Greetings TAG world,
Just signed up and this is my first post. I've been a regular TAG reader since a fellow Brit told me about the site one night in Sleeping Beauty (happening bar in Shibuya), but haven't ever had much to contribute; p4p isn't my thing at all, and while I find the nampa threads interesting I don't consider myself a nampa artist. I visit happening bars from time to time, and I recently went to a swingers club in Seoul so I thought it might be of interest to others on here.
The place is called Club Desire, and it's located fairly close (20 minute walk or short taxi ride) to Itaewon station (for those not familiar, Itaewon is the 'Roppongi of Seoul', insofar as such a thing exists). There are a few swingers clubs in Seoul, but this is the biggest and it was the only one I could find the contact info for. I can't even remember where I found it exactly (didn't bookmark it), but I managed to get an email address (off some swingers directory I think, via Google) and surprisingly enough it was a legit email.
So I emailed them and exchanged a few messages with what seemed like the manager or owner, and got the lowdown on their rules. Essentially, it's somewhere between being a couple kissa and a happening bar; more like a couple kissa really, but with a few single males also being allowed to enter and observe the goings on (but strictly not to play or even try to interact without being invited to do so). In order to go you have to make an advance reservation by email (or phone, I would imagine), stating whether you're a couple or a single. I had no issues making a reservation as a non-Korean speaking foreigner, and no ID was requested to make the reservation or upon entry to the club. They explained the charge system - you buy a drink set, which includes the entry fee and snacks, with the price being determined by your choice of alcohol. Cheapest is a Heineken set at about 18,000 JPY equivalent, for 8 bottles. They also have other beers, wine, whisky, and champagne sets, plus a few others; I think the champagne set was as much as 50,000 yen or thereabouts. Finally they gave me directions to find the place, and so that evening along I went.
Had a bit of trouble finding the entrance but got there eventually; bit like Bliss Out, it's downstairs and from the street it just looks like nothing's there, you press the buzzer and they confirm your reservation then buzz you in, take payment for whichever drink set you order, and set up your table while you put your shit in a locker (no phones in the club for obvious reasons). The food is a fair sized platter of snacks, fruit, etc, and I went for a Guinness set; first 4 bottles were set up in an ice bucket, and eventually replaced when done.
The place is pretty nice, definitely nicer than the likes of Sleeping Beauty, 9259 etc, more like Retreat but nicer than that too. It's quite big, similar size to one of the floors at Sleeping Beauty perhaps, and it's divided up (by iron railings and lace curtains, allowing you to see what's going on across the space) into a bunch of alcoves and booths where the couples have their tables; there are couple of play rooms, very much like the ones in happening bars, with padded floors & walls, the entrances just being lace curtains.
Oh yeah, big difference - you don't take your shoes off at the entrance to the club. Shoes are worn inside, like in a regular bar, but then taken off to enter the play rooms.
For the single guys, you're only allowed at the designated seats at the counter in the corner, the bar area near the entrance, the peep spaces next to (and under) the play rooms, and the toilets (I got told off for lingering too long in the couples area on my way to take a piss - I was just checking out the set up a bit more closely, but the staff (very politely) asked me to move on through)
So that's the set up; pretty nice decor, I totally forget what the music was, pretty expensive entry but you get a fair bit of booze and food.
As for my actual night... well, it was cool to go and check the place out, but as a single guy the chances of getting any action in there I would say are pretty minimal compared to happening bars in Japan. After I entered, the staff showed to my seat at the counter with the other single guys, and then I basically sat there next to the other single dudes, drinking my Guinness and eating cheese and grapes. None of these guys were talking to each other, we all just sat and drank and watched all these couples talking to each other, and not a lot happening for ages; I got there about 1am, and I don't think there was any action until about 3 (and they closed at 4:30, I think). So it was boring as fuck to start with, but then finally a few couples started playing - some just played with their respective partners while others swapped. There wasn't any creative group stuff going on, just swapping and screwing, and the single guys would all run over to the peep holes for a close up every time someone went in the play room. Not really my thing, but I went and crawled in one at one point, and realised the guy next to me was jacking off so left him to it; you can see through the curtain anyway, so I was good sat at the bar watching from there!
