Actor Han Go-eun recalled the drinking culture she experienced as a rookie, saying, "Looking back now, it was a coercive atmosphere."
In a video released on the YouTube channel "Go-eun Unnie Han Go-eun" on the 13th, Han Go-eun had a meal with three foreign men married to Korean women and shared an anecdote about alcohol.
Han said, "I learned to drink early, but I tried soju for the first time in Korea," adding, "At the drama wrap party, the director offered me drinks, so I couldn't refuse and kept drinking. When I counted, it was seven bottles."
When a foreign cast member asked, "Isn't seven bottles of soju enough to kill you?", Han Go-eun laughed and said, "I didn't die. My last memory is walking out and jumping into a car. After that, I was laid up for three days."
Han Go-eun said, "That incident taught me how to refuse alcohol," and explained, "People don't force drinks now, but back then we had to match the vibe of seniors and elders."
Her remarks are seen as showing how closed off the past "company dinner culture" in the entertainment industry was. In the film industry, alongside Han Go-eun's recollection, the cultural changes brought by directors Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho are being reexamined.
In the recently aired SBS documentary "New Oldboy Park Chan-wook," director Lee Kyoung-mi said, "In the past, room salons were the main venues for entertainment in the film industry, but at Park Chan-wook's production company, that culture didn't exist at all."
Park Chan-wook also said in a past interview, "What weighed on me most was the room-salon culture in the film industry at the time. That's why I wanted to name my first production company 'NRS (No Room Salon).'"
Han Go-eun debuted in 1995 through the Super Elite Model Contest and has worked as an actor.
After marrying Shin Young-soo, four years her junior, in 2015, she has connected with the public through variety shows and YouTube with a down-to-earth and personable side.
Han said with a smile, "Now, even if juniors refuse drinks, people don't see it as strange. I'm glad this era has come."