It is not a pretty sight in the streets of Hongdae on a Saturday morning.

Famous for being one of the hot spots for young clubbers in South Korea, the pavement mixes chaos and serenity, as the morning calm is broken by random bursts of young men and women staggering from weight of all-night partying.

Sprawled unconscious adjacent to M2 club are youngsters who seem to have overestimated their own sobriety.

And just around the corner are all-night eateries, serving up gamjatang (spicy pork and potato soup), kongnamulguk (bean sprout soup) and other dishes believed to having sobering powers.

Koreans commonly seek such foods as the means to rebound from the dreaded hangover, a practice Koreans call “haejang.”



It is no secret that Koreans love to drink.

The term “Let’s have a drink” is used essentially as an invitation to socialize among adults.

Whether it be among friends, business partners or even among subordinates and their bosses in companies, a shot of soju mixed into a glass of beer is considered a recipe for breaking the ice or releasing the pressure of hectic life.

Confucian-based Korean culture is built on the idea of hierarchical respect, making frank conversation among work-related people difficult. As such, sharing one’s true feelings while drinking, or binge-drinking, has become a sort of norm in the business world.

According to a Finance Ministry data revealed in June, the government collected 3.23 trillion won ($2.88 billion) in alcohol-related taxes. It marked the first time in history alcohol taxes topped the 3 trillion-won mark, indicating that drinking culture is strong even, or especially, amid the economic slump.

Koreans consume about 12.3 liters of alcohol per capita, which is the highest among all Asian countries according to the World Health Organization’s global status report on alcohol and health 2014.

Fittingly, this gave birth to the custom of routinized, diversified and surprisingly commercialized custom of “haejang,” “chasing away” the hangovers the next morning.

Derived from the word “haejeong,” which literally means to relieve hangover, haejang most commonly refers to eating dishes that will supposedly help you avoid the killer headaches and nausea.

While the dishes may vary, the most popular are types of soups collectively called “haejangguk.” Many of them are hot, spicy and salty, with vegetables and meat in a hearty beef broth.

Among the most popular are gamjatang, seonjiguk (soup with coagulated ox blood) and less-spicy kongnamulguk and hwangtaeguk (with Alaska pollack as the main ingredient).

Over time, the term haejang has come to encompass various methods aside from eating particular dishes.

One of the simpler ways is to drink a mixture of honey and water, which some binge-drinkers would have during the process of all-night drinking. Others believe that sweating helps avoid a painful hangover, opting for saunas or hot baths after drinking.

Effects of haejang have yet to be scientifically proven or even recommended, but seemingly the majority of the heavy drinkers in Korea embrace the practice, believing it will help them recover from indulging in nectar of Dionysus.

It is unclear when the haejang culture was conceived. Some trace it back to the ancient Goryeo kingdom (918-1392). In “Nolgeoldae,” a Chinese language textbook from the times, seongjutang is referred to as what makes you sober.

Others find roots in hyojonggaeng -- made with cabbage, bean sprouts, beef and seafood -- popularized during the late Joseon era (1392-1910).

But as “tang” is referred to both as medicine and soup, some say the seongjutang in question is medicine, not the forerunner of today’s haejangguk.

Food reviewer Hwang Gwang-hae raised such issue, and wrote in his column that haejangguk’s history actually originates from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of Korea. The term clearly makes an appearance in news articles written in the early 20th century.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)