Korean Job Discussion Forums

[plato's republic]

Have any of you guys ever been out drinking alone in Hongdae/Itaewon? Would you ever consider such an act or is it just too lame?
Any thoughts welcome.

[yodanole]

Sure, Why not. At least you have some intelligent conversation!
Or, at least a little Korean free talking.

[flotsam]

Honestly, I have done this just a few times while living here(7 years) but I have no idea why I don't do it more. I mean, I will go down the pub for a drink and a conversation in Thailand, the U.S., England, what have you. So why not here? I have had a couple friends who swear by it.

And, also honestly, everything we do and are is already so novel(at best) or freakish(at worst, or also at best depending on the Korean freak rating the freakishness level of us) that sitting by ourselves and ordering a drink means nothing. Every single one of the few times I got out and did it, I met people round the bar who wanted to practice their English, or the bartender/barmaid who wanted to look cool hanging out with the foreigner at the bar.

In the end, the group drinking thing here is cool if you are with the group, but not having a group on a particular evening shouldn't preclude getting out and meeting the masses. That's a silly Korean thing that can be ignored. Unless the looks of those in the groups bothers you. But who can tell the difference between those looks and the "Look it's a foreigner" looks anyway?

[Corporal]

I wouldn't call it lame, but honestly if I see anyone of any nationality anywhere drinking alone, it seems a little odd to me. Odder than if he or she were just having a meal alone. Maybe that's because I view drinking as at least partly therapeutical and it would seem more natural for you to be doing it with a commiserating friend.

[jajdude]

Sounds good to me. You could meet people. This insecurity about being alone and how you might appear to others, is silly.

That said, Korea is not the easiest country to do things solo.

[inthewild]

I'm takin a wild guess alot of us came here without knowing anyone, you got to meet people somehow right? Or just get blindingly drunk by yourself in the corner. Anyways I've found most foreigners here welcome and even eager to chat with other foreigners. There aren't alot of us around to talk to hehe. And if you didn't happen to chat up much of anyone, at least you got lit. This is how I justify it.

[funkywinkerbeans]

I have to agree with INTHEWILD. When I first came here I knew no one. My 3rd night in Seoul, I hit Itaewon and went into a few places. The 3rd place was the Seoul Pub and I quickly made myself a regular. Met a lot of people in the pub during that first year, and still friends with those people who are still in Korea 3 years later.I still occasionally go out by myself to Itaewon, usually run into a few people I know and even if I don't, I still manage to have a good time. Back home it's considered strange unless you're a regular, but in Korea anything goes for a foreigner.

[numazawa]

I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Now, every morning, just before breakfast,
I don't want no coffee or tea.
Just me and my good buddy Weiser.
That's all I ever need.

Cause I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Now, the other night I lay sleeping,
And I woke from a terrible dream.
So I called up my pal, Jack Daniels,
And his partner Jimmy Beam.

And we drank alone, yeah, with nobody else.
We drank alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Well, the other night I got invited to a party,
But I stayed home instead.
Just me and my pal Johnny Walker,
And his brothers Black and Red.

And we drank alone, yeah, with nobody else.
We drank alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

Well, my whole family done give up on me,
And it makes me feel so bad.
The only one who'll hang out with me
Is my dear old Granddad.

And we drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
We drink alone, yeah, with nobody else.
Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

[Zyzyfer]

Depends on if I think I'll run into people to chat with. I was on the piss last night alone and, in the right bars, had no problems being talked to. In other bars, I was just kind of sitting there looking at the wall and watching paint dry in intriguing patterns. Then I went to Seoul Pub (as another person mentioned) and hilarity ensued.

[JongnoGuru]

Drinking out alone. Many scenarios. Here are some.


The After-work Hanjan.

Just one or two beers or shots or cokktails, the ritual, something to take the edge off the day. Long-established tradition in much of the West. Drink, read the paper, chat with the regulars or the barman. It's something for the menfolk to do while the womenfolk are home busy fixing dinner. A nice arrangement all around.

It's your regular haunt, generally near your office or (less common in Korea) near your home. In Korea, the best are the quieter hotel bars (Hilton on Namsan was my pick when I worked nearby) or somewhere in Itaewon, like Gunter's, though that place isn't very quiet and... I dunno, strikes me as "Old Davers on Alcohol" anymore, so isn't very appealing.


The Catting-around Drink

(For bachelors) The stable is getting a little old, needs some new blood. I don't really need to explain this one.

The Pathetic Alcoholic Derelict Drink

They start off as though it's the innocent After-work Drink, but they stay on and on and don't go home for dinner, or they'll eat something at the bar or nearby and come back for more drinks. They're too wasted to properly chase any tail, so it's not the Catting-around Drink either. They'll usually meet other wastrels they know without really planning on it, which offers some mutual reinforcement. Often they'll latch onto to a group if they know one of them, and when one group leaves, they drift around and insinuate themselves into another group, because they want to go on drinking and don't want to go home. Some will prop themselves up in a corner or the far end of the bar and drink alone for hours.

I guess they think if they bought a bottle and drank it at home by themselves, that would mean they're an alcoholic and that's no good. So they're social alcoholics or public alcoholics, because that somehow doesn't count.

[Ron Stevens]

if you need a drink you need a drink who gives a *beep*

[JongnoGuru]

[Hobophobic]

Convenience store hopping season is upon us! HOORAY! HOORAH!

[crazylemongirl]

An easy way to pick up guys. Mistake #1 is that girls go in groups for protection then spend the rest of the night gassing to their friends instead of picking up a guy.

[billybrobby]

it's rough going being alone at a bar, but it's not lame. i think it's a little brave, and i fondly remember the first few months in korea when i was forced to do it. i had a lot of cool experiences in that time.

so here's the real question: is it lame to sit at home and get drunk?