Korean Job Discussion Forums

[modernseoul]

Recently moved to Northern Uiwang and was wondering if anyone could recommend nice restaurants, bars and/or activities to try out. Spent so much time already in Suwon and Seoul over the past few years and looking for something closer to home.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[jon_blazon]

beomgye should be pretty close to you, there's some alright night life there, same with anyang il-bon-ga, near anyang station.

[northway]

Beomgye is a better spot for foreigners to hit up, I'd say. Anyang is geared very much towards Korean-style drinking, and is full of hofs with booths. Beomgye has more Western style bars.

Happidus is the probably most popular foreigner bar in the area. It gets pretty busy on Fridays, and they have a variety of promotions during the week (10 wings for 5,000 on Tuesdays). I'm not really a fan, but again, it's the most popular foreign bar. They've got pool tables and darts.

Ten Lounge in Beomgye was recently remodeled, and has a really nice, modern look now. It's a bit pricy, but they have good martinis and decent Western food. They also have brunch a brunch plate, though you don't really have any options (they open at noon).

My Friends opened up a couple months ago in Sanbon, which is a short bus ride from where you live. The owner and staff are young and very friendly, and the atmosphere tends to be a bit less amped up than Happidus. No pool table here, though they do have brunch on Sundays, and a lot more brunch options than Ten Lounge offers (I believe they open at 1 for brunch).

Sanbon also features Pirate Bar, where you can get your beer in an ice glass and throw it at a target to win free drinks. It's absolutely exhausted its novelty for me at this point, but it's a fun place to go occasionally, particularly if it's your first time there.

There are a couple clubs around. Tap (formerly Slang) tends to be where foreigners gravitate. I'm a bigger fan of MC Bar near Anyang Station, as they play more hip hop and it's more dancing oriented. It's pretty dirty, but fun, and there tend not to be too many foreigners there, which makes for a lot of possibilities to meet Koreans.

There's a good all-you-can-eat Brazilian place near Anyang Station. It's really hard to give directions to the place, but if you speak Korean well enough or have a Korean friend that can help you, the phone number is 031-465-8592. The owner lived in Brazil for a decade or so, and the food is quite good, especially for foreign food outside of Seoul. It ranges from 14,000-25,000, depending on what meats you want (pork and chicken is the cheapest, adding lamb is a bit more, beef is the most expensive). Avoid the beef, it's overpriced and not cooked well. The lamb and pork are really good.

If you need a place to bring a date, there's a little-known Italian restaurant on the top floor of Acrotower in Beomgye (the big two towers). I believe it's in the north tower. The food is a bit better than most Italian restaurants around, and the prices are only about 2,000 more. You get a panoramic view overlooking the city, which really isn't bad for about 15,000 a plate.

There's a decent Mexican restaurant in Beomgye, Tim (Tom?) Taylor's. I probably wouldn't call it decent if it were in the States, but by my Korean-adjusted standards it's not bad. It's on the top floor of the second building on the right if you're walking towards Beomgye Station from the central fountain.

There's a Valenz Burger on Hagwon-ga, which is basically Kraze Burger's cheap knockoff cousin. They have decent burgers if you don't get anything too creative.

There's a lake up the hill from the highway/Lotte Mart where there are a ton of nice restaurants and cafes. The lake itself is kind of crappy, but the restaurants actually have some ambience, though you pay for it. Another good place to bring a date.

[modernseoul]

[northway]

My pleasure.

Anyang Art Park at Gwanak Station is also worth checking out on a nice day. There are sculptures all around the river and it offers a certain quality of design usually lacking.

There's actually another foreign bar really close to you, owned by a guy from Florida. If you go to Hagwon-ga, there's a bar called Dugout in the basement of the building next to the gas station. There's no outdoor signage, just go downstairs on the opposite side of the building from the pool hall. It's not open every night, but it's a good place to meet folks on a Thursday or Friday, and the clientele is mostly made up of Korea lifers, so you can largely avoid the fratty fresh off the boat crowd. Also: free pool, darts, and Wii on a big screen.

[IanChops]

All good advice above! I can often be found at the Dugout on a Friday evening. There is also another good bar right near you, called Fongs. It's across the street under the ramp to the highway from Lotte Mart, go back a couple of small streets and its next to the BHC Chicken. It's a good bar with friendly owners and clientele.

Its a great area we live in, I hope you enjoy it here!

[Triban]

Northway are you talking about La Cena? I went the other day...wasn't bad...but I agree the steak wasn't cooked well. Rare, Medium Rare, and Medium were all rare.

Anyway, I doubt that's it because they only serve 3 different cuts of steak...not typical Brazilian style.

[IanChops]

I've been to La Cena and thought it was just ok. Although you can eat as much as you want the steak pieces were very thin and most of the buffet side dishes were cold when I went.
But it aint no Brazilian. I believe the Brazilian restaurant is called Churrasco. I've never been but I heard good things about it a few years ago. Does anyone know if its still there?

[northway]