Most companies in Korea have hoesik (literally, dinner with coworkers; figuratively, official eating/drinking fests involving multiple rounds at multiple venues) at least once a month and sometimes every week. For Koreans, drinking is considered a way to get to know what someone is really like. So how do you avoid offending someone (worst of all, a superior or client) at a Korean drinking extravaganza? Follow these five handy rules.
Know the hierarchy
One of the first things Koreans often ask when meeting someone new is their age. Even someone just one year older is afforded a language of respect, though age is always superseded by a higher position.
Use two hands
By raising your glass or pouring alcohol with one hand, you are establishing yourself as a senior person. If you’re not, well, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
No means bad things
Unless you have an air-tight reason, refusing alcohol is considered a mood killer and deemed rude. In fact, unless you’re pregnant or already puking, what might be a “good reason” not to imbibe elsewhere won’t fly here. It’s generally best to accept and discreetly get rid of unwanted alcohol than to refuse it.
Flex your vocal cords
Koreans are obsessed with singing, as evidenced by the country’s staggering number of karaoke bars, as well as the rush of audition programs on Korean television. Your companions won’t rest until you sing.
Use the black knight or the black rose as a last resort
If you simply cannot take any more, you can call a black knight (male) or a black rose (female) to your rescue. This entails a person of your choosing drinking your glass for you, but it also means they get a wish. As in, you might soon wish you’d just taken that last shot as you’re spelling your name out with your butt in front of your client.
Have you tried joining a Korean drinking session? Tell us about your tipsy experience!
Source: CNN Go
Image: Virtual Tourist
Digital Etiquette For The Excited Travelers
1. Don’t play “stump the tour guide” by looking up the sights you’re visiting on your mobile phone and sharing your findings with the group.
“The tour guide knows something interesting,” Matthews said. “They know local pieces of information. They have these local nuggets that now they’d be offended by even sharing because how can they compete with Wikipedia?”
2. If you post to Facebook, Twitter or a blog, make sure the others you’re traveling with know you’re writing or sharing photos about the trip.
Laws vary from state to state, so it’s not only important to know them, it’s equally import to ask permission to photograph people and let them know the images may wind up online.
3. Don’t “tag” people in photos online without prior approval.
Not only will the person you tag see it, but all the people who will visit his or her wall will also see it. Can you image having your work colleagues that you may have Facebook friended see you in your skimpy bikini guzzling back a beer? Also in the same vain, some tweets or photos shouldn’t be posted until you’re home –or not at all.
5. Be careful about posting critical comments online about a destination or trip.
“Posting commentary considered ‘negative’ about an area you’re touring for the first time disappoints and can even offend others who are envious that you’re able to take a vacation,” Matthews said.
6. Unless you’re riding on a bus, train or plane, take off the headphones.
Travel is about the sights, smells and sounds. Not only is wearing headphones rude, it can be dangerous if you can’t hear the noise of an oncoming car or a bus.
7. Get in front of the camera.
“With the help of the Internet and Google images, I can see thousands of pictures of the Eiffel Tower,” Matthews said. “I can see plenty. So when I see another picture of the Eiffel Tower, why aren’t you in front of the Eiffel Tower?”
8. Turn down the screen brightness.
A great traveler’s trick is to use your smartphone or tablet screen as a flashlight. It’s great in a pinch, but watch out, you can get some fellow air travelers very angry if that goes off in a darkened cabin.
Do you follow any of all of these digital etiquettes? Tell us of the times you were offended by “rude” techies!
Source: Fox News Travel
Image: SailAway Yacht Charter Consultants, Inc.