Evening
I will forever remember this night as the night that I discovered SOJU. Before I came here I had heard of it, but I had always assumed that it was ‘hard liquour,’ and since it was hard, I would not like it. In fact, although I enjoy beer often and wine occasionally, I dislike hard liquor like vodka and gin. But soju is something different. It is technically a hard liquor, made from rice and/or sweet potato and/or barley (traditionally, rice). It has a higher alcohol content than wine, but lower than beer. This makes for an ideal ‘shot’ and I had several tonight.
Tonight Olivia had to attend a play downtown so she dropped me off at Myeong-dong, where I wandered around for two hours, bedazzled by the neon lights, chic fashion shops, and street food vendors. [Please see the photo of Olivia in Myeong-dong above]. In case you did not know it, Koreans, Seoulites in particular, love to go out at night for food and drink. It may seem strange to read that because of course, who doesn’t like to go out at night? But in Korea it is different. Actually, most people under 30 go out for food or drink (or both) most nights of the week. It is as common for Seoulites in particular as it is for Italians to have a Sunday afternoon family dinner. Indeed, despite the bad economy in Korea, the streets if Myeong-dong were bustling with revelers, both young and old (but especially young). Myeong-dong is, well, I’m not sure how to describe it, since it is really unlike anything else I have ever seen. It’s a bit like Times Square, with the people and the neon lights, a bit like Fifth Avenue, with the trendy shops. But it’s also like Roosevelt Avenue (a non-descript but significant street in Queens) due to its food vendors. You see, Koreans love to eat street food. Back in New York, one can see street food like hot dogs and the like all over, but most of the time New Yorkers shy away from them. After all, they are selling unhealthy crap. Not so in Korea. In Korea, the street food is made from real ingredients, and indeed it can be called cuisine. For example, I had candied sweet potatoes as a snack, something I would have paid three times as much for, but the small bag only cost about .80, and it was sold on the street next to a variety of other vendors selling everything from seafood to rice cakes to barbecued meat. Nothing like New York…so good, in fact, that women wearing Prada and men wearing Dolce and Gabbana were lined up to ea this stuff. Truly amazing.
But back to my favorite part of the night—the soju. I wandered around for 90 minutes and found so many types of places—a restaurant dubbed by the NY Times as one of the best in the world; a Burger King; a Krispy Kreme—but I could not find a bar or pub. I am sure they were there, but I had no luck peering between the masses of people everywhere. Finally, when I was about to give up hope and buy a beer from a street vendor (you can do that here), a man handed me a card that read “Beer Plus.” Well, I thought, beer is great, so beer plus must be super good. And I was right. As it turned out Beer Plus was an underground, smoky, dark haunt frequented by throngs of young Koreans. I was extremely out of place there, not just because I was the only foreigner, but because I was the only one drinking alone. Indeed, when I ordered soju and a pitcher of Hite beer for myself, the waiter looked at me as if I was nuts. I thought I was getting a shot of soju for 3,000 won. But I actually got a 16 ounce bottle! Once I tried it I realized why so many Koreans take to drinking as a hobby. Soju is like vodka, in the sense that it is clear and crisp, but it is much, much less caustic to the tongue. Indeed, it is somewhat sweet. I hate vodka but I love soju. Why American importers have not started selling this in the States is beyond me.
So I sat there, drinking my cold bottle of soju from my ice-cold shot glass, drinking beer, trying to study some new Korean words, and watching a Korean baseball game on TV. Meanwhile, about 100 or so Koreans were sitting around me having the time of their lives. On stage two singers were belting out songs, there was so much smoke in the place I almost choked. One thing that was interesting was the way patrons called the waiters at this place. Hanging from the ceiling were a few LCD screens that occasionally showed a number and letter combination. Press the button at your table and your table number at letter appeared as a bell rang out and the waiter ran over immediately. Quite ingenious, if you ask me.
Anyway, I had a wonderful time, but I longed for some company. I am going to contact some of my former students at INTERLINK tomorrow and let them know I’ve arrived. The next time I have soju, I’ll do as the Koreans do and drink it with friends. MA SHE GO CHUK JA!!!
