Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gajackson1]

Heya!

An engineer buddy of mine is in from Cali; he'll be coming up to Osan for the weekend, so we want to do stuff in the area.

Anybody have recs for hotel, shopping, nightlife/bars, etc.? We'll have cars, money, & time to kill. I'm right around the corner, in Goon-po, but know nothing about Osan proper.

Thanx in advance & regards,

Glen

[K-in-C]

Hey,

I visited this place while I was touring the Osan area. It's worth taking your camera. You can read the info on Admirial Yi and the Turtle Ship at the site below.

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/327

Kate

[gajackson1]

Thanx, Kate.

We've booked a block of rooms at the Osan Tourist, and will plan on going over to the memorial, as well. Should be good weekend weather!

Regards,

G.

[Bulsajo]

[weatherman]

http://www.songtanafterdark.com/

Not very cultural, not very useful, but all about what songtan is really all about.

[gajackson1]

curiouser and curiouser . . .

Well, i hope our place has a pool & bbq pits - weather would be perfect!!!

As for the bars, I have gleaned the mini-Itae thing from some other sites & sources. RT will be attached to my hip, & I think Tim is bringing up a friend from C-w, so we should be safe from the Pinays & Russians.

Thanx for the input!

G.

[gajackson1]

Pull up a seat, & pour a drink - this one may run on awhile.

I have pics, & when C gets out of the hospital, I will take hers & add them to mine, & post on my website.

Last weekend, we took our new Prince (thanx again, Elmer!!! ) for it's first road test. As i had to work until 10 frickin pm on Friday, we opted for a leave on Saturday morn, having 3 days of free time (C had to work @ 9 on Tue am).

Tim had made reservations for the O-san Tourist, so all we had to do was get there. Traffic was a bear going down, but in a big comfy sedan, with good AC, tunes, and blackened-out windows, it was as comfy as could be expected for stop-&-go Korean holiday-time traffic. (We were on Inter-province Highway 1). Sure enough, come the sign for O-san turnoff, the traffic breaks up.

Ok, this can be a little confusing if you aren't familiar with the area or have a map. You exit for O-san, but the base isn't actually in O-san proper. It is in Pyoung-taek, which isn't too far away. And the actual area in front of the base gate is referred to as Song-tan, which makes it even more confusing. But once you make it to the gate, you are THERE.

Hmmm - i am not sure how to do this - as an Itae-won comparison, or with a jopurnal-style rundown. Lemme grab a root beer & Capt. Morgan's . . .

Ok, I'll try the journal style first.

Get into town, find our way to the gate, and then to the hotel. In route, one of the first things you notice (mid-late afternoon, sunny day) is groups of foreigners sitting outside, at patio tables, having drinks. Sorta has a S. American/Spring-breaky feel to it - nice start!

We get to the Osan tourist, and opt to stay there for the first night, and find the 'swimming pool hotel' later on, after a change of clothes. Car parking is inside/underground, and we are assured we won't need the car for anything. Good news there, too!

Get settled into the room, get Tim & Art, and we head out, on a 'sort-of' itinerary. Our initial plan is to scope out the main drag (Song-tan Shin-jang Shopping Arcade area), find a good bar to watch the 'Juicy Parade,' have dinner, pick another bar, then C&I go back to switch into 'stealth mode' (those who know our nightlife habits understand that concept), and then a pub-crawl for the rest of the evening.

First big difference we notice; Song-tan Shopping area is cleaner/nicer than Itaewon. It is set up as a pedestrian-only arcade/street (occasional scooters/Harleys), which makes it easier to hop around & cleaner, as well.The second thing we notice is the setup: almost all the shops/businesses are on the 1st floor; bars and clubs are either on the 2nd floor (with big, open bay-style windows) or in the basements. Music floats down, and you can see people inside, so it is easier to pick a place. We wander down to a bar, (Golden Butterfly, I think?) and park ourselves in a window upstairs. Beers are cheap - OB @ 2,000/bottle.

Hmmm. Is this some kind of special? Nope - looking at the menu, EVERYTHING is cheaper. And it turns out to be like that all over town. Cheaper drinks = more drinks! Yeah! Tim & Art's per diem has suddenly been boosted! Almost every bar has a pool table and/or dart boards; jukeboxes are not uncommon.

We were told to beware pushy drink juicy girls, but nothing of the sort. Maybe it was because C was in tow, but T & A were relatively unmolested (although it is afternoon). We have a couple of beers, then set out for din-din.

C is leading, because that's the way that works. We make it to close to the end of the strip, and upon turning around, spot a Bul-go-gi restaurant that we think has been recommended. Nice place!!! Food was cheap, atmosphere was nice, and more cheap beers. Lots of extra little service. The owners are serving us (only a few customers), and are pleased to find out we are teachers and engineers on holiday. Lots of extra servicee followed. Ummmm - servicee!

Dinner finished, we need to find a bar to park Tim & Art at while C & I go change clothes. We find a bar that seems good, and get upstairs only to be blocked by an owner-type. And we are introduced to one of the Song-tan LAWS:

No bags in the bars. Which means, no backpacks. Even if you wave your passport. No, there are no lockers. No, you cannot 'check' a bag with the bar.

This is a response to the club bombings; the Korean & US policia take this one verrrry seriously. We are also told not all places enforce it, and girls have a little more leeway with purses. So, you have been forwarned. (If you plan on drinking~shopping, a close-by hotel is the way to go).

