(FORTUNE Magazine) – As their Japanese counterparts still do, South Korean salarymen used to drink away their stress in after-work binges at their favorite bars. Now many head instead to indoor-fishing-holes-cum-restaurants -- there to wage epic, solitary struggles with the deep and, if they're lucky, catch dinner. Over the past year more than 200 such establishments have opened in Seoul, mostly in business districts. On a typical night at Mapo Indoor Fishing Pool, for example, two dozen men crowd around a murky tank in a smoke-filled room. For $7 the customers get a bamboo rod and various bait -- and an hour to cast for bass, trout, and other fish. The tanks are stocked each day. For another $6, Mapo employees will clean, slice, and serve the catch as sashimi. The food is tasty and cheap. The same meal at the Akasaka restaurant in Seoul's Hyatt hotel costs about $30. But that's not what hooks the anglers. Lee Chong Suk, 40, who owns a small specialty-gift manufacturing company, takes his employees three at a time to indoor fishing pools every few days to help them relax. Says Lee, sipping warm soju (potato liquor) as he waits for a nibble on his own line: ''To catch a fish is a very spiritual experience. One must learn to wait and be patient. One must learn how to be quiet and alone.'' (For more on South Korea, see page 126.)