Soju Bomb
December 29, 2006
Korean Soju
I have been drunk for the past 24 hours.
Last night, a little while after Hapkido class, I met with the
teacher and a few of the adult black belts from my dojang.
Koreans know how to drink big time. Most Americans go out to
eat with friends to hang out, where in Korea, almost everyone goes
out drinking as their form of socializing. Drinking soju is a
huge part of the culture.
Wikipedia had this
to say about soju:
Soju is an alcoholic beverage with origins in Korea. The main
ingredient is rice, almost always in combination with other
ingredients such as wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca. Soju is
clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about
20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most
common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though it is often
slightly sweeter due to the addition of sugar in the manufacturing
process.
Sam Gyup Sal
We met at a little restaurant and had a pork dish
called "sam gyup sal." Translated it means "3 layer pork."
It's a great dish that is cooked at your table. I'm not sure
how many bottles of soju we shared there, but it was enough for me
to get what I call a pre-buzz. Afterwards, we walked to a bar
that was close where we had many more bottles of soju and bear.
We also played a drinking game with "soju bombs."
Soju bombs are a glass of beer with a shot of soju inside.
It's quite potent. Especially after loosing count. I
didn't loose count because we had so many. I lost count
because we had so many I forgot how to count. After staggering
to the bathroom a couple of times, I knew that I was way past having
too much.
When I got home and laid down, the room spun one
way and the bed spun the other. I walked out of my spinning
room into the spinning hallway and prayed at the spinning porcelain
god for a few spinning minutes. The last time that kind of
spinning happened, I was in a beachside church parking lot with twin
cute blondes (true story). Now that was a crazy night too!
What I learned today about Korea: 1) How much soju a
woodchuck can upchuck.
