Let me get straight to the point. I came across 10 Transgender Bars. This blog post will be super useful for you if you are planning to visit Itaewon 이태원 of Korea, or simply interested in how does this "infamous" place looks like. I'm not sure how non-Koreans heard of Itaewon; but in Korea, it is commonly thought of as a non-conservative, rowdy, dirty and an "adult" place. It is even referred to as a Red Light District from time to time.
So,,, how does this place really look like?? Let's just go and see it for myself.
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| Let's take a moment to look at this Transgender Bar. Can't believe this is Korea wtf |
And that's how I ended up going to Itaewon, alone. To make the story short, it was a night on June 27th 2018, the FIFA World Cup day where Korea had an epic match with Germany. I had a Spicy Cold Noodle, called Bibimmyeon, with my grandma. And at about 9 pm, I told her that I will go out and just walk around. Being my kind & amazing grandma, she was worried, as Korea isn't really a very safe country to be out at night, and plus, I was alone.
So, I couldn't come home too late as my grandma would be worried. And I was pretty damn sure that she wouldn't be asleep till she saw me back home. So I had to have a quick visit.
When I reached Itaewon station via Metro, (oh btw, take a look at Korea Seoul Metro Map if you have time. You will cry) it was like 10.15 pm. So I asked one of the officer there what time will be the last train towards Gimpo Airport. And he said it should be around 10.50 pm. Wow really?
So basically I had about 25 minutes (10.20 - 10.45 pm) to explore around Itaewon as much as possible. That was seemingly an impossible thing to do. And true enough, I couldn't visit every parts of Itaewon, but I'm pretty sure I visited all the popular places.
Let's begin.
Once you reach Itaewon and its tap-out area, it would look like this.
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| The toilet which I used and am damn sure at least 500 people uses it per day; it isn't clean |
After going up the escalator, you can either turn left or right.
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| When you turn left |
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| When you turn right |
I turned left and went up the staircase, and the first thing I saw was this luxurious hotel called "Hamilton Hotel". It seems like the signature hotel of Itaewon.
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Then you will see this huge ass "Oriental Massage building" with "Olive Young" across the street. Before you cross, you'll see a small building with a bank and bars on top.
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| That VIEW 33 bar looks awesome... |
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| The only bank I saw |
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| When you turn right after seeing Oriental Massage building; this is the way towards many Transgender bars |
This is how the whole area looks like when you turned "right" after going up the escalator:
When you cross the street towards the Oriental Massage building and continue walking straight:
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| Olive Young is closed LOL |
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| Shops across the street |
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| This is the popular Itaewon police station |
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| PC bang aka LAN |
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| I think this is Big Bang SeungRi's noodle store |
Okay from here, the photos got messed up and I also forgot where exactly I walked into. So pardon me for the lack of explanation.
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| One of gloomy streets |
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| Motel for couples who can't afford Hamilton Hotel 😂 |
I came across this gay sauna called "Hyundae Sauna", which is the only known gay sauna near this area. I won't add any more comments but please do check the Google reviews should you visit this place.
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| Transgender Bar #0 + Gay Sauna |
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| So I went IN to take photo of this, and the moment I entered, there was this sound alert system to notice my presence. So I quickly took this picture and ran off. |
Many many Transgender bars from here.
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| Pig's trotter store aka Jokbal, beside Transgender Bar #1 (놀러와 nol luh wah) |
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| This is just awesome though |
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| Many restaurants |
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| Transgender Bar #2 (Trans) |
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| Transgender Bar #3 (오라 oh-ra) |
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| GROOVE Lounge Pub? sounds like a fun place to visit with friends |
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| Transgender Bar #4 (Kelly) |
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| Wtf is Pearl Club ZION See the Red Blue Green Yellow circles? Those are Billiards. But be careful cos they are likely Korean-style billiards with 3 balls which you guys wouldn't know how to play |
I came across this road called "Usadan-ro 12-gil", and this is the supposed Itaewon Homo Hill aka Gay Hill, if I'm not wrong. And when I turned in to take a look, it was empty.