I will forever remember this night as the night that I discovered SOJU. Before I came here I had heard of it, but I had always assumed that it was ‘hard liquour,’ and since it was hard, I would not like it. In fact, although I enjoy beer often and wine occasionally, I dislike hard liquor like vodka and gin. But soju is something different. It is technically a hard liquor, made from rice and/or sweet potato and/or barley (traditionally, rice). It has a higher alcohol content than wine, but lower than beer. This makes for an ideal ‘shot’ and I had several tonight.
Tonight Olivia had to attend a play downtown so she dropped me off at Myeong-dong, where I wandered around for two hours, bedazzled by the neon lights, chic fashion shops, and street food vendors. [Please see the photo of Olivia in Myeong-dong above]. In case you did not know it, Koreans, Seoulites in particular, love to go out at night for food and drink. It may seem strange to read that because of course, who doesn’t like to go out at night? But in Korea it is different. Actually, most people under 30 go out for food or drink (or both) most nights of the week. It is as common for Seoulites in particular as it is for Italians to have a Sunday afternoon family dinner. Indeed, despite the bad economy in Korea, the streets if Myeong-dong were bustling with revelers, both young and old (but especially young). Myeong-dong is, well, I’m not sure how to describe it, since it is really unlike anything else I have ever seen. It’s a bit like Times Square, with the people and the neon lights, a bit like Fifth Avenue, with the trendy shops. But it’s also like Roosevelt Avenue (a non-descript but significant street in Queens) due to its food vendors. You see, Koreans love to eat street food. Back in New York, one can see street food like hot dogs and the like all over, but most of the time New Yorkers shy away from them. After all, they are selling unhealthy crap. Not so in Korea. In Korea, the street food is made from real ingredients, and indeed it can be called cuisine. For example, I had candied sweet potatoes as a snack, something I would have paid three times as much for, but the small bag only cost about .80, and it was sold on the street next to a variety of other vendors selling everything from seafood to rice cakes to barbecued meat. Nothing like New York…so good, in fact, that women wearing Prada and men wearing Dolce and Gabbana were lined up to ea this stuff. Truly amazing.
But back to my favorite part of the night—the soju. I wandered around for 90 minutes and found so many types of places—a restaurant dubbed by the NY Times as one of the best in the world; a Burger King; a Krispy Kreme—but I could not find a bar or pub. I am sure they were there, but I had no luck peering between the masses of people everywhere. Finally, when I was about to give up hope and buy a beer from a street vendor (you can do that here), a man handed me a card that read “Beer Plus.” Well, I thought, beer is great, so beer plus must be super good. And I was right. As it turned out Beer Plus was an underground, smoky, dark haunt frequented by throngs of young Koreans. I was extremely out of place there, not just because I was the only foreigner, but because I was the only one drinking alone. Indeed, when I ordered soju and a pitcher of Hite beer for myself, the waiter looked at me as if I was nuts. I thought I was getting a shot of soju for 3,000 won. But I actually got a 16 ounce bottle! Once I tried it I realized why so many Koreans take to drinking as a hobby. Soju is like vodka, in the sense that it is clear and crisp, but it is much, much less caustic to the tongue. Indeed, it is somewhat sweet. I hate vodka but I love soju. Why American importers have not started selling this in the States is beyond me.
So I sat there, drinking my cold bottle of soju from my ice-cold shot glass, drinking beer, trying to study some new Korean words, and watching a Korean baseball game on TV. Meanwhile, about 100 or so Koreans were sitting around me having the time of their lives. On stage two singers were belting out songs, there was so much smoke in the place I almost choked. One thing that was interesting was the way patrons called the waiters at this place. Hanging from the ceiling were a few LCD screens that occasionally showed a number and letter combination. Press the button at your table and your table number at letter appeared as a bell rang out and the waiter ran over immediately. Quite ingenious, if you ask me.
Anyway, I had a wonderful time, but I longed for some company. I am going to contact some of my former students at INTERLINK tomorrow and let them know I’ve arrived. The next time I have soju, I’ll do as the Koreans do and drink it with friends. MA SHE GO CHUK JA!!!
MA SHE GO CHUK JA?? Oh... no.... now you are so good at Korean culture.... : ) Way to go!
ReplyDelete(Soju is really famous among college students.