Drinking Award

Dat Koreanen veel drinken is inmiddels genoegzaam bekend. Ze worden nu ook beloond voor excessief drinken. Bij terugkomst in Korea lazen we het onderstaande artikel in de krant.

County honors 3 for drinking heavily
JoongAng Daily, May 04, 2007

GOESAN, North Chungcheong ― The local economy needed a boost, so the Goesan county government decided to reward three people who are already doing their part, one drink at a time.Three government employees were awarded a three-day trip to Jeju Island and a plaque on Tuesday for drinking heavily in local bars for more than 20 years. “The local economy is suffering because restaurants and bars have few customers at night,” said a government official who declined to be named. “These employees are devoting themselves to boosting the local economy by drinking after work.”The only problem? One of them had his driver’s license cancelled for drunk driving in 2005. “I drank with local residents to discuss a local cultural event and was caught driving home because I thought the taxi fare would be too expensive,” said the employee, who refused to be named. “I did not know I would receive an award for drinking and have been doing some self-reflection.” The award winners were chosen based on recommendations from co-workers, local restaurants and bars. They were acclaimed for drinking with co-workers or local residents at bars for more than 20 years. Goesan county employees called the award the “Drinking Culture Prize.” Lim Gak-soo, the county head, said in an interview, “I decided to create the award to motivate employees who have been working really hard since I took office in July of last year.”

Drie overheidsfuntionarissen hebben dus een prijs gekregen omdat ze de afgelopen 20 jaar bijna dagelijks in de kroeg hebben gezeten. Dit weerspiegelt een diep gewortelde overtuiging in het Koreaanse zakendoen dat het netwerk de beste weg naar succes is en netwerken doe je bij uitstek in de kroeg. Netwerken is volgens het hoofd van de county ook werk. Dat ze overdag zitten te tukken achter hun bureau maakt dus niet uit, want ze werken 's avonds in de kroeg gewoon over.