Clubbing
I know a lot of you will not be interested in this sort of thing, but I feel it's something I should write about because clubbing in Korea is quite different from clubbing in Australia.
If you know me, you know that I love dancing. So much. But I am not usually a fan of the other aspects of clubbing, ie. drunk people everywhere, impolite people, the danger of getting glassed, the danger of being hit on or touched inappropriately, the price of drinks, the lack of conversation and the bad music. Well, although I cannot say that clubbing in Korea is perfect, in comparison to Australia, the clubs here are definitely my style.
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| Crazy lights at Club Answer in Gangnam. |
- It was very, very large and so the dance floor was huge. Therefore, it was easy to find space to dance and it was also easy to escape those... keen... people who approached us. Often in Korean clubs, there is a lot of space allocated to the dance floor, which is fantastic. In Sydney, I have not encountered many dance floors this big.
- The music was good. There were a lot of songs that I knew, with great beats that were easy to dance to. At the time, the songs were relatively new to us but we have since come to know them, as they tend to play a lot of the same songs at different clubs.
- It had a separate room, which played hip hop music! This was awesome, because when you wanted to take a break from the intensity of the main dance floor, you could head into the hip-hop room. This room had a much more chilled vibe, couches, its own bar and less people. There was also much more space to dance, which was good for dropping it low (lol). I craved this room because this is where a lot of the more talented/experienced dancers hung out and I just really enjoyed watching them (in a non-creepy way).
- It had lockers, so you could ditch your stuff without having to worry about it being stolen, then you could go dance freely!
I thought that I had found a one-off in this club but turns out, most of the other clubs actually share these elements. So, I have come to love clubbing.
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| With some mates at Club Octagon in Gangnam |
There are a few things to know about your clubbing in South Korea. First of all, there are three main areas good for clubbing in Seoul:
- Gangnam: This is where you will find the least amount of foreigners. Clubs are often pretty exclusive, with classy dress codes and lots of VIP areas. Your typical clubber will be a Korean male in his mid-twenties, in a collared shirt, stylish hair and a face that is suspiciously too in-proportion. I like Gangnam because there are not a lot of foreigners, so less people will approach you (Korean people tend to stay back unless you deliberately make and maintain eye-contact with them). Because of this, I can dance happily without having to worry about this or about my feet getting stepped on (the amount of foreigners who have stepped on my toes! Because they don't really dance, they just start jumping when the beat drops :p). However, a reason I don't like Gangnam is because it is a little too exclusive and they can be quite rude to foreigners.
- Itaewon: Itaewon is in many ways the opposite of Gangnam. Itaewon is foreigner central. A lot of foreigners come to Korea to teach English, because the money is good, and so they all live in the same area. This place is a bit looser than Gangnam. I have seen many drunk people wondering around, randoms hitting on you on the streets, inappropriate dancing and such things. However, it is a good place to relax with mates and to make friends. I have made a few international friends here. The clubs themselves are harder to find (in Gangnam they literally line the streets), because most of the places are bars, but there are a few good clubs. I like Club Naked, because it plays really good music. However, it is very small and my feet get stepped on a lot. I definitely recommend Itaewon if you want a little taste of your home country or if you want to visit some good pubs.
- Hongdae: Hongdae is a mix of the two. It is full of young people, who are mostly students, Korean and international alike. The dress-codes are less flashy and you will often meet some Koreans who are keen to make foreign friends. I have not clubbed here as often as I would like to, but my experiences so far have been good. There are many clubs, and each one is vastly different from the next. A memorable experience for me was Club Vera, purely because it was so ridiculously packed. This place shared similarities with Gangnam clubs, in that there were no other foreigners and people didn't really smile, they sort of just stood in a massive crowd on the dance floor, staring at the DJ (very frustrating for those of us who wanted to dance). You can see from the below photos that there is hardly anywhere to dance:
The lack of space was real, but we still had a lot of fun.
So there are many options, it depends what mood you are in. Clubs in Korea are just quite crazy in general, but I love it, because you will never find an empty dance floor. Also, it's awesome how Koreans seem to unite on the dance floor. People smile at each other and will come and dance with you just for fun, not in a sleazy manner. I must say, most of the people who are on the dance floor are men, which was very strange for me, but I also enjoy it because I am often impressed with their dance moves. Korean females have been very friendly to me on the dance floor, and have sometimes saved me from the 'wolves' (as we call them), even though they don't know me.
Another big yesyes about clubs is the fact that it is SO CHEAP TO GO. Even to Gangnam. Clubs will often have free entry before midnight, and even the most popular clubs still only charge as little as 10 000 won (approx. $10). And because you have spent a few hours drinking on the street (see my 'drinking culture' blog), you can afford to just go in and have a good time, without having to worry about the price of drinks. Drink prices inside clubs are very similar to Sydney prices, so it's not really worth it.
Life was good the other night in Club Octagon, because they had FREE DRINKS before 12am! Stuff like this, I have found, is quite common in Seoul. They will usually give you a 'free drink' coupon at the beginning of the night anyway, especially if it's a special event. This occasion was Octagon's anniversary, so we had soooo many free drinks and it was great!
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| Some lemon drop shots we got for free! |
On this same night, my friends scored a VIP table and got access to all this food for free:
As you can see, you are always in for a good night when you go clubbing in Seoul, especially when you are with friends. Also, it is very easy on your wallet and clubs stay open here until like, 8am!
Finally, I will leave you with this photo:
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| Yep. |
If there is anything else you would like me to include in this blog, please send me a message and I will write about it!
See you soon!
Signed in Seoul,
Kristin
(Photo credit to Nam)
Kristin is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Korea Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
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