Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MA_TESOL]

Before my arrival in Korea I had not drank for 23 years. As a youth I was a problem drinker and decided to quit. Why I started again is a mystery. Anyway, I will admit that there seems to be a lot of benefits and fun in drinking. I have met lots of people and had some great conversations, but more and more the negatives are outweighing the positives. I spend too much and have day long hangovers. I am thinking seriously of quitting again. If you do not drink here, please tell me why. I need some encouragement...

[tob55]

My wife and I just discussed this yesterday. You have choices in life to make. For whatever reason you decided to start drinking again. I drink on occasion, but I dislike the results and so as a choice I decided when my friends and I are together I don't drink, and if I am going to drink a little I make it a little.

Choices my friend, that's all it is. Addiction is nothing more than making the wrong choice time after time. My parents were alcoholic, three pack a day smokers, and I vowed never to follow down the same path. My addiction was food and I am doing my best to win the battle over poor eating habits I established long ago.

Make up your mind that you can still have fun when drinking cola or coffee while the others are drinking the hard stuff. It won't make you less of a person, it will just help you see things much more clearly in the morning without a hang over. Good luck.

[xingyiman]

Whatever you are doing, alcohaul, drugs, cigarettes, caffene....If you become dependent on them to function you are in need of help. I have seen the end results of excesses in every category. Lung cancer, liver disease, and in the case of drugs even the socially acceptable marajuana - people who will put themselves at gret risk in employment and criminally just to get that toke. People need to learn to deal with life's problems through intestinal fortitude rather than drowning them in chemicals night after night.

[While Away]

Certainly not directed at anyone in particular.
But seems an appropriate place for this link
http://www.aainkorea.org/
for people who may be surfing by this thread.

[blaseblasphemener]

In my opinion, if you're experiencing hangovers more than once a year and you are over 30 years old, you're not using your time wisely. Take a hard look at who you are spending time with. There are many ex-pats in Korea who rarely drink, and never to excess. When I drink, I have a beer. If you are doing the 3000 cc drinkfests or the soju-athons, just know that you have infinite number of better choices to make with your life. Maybe writing down some goals that don't involve drinking might get you on the right track. Good luck.

[Tobias]

Quit that shit. Yeah, you have 'fun' while out drinking, but this is the allure. You're a social animal, and the buzz offers a temporary escape from whatever it is in your life that sucks (but you're not willing to face). Why else would a consenting adult pay 5 bucks for a bottle of slop? 'Sides...When you do join your mates at the local beer trough, you're using each other in a way.

It's not like you'll ever be in touch with any of these fuckers after you're long gone. Nope, you won't be sending any of the people Christmas cards, nor will you be getting any from them.

Save the money you blow at the troughs. You'll need it later when you retire, unless you like the prospect of working when you're 80. Are those people REALLY interesting enough to spend so much time and money on, money you'll need down the road? They aren't, my friend.

[globalgirlk]

My heart can't take the effects of alcohol. That's why I don't drink but most people assume it's because of my religion.

[PigeonFart]

If the negatives are outweighing the positives for you, then that's a clear sign to stop.

For me, the positives outweigh the negatives so i shall continue to drink in moderation.

Each to his own.

[nautilus]

In your 30's, life is more about being sober I think. Ihave no desire for alcahol.
Cigarettes on the other hand...is a real problem area for me.

[Yaya]

I've gone between being a monk and being a boozer. My belief is that someone who drinks heavily all the time is using booze to deal with a problem in life. Drinking could stem from boredom, stress, loneliness and the like.

I'd also like to say that drinking isn't the only addiction out there for expats in Korea. For me, I'd start buying stuff at department stores or at other places when stressed. Now I simply peruse a catalog when I get the urge, though I do blow money unnecessarily quite a bit.

[Ilsanman]

I have been here long enough to see the ill effects of alcohol: poor productivity, stupidity, public embarrassment, wasted money. the list goes on.

My old co-worker used to like drinking, and one day his student said to him 'You smell like daddy.' It was funny at the time, but it says a lot about some people's fathers.

I would be totally humiliated if my daughter ever smelled boozers and drinkers and said that smelled like me (honestly, not as a joke).

I have too much to live for. I will drink on occasion, and in moderation. Since I gave up alcohol, I don't miss it at all.

[psychohel]

Okay, encouragement... Add up the money you've spent since starting drinking. Don't stop doing the things you see as benefits of drinking, no reason why you can't still meet new people and have great conversations, and you'll have a clear, headache free, memory of it all in the morning.

And discouragement... You'll have to put up with the tedium of listening to the people who need to justify (at length) their own drinking! Each to their own, I'm not interested!

[Yaya]

Another problem with drinking is the people you'll hang out with while drinking. My belief is that you tend to meet the WRONG people at bars and the like, and then you become like them.

[Milwaukiedave]

I'd say if you think you had a problem in the past, that has to be a solid reason to quit. I am not a bigger drinker and personally turn down alcohol as much as possible. Korea is an environment where drinking (especially socially) is not only encouraged, but applauded. It can be hard to tell people you don't want to drink with them and they may not understand why. That being said, you have to do it for yourself and your own well being.

[R-Seoul]