A Night Out In Korea: The 5 Rounds and How To Survive Them

Last Updated on April 28, 2026

Whether you’re looking for a riotous night out or just trying to keep up with Korean colleagues or friends, a Korean-style evening is a lot to handle if you don’t know what to expect. The basic plan for any night out in Korea is to last five rounds, five different locations, often five different drinks, and food at almost every stop.

It may sound like your basic college bar hop, but it is significantly more structured. If you don’t know the expectations going in, you might go hard at the first venue, hit a wall, and end up home in bed before the night has even started by Korean standards.

Here’s what to expect from each round, and how to make it through.

Are you ready to go drinking in Korea? Here are the rounds for a night out to get ready for:

• Korean Night Out Rounds
  • Round 1: Dinner & Soju
  • Round 2: Chicken & Beer
  • Round 3: Somaek & Snacks
  • Round 4: Singing Room & Beer
  • Round 5: Only For The Go-Getters
• Tips for a night out in Korea
• FAQ

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Korean Night Out Rounds

Round 1: Dinner & Soju

The night begins with food. Round 1, or “eel cha/ 일차” in Korean kicks off with Korean BBQ. Friends gather around tables with built-in grills to cook pork or beef while working through the vegetable side dishes. The drinks start here too: soju shots or something with more character like a craft Korean traditional liquor.

Soju is Korea’s national spirit, most foreigners compare it to vodka, though it’s slightly sweeter and smoother. If you’re new to it, the shots come fast. The signal that someone has taken their shot and finished it clean is the shot glass held upside down over the head. Round one may also include Korean drinking games to accelerate the pace.

For more on pairing food with Korean alcohol, read the complete guide to Korean alcohol and food pairings.

What To Look For: Signs that round one is starting off with a bang include the sight of people with a soju shot glasses held upside down over their heads indicating they have taken a shot and finished it in one fell swoop. Round one may also include games to make those shots go down a bit faster.

Round 2: Chicken & Beer

After dinner, many groups move to a nearby hof, a Korean beer hall, for round 2, or “ee cha/ 이차” in Korean. Don’t be surprised when the server waits for you to order food even though you’ve just finished a full meal. Hofs frequently require food orders alongside drinks. Large fruit platters, fried chicken, and bar snacks are common. Drink up and continue eating.

Pouring etiquette: In Korea, you do not pour your own drink. When someone tops up your glass, accept it with both hands holding the glass, or with one hand and the other resting on your wrist. This signals polite acceptance. Pour for others the same way.

Koreans eat and drink continuously throughout the evening, not sequentially. This is the most important behavioral shift from Western drinking culture. The food is not separate from the drinking, it’s part of every round.

Don’t Forget: Do not pour your own drink and be prepared for lots of group “cheers”, or rather “gunbae” (건배) in Korean, to keep everyone on the same drinking pace.

Round 3: Somaek & Snacks

A second bar, one that typically doesn’t require food orders, is chosen for round 3, or “sam cha/ 삼차” and it’s where the night gets raucous. This is when Korean drinking games often begin if they haven’t already.

Somaek (소맥) is soju mixed with beer (maekju / 맥주). The combination has its own name, its own culture, and its own bomb-drop delivery method for those who want to accelerate things. This round is where the night’s energy peaks.

Round 4: Singing Room & Beer

Koreans love to sing. Round 4, called “sa cha/ 사차” in Korean, brings the noraebong (노래방), or private karaoke rooms rented by the hour, from the youngest groups to the oldest office departments, everyone goes. You get a room, a microphone, a tambourine, and a screen with a vast catalog. Beer continues.

Have songs in mind before you walk in. You will not leave without singing at least one loud anthem. This is non-negotiable. Want to know what to expect? Read the guide to the noraebong before you go.

Round 5: Only For The Go-Getters

By round five, or “oh cha/ 오차”, roughly half the group has gone home. The remaining go-getters want one more thing.

