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Hatcher
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:42 pm Post subject: Booking bars? Why do they exist? |
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Very expensive and really designed for Ks.
However, is it because K men wont approach the ladies? |
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seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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They exist because of a need for casual encounters in a society with relatively strict and structured standards of interaction. Ever try introducing yourself to a group of people sitting at a hof/bar/restaurant? The awkward reaction has little to do with you being a foreigner and a lot to do with you being an outsider of the group. Booking bars allow people to break those hierarchical norms.
Think of it as a kind of "speed dating" but with for people with cultural constraints as opposed to time constraints.
Of course, now there are loads of "Western" bars and clubs with a more approachable feel, but I think there will always be a demand for the old school booking clubs. |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Have you ever tried meeting ladies at a hof? |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:56 pm Post subject: Re: Booking bars? Why do they exist? |
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| Hatcher wrote: |
Very expensive and really designed for Ks.
However, is it because K men wont approach the ladies? |
It's more like Korea has a very weak party culture and it resulted into a strong arrangement-based dating culture.
From what I heard according to my Korean dad, the whole concept of booking started out in dabang (다방 or old school Korean coffee shops, some still exists today) to mediate close friends introducing another group of friends. It's a controlled blind date. This way of dating still exists today.
This later developed into the infamous booking culture to maximize the profit for night clubs and bars. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: Booking bars? Why do they exist? |
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| NohopeSeriously wrote: |
| (다방 or old school Korean coffee shops, some still exists today) |
Some? Every little podunk village in Korea has at least one dabang. There must be thousands of them in Seoul. |
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Slowmotion
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| rumdiary wrote: |
| Have you ever tried meeting ladies at a hof? |
I've done it and had success and I see it all the time (Korean guys doing it, not foreigners). I should also add that I don't speak English when I'm approaching girls. |
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:22 am Post subject: |
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Interesting.
I see them as a cultural relic which won't be here 10 years from now. And I think those of us who've had a GOOD time because of them will look back gratefully.
Most of those who even know what they are, now, have seen them in their decline.
If you've been living in Seoul you've probably never seen the booking clubs in their prime. For the last few years it's been possible to experience it in country towns.. but not not so much in the big city. (Not that they don't exist, but that it's a different kind of price range now in Seoul)
I feel kind of lucky to have caught the Booking Clubs in their prime and had a great time there. Now I live in Seoul and it's an EXPENSIVE thing to go to one, unlike the old countryside days..
But you can still go to a booking club, now. But it's expensive. Check it out now though because they'll be gone soon or they'll become so expensive you'll need a corporate credit card.
Last chance saloon for the booking clubs. |
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:28 am Post subject: |
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| Slowmotion wrote: |
| rumdiary wrote: |
| Have you ever tried meeting ladies at a hof? |
I've done it and had success and I see it all the time (Korean guys doing it, not foreigners). I should also add that I don't speak English when I'm approaching girls. |
Personal Experience: Hofs are a GREAT place to meet ladies in small towns where there is nothing else going on. Korean do it too. In fact, Koreans do it more because.. there are millions more of them =) In small town hofs you can do well, but you'll have competition from the local boys.. who are trying to do the same thing as you =)
In the big cities.. the people in Hofs are probably, genuinely, trying to have a good time with their friends. They're probably not interested. There are exceptions of course, but as generalities go it's not a bad one. |
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ZeroCool
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: Seoul, Gang Nam, Sinsa Dong
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:46 am Post subject: |
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| After Clubs are hot now! Double 8! No Comment! Why waste time at booking clubs when theres alot of "ahem..." places in Yeoksam Dong, Soenglung Yeok, ETC... |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Hyeon Een wrote: |
| Slowmotion wrote: |
| rumdiary wrote: |
| Have you ever tried meeting ladies at a hof? |
I've done it and had success and I see it all the time (Korean guys doing it, not foreigners). I should also add that I don't speak English when I'm approaching girls. |
Personal Experience: Hofs are a GREAT place to meet ladies in small towns where there is nothing else going on. Korean do it too. In fact, Koreans do it more because.. there are millions more of them =) In small town hofs you can do well, but you'll have competition from the local boys.. who are trying to do the same thing as you =)
In the big cities.. the people in Hofs are probably, genuinely, trying to have a good time with their friends. They're probably not interested. There are exceptions of course, but as generalities go it's not a bad one. |
From my experience (in Seoul) people in hofs are usually in a group and they aren't out to talk to strangers. When there are girls at a hof they tend to be hanging out in a group with several cockblocking dudes. Much different than in the West where girls go to bars by themselves or with a group of girls and people stand around and mingle and circulate around the bar. I'm not saying it never happens, it's just not as common. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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I live in a small town where everyone knows each other and the hofs here stink for trying to meet girls. If one thing happens, EVERYONE will hear about it, so when people go to hofs its always to have a drink with their friends. The only way you can get anything going is to have a Korean friend have a mixed group and get invited to join, which can happen because in the smaller towns they're trying to show what big shots they are by knowing foreigners. Also female NETs can do fine by approaching tables of guys.