The staff were all really polite and professional, they didn't really get involved with getting people talking or partying (like they do at Japanese happening bars), but then at the end one of them came over and told me the two girls over there (pointing to a table) wanted me to go over. Finally, I thought, the night isn't a dud after all! But actually it still was, they just wanted to chat as their dates weren't up for inviting me to play with them all. Fair enough, but disappointing. So I sat and chatted with them for a bit, this one chick spoke really good English and explained a bit more about the scene in Seoul, that this was the biggest place but they're all more or less the same, and she said I'd come on a bad night because there was usually a bit more action going on, and also she said a few of the older people in there that night weren't totally happy about a foreigner in the club. That was shitty to hear, because I hadn't picked up on any bad vibes at all. She also said she'd like to fuck my brains out, but her date wasn't into sharing without swapping; when he went to the toilet she grabbed me and quickly ran over to the lockers to put my Kakao ID (Kakao is Korean Line) in her phone and said she wanted to meet another night. That never did happen though, we exchanged a few messages but never sorted anything out.
So anyway, that was pretty much that. I paid 20,000 yen to drink 8 bottles of Guinness and eat a bunch of crackers and melon slices, watch a bunch of people have sex, and then chat to that chick and her friend at the end. Worth it? Not really, but I'm glad I went just to check out what the scene is like there. I wouldn't go again to Club Desire (or the other Seoul clubs) as a single guy, but I absolutely definitely do want to go again with a date - plenty of opportunities for swapping with a bunch of couples, and there were some very nice looking (surgically enhanced!) ladies in there that night. The whole thing is much more accessible and open to casual visitors than in Japan, and though it sucked to hear that some of the customers in there didn't like foreigners coming in, the club itself was 100% gaijin friendly - no issues at all with not speaking the language, no ID checks, staff all spoke good English - and I reckon if you went there as a couple including a Japanese lass, every single fucking dude in there would be wanting to swap and you'd get a ton of action! (a lot of Korean guys seem to have a thing about getting with a Japanese girl - from watching too much porn, no doubt)
Shit, long post! I'll sign off here... hope it's of interest to those TAGers out there who are into happening bars, and if you're heading to Korea and want to check it out you can PM me for the contact email to make the reservation.
Just signed up and this is my first post. I've been a regular TAG reader since a fellow Brit told me about the site one night in Sleeping Beauty (happening bar in Shibuya), but haven't ever had much to contribute; p4p isn't my thing at all, and while I find the nampa threads interesting I don't consider myself a nampa artist. I visit happening bars from time to time, and I recently went to a swingers club in Seoul so I thought it might be of interest to others on here.
The place is called Club Desire, and it's located fairly close (20 minute walk or short taxi ride) to Itaewon station (for those not familiar, Itaewon is the 'Roppongi of Seoul', insofar as such a thing exists). There are a few swingers clubs in Seoul, but this is the biggest and it was the only one I could find the contact info for. I can't even remember where I found it exactly (didn't bookmark it), but I managed to get an email address (off some swingers directory I think, via Google) and surprisingly enough it was a legit email.
So I emailed them and exchanged a few messages with what seemed like the manager or owner, and got the lowdown on their rules. Essentially, it's somewhere between being a couple kissa and a happening bar; more like a couple kissa really, but with a few single males also being allowed to enter and observe the goings on (but strictly not to play or even try to interact without being invited to do so). In order to go you have to make an advance reservation by email (or phone, I would imagine), stating whether you're a couple or a single. I had no issues making a reservation as a non-Korean speaking foreigner, and no ID was requested to make the reservation or upon entry to the club. They explained the charge system - you buy a drink set, which includes the entry fee and snacks, with the price being determined by your choice of alcohol. Cheapest is a Heineken set at about 18,000 JPY equivalent, for 8 bottles. They also have other beers, wine, whisky, and champagne sets, plus a few others; I think the champagne set was as much as 50,000 yen or thereabouts. Finally they gave me directions to find the place, and so that evening along I went.
Had a bit of trouble finding the entrance but got there eventually; bit like Bliss Out, it's downstairs and from the street it just looks like nothing's there, you press the buzzer and they confirm your reservation then buzz you in, take payment for whichever drink set you order, and set up your table while you put your shit in a locker (no phones in the club for obvious reasons). The food is a fair sized platter of snacks, fruit, etc, and I went for a Guinness set; first 4 bottles were set up in an ice bucket, and eventually replaced when done.
