The Korean people have a very strong work ethic. Many salary men and women in Korea work till late at night. Students often have nighttime classes and others have part time jobs that don't end early. After a long day of work or class people are often hungry and they need to meet with friends to socialize and talk about their day (Koreans work hard, but they like to play hard as well).
Luckily, Korea is the country that never sleeps. Many restaurants and bars don't even start getting busy until 7 or 8pm and they will often stay open until 2,3 or even 5am. There are some restaurants that stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These often specialize in hangover soup restaurants (one of the cures for hangovers is to be plied with more alcohol). Suffice it to say, last calls for drinks in Korea are almost non-existent.

Now I am not writing about the need for temperance in Korean society because dining and drinking is a very important part of Korean culture. Koreans are social drinkers and they will often go to restaurants and bars to have alcohol with food. The food comes out tapas-style with several different side dishes called banchan. The food is shared and guests make sure to pour drinks for their friends at their table. It is customary in Korea to not dine or drink alone.

A night of drinking often has several stages. Usually there are three stages but a good night out might call for more such as a visit to a karaoke room for some singing and dancing. Most often the first stage is often a stop at a Korean barbecue house to have sizzling slabs of pork belly with cooling shots of clear alcohol called Soju. Second round is usually something fried such as fried chicken with pitchers of beer. Third round is usually a tent restaurant called a pochamacha. These no-frills tents are intimate settings that are great for conversations and drinking games. The food here can range from stir-fried chicken gizzards, spicy chicken feet, grilled fish, stews, or delicious onion and carrot rolled egg omelette called gyeran mari.

Of course just eating and drinking can get a bit boring. Luckily, Koreans are natural conservationists (remember the point of eating and drinking is to develop friendships). When lulls in conversations occur, people play games such as 3,6,9 (sam, yook, goo). To play this game friends count out numbers and every time there is a 3,6, or 9 (not multiples of 3) the contestants have to clap. If a person forgets to clap or says the incorrect number, they have to drink. In the game 5 questions, each person holds up their hands. Friends take turns asking questions such as, "anyone wearing glasses" or something more personal such as "anyone that has kissed another person at the table." If the question applies to a person, they have to put their finger down. If all of their fingers are down, they have to drink.

By the end of these rounds of eating and drinking, people might get a bit drunk. If a person seems to not be able to drink more, that person can ask for a "white knight." this person will drink in place of that other person in exchange for a favor in the future.

If the night is going very well friends often convene to singing rooms where they can bout their favorite pop songs and ballads and dance.

Again, drinking in Korea is not about getting drunk but about developing friendships. After a night, friends make sure they get home safely via public transport, taxi, or a car pickup service that a person will come take the inebriated person and their car home.