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.
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11 comments:
Do the Army personel in Itaewon visit the gay bars or is it strictly a Korean local? I know most bathhouses and gay bars in Japan have an "Only Japanese allowed" policy, does Korea?
I didn't spot many of them in gay cocktail bars in Itaewon but basiclally Korean bars don't have 'Only Korean allowed' policy. You might bump into more western gays (including army personel) at discos in Itaewon. Why not open?
"No Gaijin" or "No Foreigners Please" signs are a common site in Japan. I know a "Hostess" in Japan who is constantly being discriminated against because she's half Jewish. All cultures see an "us" and "them," but Japan makes it public knowledge with signs on businesses, and they make no apologies for it.
Sorry for the hostess. It is odd. We are living in an age of globalization. Do you have any idea why they have that kind of policy? Maybe language or intentional separation of cultures? Let me know.
When I visited Shinjuku 2 chome, I remember, there were at least two or more bars where people are quite friendly with Gaijin - Arty Farty and Advocate (if I remember correctly).
It's ingrained in their culture, they see themselves as a separate people from the rest of the world, simple discrimination with those who are "lesser than" Japanese.
that's really funny. BTW, why can't I leave a comment on your blog?
When did you leave a comment on my blog? I moderate everything so I don't get some yahoo telling I'm a fag. Nothing from you came my way.
What did you say?
it was nothing very serious. I left a comment on your posting "Why do you hate me Ken Yakamoto?". I said it's kind of depressing there is someone who's unhappy with country. That's it. You got nothing like that?
I didn't get anything. Now I wonder what other comments I'm not getting.
You know my best friend in school was named Jun, the only Korean we had in my school.
It's odd. maybe there's any problem with blogspot commenting system.
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