Gay Seoul is just one of the world’s the majority of underestimated travel locations, overlooked continually because of its more famous eastern Asian neighbors. Better-known for Samsung and governmental tensions with North Korea, there clearly was a thriving queer scene here concealed inside plain view â you only need to know where to look!
Hectic and entirely enthusiastic about style and technology, the dynamic town of Seoul normally greatly conventional, with peaceful palaces, temples and mountain tracks. Skyscrapers overshadow elegant hanbok (old-fashioned solid wood houses), green places and period routes soften industrial tough borders, and K-Pop can be heard blaring on virtually every road spot.
Seoulites have a lot to be pleased with in their 24/7 town â where you are able to get whatever you want, whenever you want â and their homosexual world let me reveal not an exception. We want the society as a whole might be much more acknowledgingâ¦
South Korea as a whole features a far less accepting view of the LGBTQ society than the majority of the rest of Asia â and while the effectiveness of conservatives and Christian fundamentalists wanes slowly, everything is however maybe not where they should be.
LGBT recognition provides, however, rapidly grown in the past decade, especially in younger years, thanks to international influences, a lot more queer activities, and a higher existence of the neighborhood LGBT neighborhood, including ârather notoriously â star
Hong Seok-cheon
, developing in public areas.
Lots of in Korea feel they have never ever fulfilled a homosexual person, which is a topic seldom talked about, with governmental parties preventing discussion of LGBT liberties and lots of people burying their unique heads in the mud.
As a visitor, you are acutely extremely unlikely to experience any outright discrimination but remember, a lot of queer residents lead two fold schedules and succumb on the overwhelming social force to keep their sex exclusive.
Southern Korea is unquestionably one of the more conservative nations in Asia, but also here, truly officially unlawful become discriminated against based on intimate positioning. However, lots of members of the LGBT society nonetheless face difficulties home and work, which means Gay Korea has a considerable ways to visit however to catch with the even more modern neighbors â Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and progressively Vietnam.
The homosexual scene in Seoul, but is growing annually and has a number of fabulous queer fun to offer. Global party men selecting combined foreign/local fun need to visit the well-known Homo Hill in Itaewon, long involving homosexual lifestyle, but natives are more likely to constant the main area of Jongno.
Similar to skyscrapers, the bustle of Insadong and road barbecues, there is really a hidden-in-plain-sight homosexual world right here with additional pubs, karaoke bones, gay saunas and cafes than we can easily rely.
Not many tourists actually ever enterprise to Gay Jongno but know if you do that inside the taverns and groups, you can expect to continually be welcomed with a smile. Unfortunately, the exact same cannot be stated for Seoul’s homosexual hot rooms and cruise groups world, which positively discriminate against and bar anybody who is non-Korean â no matter how knowledgeable about traditions or even the vocabulary you may be.
Hopefully this changes in the future and just have ideas that can help, however in this respect, the homosexual world in Seoul nevertheless greatly has many expanding up to do.
However, with over 10 million individuals, Seoul is one of the biggest towns on the planet and has now some thing for absolutely everyone. Foods, style, tradition, background and crazy nightlife â this sprawling metropolis provides almost everything!
In this specific article we’re going to include…
Destinations in Seoul
Naturally, becoming gay cannot define which attractions a lot of us would like to see in each area, and a lot of queer travelers only will like to take a look at the top things to see in Seoul in the day!
Discover a whole lot to complete here â but we found our favorite recollections happened to be roaming through obtaining missing on back-streets, seeing all the strange cafes, hitting-up Lotte business and roaming through design studios!
One of the better ideas we are able to give you for exploring Gay Seoul should pre-order a vacation SIM credit for easy airport pickup and activation when you appear so you will likely not pay a king’s ransom in intercontinental roaming charges.
Get restaurants suggestion and reservations regarding the fly, public transport guidelines up to the minute, club opening hours, and, when it is the thing â access to homosexual hook-up apps for more information about the local scene.
Smartphone data is quickly, cheap and available all over the place in Asia, so it’s no surprise most people elect to stay linked and get off of the beaten track (without actually ever fretting about getting missing). So why hold off?
Pre-order the greatest neighborhood SIM credit now to own it available whenever you appear.
Nevertheless â it can help for some notion of what is happening, very here are the finest activities to do in Seoul, per united states!
