with both hands, or place my free hand lightly under my pouring hand). This was compared to refilling the glass of a person who was considered to be of the same status, where I could just use one hand to hold the bottle.

Halfway though the drinking session, Mr Park suddenly emptied his glass, before refilling it and offering the same glass back to me! I was shock at this sudden gesture and was unsure of what to make of it. I was horrified at the idea of drinking from the glass of a stranger and was totally unprepared for it. I hurriedly glanced at my girlfriend’s dad, who motioned for me to accept the cup and turn to the side to drink. Having no choice, I accepted the glass from Mr Park with both hands, and turned away from him to drink. I later learned that what Mr Park did was considered normal in Korea. To show trust and respect, a Korean who is of a higher status would often empty his cup, before refilling it and offering it to someone of a lower status. In order not to disrespect Mr Park, I had to accept the glass he offered. On top of that, as Mr Park is my senior, it was considered rude of me to drink facing him. Hence, after accepting his glass, I had to turn to my side to consume my drink.

As the night wore on, the drinking got heavier and the group became rowdier. There was loud laughter and boisterous singing. What surprised me the most was that the neighbours did not call the police to report such disturbances. We were drinking into the wee hours of the morning and yet the neighbours just tolerated it. Had we been doing the same in Singapore, I am certain that the police would have been called in! This difference in behaviour was due to the drinking culture of Korea. Most Koreans adopt an “All is forgiven” stance when it comes to drinking. All that is said and done under the influence of alcohol is often forgotten if not forgiven the next day.

From my experience that night, I have come to realise that different culture groups have different practices. Even during an informal social gathering, the Korean culture is very much different that what I experience in Singapore.


*A type of filtered rice wine infused with ginseng with an alcohol content of 14%.
**Korean for Cheers