Thanks for the post. I love soju! The partner and I have decided to name our imaginary children soju and makolli :P

Great post girl! (I'm at the moment drinking my hard found makgeolli.) I hope you have fun with soju and similar beverages after you turn 18 - and believe this Unni here, it CAN be just the way it is depicted in dramas ;)

What a clever piece! I've never drank myself into a stupor before (I know, and people think straight-laced young adults are a dying breed) and dislike the taste of alcohol. This means I've never met my drunk self. I don't know what weird little drunk quirks I have. I've never black out and done something insanely embarrassing. Is that a good or bad thing? The fantasy suggests I'm missing out on a chance for bonding with friends and potential love interests.

But hey, since when do Korean drama ever lead us astray? XD

Dude, you're SIXTEEN? Wow. Nice writing, and full of wisdom in the last paragraph. 👍

No @sukstan!
Don't listen to the piper of the soju! It's a fantasy, I tell you. All a fantasy.
You may think it's all drunken confessions and piggy-back rides home but it is not! It's a headache of a fantasy with stomach rot and a vague sense of embarrassment that can never be nailed down - until your friends give you a blow-by-blow the next day.
And yes I may be drinking an alcoholic beverage right now - one I even invented for Beanies on this very site - but as usual you should do as we adults say, not as we do.

I really enjoyed this.

Drink responsibly.

@sukstan, Thank you for this lovely essay.
This is so well written that I want to go have a drink with a friend... Only I'm not someone who does well with alcohol. You are right, it's the time spent relaxing, talking, messing up and ultimately strengthening our bonds while together with friends that make the soju scenes so memorable. You have described this perfectly. Nothing to add.
I'll go sip some tea and plot ways of doing the same with non acoholic beverages. Mwahahaha!

what a nice post, and very mature mind :)
I think many people use alcohol as a way of bonding and the not so formal setting. witch dram show perfectly. Not that is wrong drinking a glass or two. but to me the problem is when you get so drunk that you pass out and don´t know where you are. and often in drama you get saved by the prince. but in real life it could lead to not so good experience. So I say drink in moderation and enjoy your company. It save you from allot of not so good moment.

I've had some memorable, wonderful times myself when drinking (and many more when not drinking!). But one thing that never happens in real life? Your crush will never offer you a piggy-back ride home. Like, ever. No matter how nice he is or how tiny you are. I would say it's a pity, but I'd rather not be the cause of someone's herniated disk :)

oh, this is so interesting coming from a sixteen year old...

it worries me, that you are right - Kdramas glamorize being drunk off your a**.... and soju definitely can do that to you. but i hope you don't fall into it, definitely not before you become of legal age to drink -- but even when you do, the mother in me has to beg you to not get into it!!

alcohol will do horrible things to your kidneys and liver, as you know. also, soju is extremely caloric!! how do they all drink so much and not gain weight from all those empty calories!!!

personally, i love soju -- but since looking up the caloric content of one small bottle, i've had to think twice... and three times...
: (

I don't like alcohol. I understand that drunk scenes are supposed to be funny or poignant, and I can celebrate the relationships formed or strengthened over drinking, as your essay explained. But I still feel uncomfortable, especially when I see young women getting drunk and flailing around while they are completely vulnerable. Bo Young did that at least 3 times in APAD - yes it was funny, but also disturbing as someone not used to that drinking culture. So, I think your focus on the people who are drinking is the right approach as a viewer, but I also think kdramas do romanticise the drink and its effects, which is dangerous.

Great post @suk! If you're writing like this at sixteen, I can't wait to read how you'll be writing as you grow older (er..if the chance comes my way ^^ ). I bet you read a lot? HAHA

And re soju - SK drinking culture is terrible, K-dramas certainly romanticise it. :/ Just like they romanticise things like wrist grabs and a thousand other terrible things. HAHA why do I watch dramas again? ^^

Lovely writing! Ah, that "steamy love affair" in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, still regretfully thinking of what might have been... And really gorgeous choice of screencaps, I smiled all the way to the last one ^^

What a wonderful piece of writing, but I actually hate that everyone gets drunk in dramas. I, myself, didn't start drinking until after I had my second child when we lived 30 minutes from Napa Valley, CA. I was 31 years old. I figured that I'd regret my life if I didn't learn how to drink while we lived there, and I learned how to appreciate the countless man hours of work and unconditional love that goes into making an exceptional bottle of wine. And can count on one hand how many times I've drunk in excess (and one was due to a kdrama). And I don't like soju, not even a little bit. I do have 2 bottles in my liquor pantry right now, but only to mix in vodka (a new drink christened here on DB by @leetennant) and I have no idea why people even like this stuff. I do have a point...that if you start drinking, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, do NOT start with soju. Find a sweet moscato, or a drier pinot grigio, or other white wine. Enjoy the flavors and you will appreciate alcohol more and be less likely to drink to get drunk. Because, a word of caution, which has been echoed here, those led astray by intoxication usually regret it in the end.

Hello Beanies! Thank you so much for all the lovely comments :) It's my first time trying to write a post for dramabeans so I'm so happy the response to my writing is positive! And thank you for warning me about the dangers of alcohol. I definitely think that getting too into drinking is never ever a good thing, and I wanted to shed light on the issue of alcoholism being promoted in kdramas with this post, but in a more lighthearted way. I don't know why dramas love building relationships through excessive drinking, but I found the concept of it interesting. If only reality was that ideal TT TT

I love this! I've only had beer on 2 separate occasions and that too when I was travelling. Since I live in the Middle East there's no alcohol here and my parents will probably kill me if I bring up drinking. But its always been a fantasy of mine to get drunk with friends and share your problems with soju! On bad days when the urge to drink away my sorrows gets too much I usually crack open a can of cola or barbican and drink that while watching dramas! On days when I wanna hang out with my friends and talk about life's problems we usually do sheesha because again Arab country here. Which is fine but of course nothing like the soju fantasy!

