This is not really a guide and is not intended as such. But you could use it if you wanted to. If you don't like the subject matter, you don't have to read it. I wrote this because it goes on and there's a lot of outdated information out there on this topic so I want to let you know what I've found out. I will go over the options I know about as of May 2005.
This is more difficult to hook up in Korea than in Japan, Europe or the U.S. Most Korean women are into getting married as soon as possible. Usually, they only have one or two serious boyfriends before getting married and cranking out the required son and maybe one more child within the first three years of marriage. Women get especially agitated about marriage when they hit 28 and this only increases year by year into their 30s. Finally, they settle for any slob who will have them - sad but true.
Having said that about casual sex in Korea, in general, if one-night stands are your cup of tea, you
do have options.
TIP: KOREAN WOMEN WHO SMOKE - Women are not supposed to smoke in Korea. If you see a young woman smoking in public in Korea, say at a bar, a cafe, on the street - it means she doesn't care about social pressure. She's probably into rebelling against society and that means she is probably into casual sex and dating foreigners.
1. The Lotte Hotel in Downtown Seoul:
If you can't go to Japan, bring Japan to you! This also requires that you spend some money, so it's not really a free deal and may cost you just as much or more than a
prostitute. However, if she has a room there, or if you do, then it can be no more than a few drinks which you would have enjoyed anyway. A lot of single (and married) Japanese women come here for the weekend for shopping. It's much cheaper to shop in Korea than in Japan so the trip is worthwhile for them. If you hang out in a hotel bar (please dress
properly - I'll leave that to your discretion) in the evening, you have a very good chance of meeting a Japanese woman who wants a bit of diversion. If you can speak a little
Japanese, it might help, but it's definitely not required. You can also find just the right type of
Korean woman here, too. However, she may be a prostitute, so you'd better find a tactful way to clear that up at the beginning if you can't tell. Buy some drinks and take it from there big boy.
You can also try any other big hotel such as the Hyatt, the Ritz, the Westin and so on. However, I think Lotte's the best because of the Japanese/shopping nexus.
2. 'Western' Bars along Jong-no between Insadong and Kyobo books, or bars in Myong-dong:
Again you will have your best luck with Japanese girls and women here. You will recognize them sitting together in groups, laughing and quite possibly
flirting with you. They may be looking for a tour guide (that would be you) and they quite probably speak enough English. If they don't have any other option (i.e., if you're alone, or if they don't meet any other guys) you could pull the trifecta.
It has happened. Japanese tend to be into the group thing and they would hate to leave their girlfriend out, so make sure you play it right. Keep it balanced, fun and light. Use champagne, and if you can't get decent stuff, take them to a nice hotel and hotel bar. Use a first class Mobum taxi if you can. The minor extra expense goes a long way.
3. There's a jazz bar near Taehang-no:
Here's where you can meet Korean women who are ready to play ball and who are not hookers. These are often women who have lived abroad or had foreign boyfriends for too long and they just can't go back to that subservient, virginal Korean woman role that society expects of them here. They are used to the idea of casual sex and are open to the idea if not outright looking for a foreign boyfriend/lover. This place is
not packed with suitable candidates for you. I am not trying to give you the wrong idea. What I am telling you is that in a crowd of 100 there would be at least 2 or 3 suitable candidates. Your job is to find her. You should check the crowd. She should also be looking for you, so your job is easier. There won't be that many foreigners there, so you'll stand out (hopefully not like a sore thumb -- don't be too fat, bald and short - even though I see guys like that here all the time with decent looking Korean girlfriends, like they would
never get 'back home').
So - you've scoped each other out. She knows how to flirt. She's had foreign experience. You make eye contact, you smile, you get up and go to the rest room, she gets up, you pass each other, you smile, you say 'hi', you know what to do.
4. Nighclubs:
This requires
special circumstances. Nightclubs in Korea are special because they have a system called 'booking.' You have two options. One is rather expensive. You go to an expensive hotel nightclub frequented by Koreans more than by foreigners. Try the Ritz in Kangnam, for example. You have to pay a waiter to take care of it for you. It also helps if you can speak Korean, and if you
can speak Korean, you probably don't need to read this. He should keep bringing available women to your table for you to buy a drink and talk to. This is
not a hostess bar which I will talk about below. The best option is to have some Korean businessmen friends who will take you to a nightclub for booking. They will basically handle everything for you. In this case, there are a lot of bored and neglected housewives who want a one-night stand. They're married and have no intention of getting divorced. They just want to fuck. No strings attached. They're husbands are away on business and likely out whoring themselves. You get the picture.
5. Dancing and Nightclubs in Itaewon:
I've saved the best for last, since you've stuck with me this far. Your patience has paid off! If you find a disco or nightclub where there's dancing, the chicks there will definitely be foreigner friendly and looking for a good time. They might be married or single, young or middle-aged. There's something for everyone in Itaewon. It's definitely not high class, but you can go up the hill to the Hyatt if you meet the right woman. She'll be happy to go with you. It is so easy to hook up with a woman here. If you can get her to dance with you, she'll most likely leave with you if you have a good time there. Take her someplace nice. I haven't listed any specific clubs because they change, and you should go there and take a look yourself. Just ask around. It's easy to find people who speak English there. I'm
not talking about Hooker Hill.
