Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ssuprnova]

This might be a long shot, but I'm wondering if anyone could help me find a hookah supply store in or around Seoul.

I'm mainly looking for good quality tobacco (not the herbal stuff, it's horrible) and decent coals. Every lounge I've been to served herbal shisha and uses cheap quicklights, so I'm beginning to doubt that there is anything better to be had.

Thanks in advance!

[Adventurer]

[ssuprnova]

[brento1138]

Super easy to find!

Just go to Itaewon, exist #3 (I think -- the one where the police station and that Kebab place are) and walk until you reach the dunking donuts. Turn right there, and walk up that hill a ways. Walk past the foreign food mart and take a left. You will end up on a street which leads to a mosque. Before getting to the mosque, there are various shops. At least three of them have not only hookahs, but excellent tobacco.

I believe some of them sell a type of smokable sugar cane too if you are not too crazy about tobacco.

Anyways, there ya go. Happy Hookah-ing!

[BigBuds]

[Adventurer]

[brento1138]

Actually, I don't know if they have cases, a website, or if you can order them. I would just head there the next time in town and talk to the people there. I remember one place had a variety of at least 10 hookahs of all different sizes. And he seemed to have a wide selection of tobacco flavors. I suppose this is the "Muslim district" of Seoul, and that they have quite a lot of customers. The hookahs are plainly visible through the window. So you should be able to find it no problem.

If you've ever been to that mosque further down, it's amazing how many Muslim guys are walking around the area. You feel like you're in the Middle East.

I've been wanting to try out a few restaurants in that area for a while now.

[plato's republic]

Any idea how much a hookah costs in that area? I take it they sell coal too?

[bnrockin]

Yes, they sell coal.

If you speak any amount of Korean or if you have a Korean friend, you could try to ask a hookah bar where they get theirs from. I have seen some nice ones around.

[ssuprnova]

Just a quick update for anyone interested. The stores around the mosque are super easy to find. As you pass the foreign food mart, take a left.

The first store to your left has tobacco and coal. I got a box of Japanese style silver coals. 60pcs for 15k, they smoke fine. They also have a few boxes of Al-Fakher shisha (including mint!) for 25k/250g. Nakhla is 15k/250g, but seemed like the boxes were really old, so the shisha is probably really dry. Smaller sizes are 7/6k respectively. Also noticed Nakhla tins for 20k/250g.

Next up, there is an Arab bakery. Nakhla here 25k/box but seems to be fresh. They also have Bahrain shisha that I've never tried. 40k for 250g... PRICEY! Also sold bamboo coal, but not sure if they were quicklights or not: 12k for a pretty big bag. Overall this was the best store in terms of selection and quality but really pricey.

Further up, there's a middle eastern supermarket on the right. Just a few boxes of Nakhla, nothing else. Don't know about the prices since they weren't labeled and the stuff seemed old (=dried out).

My last stop was the Foreign Food Mart to get some Jalapeno chips. Lo and behold, they also had some Nakhla for sale: it's on the very top shelf, above the fridges. It's 14K/250g and fairly fresh - boxes are much heavier than at other stores.

To sum up: nothing special, but what they have will probably get you through a few weeks while you wait for a package from a US website to arrive.

Also, keep in mind that the selection was pretty random. If you're looking for a particular flavor you probably won't find it.

[Ansan1]

I used to buy my Afzal shisha online from shisha.co.kr, but now they seem to only be selling the herbal stuff. Does anyone know of a Korean website that still sells the real full-powered shisha?

[plato's republic]

Where's a good place to have a smoke in the Itaewon area?

[i_teach_esl]

late in the game, but there is now an fb group that discusses/critiques places to smoke:

facebook.com/groups/hookah.shisha.southkorea