Kimbo in Korea: Seesaw Party

Chloe: I recently attended my first Christmas party in Korea. Not sure what to expect, I joined the other teachers at the front desk when our boss came to pick us up. He seemed nice enough, didn't speak any English, but that seems to be normal with large hagwons. We all jumped into his SUV, and drove to Anyang. I wish I had known the area better; turns out, this restaurant was really close to the boulevard along which Sam walks towards the subway. However, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been allowed to invite him anyway.

So, back to the restaurant. Something which I've come to learn since I've been in Korea is the drinking culture. If your boss invites you to "dinner" (read: drinking) you go. If your boss asks you to drink a shot of soju, you do so. Again and again until you black out if need be. Eesh. Fortunately, I'm a girl, and girls aren't under the same pressure. (And fortunately, Sam's boss is a woman, so he doesn't have to worry about it). Anyway, we had a delicious Korean BBQ dinner, with beef, garlic, a kind of mini omelette, soup, rice, kimchi, and probably five other side dishes I don't remember. We drank a lot of soju (like a Korean sake) and beer. And then we left.

On the way out, I was thinking about how we would get home, taxi, subway, would our boss drive us back? But we weren't done. Koreans like to do things in rounds, usually 3. Round two was a different restaurant, with more food. I really have to learn not to eat so much during round 1, but you never know if you'll be finished after your first meal, or eating twice more! We all crowded into the loft of a restaurant, sitting on the floor, faced with frying pans of cow's intestines, liver, and some prickly stomach lining. I tried all of it (you can't have an opinion unless you try it!) and vow never to do so again. Ick.

But it was enjoyable, and I got to know my fellow colleagues a bit better. We also got to see one of the Anyang teacher propose to one of the Ansan teachers (they'd never met before). I think she agreed to date him for one year before answering his proposals, haha.

Quick note: If you're wondering about the title, Seesaw is the name of my school.