Is hoesik (company drinking) actually mandatory in Korea?

Short answer: it depends entirely on your company. The culture varies dramatically between traditional Korean firms and modern startups. At traditional companies (chaebols like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, and mid-size Korean firms), hoesik is often a career tool. The real decisions and relationship-building happen over soju, not in meetings. Nobody explicitly says it is mandatory, but skipping regularly can hurt your performance reviews and career progression. A typical session includes dinner (samgyeopsal or galbi), then 2-cha at a noraebang, sometimes 3-cha at a bar. At tech startups, foreign companies, and MZ-generation (millennial and Gen Z) workplaces, the culture is very different. Hoesik might happen once a month, ends by 9 PM, nobody pressures you to drink, and declining is completely fine. The trend in Korea is clearly moving away from forced drinking culture. Over 60% of young Korean workers consider excessive hoesik a reason to leave a company. How to decline gracefully if you need to: - Health reasons work best. Say you are on medication or have a stomach condition. Koreans are very respectful of health issues. - Driving. If you drive to work, saying you need to drive home is accepted. - Family obligation. Saying you need to pick up your child or visit a sick family member is always respected. - Attend but do not drink. This is increasingly common. Go to the dinner, participate in conversation, but drink water or soda. - What does NOT work: saying you just do not want to go, or that you do not like drinking. That comes across as antisocial in Korean work culture. Job hunting tip: during your interview, ask about team bonding activities. If they mention monthly team dinners with the whole department, prepare yourself. Smaller startups and foreign companies in Gangnam and Pangyo tend to have more relaxed cultures. As a foreigner, you generally get more leeway than Korean employees on this. It is not entirely fair, but it works in your favor.