SEOUL, South Korea — The drunken man banged the door of his cell in the police station with his knee. He ripped the padding off the walls, throwing shreds and spouting curses at the police officers outside the bars, who ignored him as if such rampages were part of their nightly routine.

Such scenes, captured on police security videos shown on television, are common in South Korea. They say much about that society’s acceptance of heavy drinking and about the peculiar relationship between the country’s citizens and their police.

Almost every night in almost every police station lockup in Seoul, drunken men — and sometimes women — can be found abusing officers verbally and even physically, as a widely tolerated way of banishing anger. They usually are allowed to sleep it off and go home, their punishment no more than a small fine.

“They consider the police station a place to let off steam,” a police superintendent, Park Dan-won, said. “They consider us pushovers.”