Kwon Hyeok-Jun
Assistant Editor 

For many students in Korea, April is a month of binge drinking. They stagger and sway through a variety of new semester parties day after day and in many cases are forced to drink beyond their limits. The new semester binging has drastically increased not only the alcohol consumption but also the expenses to cure hangovers. People who drink alcohol must have experienced a hangover at one point or another.

There are various causes for a hangover ranging from drinking too much in a short period of time, drinking on an empty stomach, lack of sleep, dehydrated body and poor health. The most common symptoms of a hangover are an upset stomach, a headache, a bad taste in mouth and, an inevitable guilt conscience. It is not a condition to get tensed about as one can retreat to some home remedies to cure a hangover in a short span of time. However it is important that we get over the hangovers quickly because we have another day of lecture tomorrow. Let’s learn how to treat a hangover with home remedies.

Remedy #1 Water It's hardly a groundbreaking advice, but it should be a top priority. Alcohol makes you pee. That can lead to dehydration which is the more important reason for a hangover. Water combats dehydration. So you better keep away from diuretics, like coffee which make your body increase its production of waste fluids, with the result that you need to urinate more often than usual.

Remedy #2 Banana You might have heard that bananas are favored by athletes because they contain potassium (K) and they recharge athletes with this essential mineral quickly, safely and cheaply. That is why bananas are great for hangover cures. When you’re having trouble with a hangover, your body has lost a lot of potassium that needs to be topped up, so eating a banana when you wake up will provide much needed relief. If you’re super nauseated and can’t stomach the idea of munching a whole banana, a banana smoothie is a more palatable way to feel human again. Or, if you’re still able to stand after you get home from drinking, having a banana before you pass out will help start the recovery process even sooner.

Remedy #3 Fruit juice Fruit juices, particularly freshly squeezed varieties, raises blood-sugar levels and replenishes your body with the essential vitamins depleted during drinking. But if a sour stomach accompanies your raging hangover, it’s best to avoid orange juice due to its high acidity.

Remedy #4 Honey It contains powerful antioxidants that can neutralize the harmful effects of alcohol. The natural fructose content helps the body to rapidly metabolize and digest alcohol. Ingest it by itself or, better yet, spread it over a piece of dry toast or a cracker, since you do need to eat something during a hangover

Remedy #5 Korean dried Pollack soup (Bugoeguk) The light but sweet flavor of this soup comes from dried Pollack, which is sold in Korean and Asian markets. Dried Pollack soup is second to none for hangover cures in Korea. Pollock contains vitamin A B1, and B2 which breaks ‘acetaldehyde’ which is the main component of Alcohol.

Remedy #6 Sleep People sleep poorly after a night of drinking. Alcohol will put you to sleep quickly, but after several hours later, the withdrawal of alcohol in your body can disrupt sleep and you begin to toss and turn. While sleep deprivation won't by itself cause a hangover, it can definitely make the symptoms worse. So try to have plentiful sleep!

Remedy#7 No hair of the dog! "Hair of the dog" is a colloquial expression in the English language predominantly used to refer to alcohol that is consumed with the aim of lessening the effects of a hangover. The Koreans have the same meaning-word, Haejangsul (해장술). Even if the thought of another drink may appeal to you, no alcohol can be a good choice for the morning after. The alcohol may temporarily take the edge off your symptoms but could hurt in the long run. Hangovers make you feel horrible because alcohol is toxic, and you need to give your body a chance to recover. That morning drink can unfortunately lead to an even worse hangover the following day.

Dalbon86@kookmin.ac.kr