Gon Bae!

Since I've been here, which is three weekends now, I've seen my share of sunrises.  Korea comes alive at night; I have already learned that not only can Koreans drink and party throughout the night and well into the morning, but us foreigners can hold our own as well.  This morning my friends and I left a noribong (singing room--basically, karaoke) and when we came out around 7 a.m. we had missed the sunrise altogether.  Still, at that ungodly hour, the restaurant next to us was packed tightly as people watched a soccer match as an end to their night. It's not only routine to drink with friends/co-workers/strangers on a regular basis, but expected (see Inapproprite BBQ).

Our first stop of the night had been a bar called Yaletown, where two foreigners, a Korean, a Japanese guy and I all decided to cheers our $11,000 won pitcher (around $10) Cass beer.  Three "cheers", a "kom bei" and a "gun bae" broke out simultaneously. From down the table, more Koreans added in a "chong", which is the sound Koreans hear when glasses hit instead of a "clink".  Being that the very action of a cheers holds so much importance in every society, we found ourselves fascinated by the differences and explored all the difference varieties of this basic drinking tradition that we knew off-hand from around the world.  In the process I learned this very telling, very interesting outlook on how different places in the world view drinking: 

Instead of "to your health", the Koreans tell eachother to "drink until you die" or "moko chucha".  Like I said, Koreans take partying very seriously.  I can respect that.