That should get you started on pure one night stands. If you find out more, please post and let us know! Now, let's take a look at your...
COMMERCIAL OPTIONS: Prostitutes, Massage Parlors, Hostess Bars, Window Shopping, Barber Shops, Itaewon, etc.
Prostitution is just a fact of life in Asia. It's a part of society, whether you like it or not just like drinking in China, Korea, and Japan. It's done and it's not talked about. The women don't want to know. That's just how it is. I guess about 80% of Korean men, at least, have been to a prostitute. I think about 70% of married salary men go to prostitutes at least once a year. I think they'd go more often if they could afford it. Those are just the facts based on my own surveys of these guys over the years.
There are so many options for foreigners starting from 60,000 Won ($60 at today's exchange rate). You need to be adventurous. The more off the beaten path, the better your options. But the further off the track, the more Korean you know, the better. TIP: Stay away from hostess bars if what you want is sex. Don't waste your money in hostess bars unless you want to drop hundreds talking so some (maybe) hot woman who is drinking whisky-colored water and is not included in the price. You have to pay extra for that and it may be quite expensive and not worth it.
1. The "Barber Shop":
Especially if you're on a budget, like if you're an English teacher in a province somewhere and you don't have a g.f. yet, I mean if you're in a bit of a slump, this might just do the trick. Look for the double barber pole and go down to the basement. There will be a barber chair there. Ask how much. In the provinces or cities outside of Seoul, it's like $60. She or they (women aged 30-40) will show you to a curtained area where you can undress, and give you a light robe; then they put you in a barber chair that fully reclines. You get a massage (of varying degrees of quality depending on where you go), then you get a condom put on you surreptitiously, usually by mouth. Then you get fucked. They clean you up, and out you go. It's great. It's like having a toothache and going to the dentist and getting it pulled. Or, more to the point, it's like needing a haircut and getting it done. It does the job when your tired of wanking in front of the computer and you're hard up.
Hey, it happens. At least there's some human contact involved, eh? These places are all over Korea and they are foreigner-friendly.
2. Massage Parlors otherwise known as "An-Ma":
These are probably your best overall value, but you have to find a place that is right for you. Tip: Go early -- before the drunken rush. You don't want to see a lot of Korean customers there. And you want your girl to be fresh. About 40% of these places don't want their Korean male clientele to see foreign men in there. The Koreans believe
only foreign men have venereal diseases and that we will surely taint their prostitutes. Not only that, there may be other issues, but I will let you speculate on that yourselves. If there is a woman working the counter, she will be happy to welcome you and take your money. To her it's all the same. She's the counter woman and usually not the one who will be sent into your room. Price $150-180. You may be able to find some around $200 but the women should be really hot. The expensive ones will be in Kangnam or some place like that. Foreigners have been sent out of a couple of places because in one case, a man was working the counter and in other cases a foreign man has already been let in but some customers saw him and complained to the madame so she had to ask him to leave.
This is what happens. You walk in, take off your shoes and put on their slippers, ask the price at the counter. She tells you or you can have her write it down. You pay. They show you into a room. You wait there for 5 or 10 and they send a girl in. Usually she's from 20-28 years old. She may be so-so or hot. If you don't like her, you can say "change" and they'll send you a new girl. She'll be wearing something sexy. If the service is good, she'll undress you, draw a bath for you, fix a toothbrush for you, ask you if you want a shave, give you a body shampoo, put you in the tub, bathe you in the tub with you, wash your hair and give you a scalp massage, dry you off, lay you down on a massage bed, and give you a sexual massage. She will put some massage oil on you, start with your toes and work up you back, she'll lick you all over, massage you with her tits and her pussy. She'll flip you over and do it again. You'll be ready for the next step. She'll put a condom on with her mouth and you won't even notice it. She'll fuck you and you can take as long as you like but if you take too long, the front desk will start calling the room after an hour and keep calling every five minutes until you nut or give up. She'll definitely help you.
The service will vary depending on the establishment and the girl. Some girls think you just want to fuck so they will give short shrift to the massage and bathing. They may even smoke on your time. If they do, then no tip. You don't have to tip and they don't expect a tip anyway. It's all included. But if she is sweet and professional and gives a great massage, you can tip $20 if you like. Remember that girl's name. It's usually something like Strawberry (Talgi) or Butterfly (Nabi) in Korean. But if variety is the spice of life, you will see that quality and service varies. That's okay, too. It's part of the experience. TIP: If you see a map at a tourist info desk called ESCORT SEOUL then pick it up! It looks innocent enough, but inside there are several hotels denoted in red. Those hotels are the ones you want for this service. But there are An-Ma places all over Korea.
