Salaried Men’s Biggest Pastime — Drinking
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Soh Yang-ho, a 27-year-old Korean American working as an intern for a Seoul-based marketing firm, says he is enjoying himself in his parents' birth country so far. But Korea's drinking culture still puzzles him, not that he doesn't enjoy it.
``We basically go out every night, it's either the bujang (department chief) or other seniors taking the juniors out for an after-hours get-together or juniors hobnobbing among themselves,'' Soh said.
``Its' incredible to think that some of these guys have been living like this for years,'' the Western-educated Soh said, wondering whether there is anything else to do for Korean salaried workers. Indeed, a recent survey shows that they don't have much else to do.
According to a survey of 805 Korean workers by Career, an Internet job searching site, the respondents spent an average of 106,000 won ($96) per month on alcohol after work.
That is nearly double their 50,800 won spending on cultural expenses, such as movies and the performing arts, buying books or other leisure activities.
However, the majority of respondents said this wasn't they way they wanted things to be. About 52 percent of respondents said they would rather spend more on cultural activities than alcohol, while less than 18 percent of them preferred drinking with co-workers.
About 40 percent of respondents complained they didn't have enough time for cultural activities, while roughly 27 percent said they didn't have the extra money to spend.
``It seems that many Korean workers would love to have more time to spend on cultural activities, but their heavy workload and stress are preventing them from doing so,'' said a Career spokesman.
``You don't need to set separate appointments when you are going out drinking with co-workers, which makes it an easier way to offload stress,'' he said.
For Koreans, who statistically work the longest hours in the world, heavy drinking is literally a spirit consuming process.
Government figures say binge drinking and other alcohol related problems are costing the country about 20 trillion won (about $18 billion) per year, which is nearly equivalent to the household spending on private education.