Your heart flutters and feels free when you just hear this word, 20s. It is the golden age of life. However, some flowers fall annually without blooming. One of the reasons is due to alcohol related accidents. As a new grown-up, drinking may be a symbol of freedom for 20-year-olds. If you learn the wrong drinking habit and drinking culture during your 20s, you may enjoy the wrong drinking culture throughout your lifetime. Therefore, it is important to adopt good drinking habits, because they will play an important role in shaping the drinking culture of our society. What is a good drinking culture? And what is a good drinking?
1. Korean drinkers’ drinking status.
“How often do you drink?”
As you can see from your surroundings, alcohol is regarded as a big part of culture in Korea. So how much alcohol does the average Korean drink in a year? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the consumption of alcohol in Korea is 14.8 liters per year. Among 188 countries, Korea’s alcohol intake per capita is 13th. Koreans also consume, on average, 9.57 liters of distilled water. This comes to the 1st place among the 188 countries, which can also mean that Koreans consumes stiff drinks more than any other country. However, nobody can decide if a high consumption of alcohol is wrong. The problem is that Asian people have less enzymatic alcoholysis than Western people.
Of course the health of each individual is important, but society is getting sick as a whole because of our bad drinking culture. We must rectify that culture. The biggest question is a generous attitude towards alcohol. For example, even if someone committed the same crime, penalties would depend on whether the person is drunk or not. In other words, a person may be sentenced with reduced penalty just because that person ingested alcohol. Moreover, when people dine together or have meetings, alcohol will always be ready. The problem is not that they enjoy drinking; it is how they do not worry about getting heavily drunk.
In addition, people drink alcohol with the same cup from one person to another and they sometimes even mix liquors together; we call it ‘Poktanju’. Why is poktanju harmful? Alcohol is absorbed into the body when alcohol levels are from 10 to 15 percent. When mixed with various alcoholic beverages, the alcohol compounds have a chemical reaction. So, it results in a bad influence on hangovers. Since individual health habits form the health of society, so everyone needs to create a desirable drink culture.
2. University student’ alcohol accident
Case 1: There have been some unfortunate drinking incidents. For example, alcohol accidents occur at universities on student Orientation Training days. According to the Korean Public Health Association, 22 students have died at university events from 2006 to 2015. Each year, there are victims. There are more than two victims each year, including both injuries and fatalities. In a welcome party for the freshmen at Goseong, Gangwondo, a drunken freshman entered an elevator machine room and got three fingers cut off.
Sometimes, a coercive drinking culture leads to sexual harassment, too. There is also a controversy because of drinking games that cause sexual humiliation.
Case 2: Yoon (20), a student at a local national university, heard a strange remark from a senior. The senior had refused to drink alcohol that he had received from a student. He said, “Alcohol should be poured by younger women.” and handed the bottle to a female freshman. Finally, another female senior stopped the situation. She said, “It was unpleasant.”
Before going on to university, there are endless incidents and controversies at school events such as OT. Why do we have to think about 'alcohol' when we go to university freshmen events? Drinking is considered an effective way to keep ourselves happy, however, since there are accidents occurring due to drinking alcohol, a solution is needed.
3. Cognitive survey: Drinking habits and culture of Gachon University
Compulsory alcohol drinking is a violation of Article 324 of the Criminal Code, and can result in a sentence of up to five years imprisonment. Nevertheless, according to a survey by Data News, more than 60% of adults said, “They had been forced to drink during college.” Then, how about Gachon University students? To investigate this, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 188 students at Gachon University from April 3 to April 10, 2017. Of the 188 respondents, 93.6% said they had been drinking for the past year. 39.2% responded that they drink one to two times per week, and 15.3% were drinking more than three times a week. In addition, about 50% of the respondents said they ‘drink too much’ more than once a month.
Next, respondents gave an affirmative answer about drinking games and toasts as a positive drinking culture. They said that negative drinking cultures are when elder’s offer and mixed liquor. 17.2% of people have been forced to drink alcohol. It is lower than the above-mentioned problem of forcing college students to drink alcohol. It is not only satisfying that this figure is low, but it should form a better university drinking culture and strive for the right drinking habits of the individual.
4. Healthy drinking habits and drinking culture
There are 10 commandments suggested by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for safe drinking. It's too obvious, but if you already have bad drinking habits, it won't be easy. Even so, you should start correcting your bad drinking habits. If you keep these 10 commandments, you will have a good drinking habit in the end.
①Drink light liquor and don’t drink poktanju.
②Don't drink with an empty stomach.
④Don’t pass the glass.
⑤Keep your own liquor and don't impose it on your colleagues.
⑥Make sure you reject drinks when you don't want to drink.
⑦Don't drink every day.
⑧Don’t drink and drive.
⑨Don’t have a drinking party more than one time each day.
⑩Don’t drink when you take a medicine
There is also a social movement for a more desirable drinking culture at some universities
In fact, Gachon University has been implementing 'Clean Campus' for several years. The intention is to make a clean campus culture, through prohibition of smoking and drinking alcohol on campus. By doing so, the school blocked drinking accidents that could occur in schools. In addition, at a freshman personality camp, they kept a moderate amount, 1 beer per person, to prevent drinking accidents.
And the Human Rights Center of Dankuk University produced and distributed human rights bracelets. The ‘Human Rights Bracelet’ is intended to help people avoid drinking alcohol. By wearing a bracelet, it will mean that that person doesn’t want to drink alcohol. There are small movements to form a healthy drinking culture in some universities.
5. I decide what I want!
In your social life, there may be situations when you don’t want to drink alcohol but must drink. Of course, demanding drinks is definitely wrong. It is clear that the perceptions of the people who impose drinking on others is wrong. What should you do when it comes to situations like that? First, you must express your thoughts. Also, if you drink excessively, I recommend you replace it with light liquors. Most importantly, you should remember that your body is more precious than other things.
Drinking is fun for some, but it can be painful for others. The trouble stems from the mistaken drinking culture at a drinking party. Not only direct coercion but also indirect coercion are part of an undesirable drinking culture. Our healthy drinking habits form the drinking habits of our society in the future. From now on, let’s create a healthy drinking culture with healthy drinking habits.
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