Activities to do in Seoul
Conventional Korean Bathhouse
Perhaps not inside gay spa? Uncover a distinctive and family-friendly area of the Korean society in a wonderfully adorned and standard Korean-style bathhouse. Unwind from a tense day’s sightseeing â or evening or partying â in a normal oak wood sauna, and savor entry to all saunas and steam rooms that include different sodium and nutrients remedies for your epidermis.
For much more luxury, have you thought to treat yourself to a massage therapy, facials or human anatomy scrubs? Although the bathhouse is actually open 24/7, make sure you reserve in advance any special treatment plans in order to avoid getting left behind.
Cheonggyecheon
A landmark of new urban repair and ecological vitality, this playground area includes a revived / âday-lighted’ stream with walkways, bridges & greenery.
Myeong-dong
A varied purchasing & informal international dinner location, the active Myeong-dong is filled with worldwide style brands, luxury malls, and homegrown cosmetics shops.
Janet’s Cooking Studio
Get hold of more than just photographs using this wonderfully distinctive marketplace concert tour and old-fashioned Korean cooking class with Janet, a Korean cook been trained in nyc.
This experience just isn’t about merely ticking down visitor must-dos, but alternatively explores the real Korea through Janet’s beautiful food obsession â which stands out through whether this woman is launching one to vendors in one of Seoul’s couple of continuing to be neighborhood street markets or smiling brightly while exposing for your requirements how to create an ideal Bulgogi Lettuce Wrap back the woman expert cooking area.
Janet provides actually worked with the UN to advertise Korean food and culture â you merely understand she is the real thing! You will leave Seoul having the ability to identify bizarre materials in a Korean marketplace and make some delicious traditional meals â all the while learning about the unique reputation of Korea and taking pleasure in Janet’s comfortable individuality.
A form and enjoying heart who’s undoubtedly passionate about exactly what she does, we cannot advise Janet’s preparing Studio very adequate.
Fireman Show
A remarkable screen of acrobatics & dancing, this much-acclaimed show makes use of an assortment of overall performance designs expressing the stresses of being a fireman. Weird, we realize, but you’ll realise why when you find yourself there.
Notice impressive acrobatic lifts and flips, and read about the significance of fire safety and awareness â being a non-verbal show, its well-suited for many vocabulary speakers. Feel the affirmative power produced of the melodramatic yet funny artists that portray lively figures.
Bukchon Hanok Village
A lovely history town with a happy 600-year history going back with the 14th millennium. Fill the digital camera with selfies featuring thin streets lined with restored old-fashioned houses.
Appreciation Museum
a quirky art gallery of entertaining sensual artwork, this can be Seoul’s very first therefore much just art gallery for adults â but we are yes other people tend to be excitedly being planned. See sensory tales of passion and desire unfold right before your sight, get the opportunity to take to your own hand at pole dancing â when you yourself haven’t currently â and find out the different minutes of newlyweds’ life through interactive artworks.
You’ll find six-themed galleries, each with an unusual interest to help you get a hold of â and trust united states, gay, direct, or unicorn â¦You won’t ever have seen anything such as this prior to!
Lotte Community
No day at Seoul might be comprehensive without a visit to Korea’s leading motif park, Lotte globe! Lotte World passes are interestingly reduced just for international site visitors, very you should not miss the chance to see this fun two-part motif playground with outside excitement flights and a âMagic Island’ castle location.
Throughout colder months, take a coat or enjoy the adrenaline-charged interior attractions inside âAdventure’ place, plus sign up for the various parades and programs. Should you want to perform even more, discover a Lotte business + Aquarium combo violation to also incorporates a trip to everyone’s largest sea environment container in the Lotte industry Aquarium, featuring over 650 marine types across 13 unique areas.
Jongmyo
A UNESCO globe Heritage web site and shrine to Joseon dynasty leaders & queens. Ritual ceremonies nonetheless occur during this Confucian shrine dedicated to Joseon dynasty royals. Nowadays Jongmyo is the best escape from the metropolitan hubbub and an intriguing exploring Old Seoul.
Café Onion
Serving post-industrial decay realness, this Uber-hip concept cafe in Seongdong-gu is simply the way we would think about Chornobyl to-be if Brooklyn hipsters moved in. Serving cool baked projects and forte coffee mixes, this place will probably be worth the trip out to learn â only if to comprehend all of your current monochromatic Instagram goals.