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| Homo Hill + Transgender Bar #5 (아나따 Ah na dda) |
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| There are supposed to be gays here but it was empty |
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| Transgender Bar #6 (Alice) |
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| Further up the Homo Hill |
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| Miracle Bar - couldn't tell if it is a Transgender Bar so I'll pass |
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| Reached end of the Hill, so I turned back |
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| Transgender Bar #7 (Venus) |
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| Transgender Bar #8 (보라보라 Bora Bora) |
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| Atas looking Apple Bar |
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| You can buy simple drinks here. The only place that felt like Singapore cos the counter uncle was an Indian sir |
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| What a gloomy street.. and what is that VIP shop wth |
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| This building is a total lit!!!!! copyright ⓒ BlackjackBoy |
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| Transgender Bar #9 (it literally states "Transgender Club 2F") |
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| A shop where you can get various Documents + another Motel for couples |
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| Transgender Bar #3 (Oh-ra) beside VAMOS Pharmacy on the right |
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| Apple Bourbon, Absolut, Bombay, Jose Cuervo, Jagermeister or Jameson for 79000￦ and Jack Daniels for 89000￦ Pls see for yourself if they're considered cheap for you or not In Singapore, a bottle like that in a bar costs at least S$120+ |
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| Where am I |
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| Conservative looking Bar found |
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| this is when you turn right again after turning right before the Oriental Massage building That green mart on the right is a Korean Mart called "Core" which sells considerably cheap stuffs |
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| This is the way I will need to take when I'm returning to the metro station |
Many people were actually watching the World Cup in bars, where Korea historically won Germany with 2-0. Pretty sure all these people ended up screaming in joy.
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| These people wouldn't have known that that match would become legendary |
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| Walked into some beef restaurant 황소마을 |
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| Many more beef and pork restaurants |
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| That "Republic Of Korea VS Germany June 27th 23:00" though!! This bar is a lit as well |
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| A sudden outburst of an "Adult Toy" shop |
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| Restaurants |
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| Classic looking "Korean Dining & Bar" |
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| Super-Korean restaurant |
When I was about to return to the metro station, it was 10.48 pm, and it was 10.18 pm when I first took the picture of Hamilton Hotel. So I took exactly 30 minutes. Can you guys believe I went through all those places and even took the pictures in 30 minutes?
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| Exit 4 |
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| Bye Itaewon, it was a fun & lonely 30 minutes of exploration |
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| Going down |
By the way, the same officer whom I asked about the last train earlier? He was standing at the gantry, waiting for me! He anxiously told me that I just made it in time, and that Line 4 has already closed, so I need to take to "Gongdeok" in Line 5, then take towards "Gimpo International Airport" station.
Just a quick explanation, to get to Gimpo Airport station, I would normally take this route:
Itaewon (Line 6) → Samgakji (Line 4/6) → Seoul Station (Line A/1/4) → Gimpo Int'l Airport (Line A/5/9) via Airport Metro
And I think Airport Metro was closed at that time as well, so I had to use the only other way:
Itaewon (Line 6) → Gongdeok (Line A/GJ/5/6) → Gimpo Int'l Airport (Line A/5/9)
COMPLICATED. Please do study the Seoul Metro Map beforehand if you wish to travel to Korea cos trust me, it is not a joke.
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| Way Back Home |
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| Is this Midnight Meat Train |
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| Lonely Train Ride |
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| Finally reached my house station and there was no more train; I really took the last train! |
And this was when Korea just scored 2 goals against Germany, and I heard two girls saying loud in Korean, "OMG Son Heung Min scored again!!!". I actually couldn't check the live scores at that moment as I'm using a Singapore phone, so I had to depend on free WiFi which I didn't have.
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| Drunken Man on Street; this is life |
And as I walked to my house, I heard people screaming in joy in bars and restaurants. It was exactly 12 at midnight. What a day it was.
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| There are quite a number of bars and restaurants near my house; screams were heard in this street |
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| Itaewon is such a popular place in Korea that every adult knows, and there is even a popular webtoon called "Itaewon Class", which I read after the solo Itaewon trip UPDATE 2020: This movie became a Drama |
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| Spicy Cold Noodle (Bibimmyeon) that my grandma made for me☆ Love my grandma♡ P.S. she was awake waiting for me when I reached home😁 |
In just 30 minutes of Itaewon trip, I came across 10 Transgender Bars and many clubs & normal bars.
So, how do you think of Itaewon?
Cheers,
BlackjackBoy