During my last visit to South Korea, I was shocked to see drunk people in public places such as a restaurant. I don't think I've ever seen a drunk person here in the United States, but in Korea, drunk people were much more prominent.
Korea has a big drinking culture. Drinking has seeped into dinners with your co-workers and boss, as a beverage with your fried chicken, and of course, when you're partying. The pressure to drink in Korea is far greater than in America, and I've talked about how when an elderly person offers you a drink, it's rude to say no. It seems like just about everyone who is legally above the age (and some who drink underage, just like here in the U.S.) drinks.
Korea also manufactures a variety of alcohol - soju, maekju (Korean beer), makgeolli are the top most popular ones. A bottle of soju just about appears in every K-dramas, and it's presence in the daily lives of Koreans is accurately displayed in the dramas. You're in a difficult situation? Go out and get drunk. You're meeting up a with a new friend? Go and drink maekju together. Or you're becoming good friends with someone? Go out and drink together as a way of hanging out.
It's ridiculous how alcohol is like, everywhere in Korea. The examples in the previous paragraph are legitimate. Now, not all Koreans drink. But I mean it when I say almost everyone does. And something needs to change. Here in America, kids are well-educated about the dangers of drinking alcohol. Of course, that doesn't deter new generations of Americans from drinking 100%, but it's still something. Korean kids do know that drinking is unhealthy, but when their parents and their friends' parents drink all the time, they don't really see the seriousness of drinking. In addition, the above mentioned different kinds of alcohol make alcohol yummy. Well, I wouldn't know, but when I hear Koreans talk about their favorite alcohol, they almost sound like me talking about how Pepsi is delicious.
Why do young Korean kids have to grow up thinking that drinking is normal? They shouldn't. And something needs to be done about Korean kids being accustomed to seeing drunk people all around, being loud and obnoxious when they're out to eat meat with their family. If you have attended school in America, I hope and assume that you know what drunkenness can lead to. I'm not calling for prohibition laws to be passed in Korea, but the idea that drinking is essential to Korean social life needs to be brought down and there needs to be a change in this heavy drinking culture of South Korea.
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