Recognize this? Those of you in Korea should know this very well.
I learned a great phrase at dinner last night (and for those of you who teach in Korea, this is a great phrase that I recommend you learn for those ‘school dinners’)
“나 소주 먹고싶어요, 그러나, 위가 아파요. 미안해요.” (na so-ju muh-goh-ship-oh-yo, kuh-ruh-nah, wae-ga ah-pah-yo).
This sentence translates to: ‘I want to drink soju, but I have a stomachache. I’m sorry.’
At this point you may be wondering how I came to know this phrase, and why it took me almost two years to learn it. Well, the night went a little like this…
After finishing the semester teaching my adult students, the heads of the various departments of the company I worked for invited me out for a farewell dinner. All of the ‘big dogs’ were there. I greeted each one, many of whom I had never met before, and sat down at the table with the other foreign teachers.
We began talking and soon a live octopus was brought to the middle of the table and set on fire (okay, this is a little dramatic… the octopus was actually placed in boiling water and boiled to death.) I had never seen an octopus that large in person and I was told that in Korea, this was the most expensive octopus that could be found, so it was an important night.
As the octopus boiled in the beef/octopus/vegetable stew on our table, the other teachers and I began to talk, and I was handed a shot glass of soju (the one pictured above, which I never finished… but I will save that for later.) I happily began to continue my chat and set my soju glass down next to my bowl. I started eating the side dishes when the head of the company stood up. I knew I was in for some trouble.
The head (I will refer to him now as Mr. Honcho [as in 'Head Honcho']) stood up and handed his shot glass to one of the foreign teachers (who I will call ‘Park’). Park took the glass with both hands as Mr. Honcho poured a full shot of soju, and beckoned him to take ‘one shot!’. Park one-shotted it and as is customary in Korean culture, Park handed the shot glass back to Mr. Honcho and poured him a full glass. Mr. Honcho one-shotted as well and then handed his empty glass to another foreign teacher (who I will call ‘Wool’). The same give-and-take process that occurred between Mr. Honcho and Park was repeated with Mr. Honcho and Wool. After Park and Wool had entertained the one-shots, it was my turn. In Korea, it is impolite to turn down alcohol when someone elder than you offers. I had no choice but to give in, so I poured, passed, and drank from Mr. Honcho’s cup.
Seeing the ‘happiness’ that was ensuing with the one-shotting at my end of the room, the department heads in the room figured it was the perfect time to get the Native Teachers drunk. I want to remind you at this time, that the soju glass pictured above stayed the same way the whole night as I was offered shot after shot of soju from various department heads from their shot glasses.
I felt a slight buzz coming on, and I tried to pack my stomach with food so that I did not get sick. Jokingly, another department head came over and told me that soju was ‘Korean water’. What do you think he did next? You guessed it! Poured me a topped-off cup of the Korean water. At this point my stomach felt like it was going to explode with all of the rice, octopus, beef, side dishes, vegetables, soup broth and soju that had been filling my stomach over the course of my meal. I had no choice but to accept.
Then, an angel floated my way (I will refer to her as Angel). Angel sat down next to me, told me about her family and job. She asked me questions about my life in Korea and my hair (of course). She then told me how to politely decline the offer of soju. We practiced saying it over and over again. I was so happy to have met her.
Not long after Angel returned to her side of the room, Mr. Honcho was holding his glass back out again at me. This time I was prepared. In my broken Korean, I managed to get out the phrase I was just taught and at the end of my sentence, everyone started clapping. I had politely declined Mr. Honcho’s shot glass, and I was darn proud of myself.