Duly noted. C & I go change clothes, drop off my backpack & head back out. I won't give a full rundown here, but the following points need to be made:

1. Drinks were cheap everywhere, and most places have their own specials. No place we went into had a cover charge.
2. Free pool in many bars, and darts as well.
3. Yes, there are a lot of 'juicy-type' bars. Some places DO have dancers - bikini/lingerie types, although we were told that there are nude shows in some places. If this offends you, hey - just don't go in, walk back out, or do your research before-hand.
4. You must, must, MUST visit the ChickenHead Lab/Bar, and spend time with the owner, Jonathan.
5. There is a curfew for soldiers here, too - 1 am on regular nights & pre-holiday nights, 3 am otherwise.

Lastly, and here is what sealed the deal for us, was EVERYONE we met was so outgoing and friendly. In just that night alone, we met 2 different Harley riders, a handful of bar owners, Osan Bulgogi Hash House Harriers, some Pinoy/Pinays, store owners, vendors, and a bunch of military - intelligence, MPs, enlisted, NCOs.

This wasn't the friendliness of people just trying to sell us stuff, or to appease customers. Nor was it the friendliness of people just wanting sex. There was just this general, laid-back sort of atmosphere permeating the whole place. And while it is tempting to write it off as just a good night, we experienced 3 days of it, and heard LOTS of the same reports from others we met.

We finished up a little early (C & I), as she was tired fom the day, so we left Art & Tim to explore more while we turned in for the night.

Sunday morn, I got up early, and make some discoveries:

*The Burger King on the main strip is open for breakfast.

*Our hotel didn't realize we wanted to stay, so we don't have a room now. However, the owner is moving us around the corner, will keep our car at no charge, and takes care of transpo & all the arrangements.

*Hotels ('tourist hotels') are comparable in price to yog-wons, and no one heree will turn you away because you are a way-guk. The rooms usually have lots of amenities. Even a suite at the Young-chon (hands down, the nicest in the area) (btw, it is also the one with the pool, on the 6th floor) is only 120k/night; most rooms at hotels in the area are in the 40k range, and that is without bargaining/discounting.

*Almost everyone everywhere we met speaks in English, and quotes prices in dollars. If they find you understand/speak Korean, and are not military, you get preferrential treatment and better prices. Further, exploring around also reveals that clothing is a solid 30% lower than Itaewon prices (I picked up 10 shirts for about 80k won - not T's, but SHIRTS). And not only did C find cute clothes, but stuff in her sizes, and also equally cheap. Yes, including clubwear, slinky dresses, & lingerie.

Sunday and Monday went about the same. Laid back - time in jazz bars, shooting pool, meeting different folks, a bunch of shopping, piddling around in the sun. it was just great.

The Songtanafterdark site is good(club map & hotel map are worth printing, & links are useful)(for those set on a Hooters Korea shirt, the club is gone. But you can still get a Snake Shot at the Boogie House ); here are a few other links:

http://www.epinions.com/user-jwcumming/show_~content

Actually, that one link will provide links to 4 pages/reviews written by an AF guy (also DJ) who was based there for 1 year. An EXCELLENT set of reads! (look for Yaki, Waiting, Bulkoki, and Shopping)

http://www.rao-osan.com/osan-info/offbase/songtan-city.htm

This one is a little older, but gives lots of details. Good map here, as well.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and we will start alternating it with Itaewon for our usual once-a-month Itaewon trips. For anyone considering a shopping/fun weekend, I highly recommend giving it a go. There are train and bus stations in Pyoung-taek/O-san, and it is easy to navigate by car or motorcycle, esp. if you are south of the river already, or living in Dae-jon area.

Regards,

Glen

[Bulsajo]

Glad you enjoyed it! My wife and I always preferred shopping in Songtan to shopping in Itaewon.

[gajackson1]

Project for next time is the restaurants - C & I did make it to that Bulgogi House, as well as the Chinese/Pinoy place above the Kung-Fu studio/Burger King - great food! We were told Brit pub food and some other choices were to be had in the area, and we were part of a sandwich owners queries on how to 'properly' fix BBQ sammiches (pulled pork, sausage, etc.).

For those who like grey/black market (off-base) shopping, the old market near the overpass has LOTS of little grey stores - selections vary, haggling encouraged. We counted at least 8, & weren't really exploring for that.

G.

[Zyzyfer]

Next time you go that way, lemme know in advance and I might swing up from Cheonan; it's a lot closer than Seoul to me, and I've also heard good stuff about it.

[gajackson1]

Zzf ~ will do. We are actually thinking about seeing if anyone is interested in a weekend trip - close for us south-sidas, cheap rooms, etc.

The ref I made to the ChickenHeadLab? Jonathan, the owner, is a trip and a half - good guy. Also, the Subway across the street is the best I've ever found - they do an awesome Jalepeno~cheese loaf, and will deliver over to the bar.

here's a link to the CHL - cool stuff. The owner is a mad-scientist/engineer type; just follow some of the links. Anybody into diving, paintablls, chemistry, etc. should check it out.

http://www.geocities.com/chickenheadlab/

Regards,

G.

[rudyflyer]

yeah glen let us know, we may want to come up it'd be a nice change from itaewon/seoul for us, also close enough for us to visit some friends who teach outside of Cheonan