The population of Pusan nearing 4 million (that's over 150,000 Utopians).
• BusanSisters
  Email. A group of fun-loving gay women who meet regularly and want to meet other lesbians who live in the Pusan area.

• La Femme
  In Seomyon near Migliore Shopping Complex. Exiting Migliore, walk right along the sidewalk until you reach the second corner. The sign is orange and black and in English....located across from a parking garage. Women-only.
• The Lonely and Funny Bar (whe-rop-ku ookkin gah-gye), (051) 809-9220

SEOUL -- area code (82-2)

Seoul is clean, sleek and modern with an excellent public transportation system and champagne taste in all things trendy and fashionable (the city is more expensive than Japan these days). If you're looking for flavors of old Korea you'll have to visit some of the temples and palaces that dot the huge metropolitan sprawl, as well as the arts and crafts neighborhood of Insadong with its galleries, street vendors and old Korean buildings turned into restaurants and traditional inns. Itaewon, an international enclave, still seems firmly rooted in 1950s America with its GI Joe (and Jane) US military presence and old time "juicy girl" bars (a nickname that sprang from overpriced juice drinks that one has to buy bar hostesses). In fact, while Seoul wears thoroughly modern make-up, underneath its still very much tied to conservative "Ozzie and Harriet" values of a bygone American era. All this is changing fast, of course, and Korea's capital city is on a bullet train to the hip-hop future. Catch Seoul now, its vestiges of the past are quick becoming Disneyfied (those terrible fake beards and mustaches on the Gyeongbokgung Palace "guards" for example).

The population of Seoul is over 9.6 million (almost half a million Utopians live here).

• Girlports has a great guide to the women's scene in Seoul.

• The Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival
  Nakwon-dong 195-1, Midong Building #301, Chongno-ku Seoul, Republic of Korea, email.

Click here for Seoul hotels and accommodations.

Lesbian clubs are hard enough for Korean women to find let alone visitors. Most of them are Korean-style (little English if any spoken) in the Sinchon area around Ewha Women’s University and between the Sangsu-dong area and Hongik University. Try contacting Seoulsisters or some of the mixed gay spots listed below in Itaewon for starters. Itaewon is easy to navigate using our Utopia map:

ITAEWON & "HOMO HILL"

Bar Bliss 72-32 Itaewon, Yongsan (see map), 749-7738, email. From Itaewon subway station, take Exit #4 and walk ahead 30m to the public phone booth. Turn left and you'll see a sign for Bar Bliss. Go down the stairway to street level and Bar Bliss is on the right. From Hamilton Hotel, cross the street and make a right, then follow the same directions. Bar Bliss is an elegant and relaxed wine bar. Originally called California Café, it is also the oldest openly gay club in Itaewon. The crowd is a handsome mix of well-clad gays and down-to-earth locals here to escape the drama and noise of nearby Homo Hill. Indoor patio with French windows, a colorful Asian lounge, an intimate bar surrounded by a stunning collection of art and an area for late night dancing and karaoke. Owner, Ted Park, is the long-time sage of Seoul's gay community. Ask him about Happy Hour specials and 70+ wines, cocktails and beer. Sun is Drag Queen Bingo night! Open daily from about 7pm until the wee hours. 주소 : 서울시 용산구 이태원동 72- 32 Utopia Member Discount

• Queen
  Located on Homo Hill between Trance and Always Homme, 793-1290, email. Everyone is welcome at this trendy gay club managed by Keith, an effervescent Aussie. From the Itaewon subway station, take exit #3 and walk straight ahead one block and make a right, then take the 2nd left. You'll see a sign for Queen on the left side of this uphill lane about half a block up. From Hamilton Hotel, cross the street and make a left, then follow the same directions. Queen emphasizes cool, funky pizzazz and the decor is exactly that. Large windows look out over Homo Hill and a strip of glittery bubble chairs line the patio for good weather front row seating. Bar and lounge seating inside. Crowd is 20-45, international and friendly. Gets busy after 10pm and crazy packed on weekends.
• Soho (mixed)
  797-2280, (019) 357-3235, email. Adjacent to Why Not? and opposite Always Homme. From the Itaewon subway station, take exit #3 and walk straight ahead one block and make a right, then take the 2nd left. You'll see a sign for Soho on the right side of this uphill lane about half a block up. From Hamilton Hotel, cross the street and make a left, then follow the same directions. Friendly, international bar. English speaking staff and female some bartenders. Quieter atmosphere attracts a 30-40s mixed crowd.
• Why Not?
  137-4 Yongsan-Ku, Itaewon, 795-8193, email. From the Itaewon subway station, take exit #3 and walk straight ahead one block and make a right, then take the 2nd left. You'll see a sign for Why Not? on the right side of this uphill lane about half a block up. From Hamilton Hotel, cross the street and make a left, then follow the same directions. Recently remodeled it is now a black box dance space with adjacent bar. House music draws the dance crowd after midnight until dawn. Upscale local/foreign crowd with higher ranking soldiers, embassy workers, foreign English and educated, well-dressed Koreans. Very nice staff who make conversation with everyone and seem to be having a genuinely good time. The club plays American pop remixes, techno and some house. Open late. Highly recommended for visitors. Some lesbian patrons as well.