They even now have an even more easily labeled as Café Onion Anguk in Jongno-gu, except in a switched standard building/temple, which is equally impressive.
Seoul’s Palaces, Temples & Markets
Invest everyday sightseeing and ticking off Seoul’s most well known internet sites. The President’s pad, Blue home (or Cheongwadae), the switching associated with guards during the dazzling Gyeongbokgung residence and Changdeok Palace and visiting the nationwide Folk Museum to learn more about Korea’s rich background from dynasties up to the present-day.
In addition to not be skipped is the relaxing Jogyesa Buddhist Temple and bargain-hunting from the popular Namdaemun industries.
Korea Rail Pass (KR PASS
)
Find South Korea beyond Seoul by taking a trip on over 80 paths and over 600 channels making use of the Korea Rail Pass. Get endless rides on most Korail trains for 3 or 5 straight days or any versatile 2 and 4 times with this specific rebate which limited for overseas nationals.
Meerkat & buddies
An oh-so-Seoul âcafe’ which serves no food and sole bottled products buts enables you to get up near and private with semi-tame meerkats, raccoons, wallabies, kitties, foxes and a lot more. With places in Hongdae and Myeongdong, it really is touristy and odd, and that’s why our company is preoccupied!
Discover Seoul Pass
Get easy access to a mixture of 35 leading Seoul tourist attractions aided by the find Seoul Pass. Select from 24/48/72 several hours pass so you can enjoy discounts and easily personalize the Seoul travel with this flexible entry ticket and transfer credit from the Seoul Tourism company, solely offered to international visitors.
ZenKimchi Korean Foods Tours
If you find yourself like all of us and making plans for your visit to Korea your cooking alone, then you’ll definitely need steer clear of the touristy areas/ bad dining encounters and choose an entirely immersive experience to really make the the majority of Seoul’s meals world.
Fortunately, Joe, that has been operating
Korea’s longest-running meals blog, ZenKimchi,
for over 15 years, has created an uniquely crafted trip to greatly help travelers discover actual Korean eating. Become clear, from this, we indicate he gets no kickbacks through the restaurants and goes because he is genuinely fanatical in regards to the food they provide, unlike less scrupulous workersâ¦
We decided on their Korean barbeque tour along with a memorable evening learning Korean dining etiquette, savoring ideal charcoal grilled pork your existence, admiring satisfying conversations with various individuals from all over the world â and having some tipsy over a Korean alcohol example in a secret pub!
Additionally it is excellent for some pre-drinking before heading out to Homo Hill, or for solo people whom might normally find it hard to encounter Korean BBQ in this way.
You will find many trips on offer, but each one is run by enthusiastic professionals who have your needs in mind. Thus, should you want to move out there to check out Seoul as a nearby â whilst having a ridiculous level of fun, ZenKimchi Korean Food Tours has one thing for you personally.
Gay Annual Events In Seoul
Korea Queer Film Festival (KQFF)
A yearly occasion in July devoted specifically to evaluating homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer flicks. KQFF has-been held yearly since 2001 using reported goal of promoting variety in Korean society while increasing LGBT person legal rights and acceptance.
Probably one of the most vital Asian forums of international LGBT film/video, and in case the dates correspond if a means to discover a more advanced amount of gay life in Seoul.
IM Seoul
Korea’s biggest routine party brand name, IM established in 2015 features quickly come to be the most well-known routine events across Asia. Today, I AM will continue to encourage hundreds of gay travelers from across Asia and world to Gay Seoul.
I’M carries 3 days of nightclub parties, pool parties and after-parties full of music and also the hottest men. You could expect an unforgettable experience with a killer DJ line-up throughout worldwide and extremely go-go boys on stage. Generally used in August, I WILL BE is completely really worth planning a trip about.
Korea Queer Festival Celebration | Pride Parade
Korea’s largest LGBT event, this yearly modern-day Korean festival, whose motif is actually LGBT rights, has its own highlights, such as a pleasure procession, film festival activities, art, conversations and nightclub party events.
The event lasts for a week or two and often happen in belated May to early Summer. The procession that has been prohibited in 2015 attracted intercontinental awareness of the function, with most of it being important associated with the progress made with regards to LGBT liberties in Southern Korea.
Once more occurring, discover now some support from more compact Korean political events and celebs, but major parties additionally the government in particular take a neutral stance. Unlike numerous
various other Pride celebrations worldwide
, the Seoul Pride Prade earnestly limits the ability of attendees to get photos or movies and asks photo-takers to blur players’ faces before publishing images using the internet.
