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Seoul lives up to its reputation as a 24-hour city with a wealth of bars and pubs, clubs, and live music and performance. Each neighborhood has its own character at night—Itaewon is international, Gangnam brimming with class, and Insadong home to cozy local makgeolli bars.
This street of bars and clubs is the center of nightlife for gay men in Seoul. As same-sex rights are not recognized by the South Korean government, the street is also a safe haven for the community and should not be regarded as a tourist attraction. That being said, gay men and allies accompanied by gay men can feel free to let loose here. Bars like Trance, Trunk, Queen, and Why Not offer cocktails, dancing, drag shows, and more.
While not a conventional bar per se, Jong 3-pocha is a row of pochas (tented bars) outside of Jongno 3-ga Station. It's one of a dozen such streets left in the city and rare in its longtime hospitality of the LGBTQ+ community. The experience varies from pocha to pocha, but expect plastic lawn furniture seating, green bottles of soju, and generous helpings of seafood. The limited space and unfamiliar foods might be intimidating at first, but after a drink or two, you’ll become enamored of the moody, orange lights and the soft-at-heart ladies in charge.
The bar of the Platoon arts complex draws in an arty crowd from around town. The bar makes for a good early evening drink after checking out exhibitions at the complex. They're closed on Sunday.