Enjoyed reading your post!

Good for you on being sixteen and not having tried alcohol. We don't give credit often enough to younger/underage people for doing the right and/or legal thing. Before you know it, you'll be at the age to enjoy the alcoholic beverage(s) of your choice if you choose to do so at that time.

You bring up good points about how alcohol is presented in dramas but you also have a good realization that is in fact not real life. But that's ok though! This realization certainly doesn't render them any less entertaining. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us!

@suk, nice job! I've heard soju compared to everything from battery acid to nail polish remover but I've come to like it, verrrrry cold and with a generous shot of lemon added.
I thought I'd stop by with the very non-romantic side of drinking in SK,
https://themonsoonproject.org/2016/10/10/a-sobering-look-at-south-koreas-drinking-culture/,
which never gets addressed in kdrama😉, where about the worst thing we ever have see is our heroine barfing in the street.

I am double your age, ok a little bit more than double 😅 but also, I have a soju fantasy😀. I remember even, being like 17 I tried once in a party my brothers held, and because I was among friends of my brothers (who were social and good dancers - not me, I was awkward, shy and couldn't dance well) I thought it would be safe, and I drank as much as I could but nothing happened 😳. I didn't get drunk at all, not even dizzy.
And just for the record, I kept on growing normal but without alcohol parties, because I simply don't like most alcoholic beverages. Once in a while wine, once in a while beer with lemon juice.
When problems or heart aches or frustrations in life, I just struggle by myself or cry or talk to friends or write my heart out. Believe it or not: kind of poetry.

Yet, I wanted to say I got drunk recently for the first time in my life!!! 😬😬😬
I was in the house of my sister and she gave me just one glass of wine from the lake constanza mixed with orange juice and that was all I needed. I got not only dizzy, but drunk talking nonsense, laughing and not being able to walk straight.
It was funny because the only thing I could think is that I felt like a Korean drama cast.
I can tell now, yes! that way of acting when you are under the influence of soju: totally real. I didn't drink soju that night, I doubt I would like soju... but the effect was the same. And because I was safe, it was fun.
I would say- at least once in a long while is ok to let the alcohol do you something (ha ha... what a weird way to put it😂), but drink among true friends or family a safe environment. Keep yourself safe.

What a lovely post @sukstan with far more wisdom than I had at your age.

Reading the comments from other Beanies, I realize my experience with alcohol is a bit different than others. Unlike other parents, mine wanted me to get drunk once before I leave for college. Whether at home or at a party (where I could be brought home and taken care of), they wanted me to make my mistakes while they could still help if needed.

So I did. I think I was about your age when I went to a high school party. I arrived at 7-8pm and at 10 was back home puking my life away in the toilet. While holding my hair back, my father said: "Did you learn your limit?" I weakly nodded and continued puking.

I learned many things that night:
1) Don't drink on a empty stomach. I know now that I am not a lightweight, so on a full stomach, I can drink just fine, but on an empty one? Boy, 2 ciders and I am out.
2) Drink slowly. I drank those ciders one after the other and I think I chugged one of them. Not a great idea, I would discover later.

By the time, I went away to college, alcohol had lost its appeal. Drunk me and I had met for the first time that night, and we weren't super excited to meet again so I postponed that meeting for many years after that.

I don't drink anymore and I am too old to enjoy parties. 10 years has made me appreciate a fine glass of white wine with a small group of my close girlfriends. :D

Very nice write-up! the last time i've drunk myself to oblivion was May of 2015. Hahaha. I too, have soju fantasies. And even though I enjoy a bottle or two of soju on occasion, Oppa has not given me a piggyback ride.
.
.
Yet.

what a lovely piece..thank you for sharing!

until you're legal, your Beanie Unnies like me will drink for you..and know that sometimes,a little bit of your Soju Fantasy become reality with a little hangover on the side 😉

*I need some Duct Tape*

Believe me hun, it's just what you say it is: all a fantasy. I dont drink myself, but seeing my friends hungover the next or throwing up at a party really helps you put things in perspective. Kdramas are just that, they romanticize things and being drunk out of your guts (pun intended) is NOT pleasant. You don't necessarily just wake up with a headache, and after rubbing it it disappears. Sometimes its a cold, sometimes your nauseous the rest of the day, etc etc etc. Wait till youre 21 (or 18 depending on the age restriction) then drink responsibly :)

While I appreciate the wisdom the author demonstrated, the idea that a 16 year old thought drinking was cool because of dramas makes me uncomfortable. So, I think we need to lay down some facts to go with this piece:

According to a 2016 Aljazeera article, South Koreans consume more hard liquor than any other nations. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/02/country-world-worst-drink-problem-160202120308308.html

South Korea also has a reported 1.6 million alcoholics of a population 51.25 million people. (https://themonsoonproject.org/2016/10/10/a-sobering-look-at-south-koreas-drinking-culture/).

In Korea, the annual cost of alcohol-related harm is estimated to be 23.4 trillion Korean won (KRW), which is about $21 billion, but the cost does not include 8.8 trillion KRW caused by alcohol-related violence and crime. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3653072/

The South Korean government has taken great steps to reduce drunk driving related fatalities but as of 2017 the percentage of pedestrians killed in traffic related accidents in Seoul was at 57%. (http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/01/04/2017010401337.html ) Again, the government is actively taking steps to reduce traffic related deaths. There are several articles on the web outlining the government's efforts.

I post these links and statistics not to pick on South Korea but to offer some context. As the author pointed out, the K-drama audience rarely sees the consequences of alcohol consumption. But the real numbers paint a very different picture of the effects of drinking in South Korea.