Seoul nightlife

School begins tomorrow, ending a week long adventure traipsing through Seoul's streets, bars, clubs, cafes and shops.

I've watched legions of taxis swarm the streets as the subways stop running, the drivers hoping to earn a few bucks shuttling home the multitudes of unlucky youth.

Mopeds speed along the alleyways, accelerating between breaks in the crowd and screeching to a halt when the walkers become too numerous. If the traffic is at a standstill, they'll drive in-between the lanes and they'll navigate their way through the crosswalk crowd even when they have a red light; I've nearly been run over several times now.

Neon signs light up every avenue and alleyway and, apart from the major streets, people are free to roam right up the middle of the street. Tents pop up at each corner, steam emitting from giant vats of cheap street food, the owners eager to sell their snacks to young people suffering from the drunken munchies.

Groups of friends roam the streets, gallivanting from club to bar to club to bar again, and couples walk hand in hand, perhaps on their way to a bar or to one of Seoul's many late-night cafes.

It doesn't seem to matter whether it is Tuesday or Friday night; the people here will be out in force to enjoy their nights.

Korean businessmen incorporate after-hours drinking into their work life and older men are a common sight during the earlier hours of the night. Last night, this fellow received a business card during his dinner and he stashed it away among a disorganized handful of other business cards in his pocket while his friend was in the bathroom. Perhaps he was trying very hard to develop his business network over a few drinks.

For the youth, drinking doesn't seem to have such an obvious agenda. Often, I've seen groups of boys and groups of girls enter a bar to sit down, share a pitcher of beer, eat some Korean drinking snacks and talk the night away. Never having been to a bar in America, I can only assume this is a regular activity there too.

The difference, I think, between American and Korean drinking culture is that Americans go home after they go to a bar and Koreans go out to sing karaoke (and maybe drink some more there too). Basically, the karaoke rooms (노래방) are private rooms with couches, microphones, a coffee table and a television. They're basically soundproof, but I've walked by many and I can hear both Korean boys and girls singing the latest Korean pop songs.

At the end of the night, a taxi ride is often the best way for most to get home since the subways do stop running by midnight. The taxi drivers know this and they're out in force. I've stopped walking on the sidewalk to catch my bearings and within seconds there is a taxi driver pulling his car up next to me and speaking Korean to me. Not knowing what he is saying nor needing a taxi at all, I wave him away. The taxis are everywhere and they're cheap: a three or four dollar nightcap to a drinking adventure in Seoul.

*As a final note, the fellow I saw passed out near the main entrance of Yonsei in the photo above is not dead and the police arrived shortly after I shot this photograph to identify him, wake him up and take him away.

Underground in Seoul

After my mountainous adventure, I want to comment about how easy it was to journey into the countryside via Seoul's subway system:

I was able to leave the city to enter Bokhansan National Park, which is where the mountain I climbed is, via Seoul’s subway system. From there, a brief cab ride took me and four of my friends to the base of the mountain.
Seoul’s subway system is generally efficient. Riding the subway for a relatively short distance costs about 90 cents and the subway arrives at each stop every few minutes. The subway system sprawls outwards from the city center, allowing us to reach the outskirts of Seoul (and Bokhansan National Park) within an hour. The subway closes at about midnight each night, prompting some youth to spend the entire night in 24-hour-a-day cafes, bars, theatres or karaoke rooms until the subways begin service again at 5:30 a.m. A note about this: the subway will stop at whatever station it is currently located at; there is no “last route.”
I've caught a cab a few times here, but several of my friends have partied "Korean style" as they say and haven't returned home until the sun is rising.

I’ve met several New Yorkers who’ve vowed Seoul’s subways are quieter and cleaner than New York’s subway system. They’re also faster than Seattle’s bus system, which is obviously impeded by varying amounts of traffic. Also, riders here use a card to access the subway and the bus system. Transfers are recorded electronically so that one may emerge into the sunlight to catch a bus and need only scan the card again. Hence, no need for change and no need for paper. If you come to Seoul, buy the subway/metro card at the station. It is called “T-Money” and it will help you.

Palaces, markets and fish that clean your feet

A dozen mosquito bites later, one foot bath (with fish) and one currency incident later, I am settled into the dormitory at Yonsei University in Seoul.

The mosquitoes here have seemingly targeted me and I’ve been one itchy mess until I picked up some soothing Korean medicine to assuage my numerous bites. If you ever come to Korea, bring bug repellant and use it liberally.

As for the foot bath, I went to a café with some of my friends here and apparently you can soak your feet in a bath while small fish suck the dirt, grime and filth off of your feet. The sensation is rather unusual (which would probably be expected), but it is not unpleasant and one of my friends even commented that he’d like to have the fish clean other parts of his body!



My currency debacle derived from a misplaced zero, one of those “mundane details” from the movie Office Space. I withdrew $500 instead of $50. This, however, did not trouble me since Korea’s streets are actually very safe and the people here have helped me numerous times when I’ve been lost.

Apart from these details from my first few days here, I’ve had several days to explore the city alone and also several days to venture beyond campus with several new friends.

My journeys have taken me to a Korean palace named Changdeokgung that hosted the Chosun dynasty rulers, the last dynasty before the Japanese annexed Korea during 1910 and assumed control from the Korean king. The palace’s buildings sprawled out from one central palace and a private wooded garden extended beyond. The architecture is worth seeing. It is preserved well and, although everyone must see the palace during an English, Chinese, Korean or Japanese guided tour, the tour guide’s information provided much needed context for a culture and history I know little about.

If you’re interested in visiting, the tour costs only $3 and the palace is very accessible by bus or subway.

I’ve also seen an open-air marketplace where vendors sell shirts, shoes, food, souvenirs and many other products. The area, called Dongdaemun, is one of Seoul’s main marketplaces and one can find nearly anything while perusing the streets in this area. I walked around for nearly four hours here and noticed the contrast between the street markets and the towering department stores.
The street vendors shouted at me in Korean to come visit their shops and when I did visit, I could barter for the final price. I bought two t-shirts for $10 (10,000 Won).

Across the street from the main open-air market were two large department stores. One had a stage set up outside of the entrance to the store and there were singers and dancers performing to a small crowd gathered near the store. Inside, the department store was much like Macy’s or Nordstrom. The contrast between the department stores which line Seoul’s main streets and the family-owned shops which cluster in narrow alleyways was quite apparent.

In the Shinchon area near Yonsei, I’ve explored the avenues by day and night. It is a youth-oriented district dominated by five or six story buildings, all of which house cafes, restaurants, bars, clubs and various shops.
Each store seems to hang a neon sign outside of their storefront. By night, these signs light up every alleyway and the store’s host the legions of youth descending upon the district at all hours. The streets were just as busy at 8:00 p.m. when I ate dinner as they were at 2:00 a.m. when I finally called it a night.

Among these stores are many Western restaurants as well. There is an Outback Steakhouse near campus, Starbucks stores on every other avenue and some Western style sports bars as well.
And yes, there is McDonald’s.



I'll update later with more adventures and later I'll be posting some feature length stories with interviews about religion in Korea and plastic surgery here.