Drunken After-Work Shenanigans - Not Just In Ireland, Folks

Japan is renowned for hefty after work drinking, as other other Asian countries, with differing and odd payment rituals (paying for your bosses drinks like used to happen in docklands pubs here in the early 20th century).

City of London still has huge amounts of finance and tech staff completely sloshed on Friday afternoon, if not also Thursday and Wednesday. Colleagues in London offices in a past job always drank at lunchtime, every single day.

I'd say Ireland has extremely weak drinking with colleagues rituals compared to other places.

Only in Japan.

I worked in Korea for nearly a decade and spent a few years in Japan aswell.

As a 20 something year old p1sshead it was great in Korea,I'd be out every night,mostly with friends but I always knew the work crew would be out if I fancied that instead.As a foreigner I wasn't bound by the strict societal and cultural rules that the natives had to live by.If for example the boss says we're going out after work which they would do about 3 or 4 times a week you would have no choice but to go.

Going out for dinner would mean heading from work straight to a Korean bbq place.The drinking would start before the eating and would be beer to start off with and then Soju ( rice wine as described by somebody up the thread) Soju is the biggest selling spirit in the world,its usually around 20% alcohol and is drank from small shot glasses,you don't sip it.These sessions could sometimes be only 2 hours or other times would go on into the small hours,you might go from the restaurant to a bar or singing room (karaoke in Japan)

Walking around Seoul from as early as 7 or 8 in the evening it's a common sight to see middle aged men (women to a much lesser degree) hammered and not able to walk,friends holding them up,passed out on the subway,puking/p1ssing down an alley.

I would have young work colleagues who would cofide in me that they hated this,they didn't like booze,they couldn't handle it everyday but they had to go along with it.The thing perpetuates itself when these lads get a bit older,get promoted and are used to the whole thing,they then themselves are the ones forcing the younger crew into it.Often times they are alcoholics by their 30s.Alcoholism is completely acceptable and brushed under the carpet,we think we have an issue with it in ireland (we do) but this is on another level.

Even though I spent a few years in Japan I'm not as familiar with the culture as I was working solo and hanging around only with other expats.It seems similar but maybe not as extreme.

France too, in the canteen where I worked there was one beer tap, you pulled the pint yourself, lots of bottles of beers, wines..mad.

Yes thats true. Korean men and women drink like fish after work.

Anecdotally some Japanesve wives would be annoyed with their husbands if they come home too early after work...not socialising enough.

Japanese know this can be an important part of getting ahead.

Jaysus, I've recently been thinking of heading to Korea myself and the stories above would make me question it. In my thirties and glad to say most my serious drinking is behind me. Another 5 years of mad drinking would kill me.

As Klaz had mentioned its kind of accepted by the wives,it's something the husband has to do to get ahead at work.

Work very much defines your place and status in society,early on I've seen the girlfriends and wives actively encourage or in some cases demand it.I think resentment comes into it a bit later on when the guy might be in his 40s and have a mistress or go to prostitutes which is common and somewhat accepted.

Korea and its culture isn't coming out of this thread well!

However,this is focusing on the negatives of its drinking culture.Its also great craic when you're younger,you don't have to partake if you're a foreigner and there's a lot more to Korea and Koreans than what we're discussing here.

Are the Korean/Japanese women who work expected to get flutered as well?

I never understood it. To me, having 1 drink means I'm starting a sesh (never understood going for one or two either, drink isn't that nice). I couldn't even imagine working with a drink or few in me. Having a drink would be the start of relaxing, and there'd be no work done after it. And then having to deal with those who did have a drink, and the varying levels of intoxication... selfish really when you think about it.

I would disagree slightly with you on this,in Korea the women do go out with work and get smashed but the rules are not the same,ie its understood they are women so don't have the same capacity so as you mentioned they can drink beer much slower and sip soju rather than slam it.Also the married women are pretty much excused from the whole thing as they have to get home to the kids.

On the otherside I worked for a company where the boss was a woman (this is rare) She assumed the role of chief p1sshead/dictator of drinking same as the men would.She preferred me over some of her other foreign workers simply because I could drink the most.She wouldn't bat an eyelid with me showing up to work smelling of booze and in a heap (mostly after drinking with my Irish/expat friends not work)