Another tip might be to get a female NET to try and bring out her female friends.
Believe it or not, not everyone is constantly trying to get laid, even when they are drinking.
As for 'roosterblocking' some things
1)As mentioned, a lot of people are just trying to have a good time. These are people who might have been friends since middle school and reminiscing, perhaps they are all back in the same town for a weekend and this only happens twice a year. Again, not everyone is on this burning quest to get laid 24-7.
2)Korean guys don't exist to introduce you to cute girls. They have their own interests as well. If a couple western dudes were hanging out with some western girls they had the hots for, they would block too. Using the term 'blocking' is just a cop out guys use and is reveals much about the guy's mindset. If you're using a term like 'roosterblocking' is it possible that both guys and girls picked up on the fact that you were looking simply to get laid and not to make friends and blew you off? Believe it or not, women have a lot of experience with guys just trying to get in their pants (shocking, I know) and can pick up the signs.
3)Girls here can get really stand-offish. As I mentioned a female NET can usually meet K-guys at a hof. Meeting K-girls is difficult. Every time I've seen it tried they get really snooty and just blow them off.
4)Mixed group with Mixed group is best and really gets the good times rolling (in terms of hof meeting), especially when you know someone from the other party. It's especially nice if at least one of your female friends is into K-Guys and attractive and starts to flirt (hopefully not with a guy that one of the girls likes...). That opens the door for the girls.
Of course if you really want to meet people just go to a club... |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Hyeon Een wrote: |
If you've been living in Seoul you've probably never seen the booking clubs in their prime. For the last few years it's been possible to experience it in country towns.. but not not so much in the big city. (Not that they don't exist, but that it's a different kind of price range now in Seoul)
I feel kind of lucky to have caught the Booking Clubs in their prime and had a great time there. Now I live in Seoul and it's an EXPENSIVE thing to go to one, unlike the old countryside days..
But you can still go to a booking club, now. But it's expensive. Check it out now though because they'll be gone soon or they'll become so expensive you'll need a corporate credit card. |
Booking clubs are very much still alive and doing well in Seoul. You are right in saying they are expensive, but they were never intended for poor bachelors. |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:18 pm Post subject: |
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| ZeroCool wrote: |
| After Clubs are hot now! Double 8! No Comment! Why waste time at booking clubs when theres alot of "ahem..." places in Yeoksam Dong, Soenglung Yeok, ETC... |
i love double 8 ^.^ |
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RMNC
Joined: 21 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
| 1)As mentioned, a lot of people are just trying to have a good time. These are people who might have been friends since middle school and reminiscing, perhaps they are all back in the same town for a weekend and this only happens twice a year. Again, not everyone is on this burning quest to get laid 24-7. |
The humanist in me wants to believe you but the realist in me knows it's not true. Everyone's always trying to get laid 24/7, and would if there weren't a real world out there that they had to live in. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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| RMNC wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
| 1)As mentioned, a lot of people are just trying to have a good time. These are people who might have been friends since middle school and reminiscing, perhaps they are all back in the same town for a weekend and this only happens twice a year. Again, not everyone is on this burning quest to get laid 24-7. |
The humanist in me wants to believe you but the realist in me knows it's not true. Everyone's always trying to get laid 24/7, and would if there weren't a real world out there that they had to live in. |
?????
Not everyone goes out to the bar to meet singles. Sometimes people go to watch a game or relax after work or talk business or meet people who've been their friends for 20 years. In that situation if you get random people trying to join you might be polite but in a "okay can you leave us alone" thing or give them the stink eye.
I for one can't stand drinking with people who are constantly trying to hit on girls and make their bar choices based on singles, especially when they start getting really stupid and blue-balled. "Chill dude, its okay to sit down, relax, have a beer and talk about life." There's a time and a place for all things. |
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