Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BrianInSuwon]

I've only been able to find western styled bars, ie. with a pool table and the chance to meet new people, in Itaewon and HongDae.

Most bars in Korea are sofa bars, ie., they only have sofas; you come, sit, and talk with those in your group.

Any help in finding WSBs outside Itaewon would be greatly appreciated.

[itaewonguy]

[BrianInSuwon]

I agree its the Korean style. And if I was teaching at a hagwon with adult classes or at a university, then I would enjoy hanging out with my co-workers / students at a sofa bar. However, I teach at an elementary school in a small village.

[hack]

[GuinnessGuru]

There is a great bar in Bundang called the Dublin Irish Bar, it is well worth a visit, not exactly a real Irish bar but close enough. Great crowds at the week-ends and they have live music on Wednesdays. A very important thing for me is that they have a bar counter with stools, so the atmosphere is great, a good mixture of English teachers and locals.
Exit Samsung Plaza Bundang towards KFC walk 25 yards past KfC look to your left it is on the second floor. tel-031 708 7942

[JZer]

[keithinkorea]

Koreans are shy around strangers or just ignore them. Koreans tend generally to do stuff in little groups of coworkers or ex school mates etc.

The bars here are set up for that kind of social scene.

Posh bars with expensive prices are usually a good bet and you can usually meet people in them. The 'WA bar' chain is quite big but not many Koreans sit at the bar and tend to sit in groups.

If you're in the sticks you're sol regarding finding those types of venues.

Personally I prefer the western style as you get the chance to meet new people and I find it more sociable. In my local pub back home in the UK you'll get millionaires happily chatting away with factory workers. It's hard to be a millionaire in the UK as a million pounds is a lot money, in Korea it is very easy to be a millionaire.

[seoulkitchen]

Pretty much any area near a subway stop is gonna have what they call "western bar"s. (close your eyes and throw a dart at a map)

Make sure to find one that has seating at the bar and sit there.

There's a big chain called Wa-Bar. That's always fun.

I always end up meeting people that way, bartenders and customers.
I've made some good friends out of those people. (Korean and foreigner)

[meagicano]

I always liked Woodstock in Sinchon... they have long tables so you end up a table with some randoms. It was a great way to meet people and have a fun night. Squat toilets, though, which would become challenging throughout the night.

There's another bar in Sinchon frequented by Koreans and westerners... we ended up calling it "Nori". It was in a basement and the DJ was this big guy from Quebec.

[endofthewor1d]

western style bars are all over the place. in fact, more often than not, if a place says "bar" or "��" or "��", it's usually got a bar. avoid places that say "hof", cause those are usually the chair and table kind of establishments. poke your head into the bar before you go in, because every once in a while you'll see a place that says "bar", but is actually a hof with maybe three barstools that nobody sits on with a tiny bar that is used exclusively for holding the computer.

my favorite chain bar is called 'number 10'. that's all over the place. people have mentioned the 'wa' bar, and that can be cool too, depending on which one you go to.

the woodstock bar in shinchon is good, but it's not too terribly far from hongdae, and probably has a lot of the same crowd. i've been there once, and it was a good time.

i live pretty far out in the sticks now, and there's nothing that even resembles a bar around here. good luck to you. god i miss bars.

[numazawa]