I have to back track on some of my travel posts because I started this blog after the actual traveling. December 2011 was my first solo international travel. I had met this girl at work
Tip: (working in a field where you can meet women is quite rewarding. It’s a shortcut from having to go out to a bar, or in the club, or bookstore, etc to run game on women in order to get potential prospects. Good examples of work to meet women are the bookstore, daycare center, hotel industry, English teacher or a tutor of language, and a doorman. First, it gives you an excuse to approach them. For instance if your in customer service, you can go “do you need help?” and using the as an opener you can lead the conversation to things you both can talk about and make a connection and set the interest and attraction in her. Women are more receptive when she has an excuse to talk to you since your only doing your job by offering to help her right? Her defenses are relaxed since she has some sort of trust that you are not some random stranger. Then that can lead to asking for an email or phone number. Just be careful who you make a move on women while at work because you have to trust that she will keep her mouth shut. After all, you are at work.)
My personal Experience in Seoul: Let’s call this girl Jwoo (name has been changed for privacy reasons). She was from Seoul, South Korea. I made a move on her as soon as I saw her at my job and from there we talked for over two hours. Eventually we decided to meet to grab something to eat when I got off my shift. We met up later and had something to eat and a really amazing conversation that didn’t lose its momentum from before. We traded emails and I moved in for a quick but meaningful kiss to end it off. I didn’t think of it much of it at the time but eventually this would set in motion of a few months of intense deep emails and msn chats and next thing I know I’m flying to Seoul to see her. This all happened so spontaneous and everything seemed to fall in magically. Pretty soon I was having a great time in a foreign city, with plenty of drinking, eating, conversations and a whole a lot of fucking.
My analysis of the people:
Seoul is a very social city, or maybe because its expected of in Korean society for one to have many friends and a large social circle. Sitting in coffee shops during the day (while waiting for Jwoo to get off work) I noticed that I was practically the only one sitting by myself. Everyone else was at least with one person. In my own analysis, Korean society looks down on those who are loners, by themselves or without a social circle. They will be seen as outcasts. Here in the western world we have plenty of people in coffee shops sitting by themselves and its well accepted if your by yourself in public, but in Seoul I rarely saw this. Koreans feel the pressure of being excepted and being part of a social circle even if it means the loss of one's self identity.
Hooking up with a Korean girl for a fling may prove to be a challenge since they expect the whole dating process or being in a relationship. You may have to break into a social circle before meeting any women because hitting on women isn't all that easy in Seoul during the day because their barely ever alone. I say out of ten, at least five Korean girls will speak conversational English. After all, English is a second language in Seoul.
Knowing someone that can invite you to a party makes a huge difference. Jwoo invited me to a wine party in the Gangnam province hosted in a skyscraper and the view was simply amazing. I had a few drinks and before I know it I'm getting very social to the females at the party. One cute and young Korean girl with glasses (never did remember her name) begins to show a lot of interest in me and we talk for quite some time. She knew I was American and she spoke good English and the conversation was going well and attraction was being built. I felt that if I wanted to I could have asked her to go for a walk and possibly get physical with her the same night or get her number for a date on another day. Unfortunately I was cock blocked by Jwoo, who came back to the lounge and saw me talking to her. The girl knew I was with Jwoo and casually backed off. Jwoo didn't show jealousy but I saw it in her eyes that she knew that the other girl and I were bonding. I later confessed to Jwoo that I was quite confident that I would have fucked that girl if I wanted to. Being a foreigner from the USA certainly helps because another time during my second visit to Seoul, I simply just asked a young attractive Korean girl on directions to my hotel in the Gangnam province and after she learned that I was American she offers to show me around the next day, which I accepted. Best ways for a easy hookup is to go to one of the nightclubs in Itaewon where the girls drink and party and there with the possible intentions to hook up for the night even with a foreigner.
Seoul Guide and Recommendations
A must visit will be the university town of Hongdae, where the whole town is virtually a haven for Hongkik University, an art and music college. There are pubs, bars, restaurants, street food all over and they are opened to the crack of dawn. Jwoo and I were hanging out in a bar having drinks passed the closing time but they let us stay until we left then they closed shop. Not once did they rush us or give us the look. That’s one thing I like about Seoul is that they have excellent service at bars and restaurants.
Hongkik has a liberal feel where everyone is artistic and free to be themselves as compared to the rest of corporate Seoul. The population is young, students from the nearby university. Musicians play their guitars on the street and sing, there are late night Korean rock shows going on at local college bars in any one of the venues you choose. Note that most of these venues are quite young so if your passed the college days I still recommend you to still go and relive those young days. It’s a lot of fun!
Little Terrace was an excellent Italian restaurant with delicious food and wine. Service is excellent, prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is dimly lit with candles, romantic and cozy. They have a terrace where you can sit out and dine (non smoking area) smokers would have to sit inside. We spent hours in there.
Hint: You don’t have to tip in Seoul, the servers trips are already included in the salary.
Street food in Hongdae is plentiful and quite tasty. I would recommend a very famous Tok Bok Gui (rice rolls in spicy sweet sauce) and the famous soup in a street stand in the heart of the town.
Itaewon is another neighborhood crawling with pubs, bars and nightclubs. It has a reputation amongst Koreans to be more of a ghetto because of the foreigners that have settled there and of course because of the US military base that is stationed there. My impression of Itaewon that it was nice and safe as almost of S. Korea is. Of course, wherever you have US military men somewhere these dicks are going to act like they own the place causing trouble in bars because S. Korean laws do not apply to them. Personally I can't stand US soldiers, when I see those assholes I don't feel a sense of pride even though I'm American. A great bar in Itaewon is Geckos Terrace restaurant and bar.
Itaewon is also well known for its Red Light District. There is a spot called Hooker Hill (I tried to find it but couldn't) where prostitutes literally sit in booths and mama-sans try to lure men wandering the streets for business. If you like that kind of stuff then you can try it (note, prostitution in Seoul is illegal but tolerated) even though the prostitutes from Hooker Hill are considered the lowest of the low. If you have more cash to burn I would recommend the business district in Gangnam (no not that retarded music video)where the the girls there are younger, higher quality, clean and service is a lot better. I will detail my own personal experience I had there and directions and where to go in another blog entry.
Hotels and accommodations:
During my first visit to Seoul in which I spent about 2 weeks, I stayed at the Ibis Hotel for about four nights and the rest of the time I stayed at Jwoo's place. Ibis hotel is certainly not cheap, four nights cost me about $500 in US dollars but the service is exceptional, the rooms are clean and comfortable, fucking Jwoo and ending it with a creampie there every night certainly helped enhance the experience and the location is the best they have to offer. Its located right in the heart of the downtown tourist and shopping district of Myeongdong. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, shopping and its a 10 minute walk away from the subway.
There are plenty of small hotels in the Gangnam business district, but just be aware that there are a lot of love hotels in that area. Nonetheless the rooms are still clean and the service is still good. The prices are cheaper than Myeondgong but the location is more of a business area.
