Teachers Meetings

I've noticed a bit of a trend with public school teachers meetings in Korea: They always have food and they commonly have drinks.  The food includes types like rice cakes, meat, fish, kimchi, fruits, and perhaps even some kimbop.  What I find amusing, however, is that though you may have some orange juice to drink, they do also have makkoli (rice wine).  Imagine bringing in bottles of Riesling or some other wine to a teachers meeting in the United States -- it would certainly be looked down upon in the conservative nature of American schools.

This is not to say that Korean schools are still not conservative in their own way (because in some regards they are seen as, perhaps, more conservative than schools in the US) but this is one example of something that is seen as perfectly fine in Korea but would never be thought of in the states.