SOUTH KOREAN DRINKS: Etiquette
Dear Foodie Fam,
In Seoul, South Korea, alcohol consumption is a huge part of culture and community. Here’s a breakdown:
Seoul has the highest alcohol consumption per capita than any other country.
Anyone over 15 years old drinks about 10.9 litres, yearly- 13.7 shots of spirit per week.
Sloppy behavior enacted during drinking binges is usually quickly forgiven even by coworkers and superiors.
Now, how do you take part?
Basic Korean Drinking Rules:
Legal drinking age is 19 years old.
Do NOT drink alone. It's a social thing.
Don't fill your own drink. Since drinking is a social, of course there would be an unwritten rule that you should expect others to refill your drink for you. Hold your glass with both hands when a drink is poured for you or when you pour for others.
Fill your friend’s empty glass. Wait until it’s empty. When you see it’s empty, pour with your right hand and hold your right hand lightly (like you are sort of steadying it) with your left.
Drinking with a superior or an elder? Turn away when you drink and say thank you.
Rejecting a drink is impolite.
Don't want to drink? Here’s some polite ways to turn down a drink:
Let your friends know you are pregnant, driving, observing religious practice or on certain medication...
Drink SUPER slow.
Drink a little and then keep that glass half full.
It's common to eat when you drink. Food eaten while drinking is called Anjoo (안주). Doing this with coworkers or business partners is called Hoesik (회식). Hoesik was at one time mostly mandated by employers until it was criticized to encourage bad conduct in recent years.
Different drinks in Korea are eaten with different foods. I’ll mention that later but…
Two Types of Common Drinks:
Soju (소주) • 16.8% to 53% Alcohol Content • “So” refers to the word “burn (소)” and “ju (주)” refers to the word “alcoholic drink.” …Yes, it may feel like it burns but this literal breakdown actually refers to the way the drink is distilled. The way the drink is distilled was adopted from the Mongols who adapted it from a Persian way of distilling drinks. It’s one of the most popularly consumed drinks in Korea. Though it’s most common taken neat, these days it’s also mixed with something else like Somaek 소맥 which is Soju and Beer and lethally easy to drink! Traditionally made with rice, wheat or barley, it also more recently made with potatoes or tapioca. PAIR WITH: Heavier meat dishes (like KBBQ) and anjoo.
Makgeolli • The OG Korean drink- 1,000s of years old- first drank by the working class and literally translated as “the farmer’s wine.” It’s a lesser alcoholic drink and tastes like tangy and carbonated sweet rice wine. It’s also unfiltered so it’s cloudy and milky. These days, kid mix it with fruit drinks. It’s so sweet… you might overdrink. PAIR WITH: Spicy food.
Some More Korean Drinking Facts!:
Three Popular Korean Beers
Hite • 4.5% Alcohol Content
Cass • 5.0% Alcohol Content (my fave)
More basic alcohol to food pairings:
Samgyetang – Ginseng Wine
Tteokbokki – Sweet Cocktail Soju
I loved all these illustrated Easy to Learn Korean sheets by Chad Meyer and Moonjung Kim. They helped me learn basic Korean culture and Hangul. Here’s one based on drinking etiquette:
