Absolutely go, life is for living!
Is any one else thinking of Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd as Two Wild and Crazy {Korean} Guys?
So it must even be within affordable taxi distance, assuming you carry a mobile 'phone with you? Good. 
I don’t quite see why the guys are so entertained by the fact that you, living near both business, know both of them, but they sound like just being friendly to someone who likes their food and cuisine. And the restaurant is a public place, and so on, and you obviously can let a friend know where you are going etc. Yeah, go for it, and come back to tell us about it.
(Except with a party the night before, you might very well be too tired for a late dinner like that. 23.30 does seem a bit on the late side)
Yeah, stay away from the soju. I would say accept one shot-glass of it (to be polite) but just don’t finish it. That stuff is evil.
absolutely go. Take all the precautions you deem necessary, but by all means go. I can’t wait for the thread where you tell us how fun/weird/tasty/mucilaginous it was. It sounds like a great way to make friends with two local merchants that you patronize. That is worth gold, believe me.
Having someone shadow you is the ultimate precaution, if you really are that paranoid.
I think the cultures are very different. There are some similarities between the grammatical aspects of the two languages, but the cultures are VERY different.
gigi brings up a good point - sometime today I’m going to clarify whether we’re supposed to meet at 11:30 or 23:30. If it’s at 11:30 that changes the dynamic somewhat. (They both know I work 14:30 to 23:00 so either is plausible.)
You may want to look up the Korean word for “threesome,” so you’ll know whether it’s being used as the men chat with each other at dinner.
Sounds like great fun… untl the roofies kick in and you wake up to find yourself being sold on the white slave market.
I kid, it sounds like a couple of ‘friends’ off for a cultural event type affair for laughs and good food. I’d go for it with the aforementioned precautions taken care of.
Parts are, yes, although I daresay we have more in common with Japanese culture than with most other cultures. FTR, you probably don’t want to suggest this to a first-generation immigrant, as many Koreans pretty much hate Japanese anything.
I don’t think there IS a Korean word for threesome. Seriously, after Vinyl’s jest I became curious enough to look it up in the dictionary and the definition it gives is simply “a group of three.” One dictionary translates “I don’t think threesomes work out well” into something like “Love triangles rarely end well.” :dubious:
There is no “I” in threesome.
My two cents worth. If you’re not getting any strange vibes, go for it. Just have cell phone and mace where you know you can reach them.
Of course, that’s the same advise I’d give to any woman just walking down the street.
Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
Ok, I doubt its this but I might as well mention a little anecdote.
When I was going to the local community college, I was twice approached by young Korean men while I was sitting alone. They both asked if they could join me and after I shrugged, they sat and pulled out the bibles and Christian literature, then launched the heavy god talk. I declined further offers for company at school from then on.
THese guys seem to have built a little friendship with the OP so I doubt the dinner is anymore that that but it might not be a bad idea to get with a friend to plan an incoming start time+30min cell phone call…just in case she needs an out.
I’d go for it. I highly doubt they are going to grab you and kidnap you or anything like that. Stranger attacks are still really rare compared to date rape and stuff; look up the stats to make yourself feel better.
I never liked being insulated in my own community, so I speak from that angle, but I always learn new things when I venture out. Take the normal precautions, and have a good time!
After really thinking about gigi’s post, I stopped in the mini mart tonight to clarify the time.
Turns out he really did mean 11:30 am, not 23:30. :smack:
This is a good thing. It changes the vibe and gives me an automatic out, as they know I have to work that afternoon. It also provides me a premade group of people - my coworkers - who are going to notice if I’m not where I’m supposed to be. (I’m good about calling even if I’m going to be 15 minutes late.)
I blame Post Work Brain Dum, and the fact that I so rarely do anything before work that 11:30 am seems not to exist any more.
Hey, sounds even better!
A nice lunch is a very different proposition to a late evening meal. And like you say, you can always zoom away early “to get back to work” if it’s not hitting the spot.
As a personal thing, I hate early-morning get-togethers that involve food. I know 11:30 is not “early” to most people but since I work until 23:00 my perceptions are skewed. Lately I’ve been getting up at noon.
I have the alarm set for 9:00 so I can have coffee and a shower and have time to get hungry before the brunch.
It pisses me off that I’ve let myself get so anxious about any deviation from my routine that I worry about being able to eat. 
Oddly enough, I’m much less anxious when I’m in school. Guess I need a minimal amount of stress to function or something. That sucks too.
I know I’m totally unreasonable…but don’t know what to do. I think I can just tell myself…it’ll be ok. Because it will be.
You mean like talking about the pre-WWII occupation and the forced prostitution?
My understanding, though, is that recently, when something becomes trendy in Japan, it blossoms in (South) Korea a year or so later. But generally, Japan still seems more eager to mimic American trends than (South) Korea does. (With younger people, though, things seems to be changing a lot.)
North Korea, on the other hand, seems to me like another planet.
Could that be the reason?They like you in a paternal sort of way and are in their eyes getting you out of the same old four walls for a change of scenery.
It was interesting and somewhat difficult. I’ve got some pretty deep-seated anxieties I didn’t know I had.
Food was great though.
If there’s interest I’ll post about it in MPSIMS later. A tale of freakish anxiety and barbecued meat.