To have better experience in Seoul, you might need to spend a little bit more of time on understanding its general facts. Introduction in Wikipedia seems quite correct so here is a link to Wikipedia Seoul.
Visit Seoul on Wikipedia
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Gay-friendly accommodations in Seoul?
There are huge number of accommodations in Seoul from 5 star fancy hotels to budget rooms costing you less than $35 per night. I need some research to see if Seoul has any of true 'gay-friendly' hotel but I can say that there are A LOT of budget accommodations on Jongro-3 ga, one of gay centers in Seoul.
Since a lot of young Korean gays live with their family before they get married as in many other Asian cities, many of them check into those places for a night out with their partner or a stranger. Though not as fancy as 5 star guest room, in general room is clean and spacious enough for doing what the guests are after. Also It seems that newly renovated ones recently are giving free internet access(welcome to internet paradise, Seoul!) Even more interesting is that there is an online community to evaluate the quality of those hotels in the city, to rank them and to update it elaborately.
Those budget hotels near gay area should be used to having gay customers even though they are not gay-friendly.
But if you are after more decent hotels, you have a wide variety of options near gay centers as well - Jongro-3 ga and Itaewon, though you will need to travel a little bit farther.
Best districts giving you quick access to gay centers in Seoul are as follows;
- Jongro
Jongro is a big street with dynamic and vivid culture all through the day which has the oldest gay center in Korea. Hotels near Jongro 1ga, 2ga and 3ga will be perfect locations to enjoy gay nightlife in Seoul.
- Itaewon
Itaewon is the other gay center in Seoul. More globalized atmosphere with plenty of multinational restaurants and shops. Huge US army base camp is nearby as well. It is quite natural there are more gay bars where English is spoken. If you are into disco, definitely Itaewon is your place.
- Namsan(mountain Nam)
Namsan is in the heart of Seoul and on its opposite plains situated are Jongro and Itaewon, which means hotels on Namsan provide you with easy access to both of gay centers. Mostly hotels in this area are equipped with the fanciest rooms you can ever get in Seoul, with a nice view over the landscape of Seoul. You may walk down to Itaewon. Jonngro, however, is a bit farther from the top of mountain so jump into one of those taxis always awaiting you at the hotel.
If you couldn't manage to get a room in the areas above, there are some alternatives. You should remember Seoul is a big city and you might need some 'transportation';
- Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun is a name of Korean historic gate from which a huge street stretches which is packed up with tons of office buildings, shops and restaurants. It takes about 10~15 minutes to walk to Jongro area.
- Seoul city hall
There are several hotels near Seoul city hall. You may walk to Gwanghwamun and Jongro but subway line 1 connects Seoul city hall and Jongro area. Jongro-3 ga station is just 2 stops away from Seoul city hall station.
- Seoul train station
Seoul train station is central railway station in Seoul and there are lots of office buildings around it though its neighborhood is not very cheerful. If your hotel is in this area, just jump on subway line 1, which will take you to adjacent Seoul city hall station and Jongro-3 ga station in minutes.
- Myeongdong
Myeongdong is a shopping/entertainment center in Seoul attracting young crowd. As a traditional center of shopping in Seoul, Myoungdong also has number of hotels and restaurants and you may walk to Jongro in about 15~20 minutes (try Google map to measure the walking distance between spots).
From my experiences so far, staying in the right place could help you have better travel experiences depending on what you are after. For a gay conversation over a drink and more afterwards, stay close enough.
Since a lot of young Korean gays live with their family before they get married as in many other Asian cities, many of them check into those places for a night out with their partner or a stranger. Though not as fancy as 5 star guest room, in general room is clean and spacious enough for doing what the guests are after. Also It seems that newly renovated ones recently are giving free internet access(welcome to internet paradise, Seoul!) Even more interesting is that there is an online community to evaluate the quality of those hotels in the city, to rank them and to update it elaborately.
Those budget hotels near gay area should be used to having gay customers even though they are not gay-friendly.
But if you are after more decent hotels, you have a wide variety of options near gay centers as well - Jongro-3 ga and Itaewon, though you will need to travel a little bit farther.
Best districts giving you quick access to gay centers in Seoul are as follows;
- Jongro
Jongro is a big street with dynamic and vivid culture all through the day which has the oldest gay center in Korea. Hotels near Jongro 1ga, 2ga and 3ga will be perfect locations to enjoy gay nightlife in Seoul.
