Cheapest Bar in Town

Patio culture as we know it just doesn’t exist in Korea. Bars and restaurants deny their customers one of the summer’s biggest pleasures. It’s hard not to miss enjoying a post-work patio drink with co-workers, or a pinot grigio and nachos outside the Foggy Dew (*drools*). But, as drinking is a national past time here, the country has made some small improvisations to encourage both outdoor and public drinking. Outside of family mart, and GS 25 stores (these are the convenience stores that dominate Busan) there are plastic tables and chairs on the sidewalk. Anyone can buy some noodles, a snack, or a beer and a bottle of soju and just sit outside and enjoy.

Thus, in order to take advantage of the nice weather, a couple friends and I decided to utilize the tables and headed out around 11pm for some intense scrabble competition (yes, I’ve made friends that are as passionate about scrabble as I am – scary). Other friends came by, walked by, stopped by, and before we knew it there was a crew of us gathered patio drinking and gaming: Korean style. At one point, an old man came to talk to us with the cashier of the store. I had a feeling they’d had enough of our rowdiness, and were trying to politely usher us on. Instead, they left and returned with beer for all of us…no complaints. So, my night ended around 3am, after dominating the last round of scrabble, and polishing off my free beer, I left the party and headed home to bed. Some days my life is too good, it seems unfair.