Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tottenhamtaipeinick]

Hi guys,

I am at work trying not to kill myself again and I wanted to know what the clubbing scene in Seoul is like? Different types of clubs and stuff, Drinks, Music, Girls, Fights, High end clubs and low end all you can drink clubs etc, areas?

Anything as I am bored!

[seoulsucker]

Seoul has an amazing club/nightlife scene. Everything from drinking $1 soju in tents on the street to $1000 bottles at tables in some of Asia's best clubs and everything in between. Over the past few years, several 4 and 5 star venues have opened, and we're graced by visits of top 10 DJs every year. In the past year Paul Van Dyk, Sasha, Benny Benassi, Axwell, Ferry Corsten, AVB, Markus Shultz, Laidback Luke, Umek, Fatboy Slim, Justice, and several others have played here as well.

The big rooms are Eden, Answer, Heaven, Volume, and M2. There are also hundreds of medium and small lounges ranging from swanky to raunchy all over the city in all neighborhoods. You could spend an eternity exploring.

Busan is finally starting to catch up as well, though they were dragging their feet down there for years. A couple of very solid clubs have opened down there in the past two years.

One thing that is definitely lacking though is live music. There's a small, vibrant scene here, but it's pathetic considering the size of this city. Tokyo, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong...just about every other major Asian city puts Seoul to shame when it comes to live music.

PM me for more specific details and/or hookups. I'm pretty well plugged in to the scene here and have been a very active member of the nightlife community for years now.

[Ralphie]

Can you recommend some websites where I can buy tickets in advance for the big acts, pls?

[Seoulmann]

sure some so so clubs, nothing really great.
sure some big name Dj's who come to play.
what korea needs is to Relax, so posing at tables and paying 1000bucks for VP stuff etc.. and Actually get up and dance. standing in the middle of the dance floor and taking pictures of the Dj is lame.
someone needs to off loads 1 million pills in this city and let the Koreans free

[tottenhamtaipeinick]

[seoulsucker]

[morrisonhotel]

[seoulsucker]

[morrisonhotel]

[Seoulmann]

I don't get B1 at all.

what's so cool about it?

the venue it self? the interior? the music?
I mean to me.. its over crowded, uncomfortable, not stylish in interior.
the music is good, but EDM is being played everywhere now ... so..........

yeah.......................

LUV... I don't like it. terrible design, over priced drinks, and a soulless vibe

this club will be one of the first to go once more and more clubs open in the won.
I think its only pumping now because there is no where else to go.

[Ralphie]

[jhicks99]

My take on the Seoul clubbing scene...

It's a lot more laid back and relaxed than a lot of western cities. I used to see fights break out nightly in Toronto's main clubbing district. A lot of egos floating around and you just don't see that here, which is great.
Dress codes are lax, egos (Army guys aside) are often left at the door, girls are friendly (although not as easy as you would be led to believe), music can be really good.

Itaewon: this is where all the trash is (people and clubs). There's some nice places there but most of the clubs are just plain dirty.

Hongdae: A great mix of everything... Easily the biggest and best spot. Scene is a bit young, if you're in your mid 20's to early 30's you might feel a bit old here, no one will care if you're a foreigner but you can only meet so many "21" year old girls before you start to wonder where the women are at.

Apgujeong: Large covers, expensive drinks, barbie doll crowds. It's for the people who think they're part of the who's who. Not a laid back and relaxed time. You can always wander into Monkey Beach which is straight out of Itaewon though...

Gangnam (and Yeoksom station): The second best place to club. Older crowd than Hongdae, a bit more pretentious though, good music and a low foreigner count make it enjoyable, if not pricey. Not many foreigner style bars to wander into though but there are some real hidden gems here most foreigners won't know about.

I didn't mention specific club names because I truly feel that's best left for you to discover on your own. You'll find a few of the best ones are in Itaewon (along with scores of the absolute worst). You can hit a lot of places on a club night in Hongdae. I will caution that Mass has a bad rap towards foreigners in Gangnam, it's steps from my office-tel but I haven't been back since I heard about the troubles. I don't really club much more anyway, I enjoy hanging out at music bars much more lately like Vudu in Gangnam, Zen and Ting Tings in Hongdae. Much better atmosphere IMO... I'm also 29.

[discostu333]

Wholeheartedly agree with the comment about Koreans needing to relax. Many clubs I've been in here have been of the poser / VIP type, where nobody seems to care which DJ is spinning, just as long as the Cristal is flowing. Anyone who's lives here for more than a few months will know that many Koreans are obsessed with image, and a lot of crowds here reflect that. Hard to believe since coke doesn't really exist here.

I think you can still have a good party without pills, but the fact that Korea hasn't had a sexual revolution, let alone a 'summer of love' means that any attempt to emulate an electronic dance scene is going to be just that, an emulation. There are some fantastic venues in Seoul and kudos to the promoters bringing big acts here but these nights are always going to disappoint western clubbers because the same atmosphere as you'd get in other more liberal countries isn't going to be there.

Don't get me wrong, I've had some good nights out in Seoul. Not great though, just good.

[redaxe]

I really liked B1, they make good cocktails, they have shisha, the layout is cool, and the atmosphere/decor/music are pretty chill. It's definitely possible to mingle there, unlike a lot of bars and lounges. Unfortunately it got way too crowded on weekend nights, with the line stretching to KFC as seoulsucker pointed out. Better to go there on a weeknight or early on a weekend evening (e.g. before cabbing it over to a hip hop club in Hongdae) these days.

[crescent]

Anyone who thinks Seoul has some of Asia's best clubs needs to travel more. The list of greying, has-been djs doesn't help the case much either.

And then, there's the crowd.