- Itaewon
Itaewon is the other gay center in Seoul. More globalized atmosphere with plenty of multinational restaurants and shops. Huge US army base camp is nearby as well. It is quite natural there are more gay bars where English is spoken. If you are into disco, definitely Itaewon is your place.
- Namsan(mountain Nam)
Namsan is in the heart of Seoul and on its opposite plains situated are Jongro and Itaewon, which means hotels on Namsan provide you with easy access to both of gay centers. Mostly hotels in this area are equipped with the fanciest rooms you can ever get in Seoul, with a nice view over the landscape of Seoul. You may walk down to Itaewon. Jonngro, however, is a bit farther from the top of mountain so jump into one of those taxis always awaiting you at the hotel.
If you couldn't manage to get a room in the areas above, there are some alternatives. You should remember Seoul is a big city and you might need some 'transportation';
- Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun is a name of Korean historic gate from which a huge street stretches which is packed up with tons of office buildings, shops and restaurants. It takes about 10~15 minutes to walk to Jongro area.
- Seoul city hall
There are several hotels near Seoul city hall. You may walk to Gwanghwamun and Jongro but subway line 1 connects Seoul city hall and Jongro area. Jongro-3 ga station is just 2 stops away from Seoul city hall station.
- Seoul train station
Seoul train station is central railway station in Seoul and there are lots of office buildings around it though its neighborhood is not very cheerful. If your hotel is in this area, just jump on subway line 1, which will take you to adjacent Seoul city hall station and Jongro-3 ga station in minutes.
- Myeongdong
Myeongdong is a shopping/entertainment center in Seoul attracting young crowd. As a traditional center of shopping in Seoul, Myoungdong also has number of hotels and restaurants and you may walk to Jongro in about 15~20 minutes (try Google map to measure the walking distance between spots).
From my experiences so far, staying in the right place could help you have better travel experiences depending on what you are after. For a gay conversation over a drink and more afterwards, stay close enough.
Gay hotel : Straight friendly
I happened to stay at this very new hotel in Berlin. According to its own introduction, it is the first gay hotel chain which has branches in several cities. Berlin is one of them.
This new hotel provides nicely furnished guest rooms with sexy glass wall which you can look through it at your partner bathing. Or you can perform some strip show yourself under the red light ;-) Also staffs are really helpful and CUTE.
Above all, however, what impressed me most is that they say "We are straight-friendly gay hotel." When you check-in, kind and cute receptionist gives you two different maps - basic city map and gay map for Berlin. If you need any information regarding gay places nearby, just run to the reception and ask. This unbelievably natural way of getting information has been something that is not allowed to gay culture.
Getting proper services from your hotel as a decent gay traveler, isn't it something we all hope for?
This new hotel provides nicely furnished guest rooms with sexy glass wall which you can look through it at your partner bathing. Or you can perform some strip show yourself under the red light ;-) Also staffs are really helpful and CUTE.
Above all, however, what impressed me most is that they say "We are straight-friendly gay hotel." When you check-in, kind and cute receptionist gives you two different maps - basic city map and gay map for Berlin. If you need any information regarding gay places nearby, just run to the reception and ask. This unbelievably natural way of getting information has been something that is not allowed to gay culture.
Getting proper services from your hotel as a decent gay traveler, isn't it something we all hope for?
Grand journey into European gay scenes
New post after a long while. End of last year, I was lucky enough to get off to see European culture for half a year and am still on my journey. As a gay traveler, it is great fun to mix with local gays, which made me visit lots of cocktail bars for nice conversation and Chardonnay.
While gathering information on local gay scenes in each different cities, I realized AGAIN the typical information I need on my travel should be also provided to gay travelers visiting Seoul, which are gay(friendly) accommodation, details of gay places where English is spoken and local gay culture such as what to respect or to avoid.
This is the idea that brought me back at my laptop. So stay tuned for more updates.
While gathering information on local gay scenes in each different cities, I realized AGAIN the typical information I need on my travel should be also provided to gay travelers visiting Seoul, which are gay(friendly) accommodation, details of gay places where English is spoken and local gay culture such as what to respect or to avoid.
This is the idea that brought me back at my laptop. So stay tuned for more updates.
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