Snowing in Seoul

[Dinner]

Korea was a great place to visit. Modern but different yet not so different. Best of all the women were hot and unlike back home a blue eyed fair skinned fellow was something of an exotic novality.

[Alexander's Horse]

and you like to eat dog

[Az]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
I saw a meat market full of caged dogs, hundreds of them - at first I thought it was a pet wholesaler

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
I saw a meat market full of caged dogs, hundreds of them - at first I thought it was a pet wholesaler

Which dog market did you go to? The one in Seongnam just reeks of cooked dog, very interesting smell

There's plenty of dogs in korea besides the eating kind but they're all midget rat-dogs (terriers and worse) without enough meat on them for a good soup

And as far as dog soup goes, it's OK but it's better in a nice spicy stir-fry...

[Alexander's Horse]

It was out near the air base where the Seoul air show was held. We were walking back to the subway station. There were crates full of (yellow) dogs, hundreds of them, and pigs and ducks outside what looked like butcher shops, carcasses on hooks etc.

I didn't tell the kids

I'm not queasy but I'm simply NOT going to eat Rin Tin Tin's cousin.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
It was out near the air base where the Seoul air show was held. We were walking back to the subway station. There were crates full of (yellow) dogs, hundreds of them, and pigs and ducks outside what looked like butcher shops, carcasses on hooks etc.

I didn't tell the kids

I'm not queasy but I'm simply NOT going to eat Rin Tin Tin's cousin.

Ah ok, that's definately Seongnam. It's a stone's throw from where the fiance's family lives.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Korea was a great place to visit. Modern but different yet not so different. Best of all the women were hot and unlike back home a blue eyed fair skinned fellow was something of an exotic novality.

Japan was the same way (I fit the blonde, blue eye, fair skinned description ). They found black men to be even more exotic.

[Alexander's Horse]

I don't find Korean women very attractive on the whole. There's a lot of pretty ones, all girls are pretty in their way, but not many of the hot, stop traffic OMG!!! variety imo.

They're kind of horsey and dumpy like Japanese women. Many of them dress badly and wear too much make up.

That may be harsh but I have high standards Mrs Horse is importing her clothes.

I haven't explored the bar/club scene here, which is huge, but the impression I get is, like Japan, you pay a ton of money for a bit of a squeeze if you're lucky and that's it.

The bars and men's clubs here are pretty forbidding from the outside and many do not allow foreigners. This seems partly to do with "foreigner" issues and also restrictions on the US troops which make any place where there may be "human trafficking" off limits. Of course any white face is assumed to be American around where I live so I can't even a get a legit massage or sauna.

Uncle sam sure knows how to take the fun out of life.

[Bosh]

I don't find Korean women very attractive on the whole. There's a lot of pretty ones, all girls are pretty in their way, but not many of the hot, stop traffic OMG!!! variety imo.

Yup, also the area I'm in is full of plastic surgery, I see people all over the place with frighteningly round eyes.

Mrs Horse is importing her clothes.

If she wants pricey/designer stuff, my bit of Seoul (Apgujeong) is FULL of those kind of stores.

I haven't explored the bar/club scene here, which is huge, but the impression I get is, like Japan, you pay a ton of money for a bit of a squeeze if you're lucky and that's it.

Not at all, you can get drunk off your ass for very cheaply here (hell of a lot cheaper than in Japan thanks to the draft beer) and there's plenty of decent clubs with a $10 and a free drink cover charge. Hongdae (university area) is full of them, fun place. My impression is that getting a one night stand isn't that easy (at least compared to Japan) but it's ridiculously easy for a decent looking whitey to get a phone number with a little effort.

That is unless you go to Korean-style night clubs, which tend to be full of suits and gold-diggers, but I avoid those places like the plague. Bad music, annoying people, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too loud music, people who dance even worse than me and riduclously-expensive alcohol.

The bars and men's clubs here are pretty forbidding from the outside and many do not allow foreigners.

