To party or not to party? That is the question

As I have mentioned before, the standard working hours for English teachers in Korea are quite late. My hours are later than most, starting at 3:30 and ending at 10:05. However, I have always been a nightowl so this works quite well for me. Because of these hours, I eat dinner late and when I party during the work week, I stay out late. Last Wednesday, a friend invited me to check out the open-mic night at Ol'55 the local Waygouk (foreigner) bar. It ended up being quite a night. I got to the bar at about 11:20, just before the band was starting its first set. They were actually quite good. Apparently there are a number of Waygouks around Pusan who have formed decent bands. Anyway, after an hour listening to music, Yumi and Jinmi (a couple of Korean girls who I have become friends with) invited me to go get dinner with them. I had already eaten a small dinner before going out, but they were going for some sort of raw squid meal. I am always excited to try new dishes, so I went with them. The dinner consisted of 8-9 different plates. First there were starters of fried potato cakes, soup, poached egg in a hotpot, and kimchi. Then we were given a platter of raw squid which you wrap up in lettuce with slivers of chilli, garlic and various sauces. And all of this was accompanied by shots of Soju. It was really good. And the whole thing, which was shared between four people, cost less than $15! Anyway, we went back and played some pool. Around 3am I was playing a game of pool with Lindsey (a Korean American) and her friend Soyoung, who I had just met. By that time we were all a bit bored of the bar. So we headed outside and ended up chatting on the street for an hour while I ate my third meal of the night, which consisted of the Korean version of "street meat." Think of a hot dog stand with tempura instead of sausages. Anyway, it was a great evening.
The next night I went out to the same bar to watch the pool tournament that they have there every Thursday. It wasn't quite the same crazy night as Wednesday, but still fun.
Friday was another big night. This time I went out for dinner with Mat, an American guy who came to Korea around the same time as I did. After dinner we were walking home and we ran into Jinmi and Yumi. They invited us to go have Makgeolli with them. I have mentioned Soju (rice liquor) which accompanies most meals with friends, but Makgeolli (or Dong Dong Ju) was something I hadn't tried. I need to learn more about the production techniques of different Korean liquors. Soju has the consistancy and look of Vodka (although its flavour is a little fruitier). Makgeolli is a milky liquid with a thicker consistancy. It has a yeasty flavour a little like homebrewed Ginger beer. Anyway, it's as strong as Soju (probably around 20%) but you don't taste the alcohol at all, which makes it very dangerous! The Makgeolli came in metal tea pots and the girls ordered 4-5 different side dishes to accompany the drinks. Of course the ubiquitous kimchi was present, but I also got to experience some new foods. One dish was a bizarre cold noodle dish which was filled with chestnut tofu, chilli and ice! We also got a couple of pancake dishes. In one the flour was mixed with kimchi, in the other one (and this was one of the best dishes I have eaten so far) the flour was mixed with spring onions and squid. Anyway, we get quite tipsy on a couple pots of Makgeolli and then ended the night playing Foosball at Ol'55.
I went out again on Saturday for a quiet night, just conversation and a couple of beers at Hollywood Star (the same bar I went to on my very first night in Pusan) which is one of the only bars here with a patio.
Keeping my mum's advice about healthy livers in mind, I abstained from alcohol on Sunday. But to celebrate getting my first paycheck I went to Outback Steakhouse with Ian S. and Ange. Western dining is expensive here (especially beef) but four weeks ago we had promised ourselves a steak dinner when we got our next paycheck. I wasn't sure how good the Korean interpretation of a steak dinner would be, but I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the meat. The best part, I asked for rare and I got a steak that was perfectly bloody and red in the middle. Heaven!