korean drinking culture

Korean Soju Culture: How We Really Drink It

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There’s a green bottle on the table. Someone grabs it by the neck and gives it a quick flick of the wrist — a little spin that supposedly knocks loose the bits from the old cork-stopper days. There are no bits in soju anymore. It’s just a habit now, a small ritual. Then the first … Read more

Hoesik Explained: Korean Work Dinners Have Changed (But They Haven’t Disappeared)

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It’s 7:30pm on a Thursday, sometime around 2012. I’ve just walked out of the office after another long day — not because the work required it, but because leaving before your boss was still one of those unwritten rules nobody questioned. My team leader is already on the phone with the restaurant. “Samgyeopsal place, the … Read more