My phone didn't forget to ring today. A friend of mine called because he let me know the today's appointment. Yes, as I used to, I would go to the bar. I couldn't avoid the meeting since each meeting has the reason. So I left home to celebrate or console my friends.
While preparing for going back to school, drinking alcohol became my daily life. I didn't like to do it but when I attended drinking parties, I was influenced by the atmosphere so I had a drink again. I think it is not only the case in the school. One of my friends who started her career said that she was busy attending drinking parties.
In Korean society, 'Alcohol' has the meaning like meeting. Through alcohol, people can break the ice in the first meeting, dissipate melancholy on a dull day, and also brighten up the mood on the special day. In other words, alcohol functions as supplement. For that reason, some people who are poor drinkers were branded as flat tires.
As shown in this situation, WHO released the results of research about alcohol consumption. In the research, alcohol consumption of Koreans was more than two times than that of the world people in 2005. Koreans, especially, are the world's largest consumer of distilled liquor.
▲ Alcohol Consumption(Source : Korea Herald)
The largest consumption of alcohol brought bad drinking culture. Continuous drinking makes people pass out and commit mistakes. A foreign blogger posted some pictures that some Koreans blacked out in public on his or her blog "Black Out Korea". However, I am familiar with the situation so I couldn't laugh or get angry against the photos.
▲ Black Out Korea Blog(Left) and Facebook(Right)
I think that we need to regret our wrongdoing. This is not because of the image about Korea as seen by foreigners. Of course, drinking culture I believe is good but it doesn't mean that we can get over the edge. I wish we change the drinking culture in a better way.
Written by Yoon Jeongwon
