Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

I was just thinking.. I saw several drunk Korean guys just a little while ago.. kind of swaggering, loud voices, talking at each other.. like a lecture.. all kind of out of it.. stagger stagger shout shout, grab at each other, etc.-thing..

Just thinking.. and wondering.. do you think Koreans romanticize that image? Like maybe from Korean movies or elsewhere?

Maybe its not unlike Bogart or James Dean with a cigarette.. where you put some soju in a korean guy.. and they just of have that copy that image pattern..

Just a thought.. I don't find it a romantic image by any means.. but it seems to be such a common image.. just wondering if they romanticize the image somewhat.. or something.. and so therefore mimic it.. or if they are simply just like that naturally..

[Zyzyfer]

I could see where you're coming from with that, but I don't really know. There appears to be a fascination with alcohol and brotherly love.

[matko]

[captain kirk]

two things; awhile ago i asked a fifteen year old middle school student about school life. there are no young women at his school; it's all guys. "geez"i said, "sounds kind of unbalanced. it can't be comfortable, i'd imagine". and he said no, "it's sort of comfortable" and he smiled, and he meant it. segregated schooling as a start to the 'alcohol and brotherly love' mystical bonding phenomena.
that's a really good observation; how do koreans see the image of the drunken korean man, like bogart? it must be positive, because they look like kings and conscious of being well within their rights, 'shameless'. like when they come up to you and want to talk.
every night of the week when i'm walking home from work there are drunk korean men carrying on in the street. now i'll see ' a bunch of bogarts'. i've heard people say korea is like the west in 1950. what an odd place this is. classic.

[Korea Newfie]

[Tiger Beer]

I'm thinking it about it more.. and its kind of like some young guy who admires his crazy uncle, strange habits of his Dad, or rebellious nature of his older brother.. and even though it looks goofy to all the rest of us.. well, if its YOUR (insert person here), then you want to be like that too..

But also, I can't help but think movies does alot to a person.. and that image might be sketched into their minds.. what I do see of Korean TV/movies seems to have that kind of thing going on alot as well..

Also, an old friend of mine once told me the greatest compliment.. he told me once that he wants to get drunk and passout in some old alley with me.. it sounds Kerouac-eque.. but its a great image..

Strange though, when I walk down the streets and see this behavior from Korean men.. it just looks kind of childish.. or.. I don't know how to view it.. it doesn't appear romantic.. but it appears that to them in their minds it is romantic..

[captain kirk]

we did that kind of 'romantic' heavy drinking at university. going for broke and passing out lying in a field or something, red wine and northern lights. i think it's 'dynamic' korea leading with its feelings. koreans FEEL first, ask questions later. so, apparently, this 'i'm a rocket it's saturday night' drinking dangling a ciggie and lurching arm-in-arm...it doesn't stop after college. feelings just are, if one leads with their feelings. they can't be analyzed, questioned, or discounted. dramas on tv are chock full of loving and weeping. zorba the greek, bogart. can koreans live any other way than like a blazing 'gas rangee'?

[helly]

I think it is very much an image thing, and not just the drinking bit. Guys want to live up the hero in the movies/on tv/etc. Smoking the way the stars do, doing up the hairstyles, treating each other in the older brother/younger punk tough love fashion. Not only guys but the girls, too. How many of your young pretties in class bat their eyelashes, stomp about in annoyance, and chirp in their sing-song way?

The company I work for has numerous "membership trainings" and workshops away from Seoul. Part of these nights are always a quiz game and some other form of entertainment. All of these activities are driven by what is popular on Sunday Night entertainment shows. But really strikes me is that the "mc" (and yes, we do have to call him that) tries to act EXACTLY the same as the TV hosts (can't explain but if you watch the shows, you know what I mean.)

But, this is not a Korea thing, happens all over the world. Seems just to be a bit more of the same-old, same-old here because you don't see much diversity in entertainment programming in the mainstream. (and Korea is all about the mainstream.)

[weatherman]

Most korean men get blasted every so often. It establishes or reconfirms friendships, and these friendships are often more important than the relationship they have with their wife. I repect how Korean men put a lot of effort into making and keeping friends. This is society at work, so it gets played out in the movies, in plays, on tv shows all the time. Kids see their uncles, father, and neighborhood males all doing the same. Both most reinforce each other. It is a nice sign of friendship, except when the hangover come the next morning.

[Tiger Beer]

[sparkx]

[Cthulhu]

As pointed out by a few others, there is a strong desire for bonding at work, which is supposed to make the business relationships stronger. In many cases it is involuntary, especially with newer workers or those who have less tolerance for alcohol. I've had a number of students (workers) tell me they didn't want to do it but had no choice. Either co-workers force it down or the boss pretty much orders them to get blitzed through cajoling. Not so different from frat hazing I guess.

When bosses or middle management are involved, I also wonder if it isn't also a way for them to pretend that they are on the same wavelength as the workers as it softens their image when drinking with the peons. The workers usually want the boss to leave as soon as possible so they can speak freely but you-know-who usually pays. Perhaps the boss wants to make up for being such a nasty s.o.b. from 9:00-9:00 every Monday to Friday.