'How about a shot tonight? ...Okay'

By Park Moo-jong

South Koreans are some of the heaviest drinkers in the world.

South Koreans are second to none in calorie intake from alcohol, according to a report from The Guardian earlier this week.

South Koreans consume almost four times as many calories from alcoholic drinks as they do from soft drinks, the British daily reported.

Various statistics on global alcohol consumption show that South Koreans drink 13.7 shots of liquor per week on average, which is the most in the world.

The Euromonitor International, a privately owned, London-based market research firm, found that Russians, the second-biggest in the firm's sample, drink 6.3 shots per week, followed by Filipinos with roughly 5.4 shots and Americans with 3.3.

South Koreans' unparalleled liquor consumption is largely "thanks to" their love for soju, a spirit traditionally distilled from sweet potatoes. Popular brands have an alcohol content of 18 to 25 percent, and account for 97 percent of the spirits market.

South Koreans owe much to the "comparatively" cheap price of a bottle of soju that retails for around $1.5 and sells for $3 or $4 at bars and restaurants.

South Koreans sip soju so as to congratulate someone or something, to relieve stress, to comfort somebody or to treat someone for business.

They drink soju when they are happy, when they are sad and when they want to kill time. In conclusion, they sip, "habitually and unconditionally."

It was 15 years ago back in 2001 when Jeffrey Jones, who served as the president of the American Chamber of Commerce (1998 to 2002), rose to public stardom thanks to his regular appearances on TV networks and his fluency in Korean.

The international attorney and businessman appeared in a special TV commercial designed to correct Koreans' "drinking culture."

In the commercial, he said, "Korea? The diversity and depth of its culture is great. It means that Korea has much potential. But there is one culture Koreans failed to learn from their ancestors.

"That's drinking, drinking culture. Passing glasses of poktanju and excessive drinking makes us unable to keep ourselves steady. This is wrong, isn't it?'

The "self-appointed ambassador for Korea" continued, "According to each one's taste...according to each one's drinking capacity. A sound drinking culture starts from you. That's it. You understand, don't you?"

The TV campaign clearly showed the traditional negative drinking habit of Koreans.

Poktanju (translated literally as bomb liquor) has been symbolic of South Koreans' unrivaled quick tempers, represented by the well-known term, "ppali, ppali" (quickly, quickly), since it helps them drink fast and get drunk fast.

As is well known, poktanju is a whiskey shot sunk in a glass of beer. It has a faster effect than other alcoholic beverages since it is consumed in the traditional Korean "bottoms-up" style, usually and wrongly dubbed "one shot."

The host downs the mixed drink, then shakes the empty glass with the shot still inside to make a ringing sound, followed by applause of other drinking partners, and it is passed to the next person.

There should be no exception and the process leads to fast drinking and naturally a nasty hangover the next day. This may be the reason why there are so many breakfast soups, called "haejangguk," to help Koreans overcome hangovers.

As a result of the then "explosive" popularity of poktanju, Korea became one of the largest consumers of whiskey in the world and the darling of British whiskey makers.

I have no idea about whether Jones's TV spot was effective at that time. However, now, 15 years later, the way of South Koreans' drinking has begun to change, though little, very fortunately to the deep sigh of whiskey importers.

Instead of whiskey, South Koreans now prefer soju, whose alcohol content is half of whiskey's 40 percent alcohol, to make "somaek," a sort of poktanju combining soju and beer.

And it has increasingly become a virtue not to force drinking partners who don't want to drink any more to drink, "allowing" them to drink as much as they want.

For many South Koreans, drinking is a way of life and sometimes serves as a good way to advance up the career ladder as it enables them to talk openly with bosses, colleagues and friends outside of work, not to mention the effect of relieving stress.

Still, South Korea has problems as far as drinking is concerned. Compared to other countries, there are too many places to drink, drinks are cheap and people are still generous about drinking.

Global statistics show South Koreans are the drinking champions of the world. They really like drinking. It is not that difficult to find drinking houses in entertainment districts with a mass of customers on Thursday and Friday nights.

Despite the gradually changing drinking culture for the better, the world's top alcohol consumption has led to outbreaks of drunken violence, including driving while intoxicated, and the reported largest calorie intake from alcohol is alarming for the people's health.

It is not easy for many South Koreans to resist the temptation of their bosses, friends and colleagues after a day's hard work: "how about a shot tonight?"

Without quoting medical doctors' advice, drinking "moderately" helps build up relationships with others and improves metabolism.

"Okay, just one shot." Let's make it possible.

Park Moo-jong is the Korea Times advisor. He served as the president of the nation's first English newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes. com or emjei29@gmail.com.