This is accomplished to cut back the possibility of accidental outings of members just who nevertheless face considerable discrimination in Korean community. Whilst the organizers have actually big intentions to grow the big event on the most significant in Asia, Seoul’s Queer customs Festival shows in lots of ways, South Korea is in the rock era.
120,000 LGBT folks honestly took part in 2018 â the most significant ever â but 200,000 signatures had been also gathered to cease the Parade, and 1000s of anti-LGBT protestors proved.
Nonetheless, it really is incredible to see NGOs and brand names obtaining on board since event develops. In a nation in which modesty around outsiders is vital and sexual inclination is certainly not one thing to end up being flaunted, we can just hope enhanced exposure as time goes by helps brand new years of South Koreans feel safe sufficient to be exactly who they are.
Gay-Friendly and Gay Hotels in Seoul
Although Korea and Seoul might-be much less politically progressive and gay-friendly than, state,
Bangkok
,
Tokyo
or
Taipei
, it is still safe to presume queer travelers have no issues checking practically any hotel in Seoul. Unfortunately, but there are not any entirely gay accommodations in Seoul to check on into.
Seoul is a major international mega-city with a lack of room, so space dimensions are smaller than almost everywhere more on earth â but as enough homosexual guys understand, it isn’t really about dimensions, but how you utilize it! The audience is speaing frankly about style, functionality and opinions, darling!
That being said, everybody wants to end up being surrounded by people who have typical interests, and as such, there are many popular gay-friendly resorts in Seoul which can be hot places for homosexual tourists to keep â either for their place or their unique layout and inclusive vibes.
Resorts near Homo Hill, the foreigner-friendly queer enclave in Itaewon, are really favored by gay tourists â specifically people just who merely communicate English but Jongno from inside the Nagwon-dong community, is clearly the gayest area of Seoul, though popular with natives than website visitors.
You could also think about residing in the tourist-popular Myeongdong / Seoul Central, often considered to be the heart of Seoul or even in the world-famous Gangnam area, a.k.a the âBeverly Hills of Seoul.’
Listed here hotels in Gay Seoul have all had a glowing advice from homosexual tourists in the past, however,
you will find countless other hotels in Seoul
if these are typically nearly what you are actually shopping for.
Whether need an enjoyable and social hostel, a cheap location to freeze after per night of partying or an ultra-chic fashion designer choice to sip cocktails and encircle your self with fantastic folks â Gay Seoul has actually anything for all!
Gay-friendly Hotels in Itaewon
Hamilton Resort ââââ
A landmark in Seoul’s Itaewon, this relaxed hotel in a moderate redbrick building is just a minute’s stroll from the subway section with unfussy areas, cost-free Wi-Fi and beneficial team.
You almost never must leave with eight various food options, including a shiny Italian restaurant, 2 LGBT-friendly clubs, an outdoor rooftop swimming pool â popular with peacocking muscle gays-, a 24-hour sauna, a gym, as well as a tiny mall.
Lately renovated from top-to-bottom but still just a short stumble from Homo Hill, HOMPA by Le Queen and Club HIM.
IP Boutique Resort ââââ
Situated in Seoul’s cosmopolitan purchasing and entertainment district, Itaewon, internet protocol address Boutique Hotel, provides an innovative new way of life knowledge for gay friends. Featuring exemplary layout and magnificent atmosphere, the hotel offers 133 guestrooms, a café cafe, and limitless using their fully equipped fitness area.
Outstanding worth, IP Boutique Hotel is a small walk to the definitely Homme homosexual club and Club HIM by Pulse, adding to its homosexual appeal.
Resort ITW âââ
(briefly or completely shut. Knowing some thing, kindly advise an edit.)
A clear, contemporary, appealing resort in Itaewon with rates of the same quality or a lot better than other places in Seoul. We liked it was within convenient taking walks range of gay restaurants, bars, and shops that produce Itaewon these types of a pulsating and attractive section of Seoul. Resort ITAW is actually, however, up a steep mountain and situated on a narrow one-way street which will be frustrating after every night of consuming.
Sp@Itaewon Guesthouse âââ
(Temporarily or completely closed. Once you learn one thing, please suggest an edit.)
The most perfect hangout for social tourist with exclusive spaces, inexpensive dorms, and normal BBQ
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