Nuance Dictionary / Culture & Language
회식 hoe-sik
A mandatory company dinner disguised as bonding where your attendance is actually a loyalty test.
What does 회식 mean?
회식 (hoe-sik) means: A mandatory company dinner disguised as bonding where your attendance is actually a loyalty test.
Textbooks define 회식 simply as a 'company dinner,' missing the heavy cultural gravity that turns a barbecue outing into an unescapable extension of the workday. While younger generations are pushing back, missing a 회식 without a bulletproof excuse is still often viewed by management as a silent declaration of insubordination or antisocial tendencies. It's the arena where corporate hierarchy quietly dictates who pours whose drink and how long you are expected to sacrifice your private life for the collective team spirit.
Other sides of 회식
◆ The Hierarchy-Bending Escape Valve — Textbooks teach you that 회식 is just a 'company dinner,' completely missing its function as the office's pressure-relief valve. Under normal hours, stepping out of line with your manager is career suicide, but at a 회식, the unwritten rule is *kwon-ju* (forced drinking) meets *gijeok-ui haeseok* (miraculous immunity)—whatever is said under the influence of three bottles of somaek is legally classified as 'the alcohol talking' by the next morning. It’s the one place where a junior can playfully poke a superior's ego, knowing full well that tomorrow at 9 AM, everyone will collectively agree to develop selective amnesia.
How it's actually used
- 이번 주 금요일에 팀 회식 있으니까 다들 일정 비워두세요.
i-beon ju geum-yo-il-e tim hoe-sik is-seu-ni-kka da-deul il-jeong bi-wo-du-se-yo.
We have a team hoe-sik this Friday, so everyone clear your schedules.
💡 Reveals the polite imperative tone that actually means 'clear your personal life, attendance is assumed.' - 회식도 업무의 연장인데 불참하는 건 좀 그렇잖아.
hoe-sik-do eom-mu-ui yeon-jang-in-de bul-cham-ha-neun geon jom geureot-jan-ha.
The hoe-sik is an extension of work too, skipping it is kind of a bad look.
💡 Exposes the unspoken corporate consensus that your evening belongs to the company. - 다음 날 연차 쓰려고 했는데 딱 회식 잡혔네.
da-eum nal yeon-cha sseu-ryeo-go haet-neun-de ttak hoe-sik jap-hyeat-ne.
I was planning to use a PTO day the next day, and of course a hoe-sik got scheduled.
💡 Captures the universal dread of timing when a company dinner ruins your long-weekend plans.