3. Itaewon - Hooker Hill:
This place is nasty and the hookers here are generally the low of the low. You should only go there if you want to see it, because it is interesting, but be wary of buying drinks for anyone there. Don't let anyone drag you into a 'night club' and watch out for rowdy, drunken soldiers. No fun unless you're one of them. That said, I did hear a story about a guy who went there early once about 5 years ago and went into a little bar with a HOT looking chick. She was HOT!!! The guy had one drink with her. There was no one in there but them. She let him finger her shaved pussy. He wanted to buy, but she said she to had to work but she would go out with him after work. She said if he came back at 3AM she would go out with him. Guy never went back. It could have been a freebie, too. Some of the hot ones are looking for a way out and a western boyfriend (or better) is just the ticket, especially if you have a good job.
4. Window Shopping in the pink light districts:
You can see these in various areas of Korean cities. Ask around. The taxi drivers know how to find them. A lot of those places are hit and miss. The girls are in their early 20s and can range from so-so to hot. The price is about the same as An-Ma. The advantage is that you can shop and pick out who you want. You don't wait in a room for whoever they send you. A disadvantage is that a lot of these girls are scared of foreigners and will close the curtains or hide. That's fucking embarrassing. Rejected by whores. You have to be stoic if you go this route. I've also heard that at least one place in Seoul has a big sign posted over the street that leads into the red light district which says: "Foreigners are NOT welcome here." How about that. It's not a joke.
A Korean friend took some guys and another foreigner to one of these places one time. The girls at this place he took them, behind a big Hyundai department store in the north of Seoul, were all dressed as brides. The guys went into a room and drank together with several girls. They picked out the ones they wanted, then the girls took them each to a private room. It was okay but didn't include the bathing and massage that An-Ma provides. I think the selling point here is the drinking and conversation together. There was another place like this at Haeundae beach in Busan, but the girls there were also afraid of foreigners, maybe because there are so many Russian sailors there. I don't know. Anyway, it's worth a look, just for fun.
5. Room Salons:
This is another zone where you need Korean businessmen to take you and on their company card because
you can't afford it. They can't either, but they can still find a way to charge it to the company. It's what "salary men" here live for. They work so hard and only get 3 or 4 days of vacation a year, so this is their main perk. The company finds a way to throw the big shots this bone. Anyway, what you get is a private karaoke room with your mates. You go in there, say a typical group of guys is 4 to 8. Then they send in 10 or 15 girls and each guy chooses one who will pretend to be his girlfriend by the hour. There's no sex, just some dancing and singing together and light petting (e.g., she'll rest her hand on her guy's thigh and let him slow dance with her). He can put his arm around her waist or on her thigh. Anything more than that is reaching and is not included in the basic price. There's also a lot of alcohol that comes as part of the package. There's beer, a fruit platter and some cheap Korean whiskey. The girls keep pouring drinks. They drink too, but they drink milk before drinking liquor and then go puke in the bathroom when the guys leave. The price can vary depending on the quality of the place -- that means its location, the kind of booze they serve, and of course, how good looking and smart the girls are. The most expensive places get rich and well- educated college girls from Ehwa or some place like that. Their parents don't know about it of course, but the girls like the money for buying expensive designer labels. The lower class places just have pretty poor girls who want 'easy' money. It goes down from there to places with over-the-hill middle aged women for truck drivers and blue collar workers who think they can afford it. The businessmen don't go to those kinds of places so you won't either.
If you can go to one of these places with business associates, you can guess that it costs about $1,000 per person with sex for a few hours with hot girls. The business guys will take care of it for you, so you won't know anything about the price. They just have the girl go with you to a prepaid hotel room with you and stay with you until you go home the next day. She is basically your girlfriend for the night. Then, if they're with a big company and have their shit together, they'll even have a private car, an Equus or something, to take you back to your place. If it happens to you, you must be tight with these guys. They feel you are close and they're expecting big things from you, too, in business or whatever. Keep that in mind. Or else, they really appreciate something you did for them (i.e., It's a big deal).
6. The Coffee Girls:
It depends on where you are for this one. I don't know too much about this, but for the sake of comprehensiveness, I'll tell you what I
do know. There are two versions of coffee girls. One is the Mounted Coffee Girl. In this case, you need Korean language skills or support. This is a delivery service mainly available in provincial cities, especially places like Gwangju or Mokpo. These towns are known as gangster towns in Korea so this type of business, along with affordable hostess bars, is very common. You can call a
tabang (an old Korean style cafe) and they will send a girl out on the back of a scooter to deliver coffee to you. You invite her in and she'll drink the coffee with her. You can arrange the terms with her for futher things but I don't know anything about the prices. Basically, they prostitutes on call. The second type is the straight tabang. It's a place where mostly old guys go in to talk to middle-aged women. It must have been the working man's hostess bar of the 60s and 70s. Only oldsters go there now. You won't go there unless it's just for fun and your quite drunk. You also need Korean language skills or support.