I seek the means... to fight injustice. To turn fear... against those who prey on the fearful
Contemplating my last post a little; I don’t proof read the things, that’s akin to reading instructions. I strongly believe that if you have to read the instructions then you are lacking in self confidence. I noticed that I gave a wee hint towards the Korean drinking culture but not the whole story. Yes there is a lot of alcoholism here, you see it everywhere, and almost all of it involves the dreaded Soju in one way or another. The culture is not just about quantity though, it is also about social rules.
You do not buy rounds in Korea.
You do not just pay for your own drink in Korea.
You do not stand at the bar in Korea.
You do not go into a bar and only drink in Korea.
All these facts are true for Koreans, as foreigners we are allowed off with the rules, but you often see them watching us and our alien ways.
As you go into a bar you choose your table to sit at and sit there, most places will have someone at the door to show you to a suitable seat depending on how many are in your party. Interestingly, they tend to keep groups of foreign guys away from the Korean ladies, ladies who come over and try and chat later in the evening anyways, but the guys don’t like us talking to (or dancing with) their womenfolk. If there are no tables then you are shit out of luck and have to leave, there is no standing allowed. In a lot of the places there isn’t even a bar, they collect all the stuff from in the kitchen and bring it to you, everywhere has table service and a little buzzer on the table to get the waiting staff over to help you.
The Buzzer
This seems like a great idea initially ‘What? I don’t need to get up to get another beer? That’s brilliant!’ However this quickly turns to ‘I hadn’t realized how much I drank as I hadn’t had to stand up for four hours’.
The no standing rule comes down to people paying for the whole table at a time. Culturally only one person will pay in each place you go into, and multiple places are chosen in a given night in order to give others a chance to pay their way.
When you first get the table you are expected to order food as well as booze. It is common place for us just to pretend that we don’t understand and just order the beer and play the daft lads (this usually works). The result of everyone having to order food is that each table is constantly stacked full of dishes and glasses and the place smells strongly of every food available. Deep filled pavement pizzas are common as well, another result of having to order food with everything.
The atmosphere in most of the places we go to is generally comfortable and lively enough. However they lack the ‘wall to wall, too many people’ feel that you get in some pubs back home that give more a rowdy beer atmosphere.
Next time: ‘Pool Halls’, or ‘Dancing'
You do not buy rounds in Korea.
You do not just pay for your own drink in Korea.
You do not stand at the bar in Korea.
You do not go into a bar and only drink in Korea.
All these facts are true for Koreans, as foreigners we are allowed off with the rules, but you often see them watching us and our alien ways.
As you go into a bar you choose your table to sit at and sit there, most places will have someone at the door to show you to a suitable seat depending on how many are in your party. Interestingly, they tend to keep groups of foreign guys away from the Korean ladies, ladies who come over and try and chat later in the evening anyways, but the guys don’t like us talking to (or dancing with) their womenfolk. If there are no tables then you are shit out of luck and have to leave, there is no standing allowed. In a lot of the places there isn’t even a bar, they collect all the stuff from in the kitchen and bring it to you, everywhere has table service and a little buzzer on the table to get the waiting staff over to help you.
The Buzzer
This seems like a great idea initially ‘What? I don’t need to get up to get another beer? That’s brilliant!’ However this quickly turns to ‘I hadn’t realized how much I drank as I hadn’t had to stand up for four hours’.
The no standing rule comes down to people paying for the whole table at a time. Culturally only one person will pay in each place you go into, and multiple places are chosen in a given night in order to give others a chance to pay their way.
When you first get the table you are expected to order food as well as booze. It is common place for us just to pretend that we don’t understand and just order the beer and play the daft lads (this usually works). The result of everyone having to order food is that each table is constantly stacked full of dishes and glasses and the place smells strongly of every food available. Deep filled pavement pizzas are common as well, another result of having to order food with everything.
The atmosphere in most of the places we go to is generally comfortable and lively enough. However they lack the ‘wall to wall, too many people’ feel that you get in some pubs back home that give more a rowdy beer atmosphere.
Next time: ‘Pool Halls’, or ‘Dancing'
posted by Alanowski @ 6:07 pm
2 Comments:
Aha. I think that's from the new Batman Begins movie. Currently showing at all good cinema outlets, and a few rubbish ones as well.
How's the league table shaping up Alanowski my friend?
doh
gref
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