As Alcohol Culture Changes, So Does Seoul’s Nightlife Scene

Seoul's nightlife scene is adjusting in response to a slowing South Korean economy and a changing drinking culture.

Transcript

00:00Let's go!

00:02Shot glasses clinking and raucous toasts.

00:05These are the sounds Joon Jung-sook remembers

00:08as she fries mung bean pancakes

00:10at her pub on Seoul's famous Nokdu Street.

00:14There was a time when Nokdu was so crowded

00:16you could barely walk.

00:18The streets were all black.

00:21You couldn't see the road.

00:22There were so many people that your head would look black.

00:25Joon's bar, too, was once full every night.

00:29A hot spot for university students and co-workers

00:32out for a drink after work.

00:35Of course.

00:35In the old days, it was always the seniors who paid.

00:38That was the Demulri culture.

00:41It was the seniors who paid for the juniors.

00:43College freshmen should never carry money around.

00:48You can't spend money.

00:51But as South Korea's economy slows

00:54and people grow hesitant to spend money on nights out,

00:57all of that has changed.

01:13It's not just the economy that's different.

01:17After-work drinking sessions, known as hoesik,

01:20have fallen sharply in South Korea.

01:23A 2007 Seoul High Court ruling

01:26made it illegal for workers to force subordinates

01:29to drink alcohol.

01:30And since then, more and more workers,

01:33especially women, have stopped taking part in hoesik.

01:37Younger generations are also embracing

01:40a culture without drinking.

01:57Some university students are actively encouraging

02:01their peers not to drink.

02:03At one Seoul University, even starting a club

02:06called the Alcohol Reduction Association.

02:27Meanwhile, for locals who do continue

02:30to patronize Nokdu Street,

02:32the experience is as much about reminiscing

02:35about the past as it is about living in the present.

02:39Howard Chang and Sonja Schlesinger for Taiwan Plus.