Options include pojangmacha (포장마차), tented street carts serving late-night snacks and alcohol, another bar, or a dance club that runs until sunrise. Korean establishments don’t close at 2am the way Western bars often do. If you’re still going, the night will accommodate you.

A bowl of doganitang (ox knee soup) or other late-night food sometimes appears at this round, either at a pojangmacha or as a sobering measure.

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Tips for a night out in Korea

If you’re hoping to last all night with a fun group of Koreans or you’re just out with your foreign friends but going Korean style, here are some basic survival rules.

Tip 1: Drink water

Because you cannot pour your own drink in Korea, you may feel like you’re constantly being pushed to overindulge. Every time your glass is emptied someone will top it off again so, the first rule is to take it slow and have a glass of water nearby. Rather than refusing a drink, which is considered rude, take sips of your soju or beer and drink water.

What To Know: A night out in Korea will last the entire night because establishments don’t close. Also important to remember when receiving a top off from a friend, hold your glass with both hands or one hand with your other hand atop your wrist. This will indicate that you’re politely accepting the drink. You should also use these motions when you pour for your friend in response as well.

Tip 2: Pace yourself

One basic mistake made by foreigners is to fill the belly at the first location not realizing that there will be food to enjoy during almost every round of the night. Unlike westerners who eat and then drink, Koreans eat and drink continuously. The second rule is not to eat too much early on. Pace yourself.

Tip 3: Leave between rounds

Do you want to leave early? Is your bed calling? You do not have to get overly intoxicated so that someone will put you in a taxi but, it is polite and generally easier to leave between rounds. When the group is en-route to the next location, that is the time to quickly say your goodbyes. 

How To Leave A Korean Night Out: Wave your hands to indicate you’re leaving and back away between bows. It will be much more difficult to leave mid-round while everyone is seated around a table so plan accordingly.

Tip 4: Good morning

Forgive and forget and don’t bring it up again. Anyone from those having their first acquaintance with the Korean drinking culture to those that go out again and again can end up passed out at a table needing to be poured into a nearby taxi.

Don’t hold it against them. It happens to the best of us and it happens to everyone at some point while they’re in Korea.

Koreans don’t only work hard, or at least long hours, but they play hard as well. It’s important to know the rules before you delve into the drinking culture in this country in order to keep up and play it safe. If you do join in, make sure you know how to get over that hangover awaiting you!

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FAQ

What is a Korean night out?

A Korean night out typically follows a five-round structure across five different venues, starting with dinner and soju, moving through beer and fried chicken, a bar with somaek (soju-beer mix), a noraebong (karaoke room), and ending with a street cart or club for the committed. Food appears at almost every round. The night can run until sunrise because Korean establishments don’t close.

What is eel cha?

Eel cha (일차) means “first round” in Korean, the first stop of the night, typically dinner. The rounds are numbered: eel cha (1st), ee cha (2nd), sam cha (3rd), sa cha (4th), oh cha (5th).

What is somaek?

Somaek (소맥) is the Korean combination of soju (소주) and beer (maekju / 맥주). The name combines soju and maekju. It’s typically mixed in the glass in a specific ratio and sometimes delivered as a bomb (the soju glass dropped into the beer glass).

What is noraebong?

Noraebong (노래방) is a Korean private karaoke room rented by the hour. Unlike karaoke bars where you perform in front of strangers, noraebong is a private room for your group only. Every group from school friends to corporate teams goes. There is no avoiding singing if you attend Round 4.

Is it rude to refuse a drink in Korea?

Outright repeated refusal is considered impolite. The preferred strategy is to accept the drink, take small sips, and keep water nearby. Drinking slowly is acceptable; refusing the glass is awkward.

How late does a Korean night out go?

Potentially until sunrise. Most Korean bars and restaurants don’t have closing times in the Western sense. The night ends when the group decides it ends, typically when the last members of the go-getter round finally leave.

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A Korean night out is a commitment. Going in knowing the structure, the etiquette, and the exit strategy makes it considerably more enjoyable, and considerably less likely to end badly at round two. Now you know what to expect.

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