Gay Jongno: Hidn Pla Sight

Contents:

• JONGNO 3-GA: SEOUL’S LIC, GAY-IENDLY HOTSPOT
• SEOUL’S 12 BT GAY BARS JONGNO
• GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT

JONGNO 3-GA: SEOUL’S LIC, GAY-IENDLY HOTSPOT

Thankfully, you rarely hear the old mantra, “There are no gay Koreans” anymore, thanks to Korea’s hard-workg LGBT activists.

Sce the 1990s, the natn’s iban (“이반” or Korean for “queer”) muny has nonted a society nstraed by iologil barriers old and new—Confucian prcipl and anti-gay Christian activists. And while Seoul still isn’t Asia’s queer paradise, there are over 100 lbian and (mostly) gay bars Korea’s pal, not to mentn one of the ntent’s longt-nng LGBT paras and film ftivals.

SEOUL’S 12 BT GAY BARS JONGNO

Jongno’s Nagwon-dong (낙원동) and Donui-dong (돈의동) neighborhoods are Seoul’s olst gay neighborhoods. For s, closeted gay men have ngregated sr of timate “member club” bars tucked along narrow alleys. Outsi, sr of gay men gather at a le of food tents outsi Jongno 3(sam)-ga Statn (exs 3 and 6).

To see for yourself, what follows are Seoul’s 12 bt gay bars  Jongno. Quick tip: Try to get your hands on a py of iShap’s gui to lol gay bars. Opened by two iends, both born 1979 (hence the name), this sual gay soju bar is popular wh ctomers their 30s.

Loted the shadow of the Nagwon Ar, this charmg spot b the bt of Seoul’s petg gay bar cultur—the timacy and iendls of the typil Jongno hnt wh stylish dér and eedom to chew expensive anju snacks. A fortable atmosphere to drk a beer or cktail alone or wh iends, seats up to 45 (large by Jongno standards) and is one of the few gay bars outsi of Itaewon where you’ll ocsnally see non-Koreans.

GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT

Opened 2005, Bar was the first of Jongno’s gay “one-shot bars” where ctomers uld orr beer, we or cktails whout payg an obligatory W20, 000 for a u plate or grilled squid. The unpretent place tailored to gay men their 30s is staffed by an affable (and trilgual) owner and bartenr. Plastered red rose wallpaper (at least last I checked), the attractive gay cktail bar is ually packed on weekends and is one of the neighborhood’s most nsistently good statns.

Jt off the ma drag the heart of gay Seoul’s Nagwon-dong neighborhood, GQ is one of a fair number of bars that ter (often exclively) to bears, the hky middle-aged gay man wh as much body hair as Korean gen will allow.

There ya go… my humble list of Jongno’s 12 bt gay bars Seoul.

Seoul’s gay bars tend to experience heavy turnover, so before you go, always pays to ll or rearch ahead. Sometim Jongno’s gay bars n feel a ltle prickly to non-Koreans and even gyopos who don’t speak Korean.

But a closer look will reveal another world unfaiar to even veteran Jongno-goers, tourists, and rints alike: gay Jongno.

Many are unaware that the streets of Jongno are led wh myriad gay tablishments, varyg om standard bars and karaoke jots to DVD rooms, BBQs and even gay snas. While the more obv ‘Homo Hill’ the ternatnal district of Itaewon is often associated wh all thgs gay Korea has to offer, the more laid back and shabby Jongno is whout doubt the heart of Seoul’s gay scene, boastg untls hangouts close proximy to Jongno 3-ga statn, jt next to the Nakwon mil stment ar. The Korean gay scene has never been as accsible as now is, but the story go that gay Jongno started off as a space for homosexuals to gather the 1970s when thgs were que different.

Until then gay enunters happened randomly and anonymoly secret and ever-changg public lotns around town. But as the cy reveloped unr Print Park Chung-hee, bs started movg out of downtown and empty spots Jongno-3-ga slowly filled wh brothels and a handful of gay bars.