Surviving Korean Drinking Games (Part 4)

The next installment of the long list of Korean drinking games and chants that I (and many of my friends have learned) during our time in Korea.


클레오파트라 (Cleopatra)

This song is a simple clapping drinking chant. Every person takes a turn clapping a simple beat and chanting the following sentence:

Hangul (한글):

안녕 클레오파트라

세상에서 제일가는



Annyeong keullaeohpateuhra

Saesangaeseo jaeilganeun


English Translation:

Hello Cleopatra

The world’s strongest

Potato chip

The first person to start the chant begins at either a regular, or low pitch and at a relatively slow pace. Then each consecutive person after has to repeat the chant at a louder volume, higher pitch and faster pace. The person who drinks is the person who can no longer say the sentence without messing up because it’s now too high of a pitch, too loud, or too fast.

This video is a good example of the Cleopatra game. For added difficulty, you can also make each person saying the chant have to do a little dance like the people in the video. Source:


Categories Game

I’m not sure of the official Korean name for this game, but it’s one of my favourites, especially the music variation. The group starts off by choosing an “it” person. That person says at category out loud, and then everyone must put their hands in the middle after yelling something out that belongs in that category. The last person to say something and put their hand in the middle has to drink. A heads up that the “it” person also needs to say something that belongs in the category, so they’re in danger of having to drink as well.

Example if six people were playing:

It Person: Countries in Asia!

Player 2: Philippines!

Player 3: Vietnam!

It Person: South Korea!

Player 4: China!

Player 5: Japan!

At this point, regardless of whether or not if Player 6 had something to contribute to the category because they are the last person they would have had to drink. Additionally, anyone who repeats something someone has already said or says something that doesn’t correctly belong in the category, then they would need to drink as well.

Musical Variation

This works best if the group of people you are playing with listening to similar types of music. In this variation, rather than the “it” person calling out a category, the category is always musical artists. The “it” person simply puts their hand in the middle and begins singing the lyrics to one of the artist songs. From this clue alone, the rest of the group needs to guess who the singer is, and, in order to put their hands in the middle, each need to sing the lyrics of a different song from the same artist.

Again, if someone uses lyrics from a different part of the same song, or they sing the lyrics of a different artist, they need to drink.


Drinking Chants

In addition to the rainbow of games that Korean play, there are also countless more chants to sing along before, after and during drink consumption. Below are some of my favourites:

마셔라! (Drink!)

This is probably the most standard drinking chant I hear. Used by most people as a way of getting their friends to drink quickly and in one go.


마셔라 마셔라 마셔라


(쭉~쭉쭉 쭉쭉)x2

언제까지 어깨 춤을 추게 할거야~

내 어깨를 봐~


탈골 탈골 탈골 탈골 탈골


Masheora masheora masheora


Jjuk~jjuk jjuk jjuk jjuk x2

Eonjeh kkaji eoggae chumeul chugeh halkaya

Nae eoggaereul bwa


Talgohl talgohl talgohl talgohl talgohl

English Translation:

Drink drink drink

All until the end

Until when will you make me shoulder dance

Look at my shoulders

They’re getting dislocated

Dislocated dislocated dislocated dislocated dislocated

This chant is for when someone’s just lost a game and everyone around them is cheering them on to finish the drink. The fun in the chant comes from basically telling the person that they’re taking so long to drink that your shoulders are starting to dislocate and fall off.

0:01 to 0:15 of this video shows the proper pronunciation of this chant:


Orchard Road One Shot Song

This song uses the tune of a Korean children’s song called 과수원길 (The Orchard Road) and replaces certain words with 원샷 (one shot). You can check out the original tune here if you want to get a feel for the melody.

Here is the full modified song:


동구 밖 과수 원샷!

아카시아 꽃이 투샷!

하얀 꽃 쓰리샷!

이파리 포샷!

눈송이처럼 파이브 샷!


Donggoo bwa gwasu wonshat!

Ahkashiah gochi tooshat!

Hayan gochi seurishat!

Ipari poshat!

Noonsongicheoreom paibeushat!

English Translation (this will not make very much sense, because this song basically just replaces some of the original words with “one shot, two shot, three shot, etc.”


Article by Kevin from Canada

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