Gay Jongno: Hidn Pla Sight

Contents:

• THE BEST SEOUL GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SEOUL
• GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT
• SUNSET CEMAS & RABOW GAY CEMA

THE BEST SEOUL GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SEOUL

The foundatn is lked wh the Christian broadster CTS, which has volly opposed homosexualy and the pri ftival, acrdg to Rters.

Homophobia is rife South Korea, where there is no prehensive anti-discrimatn laws to protect LGBTQ people.

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.

GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT

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.

One spot particular, Pagoda Theater (now Pagoda Town), soon beme famo as a place where gay sex was soliced and offered. Gay drkg hol nearby were shroud secrecy, and one had to be guid to a gay bar orr to know . Jongno-3-ga built a reputatn for beg a space for gay men through the 1980s.

SUNSET CEMAS & RABOW GAY CEMA

Wh the arrival of the more openly gay scene Itaewon the 1990s, young Koreans started to shun sketchy Jongno, formg a gay inty distant om the seedy streets near Pagoda Theater.

Wh the advent of Inter, the late 1990s saw the muny tly rise, bound by an explic self-inty, and Jongno eventually followed su, even placg gay bar signs outsi and beg what is today.

The area between Tapgol Park, once a gay cisg ground, and a blockbter theater until recently known as Lotte Cema Picdilly attracts olr female sex workers — lloquially known as “Bacch Ajumma” — spe recent crackdowns. But on Friday and Saturday nights, after boozed-up ajeossi ll a day, Jongno be gay central where boys e out to play. Unlike Homo Hill, Jongno is very much Korean terrory.