The place is pretty nice, definitely nicer than the likes of Sleeping Beauty, 9259 etc, more like Retreat but nicer than that too. It's quite big, similar size to one of the floors at Sleeping Beauty perhaps, and it's divided up (by iron railings and lace curtains, allowing you to see what's going on across the space) into a bunch of alcoves and booths where the couples have their tables; there are couple of play rooms, very much like the ones in happening bars, with padded floors & walls, the entrances just being lace curtains.
Oh yeah, big difference - you don't take your shoes off at the entrance to the club. Shoes are worn inside, like in a regular bar, but then taken off to enter the play rooms.
For the single guys, you're only allowed at the designated seats at the counter in the corner, the bar area near the entrance, the peep spaces next to (and under) the play rooms, and the toilets (I got told off for lingering too long in the couples area on my way to take a piss - I was just checking out the set up a bit more closely, but the staff (very politely) asked me to move on through)
So that's the set up; pretty nice decor, I totally forget what the music was, pretty expensive entry but you get a fair bit of booze and food.
As for my actual night... well, it was cool to go and check the place out, but as a single guy the chances of getting any action in there I would say are pretty minimal compared to happening bars in Japan. After I entered, the staff showed to my seat at the counter with the other single guys, and then I basically sat there next to the other single dudes, drinking my Guinness and eating cheese and grapes. None of these guys were talking to each other, we all just sat and drank and watched all these couples talking to each other, and not a lot happening for ages; I got there about 1am, and I don't think there was any action until about 3 (and they closed at 4:30, I think). So it was boring as fuck to start with, but then finally a few couples started playing - some just played with their respective partners while others swapped. There wasn't any creative group stuff going on, just swapping and screwing, and the single guys would all run over to the peep holes for a close up every time someone went in the play room. Not really my thing, but I went and crawled in one at one point, and realised the guy next to me was jacking off so left him to it; you can see through the curtain anyway, so I was good sat at the bar watching from there!
The staff were all really polite and professional, they didn't really get involved with getting people talking or partying (like they do at Japanese happening bars), but then at the end one of them came over and told me the two girls over there (pointing to a table) wanted me to go over. Finally, I thought, the night isn't a dud after all! But actually it still was, they just wanted to chat as their dates weren't up for inviting me to play with them all. Fair enough, but disappointing. So I sat and chatted with them for a bit, this one chick spoke really good English and explained a bit more about the scene in Seoul, that this was the biggest place but they're all more or less the same, and she said I'd come on a bad night because there was usually a bit more action going on, and also she said a few of the older people in there that night weren't totally happy about a foreigner in the club. That was shitty to hear, because I hadn't picked up on any bad vibes at all. She also said she'd like to fuck my brains out, but her date wasn't into sharing without swapping; when he went to the toilet she grabbed me and quickly ran over to the lockers to put my Kakao ID (Kakao is Korean Line) in her phone and said she wanted to meet another night. That never did happen though, we exchanged a few messages but never sorted anything out.
So anyway, that was pretty much that. I paid 20,000 yen to drink 8 bottles of Guinness and eat a bunch of crackers and melon slices, watch a bunch of people have sex, and then chat to that chick and her friend at the end. Worth it? Not really, but I'm glad I went just to check out what the scene is like there. I wouldn't go again to Club Desire (or the other Seoul clubs) as a single guy, but I absolutely definitely do want to go again with a date - plenty of opportunities for swapping with a bunch of couples, and there were some very nice looking (surgically enhanced!) ladies in there that night. The whole thing is much more accessible and open to casual visitors than in Japan, and though it sucked to hear that some of the customers in there didn't like foreigners coming in, the club itself was 100% gaijin friendly - no issues at all with not speaking the language, no ID checks, staff all spoke good English - and I reckon if you went there as a couple including a Japanese lass, every single fucking dude in there would be wanting to swap and you'd get a ton of action! (a lot of Korean guys seem to have a thing about getting with a Japanese girl - from watching too much porn, no doubt)
Shit, long post! I'll sign off here... hope it's of interest to those TAGers out there who are into happening bars, and if you're heading to Korea and want to check it out you can PM me for the contact email to make the reservation.
