Career Korea: Hui-sik

Korean custom dictates that employers take their staff out for food and drink every so often- it's called "hui-sik" (pronounced wheh-shick), and it may make this the best job I've ever had.

After school last Thursday, the teachers and administrators walked down the road to a restaurant for sam-gyap-sal and bulgogi and beer and soju (sweet, sake-like Korean liquor). Principal Susie was there, and everybody got along like kings. We poured drinks for each other, another custom, and cheered, "kon-bae!," sitting on the floor around sizzling platters of beef and pork (and garlic and onions, and rice, and dish after dish of different kimchis). Almost everybody got a little tight. We ended up playing Korean drinking games too nonsensical to elaborate on, but which culminate in two "losers," one of either sex, having to take a "love-shot," a glass of soju drunk with arms hooked alá a newlywed couple's champaign toast.

After an hour or two, when all the food was gone, we filed out and down the road to a norebang, a private karaoke room where everybody, Principal Susie included, did a song or two. The Koreans stuck with the ubiquitos uber-pop songs played repeatedly in every club, restaurant, and store in the country. Kim and Jane belted "Lady Marmalade," Inwoo and Robert gave a powerful rendition of Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger," and I took the pleasure of Rickrolling my co-workers (Mackie was not on the menu).

It was a pretty early night, and everyone got home before twelve. A great success in team-building and coworker-bonding, and I won Inwoo's and my gentlemen's bet that I could eat more than him. As usual, I had to carry the group through the home stretch, polishing off two tables' leftover sam-gyap-sal.

I almost feel bad for making them pay me for this.

Teachers' Table