Backslapping Barbecue

Several of my coworkers and I went out for dinner after our evening classes yesterday. Being located downtown, there are a multitude of options available. We decided on getting some 삼겹산 (Korean style thick-cut pork). Typically this is cooked tableside by the diners themselves, which makes for a fun time. The typical accompaniment (besides a multitude of side-dishes) is 소주, vile poison that it is.

This restaurant was a bit different, though. In addition to getting a variety plate of different pork cuts, we also had a tray of seafoody goodness. This included baby octopus, shrimp, clams, oysters and the like. Typically I'm not a big fan of shellfish, but when you barbecue them and throw on a little 고추장 (chili pepper paste) it can be quite good.

Naturally, as the alcohol began to flow the essential nature of man began to rear its ugly head. Surrounded by multitudes of thin/shaply women, this usually means much flirting and philandering. Last night was no exception. It is always a pleasure to watch your coworkers turn up the sleaze dial a bit--not that I blame them for this, hell, I'd be doing it if I could. They managed to rangle a pair of drunk Korean girls over to our table and enjoy the communication barrier in a way that only alcohol can provide. Nothing too serious came of this, everyone just had a good time. I was rather bemused by the fact that one of the girls, whom I was speaking to in Korean, kept asking me every five minutes "한국말 알아요?" (Do you speak Korean?) That's how drunk she was. Anyway, aside from the occasional back-slap (an annoying Korean behavior) fun was had by all and we stayed out of trouble, more or less.