Korean Job Discussion Forums

[discostar23]

Hey folks

I lived in Gwangju about 4 years ago and decided I am going to go down for a visit again. Here's what I am wondering

1. Where are the foreigner bars? Is Soul train still the place to go? (I know mad season n blue monkey are long gone)

2. I am looking for a luxury love motel. One with a hot tub big bed etc usually around 60-70,000won a night.

3. Does anyone know about the guitar bars? When I lived there 4 years ago we use to go to these bars (near the stream/river) and people would sit around and pass the guitar from table to table..

Any info would be great. thanks in advance
disco

[blurgalurgalurga]

I know Gwangju a bit--
Soul Train is still good for pool and football.
Mike and Dave's Speakeasy is popular, good Fridays and Saturdays as a general go-to, and they often have live shows. I think Friday's a semi-open mike night. That's open mike, not Open Mike. Please don't open Mike.

Next door to Speakeasy is Song's german bar, also popular with internationals, and I do believe anybody can go up and plug in a guitar or sing karaoke if they want. Caveat emptor for the karaoke, but they're nice folks there and the home-brew ain't bad.

Abey bar is a decent loungey boozer, sometimes hopping, sometimes slow, but always it's a good place to knock back a few.
All those bars are right in downtown, close to the hotels and stuff.

Beyond that...ministop is good, and there's about a million hofs and greasybars to choose from.

I go cheap on the hotels there, but 40 bucks buys a lot on Fridays. Sit-down tubs are widely available...as for the best love motel, I dunno, but I do know that pretty much every joint down by the river gets busy as hell on Saturdays, so book 'em early if you want to be close to the 시내 (downtown? sp. questionable) area.

[Kiarell]

My friends and I swear by the windmill. It's right in downtown Dong-gu. It's 30,000 or 40,000 for a Saturday night or for a internet PC room. Clean, clerk knows some English, good location, good rooms.

[Smee]

Avoid the Pharoah, one block from the Windmill, because I have good reason to believe there are cameras in the rooms. I stayed there b/c the Windmill was booked and I happened across the Pharoah first. Looking back that was actually an ingenious way to test for cameras . . . I only wish I had done it intentionally.

Back in June I stayed at one of the motels near that street with all the wedding stores downtown. It was kind of dirty and shitty, by far the dirtiest motel I'd ever stayed in. Normally when I'm in Gwangju, regardless of where I spend the evening, I go to Sangmu and get a motel there. Not sure if you've been out that way lately, but it's been quite built up, and in addition to a few movie theatres, outlets, department stores, and Western restaurants, there are also rows and rows and rows and rows of motels, noraebangs, bars, and massage parlors. I would consider it really seedy were evening not brand new. Since everything's new the motels have been pretty clean, and I'd rather spend an extra 10,000 a night to not have to worry about sharing with critters. I had always liked the Noblesse, but checking the website again I see the rates have gone way up.

[discostar23]

Thanks for the info.

For you peeps down in gwangju, does "sun-ee" own a bar? She's the crazy korean who use to own mad season. I heard she opened another bar...would love to check that out.

When I lived there 4 years ago sangmu was just getting built up. Thanks for the heads up. I will check around that area.
Cheers