I've been to a loooooooooot of bars (including plenty of Hofs, which are kind of the blue collar bars of Korea) and I've never been denied entry. The only places where they wouldn't allow a foreigner in would be brothels or ridiculously overpriced places that'd charge you $8/bottle for Korean beer, where I wouldn't want to be anyway. Overall, I've had people be nicer to me because I'm white far far far more often than I've had any problems with racism.

also restrictions on the US troops

Yeah, they're banned in a lot of clubs. Got a bad reputation for getting drunk and doing stupid ****. GI restriction is probably about 50% MPs coming down on them and about 50% club owners banning GIs.

Of course any white face is assumed to be American around where I live so I can't even a get a legit massage or sauna.

You tried going to one of those places for a legit massage

Uncle sam sure knows how to take the fun out of life.

Where are you getting this information? It conflicts really really strongly with what I've experienced. Most of what you're talking about would only apply to brothels or quasi-prostitution venues or the most expensive 5-10% of bars/clubs (which are usually quasi-prostitution venues).

[Dinner]

It seemed like there were a lot of whore houses in Souel but most of them were confined to Itiwan or other such "party" places.

I was talking about regular bars and night clubs where whitey could pick up local girls looking for a walk on the exotic side. Something to write in her diary but not to take home to the folks.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Oerdin
It seemed like there were a lot of whore houses in Souel but most of them were confined to Itiwan or other such "party" places.

I was talking about regular bars and night clubs where whitey could pick up local girls looking for a walk on the exotic side. Something to write in her diary but not to take home to the folks.

Well there's Hooker Hill in Itaewon but that place is in deep decline from what I've heard and a lot of the brothels are shutting down (one just got replaced by a very nice used book store ). The main red light districts of Seoul are FAR FAR FAR bigger than the little bit in Itaewon (got on for blocks and blocks apparently) and mostly ban foreigners from what I've heard (because we're all AIDs-infested of course).

Actually the biggest party place in Seoul (hongdae) is mostly hooker-free, which is nice.

I was talking about regular bars and night clubs where whitey could pick up local girls looking for a walk on the exotic side. Something to write in her diary but not to take home to the folks.

Right, you're talking about the western-style places and I think Horsie is talking about the korean-style places and they're like night and day. The western style places are pretty fun.

And don't blame the locals too much for not looking for serious relationships with whitey. Would you want a serious relationship with someone who's probably only going to be around for another year or so?

[Alexander's Horse]

Thanks. Of course I'm not in the pick-up-girls business these days guys of course but I like to keep up with the trends

The main trouble I'm having is picking out legit businesses, like nice bars for a quiet drink from seedy joints where you get slugged - or places where I can get a haircut without the extras - its actually not that easy to tell what a business is when you can't read the script or the visual clues.

[Bosh]

The main trouble I'm having is picking out legit businesses, like nice bars for a quiet drink from seedy joints where you get slugged

There really aren't that many places seedy enough to get you slugged in Korea... As far as bars go my standbys are western places (you might like the Three Alley Pub in Itaewon, good beer selection and pretty cool German owner) and Hofs (korean style draft beer and munchy places, usually pretty cheap).

or places where I can get a haircut without the extras

Just steer clear of the hair cut and massage places (anma) and you should be fine. I always get my haircuts at the Blue Club chain, only 5,000 won I had the same problem when I came to Korea, the quasi-prostitution was all over the place and I didn't know how to avoid it. But there's some good in it, Korean Love Motels are damn cool and generally very nice for the price.

Also learning hanguul (the korean alphabet) isn't very hard and will definately make you life a lot easier.

[Seeker]

LOL from the sounds of it someone was trying to take Horse to a 'Loom Salon'...maybe because of his age and obscene riches?

[Alexander's Horse]

not so far, I'm leading a very conventional "haute bourgeois" life.

I even have a 24/7 police posts outside my street and sometimes get saluted when I drive out because, well, I'm special

They also log movements. Surveillance is a Korean obsession.

Did I mention it snowed again last night?