After Dark: Seoul
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SEOUL When you’re looking for indie music, craft beers and cool kids in the South Korean capital, there’s one neighbourhood that has it all. Dave Hazzan gets down in Hongdae. Photography by Jo Turner and Patrick Murray The neon lights up when the sun goes down in Hongdae. 32 get lost ISSUE 49 get in the know There are more than 70 universities in Seoul – Hongdae is named after nearby Hongik University. get in the know Because Koreans drink so much of it, soju is the world’s most popular spirit. Jinro Soju sold 65 million cases in 2013. ISSUE 49 get lost 33 after dark: SEOUL 9pm The road leading to Bar Da is an alley packed with thousands of fellow party-goers. As you’re being pushed through the masses, the entrance – just a small door with a tiny sign above – can be easy to miss. But climb the stairs and you enter one of Seoul’s most chilled-out and unique bars. There is a brilliant single malt scotch collection, sold by the bottle or glass, and each of them is great with a bowl of peanuts and dried anchovies. Swaddled in its dimly lit, 1920s charm, you can watch the mad alley beneath you. Bar Da Bar Da is a tiny gem. Seogyo-dong 365-5 Angie of the Wasted Johnny’s 10pm 11pm rocks Club FF. Beer is king at Keg B. At Hongdae’s heart is a small park. During the You’re going down; down into a basement day, children play here and artisans sell their to experience Hongdae’s thriving live music Bag a drink at Vinyl. wares in an open-air market. At night, however, scene. Club FF (apparently that stands for 6.45pm it becomes ground zero for Korea’s buskers, Funky Funky) is one of Seoul’s best and including hip-hop acts, pop bands, punk groups most enduring venues, despite its shocking Barbecue is the crowning achievement of and drum circles, all of whom bust out tunes bathroom. For about AU$11, you can see Korea’s national cuisine, and the Saemaul while onlookers mix and flirt. The Goodtime acts like Wasted Johnny’s, a hard-driving Sikdang chain is one of the best places to get 24 corner store across the street makes a blues rock trio whose singer-guitarist Angie Yeoltan bulgogi at Saemaul Sikdang. your grill on. Waitresses bring great piles of mint flogging cans of beer to the parched, and rages like Jimi Hendrix in a miniskirt. You’ve pork and beef to your table – the yeoltan bulgogi cocktail vendors often set up stands. Just be arrived just in time for cocktail hour, too. (spicy thin pork) is sensational – then you cook sure to watch your belongings – purses have From 11pm to midnight, rum and Cokes, N KOREA THERE ARE TWO BIG VICES: WORK it yourself over hot coals. Once it’s done, wrap gone missing and, last time I was there, a screwdrivers and gin and tonics are all free. and play. At school and the office, Koreans it up with garlic, kimchi and ssamjang (thick, homeless gentleman relieved me of my beer. Yes, you read that right. Iwill routinely put in 14-hour days for weeks at spicy sauce) in a lettuce leaf and chow down. Hongdae Playground Club FF a time. So, in the little time they have free, they Also highly recommended is the magnificent Seogyo-dong 358-36 Seogyo-dong 407-8 ‘play’ – a euphemism for going out and getting seven-minute kimchi jjigae, a spicy stew made of drunk with friends. kimchi and pork, cooked over the barbecue grill Buskers in Hongdae Playground. With a population the size of Australia, Seoul for those aforementioned seven minutes and and its suburbs teem with bars and restaurants. devoured with rice. Through it all, you can toss But it is Hongdae, in the northwest of the down glass after glass of cheap soju, a clear, city, that really comes alive at the weekend. vodka-like spirit Koreans throw back like water. Artists, clubbers, ravers, craft-beer aficionados, Just don’t fill your own glass – no one pours for students looking to hook up, office workers themselves at a Korean table, you philistine! blowing off steam… On Friday and Saturday Saemaul Sikdang nights, they all pile into this neighbourhood Seogyo-dong 367-6 near the university after which it’s named for newmaul.com the best time in