Adventure #14: Booking Club

In Korea, there are clubs that cater to men hoping to meet women. Now, I suppose that’s why most people go to clubs in general. But in Korea, the purpose of these booking clubs is specifically for men to not order only drinks to their private rooms but also women. I know it sounds sketchy, and it sort of felt creepy. I went purely for the cultural experience. I was under the impression at first that I could go there, dance, and get free drinks. This, however, was not the case. The waiters came up to my friends and I and led us to a row of private rooms where there were men waiting to meet us. Typically, there is a group of men in a room. And the men have a TV screen where they can view all of the women in the club. If they like what they see, they can ask the waiter to bring the women they choose to the room to meet them. The woman then has the choice to stay or go. I really did not want to go in. And the waiters kept asking my age, and I told them it didn’t matter, and that I wasn’t going into the room. Apparently, this is not a place where you can just hang out at with your friends without being paraded around. So I decided to leave with another friend. But two of my other friends actually took part and went from room to room. From what they told me, I’m glad I didn’t go inside. For one, none of the men spoke English. And second, they were clearly only interested in one thing. The most intriguing part of this experience was witnessing girl after girl being pulled by the arm from their tables to go to different rooms. It all seemed really degrading, although the women knew why they were there when they decided to go. I probably wouldn’t go back, but it was definitely one of the most fascinating cultural experiences I’ve ever had.

You can read more here:

http://everything2.com/title/booking%20club

This was not the kind of place where you want to take pictures. Otherwise I would’ve totally shared them.

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