Soju is a Korean drink. It was traditionally made from rice, but more recently it has been made in other ways. It has about 20% alcohol, which makes it stronger than wine (which is usually about 10-12%), but not as strong as whiskey (which is usually about 40%). It is not very expensive, so it tends to be a favorite drink for students. You drink it cold, not warm like the Japanese rice wine, sake (soju is usually stronger, anyway). Ho Jeong says that now younger people – well, her friends at least – will keep it in the freezer. You might pay 90 cents or 1 dollar for a bottle (300 + ml) in Korea, $3 a bottle in a restaurant; here in Canada, you can pay $9 a bottle in a store, and $15 bottle in a restaurant. In addition, since there are just 7 shots in a bottle, you usually have to buy two bottles . . .
The most important thing to know about soju is the etiquette. You have to learn the rules from your father or grandfather. First, you should never pour your own drink! People say that, when someone pours their own drink, it is very unlucky to be sitting in front of them. Next, when you drink it, if you are facing someone older than you, you must turn to the side and hide the drink with your hand. It is disrespectful to drink while you are facing someone older directly. Third, you should always use two hands when you pour a drink for an older person. And you should always pour it for the older person!
Recent social changes in Korea have meant that more women are drinking soju now. They have to, because drinking soju according to the rules of etiquette is an important part of business communication in Korea, and now women are in business more often. It is possible now to buy weaker soju because of this.
Parents sometimes teach their children how to drink soju when they are in middle school. This may sound surprising, but it makes sense if you understand that one of the rules of soju etiquette is that, if an older person offers you a drink, you may not refuse. As you may imagine, this rule can make things interesting in high school.
In general, age is important in Korean society. It can be a delicate social situation when an employee is older than his boss, since the boss is supposed to be treated as an elder. Daniel says that a good guy boss will not insist on being treated as an elder outside of the office. There is a movie in the Nexus, Paul Weitz’z 2004 In Good Company, which might be interesting to watch because it is about this issue (but in America).
A poktanju is a drink that is made by dropping a shot of soju into a pint of beer. This is the same as the drink that we call a depth charge (which is a kind of boilermaker) here, but we use whiskey instead of soju. But Daniel says that soju is less expensive.
So, when students drink soju, or other things, they have drinking games, of course. In China, they will count off numbers in their group, and each time the number reaches 7, or 14, or 17, or 21 – that is, any number with 7 in it or a number that is a multiple of 7, you have to stand up or clap, and if you forget, you have to drink, or they can ask you to do things, or you have to tell the truth about something. In Korea, they do the same with the numbers 3, 6, 9, etc., and when you get to 33, you have to clap twice. Don remembered a drinking game from his time in university called “Zoom Schwartz Profigliano,” which is a little strange and not so easy to play.
The most important thing to know about soju is the etiquette. You have to learn the rules from your father or grandfather. First, you should never pour your own drink! People say that, when someone pours their own drink, it is very unlucky to be sitting in front of them. Next, when you drink it, if you are facing someone older than you, you must turn to the side and hide the drink with your hand. It is disrespectful to drink while you are facing someone older directly. Third, you should always use two hands when you pour a drink for an older person. And you should always pour it for the older person!
Recent social changes in Korea have meant that more women are drinking soju now. They have to, because drinking soju according to the rules of etiquette is an important part of business communication in Korea, and now women are in business more often. It is possible now to buy weaker soju because of this.
Parents sometimes teach their children how to drink soju when they are in middle school. This may sound surprising, but it makes sense if you understand that one of the rules of soju etiquette is that, if an older person offers you a drink, you may not refuse. As you may imagine, this rule can make things interesting in high school.
In general, age is important in Korean society. It can be a delicate social situation when an employee is older than his boss, since the boss is supposed to be treated as an elder. Daniel says that a good guy boss will not insist on being treated as an elder outside of the office. There is a movie in the Nexus, Paul Weitz’z 2004 In Good Company, which might be interesting to watch because it is about this issue (but in America).
A poktanju is a drink that is made by dropping a shot of soju into a pint of beer. This is the same as the drink that we call a depth charge (which is a kind of boilermaker) here, but we use whiskey instead of soju. But Daniel says that soju is less expensive.
So, when students drink soju, or other things, they have drinking games, of course. In China, they will count off numbers in their group, and each time the number reaches 7, or 14, or 17, or 21 – that is, any number with 7 in it or a number that is a multiple of 7, you have to stand up or clap, and if you forget, you have to drink, or they can ask you to do things, or you have to tell the truth about something. In Korea, they do the same with the numbers 3, 6, 9, etc., and when you get to 33, you have to clap twice. Don remembered a drinking game from his time in university called “Zoom Schwartz Profigliano,” which is a little strange and not so easy to play.
by Koo Bong Hwoi
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