Drinking alcohol with seniors in Korea

[ETinCYQX]

Is your direct senior korean? If not,I wouldn't worry about it so much. But the next time you do drink with him, try and turn away and drink and see if he knows what that means.

No, Canadian. My last instructor was Korean though and he never mentioned it to me, I think because we were good friends outside the dojang. I will try it, I'm sure if he recognizes it he'll tell me to knock it off.

 

[oftheherd1]

...

Kimchee is good, bulgogi is good, sojo is like pain thinner. OMG it's horrible. I brought back two bottles.

...

Amusing typo or voice of experience?

I don't drink anymore, but I sometimes used to drink a small cup of soju with my shell fish. I preferred mockuli. My mother-in-law was amazed that I like it.

 

[oftheherd1]

Oops, double post for some reason.

 

[chrispillertkd]

Amusing typo or voice of experience?

I don't drink anymore, but I sometimes used to drink a small cup of soju with my shell fish. I preferred mockuli. My mother-in-law was amazed that I like it.

It has a certain je ne sais quoi, doesn't it? When I get a bottle I'll have one drink at night or a couple with dinner if it's Korean food. Can't really go for more than that. A friend of mine who lived in the ROK for a while loves the stuff, though...

Pax,

Chris

 

[miguksaram]

A couple of other things to look for. There are situations where a senior will give you his empty glass that he has been drinking out of to you and will pour you a drink in that glass. Do not be put off or alarmed, as many westerners do not practice this. Kindly accept, with two hands, and drink it quickly (turning the head away, is always a good sign of respect), then hand it back to him and pour him a drink.

When pouring a drink for a senior you should pour with one hand and place your other hand underneath. As a junior be mindful of the seniors' glasses. If they are empty, and another senior is not pouring them a drink, then be sure to pour for them. Never allow them to pour their own nor should you pour your own. If you do not or cannot drink alcohol do not be afraid to tell them so. It is better to have them pour you a soda than to have them pour you some alcohol that you will not drink.

 

[miguksaram]

I enjoy soju, but I really enjoy baekseju and makkoli. There is a place in Jeonju that is known for it makkoli and when you order it you get a huge amount of panji (side dishes) including live baby octopus....yum.

 

[oftheherd1]

As I mentioned, I sometimes drank soju, but normally preferred makkoli (which looks like a better spelling than mine). When I could get it, I did enjoy chongju, as I recall, a sort of refined and purified makkoli. I actually made some myself once. It started out as makkoli, but I let it ferment a little longer, and strained it with a cheesecloth.

I know most Americans didn't even like the looks, never mind the sometimes chalky feel. But makkoli was always good to me, except for some of the not so well made farm home brews. They could be a little challenging sometimes.

 

[oftheherd1]

It has a certain je ne sais quoi, doesn't it? When I get a bottle I'll have one drink at night or a couple with dinner if it's Korean food. Can't really go for more than that. A friend of mine who lived in the ROK for a while loves the stuff, though...

Pax,

Chris

Yes, it can indeed. As I mentioned above, especially the home made variety. I used to buy it in the local oriental supermarkets in northern Virginia. I also found out that it goes down easier when cooled.

 

[chrispillertkd]

I know most Americans didn't even like the looks, never mind the sometimes chalky feel. But makkoli was always good to me, except for some of the not so well made farm home brews. They could be a little challenging sometimes.

I've never had it before but it always looked a bit like nigori sake, I thought (which is awesome). I know Makgeoli (yet another Romanization ) is usually made from rice. How close to nigori sake is it, though?

Pax,

Chris

 

[chrispillertkd]

Yes, it can indeed. As I mentioned above, especially the home made variety. I used to buy it in the local oriental supermarkets in northern Virginia. I also found out that it goes down easier when cooled.

I agree

Pax,

Chris

 

[miguksaram]

As I mentioned, I sometimes drank soju, but normally preferred makkoli (which looks like a better spelling than mine). When I could get it, I did enjoy chongju, as I recall, a sort of refined and purified makkoli. I actually made some myself once. It started out as makkoli, but I let it ferment a little longer, and strained it with a cheesecloth.

I know most Americans didn't even like the looks, never mind the sometimes chalky feel. But makkoli was always good to me, except for some of the not so well made farm home brews. They could be a little challenging sometimes.

Another one to have is Dong-dong ju. Sort of like makkoli but a bit more clear. I had it while in Songju. It was made fresh from the local restaurant.

 

[miguksaram]

I've never had it before but it always looked a bit like nigori sake, I thought (which is awesome). I know Makgeoli (yet another Romanization ) is usually made from rice. How close to nigori sake is it, though?

Pax,

Chris

It does not have as strong of an alcohol taste as Nigori has. Nigori looks more milky as well whereas makkoli will look milky only after you shake it up. A popular makkoli is draft makkoli which has a seltzer taste to it and now they have flavor makkolis. The last couple of years the popularity of makkoli has sky rocketed in Korea and has become one if its biggest alcohol export beating out soju last year.

 

[mastercole]

I've never had it before but it always looked a bit like nigori sake, I thought (which is awesome). I know Makgeoli (yet another Romanization ) is usually made from rice. How close to nigori sake is it, though?

Pax,

Chris

It depends on the Makkoli. Today's modern productions are actually a bit fizzy, use wheat instead of rice and taste more like beer. Old style makkoli made by farmers or in that style are from rice, no fizz and is closer to nigori sake, which I like very much. Cleveland area has one excellent sushi bar owned and operated by Japanese folks (and 20 bad ones) they sometimes serve nigori, it's a nice treat. They also have natto, which is how I can tell if it's worth the risk of trying a sushi bar. I walk in and ask if they have natto, if they don't know what I am talking about, I go somewhere else.

