Drinking Korean-style

Here’s this week’s tip on Korean language and customs:

Q:
On weekend nights, my drinking buddies and I have a hard time finding a place in a typical Korean neighborhood, where we can order drinks only. Korean bars or pubs usually charge an obscene amount of money for side dishes, and they make customers order food.

Why do Koreans let this custom take place in the first place?

A:
Drinking Korean-style goes way back to the country’s old customs. At taverns, dinners or large banquets where wine or grain liquor was served, the host customarily served anju or side dishes to accompany the drink.

And the type or the varieties of the dishes often represented the degree of the host’s hospitality.

Thus, the more lavish the table was, the more hospitable, so some hosts would go out their way to treat their guests to show generosity.

In spite of the modernized dining culture in Korea today, the old drinking custom has persisted, and many Koreans to this day find drinking at Western-style bars uncomfortable.

So, Korean owners of bars and pubs have taken commercial advantage of the old Korean custom, by charging a lot of money for lavish side dishes, which include anything from assorted fruits to cheese platters to beef tartare.