Episode 7&8: Bitter but Tasty: Hoesik Culture in South Korea

Episode 7 and 8 of “Misaeng: Un Incomplete Life” portray drinking culture that is heavily embedded in the context of South Korean work environment. Drinking culture in South Korea is a double-edged sword in that it is both an important mean of socialization and a threatening factor to the workers’ health (Cakar and Kim 2015). Despite its existing criticism, I argue that what is often regarded as hoesik in South Korea, is considered an inextinguishable practice in Korean work setting due to its function as a tool for socialization, accompanied by promoting the norm of hierarchical culture. By scrutinizing the two episodes, I prove this argument to be substantial.

Episode 7 depicts how hoesik serves to “resolv[e] conflicts, shar[e] group norms, and foster... closeness with fellow employees” (Cakar and Kim 2015, 300). In the beginning of the episode, Jang Baekgi offers An Yeongi to drink with him after work to badmouth their boss. Similarly, Han Seokyul tells Jang Geurae that they must release stress from their bosses by going out to drink. The four colleagues represent the majority of South Korean workers who treat “drinking [as] an outlet for work-related stress” (Cakar and Kim 2015, 290). As new employees of the company who share the same level of hierarchy, they are able to sympathize with each other’s problem without having to worry about formality when they drink, which closely brings them together through socialization.

As discussed in the lecture on Korean Etiquette, conformity and hierarchy form the principle of etiquette in Korea. Hoesik, too, is often based on these two cultural values—specifically, in accordance with “Gap-Eul relation” (Cakar and Kim 2015, 303), which is similar to the concept of “wui salam and alay salam” (Yoon 2004, 194) that was covered in the lecture on Language and Etiquette. When Deputy Song asks Manager Kim to have dinner with him, it is later revealed that this was his strategy to convince him to support Sales Team 2’s business item instead of Team 3’s item. Through various drinking etiquettes such as pouring drinks for the superior and turning away when taking a shot, the subordinates show respect and courtesy to the superior as a mean to gain favour. This is an example of how hoesik induces socialization and is utilized to resolve conflict or to make one’s plea. Similarly, in episode 8, Chief Oh must have a business deal signed by the company’s business partner, Mr. Mun, who usually does not cooperate unless he is taken to a second round of drinking. Again, hoesik serves as an approach to seal the business deal by practicing the hierarchical culture to earn favour from the superior.

Though the drinking culture in South Korea may seem problematic, its practicality as a tool for socialization—mediated by hierarchical practice—is considered more significant than its negative aftermath. Indeed, alcohol and its social facilitation is “too tasty” as Chief Oh bitterly remarks, to be eradicated from the Korean work setting.

Written By: Jenny Chang

490 words according to WordCounter

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Here are some discussion questions..

   1. Some of the disadvantages of hoesik discussed in Cakar and Kim’s (2015) article includes driving after alcohol consumption, being late for work the next day, hangover, and health problem especially amongst the female workers. Considering all these negative side effects, do you think that hoesik culture should be eliminated? Also, consider people who are alcohol-intolerant or cannot keep up with their colleagues drinking limit. What kind of discrimination or limitation would these people face?

2. What other characteristics of South Korean society may help hoesik culture to maintain its position?

3. Why do you think that Chief Oh, even after suffering from hangover, tells his wife that he can’t stop drinking because it is “tasty”?

Bibliography:

Cakar, Ulas and Haeeun Kim. "Korea's Drinking Culture: When an Organizational

Socialization Tool Threatens Workplace Well-being." Turkish Journal of Business Ethics 8, no. 2 (2015): 289-309.

Yoon, Kyung-Joo. "Not Just Words: Korean Social Models and the Use of Honorifics."

Intercultural Pragmatics 1, no. 2 (2004): 189-210.