Death
of Hoi Shik (회식)
Korea has traditionally been a highly
cohesive and homogeneous society and socializing with colleagues has been an integral
part of the office for generations. In the modern era, the firm provided
employment (tacitly guaranteed for life), status and a social network for
leisure time activity. People worked long hours and dedicated tremendous effort
to raising the country out of poverty into the modern nation it is today. Employees were fiercely loyal and took great
pride in the firm's performance. Bonding
was strengthened and work stress relieved and colleagues often went out after
work, quaffed soju and gorged on samgyupsal (cheap liquor and grilled pork
bellies). Periodically, senior managers and executives hosted their team to
meals and drinks as a team-building exercise. These invitations were often
impromptu with the manager announcing at or near quitting time, "We are
having drinks tonight" and any previous plans anyone had going out the
window. Employees felt compelled to
participate in these sessions as opting out was perceived as disloyalty and
could undermine chances for promotion. Furthermore,
a decent meal and unlimited drinks at the company's expense were often welcome.
The sessions resembled a 'pub crawl' as men followed up dinner with visits to
subsequent establishments for 2-cha, 3-cha or more, often arriving home well
lubricated late at night (or early the next morning). Collectively, these
events are known as hoi shik (group dining or company dining) and helped solidify
Korea’s reputation as a drinking culture.
It is hard to pinpoint the moment when
things began to change. Perhaps it started
with the Asian financial crisis of 1997 / 1998.
Major layoffs undermined company loyalty. Firms were under financial stress and had to
cut costs. After recovering from the crisis, many managers tried to buy back
loyalty by reviving the practice but dropouts began to grow more frequent. Many
people lost their jobs and corporate cohesion was weaker. One's friends were no longer all employees of
the one firm. Over time, social changes further undermined the practice. Female employees, very much in the minority,
were frequently hassled (and worse) at hoi shik by drunk, older colleagues. Health consciousness grew and the ill effects
of frequent overdrinking (and over eating) raised concerns. The family unit
became increasingly important and younger employees, in particular, resented
staying out and getting drunk on inexpensive liquor. Individualism undermined
conformity. Companies too began to recognize
productivity losses arising from badly hungover staff. Tax law changed limiting
the amount companies could write off for entertainment expenses. The 1:1:9 slogan appeared, 1 location, 1 type
of alcohol and home by 9 pm. Hoi shik began
to evolve into team lunches (without alcohol).
Source: pixbay
With the hoi shik already an endangered
species, it is possible that COVID-19 will be its death knell. Social
distancing rules have severely curtailed socializing. Crowded indoor spaces are
breeding grounds for super spreader events. Restaurants are closing earlier and
limiting the size of each party. As a result of cultural changes in Korea and
an ongoing pandemic, the practice of going out after work with colleagues, night
after night (and mass-murdering brain cells) may have gone the way of the
dinosaur. And that is something to be
celebrated. Cheers!
