Young Koreans Worry about Return of After-work Gatherings
2022-05-09
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1South Korea's recent decision to ease many of its COVID-19 restrictions has some office workers feeling more concerned than happy.
2That is because the end of social distancing means a possible return of "hoeshik."
3Hoeshik are after-work meal gatherings that are considered part of South Korean work culture.
4Employees do not get paid during hoeshik.
5The events often end very late at night.
6Jang is a 29-year-old office worker.
7She works and lives in Seoul.
8She only wanted to be known by her last name so that she could speak freely about her employer.
9Jang said she thinks that hoeshik is out-of-date.
10She said such gatherings take up too much of an employee's free time.
11"Hoeshik is part of your work life, except it's unpaid.
12The worst part about the after-work dinners is that you don't know when it'll end," Jang said.
13"With drinks, it could really continue well into the night until who knows when."
14During the pandemic, Jang was able to spend her nights the way she wanted to.
15She cleaned the house, made herself dinner and exercised.
16Even before the pandemic, many young South Koreans did not support hoeshik very much.
17They also did not necessarily like other work-related events such as company trips and hikes.
18The pandemic prevented companies from holding hoeshik events.
19And it may have permanently changed hoeshik culture.
20Almost 80 percent of people questioned for a recent survey by Incruit Corp said their companies' hoeshik culture has changed.
21Ninety percent of those respondents said they were pleased with the changes.
22Suh Yong-gu is a marketing professor at a Seoul women's university.
23Suh said, "Now that employees know what it's like to have off-hours kept for themselves, companies won't be able to fully restore the old after-dinner and weekend gathering culture."
24Kim Woon-bong is 30 years old.
25He started a city government job during the pandemic.
26He said that he feels lucky that he did not have to take part in the required hoeshik culture because of the social distancing rules.
27"I actually liked meal gatherings held during lunch hours, because I knew they would end at 1 p.m.," he said.
28"I am cautiously hoping the company dinner culture will change now that it has been almost gone for two years."
29Suh said that even though younger employees do not enjoy after-work dinners and socializing, many older employees still think that the dinners are necessary to form connections with co-workers.
30"It will be yet another conflict between the old and new generation," Suh said.
31Some companies are giving employees the choice to work from home or go into the office on some days.
32SK Telecom is one such company.
33It is letting employees choose between working from home or working in the office in small, socially distant work areas.
34One company official, who did not wish to be named, said there is no set guidance on company dinners.
35But, the official added, "they will be less frequent when many of our employees are working from home."
36I'm Faith Pirlo.
1South Korea's recent decision to ease many of its COVID-19 restrictions has some office workers feeling more concerned than happy. 2That is because the end of social distancing means a possible return of "hoeshik." Hoeshik are after-work meal gatherings that are considered part of South Korean work culture. Employees do not get paid during hoeshik. The events often end very late at night. 3Jang is a 29-year-old office worker. She works and lives in Seoul. She only wanted to be known by her last name so that she could speak freely about her employer. Jang said she thinks that hoeshik is out-of-date. She said such gatherings take up too much of an employee's free time. 4"Hoeshik is part of your work life, except it's unpaid. The worst part about the after-work dinners is that you don't know when it'll end," Jang said. "With drinks, it could really continue well into the night until who knows when." 5During the pandemic, Jang was able to spend her nights the way she wanted to. She cleaned the house, made herself dinner and exercised. 6Even before the pandemic, many young South Koreans did not support hoeshik very much. They also did not necessarily like other work-related events such as company trips and hikes. 7The pandemic prevented companies from holding hoeshik events. And it may have permanently changed hoeshik culture. Almost 80 percent of people questioned for a recent survey by Incruit Corp said their companies' hoeshik culture has changed. Ninety percent of those respondents said they were pleased with the changes. 8Suh Yong-gu is a marketing professor at a Seoul women's university. Suh said, "Now that employees know what it's like to have off-hours kept for themselves, companies won't be able to fully restore the old after-dinner and weekend gathering culture." 9Kim Woon-bong is 30 years old. He started a city government job during the pandemic. He said that he feels lucky that he did not have to take part in the required hoeshik culture because of the social distancing rules. 10"I actually liked meal gatherings held during lunch hours, because I knew they would end at 1 p.m.," he said. "I am cautiously hoping the company dinner culture will change now that it has been almost gone for two years." 11Suh said that even though younger employees do not enjoy after-work dinners and socializing, many older employees still think that the dinners are necessary to form connections with co-workers. 12"It will be yet another conflict between the old and new generation," Suh said. 13Some companies are giving employees the choice to work from home or go into the office on some days. SK Telecom is one such company. It is letting employees choose between working from home or working in the office in small, socially distant work areas. 14One company official, who did not wish to be named, said there is no set guidance on company dinners. But, the official added, "they will be less frequent when many of our employees are working from home." 15I'm Faith Pirlo. 16Soo-hyang Choi reported this story. Faith Pirlo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17____________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19out-of-date - adj. old-fashioned or not relevant to today 20hikes - n. a long walk especially for pleasure or exercise 21respondents - n. a person who gives an answer to a question, especially as part of a public opinion study 22restore - v. to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, cleaning it 23cautiously- adv. careful about avoiding danger or risk 24What do you think of the young South Koreans' concerns over returning to work and hoeshik culture?