I recently finished a Korean drama called Itaewon Class. It’s a drama about a guy who wants revenge on the owner of a big company so he opens a street bar in Itaewon with people he encounters that help him make it successful. Street bar or pub in Korean is called Pocha or 포차. I thought it would be interesting to look more into street bars in Korea because it’s a major part of their drinking culture.
Normally in Korea there are food stalls or carts outside called Pojangmacha or 포장마차. These stalls are tented spots where people eat while drinking late at night. The literal translation of Pojangmacha is covered wagon. Pocha is the abbreviation for Pojangmacha. Many of them have evolved to become indoors now. Both the outdoors and indoors Pocha have shown up often in Korean dramas. Itaewon Class is all about the newer indoor Pocha in Itaewon that is opened by the main guy and his obstacles. The newer indoor modern Pochas are very aesthetically pleasing compared to the older outdoor Pochas.
I was looking up more information about these Korean pubs and found this very helpful article from people who visited Korea as tourists with tips and also learned some new Korean words. Typically when you go to a Pocha hungry with a group of people, you should order anju or 안주 based on how hungry you are so if you are really hungry, you could order spicy rice and fish cakes because those don’t last long. If you want to order a small snack cause you’re not hungry, you would order dried squid. A good choice of food to eat with soju and beer is some sort of stew like kimchi stew or jjigae (김치 찌개) because they are kept on a burner so it’s kept warm. The two common alcoholic drinks that people usually drink are soju and beer. People will play Korean drinking games with both. The drinking culture in Korea is big where there might be societal pressures to drink because most people do and a lot of times you might have to drink in a work setting. The article that I found also gave tips on avoiding drinking if you are not in the mood or it’s just not your thing. The first tip is to pour water in your shot glass when you’re pouring water into your water glass. Another tip is to throw your shot over your shoulder or on the ground when everyone is throwing back their shot. The last option is to throw your shot in a water glass before anyone notices.
I find the concept of Pocha to be really interesting and the evolution was also really fascinating. I actually went to a Pocha in New York City in Ktown. It was pretty nice and everything that I had thought it would be but I think I would like to go to an authentic older outdoors Pocha one day in Korea.
Here is the link to the article: https://www.eatyourkimchi.com/how-to-survive-a-korean-bar/
Comments
Hi Annie, I enjoyed reading your post. I watched Itaewon Class sometime during this pandemic and I was impressed at the topics that the drama covered. Some of which included a transgender character and the racism that foreigners are subject to at clubs. Overall, I enjoyed watching the drama as it had a really uplifting story and inspirational characters and the development of the authentic Pocha business the main character started was really cool.
Thanks for your post! I also saw the Itaewon class some time ago, there is a section about the competition berween 포차, I really want to try every kind of food they mentioned. Korean food culture is really interesting. I also heard the actor in another TV show suggest the order of eating at the barbecue restaurant. Although the person who proposed this order is a weightlifter and she can eat a lot, I really want to try it.
Hi Annie, interesting post! The Pojangmacha is something that I always want to try with my friends if we are traveling to Korea. People in Korean dramas always look so healed and happy when they are drinking and having some dishes with their friends in it. I have never tried anju or soju tho, so I want to try those as well.