Seoulscapade

The massive interior and “ice crush” at Lotte World.

There are many forms of entertainment here that you can’t find where I came from. I’ve become a regular patron of a number of them. Before you jump to conclusions, Seoul is not Bangkok, got it? However, hostess bars and other establishments do exist. I don’t think I’ll go to one soon; costs are exorbitant. I’ve heard of $30 being paid each time a hostess pours you a drink. Now, that’s not for the drink itself, it’s for the act of pouring it! I’d hate to think what a favour beyond that might cost. So clientele are often businessmen, whose antics are paid for by their company. At least, that’s how it used to be until a recent tax department crack down.

A close up of the . . . er . . fun at Lotte World.

No, my preferred venues are the Chim-Chil-Baang and DVD-baang (”baang” simply means “room”). The first is usually a large multi-floored place with saunas, hot and cold tubs, oven rooms, perhaps an ice room, movie and TV rooms, sleeping rooms, massage rooms, massage chairs, restaurant, ice cream shop and coffee bar, and sometimes entertainment areas and a gym. You pay around $7 upwards and can stay as long as you like. They’re open 24/7.

Some people even use them as a cheap alternative to a hotel. Mostly, couples and families visit them, so I don’t know why they have a reputation for being packed full of adjuma–maybe it was like that in the old days.

Everything is centred around the oven rooms, averaging four, built with various heat releasing materials: jade, wood, charcoal, mud, salt. You just go in and sweat it out, then cool off somewhere before doing it again. It’s great for the muscles and seems to improve the skin. After an average of 4 hours (time goes really quick), I always emerge totally relaxed and refreshed.

Some Pretty Xmas lights

A DVD-room is where you can go and pick a movie to watch in a small, private, darkened room. It costs about the same as movie ticket, which, by the way, is cheap here. There is a couch for two or three, footstools, a wall-to-wall screen and big sound system. The room would be a bit bigger than half an average apartment bedroom. The good thing is that you can lie down, eat, drink, talk—whatever. I much prefer it to a cinema.

Some places have rooms with a window, but people hang their coats over it to ensure privacy. This is because a number of them are not interested in the movie. It is well known that couples have other things to do, which has given DVD baangs a bad name. In fact, I’ve accidentally seen some strange activities through a window when walking past a room. A girl was bobbing up and down, but I could swear she wasn’t watching a musical. Thankfully, attendants clean rooms after each customer has left.

More Xmas lights—another way to recycle plastic bottles.

Another thing gaining popularity is the Game Cafe. This is like a coffee shop where you can hire board and parlour games of every description. I couldn’t see how it would be viable, but that’s probably because I was thinking from the point of view of a small city full of suburbs, like the one I came from. Here, it works. The problem for me is that the games are in Korean, and, besides, there are just so many other things I’d rather be doing, like going to a Chim-Chil-Baang or watching a DVD-baang musical.