town. 8pm 6pm Think of all the reasons people are hooked by a A recent boom in craft brewing in Korea means certain bar: creative drinks, hot DJs, cool staff, beer drinkers are no longer forced to drink the somewhere to sit even during busy periods. thin yellow piss most common in the country. Well, Vinyl distinguishes itself by serving cheap Small and airy Keg B serves craft beers from cocktails in plastic zip-lock bags with a straw. Korea, Japan and the USA on tap, and dozens Legend! But even without the little bags, this more bottled varieties from the fridge. Gaze bar, with its cosy, dim interior, Balearic music from huge open windows on the third floor to and pumpkin-coloured walls covered in gig the streets below, watching the beautiful young posters, makes for a great stop on a night out. people shop, eat and drink. Blue and white Plus, if it’s a little too crammed inside, there’s decor gives it a Mediterranean feel, and it’s a take-away window where you can get your easy to while away a whole summer day here. cocktails to go. Keg B Vinyl Seogang-dong 92-6 Seogyo-dong 411-1 34 get lost ISSUE 49 ISSUE 49 get lost 35 after dark: SEOUL Discover the adventure at Centara and share #MyCentaraSecrets Packed in at Gogo’s. The entrance to Vurt. 12am GET PLANNING Gogo’s is literally right upstairs from Club FF, accessed by a dodgy metal staircase in GET THERE the front of the building. There is no cover AirAsia flies from the Gold Coast, Perth, charge, the drinks are cheap, and the indie Melbourne and Sydney to Seoul’s Incheon Airport pop music – think ‘Song 2’ by Blur – is loud. via Kuala Lumpur. Return fares from Sydney start There is no official dance floor, so fun-loving at about AU$780. youngsters dance between the tables, in airasia.com front of the dartboards, and by the door – basically wherever there is free space to shake it. Stay THERE Gogo’s House 740 is a beautiful guesthouse Seogyo-dong 407-8 on a side street, only five minutes’ walk from Hongik University Station. There are 11 rooms in 1.30am the establishment, and doubles begin at about AU$80. You can chat in English with Kevin, the If you’re looking for Seoul’s most exciting, very friendly owner. If House 740 is booked solid, Get ready for the adventure of your lifetime where the fun never stops. With the independent, underground techno club you’ve have no fear – Hongdae and its surrounding ultimate in accommodation options across Asia, Centara gets you set for action found it – well, almost. Vurt isn’t the easiest neighbourhoods have a huge range of affordable and relaxation with deluxe rooms and pool villas in Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi, the hot spot to locate – you will absolutely need accommodation options. Maldives and Bali. You’ll be able to get straight into a huge range of activities including the map on its website, since it’s way too swimming, diving, trekking, climbing, beach games and sports – then get your energy house740.com hip for signage on the door – but the struggle back on jaw-dropping tropical beaches or revive yourself for the next all-action is worth it for the rotating list of foreign and adventure at our spas. local DJs. Hand over your 20,000 won (about GET INFORMED AU$23) and descend into a cavern so dark The Korea Tourism Organization BOOK DIRECT FOR OUR BEST PRICE PROMISE and sinister-looking you might imagine blood (KTO) has plenty of info on what to do and see centarahotelsresorts.com • T: 02 9018 9322 • E: [email protected] could start spraying out the sprinkler system in South Korea. Whenever you run into trouble, at any moment. It won’t (at least we don’t get lost or just have a simple translation Thailand • Bali • Maldives • Sri Lanka • Vietnam think it will), and the dark techno should question, call its 24-hour, toll-free hotline get your feet moving. at 1330. Press 2 for English. Vurt english.visitkorea.or.kr 11 Dongmak-ro vurtkr.flavors.me 36 get lost ISSUE 49 get in the know The last Friday of each month is Live Club Day, where you can get into 10 live music venues for 20,000 won (about AU$23). 9756_CHR_Ads_Get_Lost_Mag_Rev03.indd 1 5/27/16 2:41 PM.