Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Nightlife in Seoul, Korea

When I heard Copacabana opened behind ex-Club Circle building at Cheongdam-dong, I was expecting this:

So I went to check it out.  Well, I was off by a bit.

As soon as I stepped into the venue, I found myself in a nearly all-white decor with light green lighting, which conjured up an interesting mixture of energizing and relaxing  ambiance.  Then I noticed the furniture, especially the chairs.  Looking half alien-ish and half jellyfish-ish, the chairs and other decorations on the wall, and lighting made me feel like I was a fish that came to chill out at some underwater hideout… I promise you I wasn’t under the influence of anything when I thought this!

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There are 3 clubs that represent clubs around Gangnam Stn area (Subway line #2, or the green line).  The three brothers include NB and Harlem, two of the only hip hop clubs situated south of the Han River. The third club is Club Mass, which describes itself as “premier electronic house music club in Seoul”, and I give them credit for getting the description right more or less… perhaps they included an extra word that does more than justice.

Of course, there are other clubs around the area.  Club Eden for example, is about 15 minutes by walk from Gangnam St. #7, but in my opinion, such a mega club caters to a different type of clientèle or guests altogether.  Mega clubs such as Club Eden, Volume, or Heaven all have entrance cover fee of 30,000 Won while NB, Harlem, and Mass cost around 15,000 to 20,000 Won.  Costs of drinks in those 3 clubs are generally cheaper than aforementioend mega clubs, where a shot of tequila ranges from 5,000 Won to 10,000.  In comparison, a tequila shot costs around 5,000 in Mass/NB/Harlem.  So the pricing difference itself acts as a mechanism to bring in different types of people.  Club Mass, in effect, attracts casual Gangnam clubbing crowd.

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SeoulGrid’s definition of a lounge: a venue that serves alcoholic beverages that has music in the background.  DJ booth is a plus.  The difference between a bar and a lounge is that bars tend to be more crowded or loud with people talking.  Lounge is where there is plenty of space for everyone and where you can go for a nice drink or two.  You wouldn’t typically go to a lounge to get wasted, unless you have cash to burn.

Bars, you’d  take your  college buddies out for drinks of Irish car bombs or Jaggermeister shots for a casual night of fun.  Lounge, you’d take your date; extra dry gin martini for yourself and mojito for your date.  Sure, a glass of Cosmopolitan may cost twice or even thrice how much it would cost in casual bars, but once in a while, it’s an worthwhile investment.

Now what makes a lounge great?  The differentiating factor between an awesome lounge and a lounge is that the former typically is larger in scale, serves better cocktails and of course, plays better music.  Of course once in a while you run into a lounge that feature interior decor and ambiance so unique, modern and stylish that your jaws drop.  There also are ones that are nice private lounges that isn’t open to everyone.

Below is top-pick list of the best lounges in Seoul.  Of course, I am sure there are several others that I do not know of or haven’t had the chance to visit, but if I do, you can count on me to write about it in detail in future!

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One of the latest additions of the club scene in Seoul, Ark Lounge is located one block from Lound lounge or S-Bar in Cheongdam area, right across from Apgujeong Rodeo. It is across from KooBar, if you are more familiar with the location of that venue.

Ark is a smaller private lounge club, which I guess is mainly used for private events. I have not seen them promote their venue in public, which I see as a mechanism to encourage only those familiar with the scene or the neighborhood of Cheongdam to know about the venue (and hopefully come regularly! That’s the most important part for any venue-owner).

I wrote in my previous article that smaller private clubs are emerging at a rapid rate. Maybe this will turn out to be a short-lived trend in a few months or years to come, but Ark lounge is a great example of what a private club should be; suitable for throwing a closed party, for guest numbers in between 50 to a 150. I can see the venue easily accommodating up to 200 guests, but anything more would jam the place.

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Smaller and more private clubs seem to be the trend these days.  While mainstream clubbers prefer to party in megaclubs such as Eden or Heaven, a growing number of partygoers are heading off to smaller clubs… Be it intimacy, privacy, or whatnot, smaller clubs or lounges have advantages megaclubs cannot offer.  Smaller venues considered relevant for this discussion include: Ark Lounge, Boutique Club Function, Chicago, Social Club, Tutti Matti, C4 and etc.  Larger clubs include: Heaven, Le Nuit Blanche, Eden, Volume and etc.  If you are familiar with the nightlife scene in Seoul, disparities in sheer magnitudes of these venues should be apparent to you.

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Sometimes you just need your own space – which is the reason why I was rather hesitant to write this article to begin with.  I sort of wanted to keep this venue out of everyone’s sight, which I am sure the venue owner will strongly disagree with, but I decided to share my hidden gem with everyone on the site.

The venue in question is titled Social Club, in the middle of Shinsa Garosu-gil.  It is located smack in the middle of the main street, right across from 7/11.  I ended up checking out the place when I noticed a sign that I didn’t notice before.  Fairly conspicuous with its minimalist design, the square sign suggested it must be a new trendy place in Shinsa.

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