  
  SINCHON / HONGDAE / HONGIK UNIVERSITY

• Bar W
  337-7117. A small, women-only bar and dance space. Some English spoken.
• Guwal (September)
  322 3111. Not far from Bar W. A small local Korean-style bar. Friendly and welcoming for women.
• Hacker2
  326-0655. From Shinchon subway station on the Green #2 line (between Ehwa and Hong-Ik University stations), go out exit #8 and walk about 1 minute. Turn left at the Domino's Pizza and Hacker2 is about 2-3 short blocks down on the corner, on the second floor (blue glass windows).
• Labrys
  333-5276. Go to the Hongik University Subway station (between Shinchon and Hapjeong on the Green Line #2). Exit the station and locate Pizza Hut. Go to Pizza Hut and face Hongik University (up the brightly lit hill). Walk towards Hongik University and take your second right. You will pass Belle and Sebastian on your left, Music Cafe on your right then some clothing stores and after about 100m the road opens up and cars will be parked in the center. The first major intersection you come to there is a Buy the Way and next to it a coffee shop. On the fifth floor over the coffee shop is Labrys. Women only.
• Lesbos
  4/F Tong-Kyo Dong 185-18, 3142-7873, email. From Shinchon subway station on the Green #2 line (between Ehwa and Hong-Ik University stations), go out exit #8 and walk about 3 minutes past a Popeyes and Nong-hyop Agricultural Cooperative super market. You'll see Lesbos on your left, next to a '016' cell phone store. It's on the 4th floor. Beautiful and spacious, with very good and eclectic music, with a big screen TV, large sofas, tables and counter seating. Music is techno and Top 40 dance beats. Delicious food available. Show on Sat nights. Women only.
• Manyo
  Hongdae (off Hongdae Park, behind the Krispy Kreme store). Not far from Labyrs. Look for a sign with a cat on it.
• Monghwang
  Lesbian-owned and operated. Take Exit #2 from the Shinchon Station and walk towards Yonsei -- turn left at the last alley before the bridge (there's a big church across the street). Go down the alley about 50 meters and you will see a sign that says "Bar Indigo". Turn left in front of that sign -- there's a building set back from the alley, with a sign written in Hanja (no Korean or English). That's Mongwhan. Busiest on Sat night.
• Pink Button
  B/F Fissler Bld, Hongdae (near Lesbos), 323-6668. From the Hapjeong Station take Exit #3 and walk two blocks, passing the Samsung Bld. Turn right at the airplane statue and the Fissler Bld is there on your right. Popular dance club for women. Busiest on weekends.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "Subway Line #2, Hong-ik University Station: there are 4-5 lesbian bars -- Labris, Lesbos, Witches, Pinkbutton. On weekends, you can easily catch lesbians on the streets...ask them for help if you are a foreigner." -- ryoo, Mar 7, 2009

SINCHON / HONGDAE / HONGIK UNIVERSITY
• "Lesbian Park"
  Shinchon, behind Hyundai department store across from the entrance to its car park. Yes, the rather severely paved triangular park, on one side of which is located Seoul's Erotic Art Museum and Gallery. Lesbians flock here on Sun afternoons.

• Buddha's Belly (Thai)
  673 Itaewong-2-Dong, Yongsan-Gu, 793-2173. Not far from Itaewon main drag. Gay-owned.
• Our Place
  Itaewon. Restaurant and gay hang-out on the top two floors of the same building that houses Equus sauna. From Itaewon subway take exit #3. Walk straight ahead to the first intersection, turn right and immediately enter the building to take the elevator up to the top floor. From Hamilton Hotel, cross the street and make a left, then follow the same directions. This place is owned by the famous Korean gay actor, Hong Suk-Chun, whose public drama coming out of the closet and then being fired from his job woke Korean society up from its former denial that gays existed here. It also brought him the support of international human rights organizations and helped stimulate GLBT anti-discrimination protections. He's a hero and he's often here.

  Sanchon (Korean temple cooking) 14 Kwanhoon-Dong Chongro-Gu, 735-0312. Extraordinary traditional Korean vegetarian temple feast served in dozens of small bowls in the charming environment of an old courtyard home. All sorts of unusual grasses, herbs, fermented soy soups, kimchee, rice noodles, tubers, roots, seaweed, vegetable pancakes, garlic paste, and on and on. End it all with your choice of delicious teas and light rice puff sweets. Come a bit early for dinner if you want to avoid the more expensive seating with traditional dance show.

TAEGU (DAEGU) -- area code (82-53)

The population of Taegu is 2.4 million (that's 100,000 Utopians).

• The People's Club (mixed)
  3/F Daehyun Bld, Chilseong (3 minutes walk from the Chilseong subway station), 941-7989, email. A nice quiet spot that welcomes gays and lesbians, especially Fri and Sat nights. Take subway exit #4. When you get to the street turn left and walk across the bridge, keep going straight, past the main Nonghyup Bank for Kyongsanbukdo. The Daehyun Bld is on the left, opposite the main post office. There is a large restaurant on the ground floor, Karaoke on the 2nd, and People's Club is on the 3rd. They offer Korean and western food, music, a free billiard table, darts, sports TV, and table top games. Friendly, open-minded staff. The owner, Anthony, is from London and welcomes all Utopians. Utopia Member Discount

  Comments from Utopians:

  "The new lesbian bar in Taegu is called Rock, a karaoke bar with a small stage. It is located across the street from Keimyung Universty's downtown campus in Daemyungdong. The bar is on 2/F, directly across the street from the university at the cross walk where you can find many other bars. You can take Subway Exit 1 at Myungduk Subway stop on the red line. Walk out of the exit and round the corner and walk about 6 blocks, to the university. If you are lost or in cab just ask for Keimyung University Damyungdong." -- gringo_nb, Apr 29, 2008

TAEJON/DAEJON -- area code (82-42)

The population of Taejon is over 1.54 million (that's over 55,000 Utopians).

• Oksusu (corn)
  254-0046. Nearby chung gu cheng. On second floor. Clean and comfortable. Open from 18:00 until late with disco on Fri and Sat. Welcomes foreigners. Young lesbian crowd.