TOOL 툴 : Friendly Gay Bar Jongno - Gay Travel Seoul

Contents:

• SEOUL’S 12 BT GAY BARS JONGNO
• BAR MOU 모우 : BT GAY CKTAIL BAR JONGNO
• M BAR 엠바 : JONGNO GAY BAR FOR WE AND ELR CROWD
• TOOL 툴 : FRIENDLY GAY BAR JONGNO
• GAY NIGHTLIFE
• GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT
• THE BT GAY BARS SEOUL
• GAY SEOUL · CY GUI

SEOUL’S 12 BT GAY BARS JONGNO

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. 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.

BAR MOU 모우 : BT GAY CKTAIL BAR JONGNO

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.

M BAR 엠바 : JONGNO GAY BAR FOR WE AND ELR CROWD

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. 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.

TOOL 툴 : FRIENDLY GAY BAR JONGNO

Sometim Jongno’s gay bars n feel a ltle prickly to non-Koreans and even gyopos who don’t speak Korean.

About Bar MOUBar MOU, loted Jongno, is one of the bt gay cktail bars Seoul.

ContentsAbout M BarThgs to knowPhotosMapsAbout M BarM Bar is a unique and exclive gay bar loted the heart of Jongno. TOOL 툴 offers s a iendly and welg atmosphere for the gay muny. The bar’s dark yet zy r provis a fortable and vg atmosphere, makg a popular spot among the gay muny.

GAY NIGHTLIFE

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.

GAY JONGNO: HIDN PLA SIGHT

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.

THE BT GAY BARS SEOUL

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.

Acrdg to lists drawn up regularly (and jt as equently banned by the South Korean ernment), Jongno unts up to one hundred gay spots the area though an exact number is difficult to e by.

GAY SEOUL · CY GUI

For those wantg to wake up for the night, a popular gatherg spot is the brightly l Coffee Bean outlet – also known as ‘Gay Bean’ – right by the Nakwon ar. Judgg by the nocturnal pas that take place on weekends and the numero bars full public view, the Korean gay scene is not exactly hidn away, but most Koreans are pletely obliv to .

In that sense, Jongno is tly a world apart the very heart of Seoul, a untry where the existence of homosexualy is acknowledged, but homosexuals are not.