Weird and wonderful Seoul~

August 21, 2018 11:13 AM

I’ll be traveling to Seoul, SK in three days to visit my brother and attend his PhD graduation (yay!). There will be plenty of sight-seeing of tourist spots with family, but will want some solo time to do my own thing. What are some fun things that are on the weirder side, or queer-friendly?

I will be in Seoul for about a week. All of my transportation and logistical concerns are taken care of. Things I’m interested in:
- cafes or cozy spots for hanging out alone
- nice spots for walking
- lesbian/queer bars (I’m aware of Labrys)
- interesting or unusual shops
- outdoor markets
- drag/burlesque/live shows
- sea creatures
- cafes that have animals (I’ve heard there’s a raccoon cafe??)

Anything else that you found neat! Thanks in advance for your suggestions!!

posted by switcheroo to Travel & Transportation around Seoul, South Korea (2 answers total)

I don't know anything about LGBT places but it sounds you'll love strolling around Samcheong-dong and Hapjeong. Tons of cafes and super cute places to see. Neighborhoods like Insadong, Hongdae, Myeongdong are also cool but there are more people and it can feel overwhelming if you don't like crowds. Cheonggyecheon is fantastic.

If you want to eat sea creatures you could go to Noryanjin Fish Market.

I don't really recommend animal cafes...a lot of places really don't treat the animals that well. I have heard of a sheep cafe where the owner supposedly does a really good job of taking care of the sheep and letting them go back to the farm part of the year but I recommend doing lots of research if animal welfare is important to you.
posted by bluelight at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

I'm not entirely sure when you're arriving, but there's a burlesque show happening in Itaewon this Saturday. Here are the details
White Lies Burlesque Review
I'm not super up on queer places since I am neither queer nor do I live in Seoul. But I've always found the women at the feminist cafe Doing (Cheongdam station exit 10) to be warm and welcoming. And there's a lovely, LGBTQ friendly/sex positive sex shop called Piooda right at the entrance to Haebangchon (near Itaewon/Noksapyeong Station)

If you're into outdoor markets, you're spoiled for choice. Of course there's Namdaemun which is the sprawling. And everyone recommends the food at Gwangjang market, but if you're interested in something slightly different, check out Gyeongdong Market outside of Jegi-Dong station. It's famous for it's oriental medicine market. I could have easily spent an hour or more wandering around the various stalls and shops. You can basically find anything and everything used in traditional medicine. So many different herbs and plants for sale and the air smells heavenly.
posted by FakePalindrome at 8:07 PM on August 23, 2018 [1 favorite]