Dongdongju, or nongju is my favorite cloudy rice wine. It is a lot like nigori, but thicker maybe a bit more nutty flavor. Yong-in folk village has a dongdongju they make there which is excellent. You can find it easily in Jeonju's Hanok village. From time to time high quality dongdongju is available in the US, in places like LA, D.C. or Chicago. Sometimes a senior will mail me a case when the good stuff comes around.

 

[mastercole]

Korea has makkoli jipp (makkoli bar), in the mountains or by the ocean. Many serve the live squid like Jeremy said. They chop it up and mix it with kochujang paste (hot pepper past). They wiggle in your mouth and the suction cups will stick to you as you try and chew them up and swallow them. Have some makkoli on hand to help wash it down

 

[miguksaram]

Korea has makkoli jipp (makkoli bar), in the mountains or by the ocean. Many serve the live squid like Jeremy said. They chop it up and mix it with kochujang paste (hot pepper past). They wiggle in your mouth and the suction cups will stick to you as you try and chew them up and swallow them. Have some makkoli on hand to help wash it down

Yes...it is delicious! I first had it when I visited Korea for the first time back in 1994. My wife's sister asked if I wanted to octopus sushi (san nakji). I thought it was just regular sushi like Tako so I said sure. Next thing I know there is a plate full of moving tentacles and all their eyes on me. I refused to back down and ate them all. The first was the hardest but after that it was all good.

Hanok Village in Jeonju has some nice makkoli bars. However, there are a couple select places through out the town that are really good that my in-laws take me to all the time. I'm lucky that in Korea it is not so frowned upon to be a good drinker. ha.ha.ha.

 

[puunui]

Yes...it is delicious! I first had it when I visited Korea for the first time back in 1994. My wife's sister asked if I wanted to octopus sushi (san nakji). I thought it was just regular sushi like Tako so I said sure. Next thing I know there is a plate full of moving tentacles and all their eyes on me. I refused to back down and ate them all. The first was the hardest but after that it was all good.

Was that the same place where some of the seniors went, that makkoli place? Politely avoided that one....

 

[Carol]

I have only had soju once...unexpectedly.

A friend of mine (and her family) have a small Korean restaurant. I went there for lunch once on a day off from work. By the time I finished my meal, I was the only patron left in the restaurant. When it is quiet, my friends start constantly refilling my barley tea, urging me to stay so we can catch up with conversation while they do address some routine tasks around the restaurant...I was happy to do so. After we all chatted for awhile, I got up to leave, when I heard my friend's mom shout "Nooo..." from the other room. My friend went to see what was wrong...the restaurant's laptop had crashed in a bad way.

My friend asked if I didn't mind taking a look -- apparently her mom needed something rather important. I generally don't like to do this but I asked if I could see the laptop and talk with her mom. Without any professional data recovery tools, I couldn't guarantee that I could recover anything, and there was a chance that all data could be lost permanently. Mom said she'd be grateful for anything I could do, and understood that the thing might be bricked. I had my own laptop with me so I downloaded Vipre to a USB stick and started the recovery process. It took about 3 hours to bring the darn thing back to life, but some of that time was spent waiting for the Vipre scan to finish so we still got to chat and joke around a bit. While the process was long, it certainly wasn't horrible...my friend even brought some mochi ice cream to share with me while I was working. Finally I brought it back to life and her mom recovered the documents she needed. Yay!

My friend and her mom thanked me. Her mom got back to her business and I got ready to go...it had gotten so late in the afternoon that it was almost time for their dinner guests to start filtering in. My friend asked me to stay for a bit longer, and I said I could, but asked for a glass of cold water as I was thirsty. She came back with two of my favorite appetizers (namul and cucumber kimchi), a tumbler of water, and a glass of...something...on the rocks. My friend said that her dad makes soju for the restaurant, and that this was from his oldest batch. I can't say how deeply moved I was....I wasn't at all expecting something like that, especially after their hospitality all afternoon.

I thought the soju was quite good...although I'll be honest, I don't remember the taste so much as I remember the warmth of their gesture and friendship.

 

[miguksaram]

Was that the same place where some of the seniors went, that makkoli place? Politely avoided that one....

Yes, that was one of them. It was funny that when we went there, the ajima who owns the place recognized me from being there with my family. They don't get westerners there very often if at all and so I was easily remembered. She likes to take pictures of their guest to hang on their wall. They took a picture of us and about a month later my sister-in-law went there and saw the picture and grabbed from her to send to me.

The next time we all travel there for the USTC, you should go with us. It is a lot of fun and good food.

 

[andyjeffries]

Good to know, thanks. I bought a book from Lonely Planet before my trip and read up on the culture and what I should and should not do - by the way, I do that for every overseas trip I make - China, Japan, Germany, Brazil, etc. I recommend the books; they really helped me out.

A really good book about the differences between Koreans and Americans is:

"Ugly Koreans, Ugly Americans" by MIN Byoung-Chul (ISBN 8975121283)

There is a newer version (that I have at home) I believe called Global Citizens. If I get time tonight before I travel away on business to France, I'll post the ISBN number of it.

It is basically a book of two halves - things that Koreans do that Americans find annoying/irritating/distasteful and things Americans do that Koreans dislike...

Very very interesting book.