Soju (소주) is not only the most popular alcoholic drink in Korea, but the best selling in the whole world. Never heard of it, or at least never drank it? Well that'll be because Koreans have the highest consumption of spirits per capita in the world. And soju, and in particular the Jinro brand is the most popular drink of choice. Jinro soju regularly sells 3 times as much as popular whiskey brand Johnny Walker, and over twice as much as Smirnoff vodka, globally! On highest selling brands of spirits globally, two soju brands have held 1st and 3rd place for may years. And most of it is consumed in South Korea.

Traditionally made from rice, wheat or barley, soju is essentially water and ethanol. That's it! In fact these days, with the high consumption, manufacturers have tankers pure ethanol shipped in, which they water down and filter. ABV varies from around 16.7% to 45%, with 20% being the most popular.

Soju was first distilled around the 13th century, during the Mongol invasions of Korea. The Mongols brought the technique of distillation with them, and the Koreans quickly adopted the technique, and have been getting hammered ever since. These days everywhere in Korea posters advertising soju featuring young sexy ladies, enticing Koreans to drink the liquor (not that they need enticing). Back in 1959, they used frogs, sailors and of course sexy ladies!

Dong Chim (똥침) is a bizarre tradition, that is the bane of foreign teachers when they first arrive in South Korea. As many foreigners who go to teach in Korea start teaching in private after school academies or in schools, they find themselves suddenly and without warning being poked up the bum (with some force) by one of their innocent looking students. With a shout of "DONG CHIM!!!" Which translates as "poop needle". The tradition stretches over into Japan too, where it is called "Kanchō", which there translates as "enema!"

The tradition is so popular in South Korea, that they have even built a statue dedicated to the act. And there are a number of comic book characters, animations, and even stickers you can buy in the local DC Stores (discount stores)... All "dong chim" related. For both Koreans and Japanese, the practice is a mild and "inoffensive" form of prank, and an initiation rite for all foreigners who go to these countries to teach English. In Korea, the phrase "dong chim" is one of the first pieces of Korean that many teachers learn, soon followed by "하지 마" (Don't do it!)

It gets weirder, as in 2001 a arcade game manufacturer in South Korea released Boong-Ga Boong-Ga, a game based on the tradition. It was developed for the Japanese market (who else?!) The game has lower half of a human body, with its arse in the air, which players must ram their fingers up as hard a possible. The eight characters on screen that they must punish include, an ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend, the mother-in-law, a con-artist, a gangster, a gold-digger, a prostitute and... wait for it... A child molester!!!

The game also dispenses cards that rate the players on their "sexual behaviour", and for exceptionally adept players who perform the best "dong chim"  the machine will dispense a small plastic trophy in the shape of a cute little pile of poop. See, I told you it would get weirder... But we are not finished just yet.

In April 2009, a bunch of around 20-30 people gathered in a central park in the middle of Seoul, to carry out a "dong chim" style flash mob. I was bored at work, I had some time on my hands, and so I decided it would be fun to organise the event. In the pouring rain, the brave souls all lined up one behind the other and carry out both a simultaneous "dong chim", followed by a domino effect, or as I called it "The Mexican Wave Dong Chim!" Oh how we laughed! And, the weirdest thing? This all seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do!