10 Foreigner Bars in Seoul to Drink and Make Friends – Page 2 – Seoulistic

6) Beer Pong

Seoul, South Korea, Jonggak “Beer pong” from han joon young on Vimeo.

Missing the glory days of mercilessly mocking your friends and pulling ping pong balls out of red solo cups filled with cheap beer? Pong is sure to be a blast from the past for many an expat. This popular bar in Seoul has three pong tables for you to enjoy either with your friends or to challenge other groups to a tournament. The only pick-up lines you’ll need all night are “do you wanna be my partner” and “how about we play each other?” House rules, though, so leave your “well, at MY college” nonsense at the door!

Jonggak Station, Exit 4, take the first right and Pong will be pretty quickly on your right

7) Phillies

Phillies is the go-to sports bar in Seoul for those living in the largely foreigner populated neighborhood of Haebongcheon. The bar has multiple big screen TVs which will play whatever sport is in season. They also happen to make one of the best Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches in Seoul, naturally. When the weather is nice you can perch yourself out on the patio and grab the attention of your friends/acquaintances as they walk past or wait to ask a passersby to join you for a beer.

Noksapyeong, Exit 2, go straight, turn left at the Kimchi pots, continue straight, it’s on your left.

Here’s a review of Phillies in the KoreaTimes.

8) Glam

Are high class cocktails and beautiful people more your style? Glam is the perfect lounge in Seoul to mingle with the glamorous people of Itaewon. You can either sit at the bar or grab a table for something more private (reservations needed on weekends). The horse-shoe shaped bar is located in the middle of the room, making it the perfect place to admire and be admired. Drinks here are tastey, but pricey, though nothing is pricey if someone else is buying it for you! Also, Glam has more of a Korean clientele, but is very foreigner friendly.

Itaewon, exit 2, behind the Hamilton Hotel and above Prost

9) Rocky Mountain Tavern

This is might be the only place in Seoul where you can find legitimate poutine and the wing night special on Tuesdays for 400won/wing is also a huge crowd pleaser! The third floor often features live bands and there’s an open mic night for stand-up comedians every month. Canadians are known for being some of the friendliest people on the planet, and the Canadian owned Rocky Mountain shows that this is true no matter where they are transplanted. It’s extremely easy to find new friends among the friendly bunch that frequent the third floor bar area.

Itaewon, Exit 3, walk straight for a loooonnnggg time, Rocky Mountain Tavern will be on your right on the second and third floor, look for the totem pole!

10) Thursday Party

Source: Naver Blog

Source: Naver Blog

Thursday Party started in Busan, opening several locations over the past few years, and now the Busan favorite has finally made its way to Seoul! Thursday Party does a very good job of recreating the western university town bar experience. There’s a beer pong and shuffleboard table as well as the mandatory dart boards. If you’ve spent any time as a member of the Seoul expat community, you’re sure to run into someone you know! However, it’s always easy to make new friends when you add alcohol to games!

Hongik University Station, exit 9, take the second left, then the fourth right, from the park go down the steps to the left of the bathrooms, Thursday Party is on your right.

 

Bonus: Wa Bars & Ho Bars

These are two omnipresent western bar chains in Seoul. Go to any major Seoul hotspot and you’ll be bound to find one. Wa Bars are more like sports bars, whereas Ho Bars are like a bar/nightclub hybrid. Both have decent drink selections, but have been known to blast music so loud that you’re sure to leave with a sore throat if you’re not keeping hydrated. Hey… maybe that’s why they do it! These bars are often more frequented by Koreans. If you’re looking to make friends here, we recommend getting some bottle service and offering some to another table for a night of consumption and frivolity!

 

Have your favorite place in Seoul to meet new people? Share it in the comments below!

Margaret
Margaret
Margaret has been living and working in Seoul since 2011. Originally hailing from the United States (Maine and Tennessee, to be precise) she’s more than found a home amongst the wonders of Seoul. She eats more kimbap that could possibly be healthy for her and has a bad habit of bursting into KPop songs to which she does not know even 80% of the lyrics. Check out her blog at margarettriesbeing.com for more in-depth (that is to say, rambling) articles on Seoul How-To’s, Survival Tips, and excessive use of animated gifs.

15 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    Pro tip: If you want to avoid idiot soldiers in Itaewon, go anywhere that overcharges for beer.

    • Kris says:

      Agreed, Itaewon tends to be for more older and military creepers. I would suggest HBC and Noksapyeong just one subway stop away. One of my all time favorites is Mike’s Cabin or Nory Bar in Sinchon line 2 (by Hongdae).

  2. Paulo Minera says:

    Why only uk/irish bars?? There has to be other cool venues where people can mingle other than these dives…

    • Tim says:

      Because this article is specifically about ‘Foreigner Bars’… If you’re looking for other kinds of places, then don’t read this article!

  3. Jon says:

    Yeah, there are thousands of amazing places to get a drink in Seoul. Why is the article only about the foreign-owned, and therefore likely lamest, of all options? You want to find an amazing bar in Seoul? Walk into pretty much any drinking establishment. If you don’t have a nice time, your are probably hanging out with idiots.

    • TROND says:

      You sound like an idiot! Why don’t you file a lawsuit against Kevin for publishing this article since it’s eating you up so much? Lol… Stop being such a dramatic loser.

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  5. Pubstay says:

    Why don’y you stay and visit PUBSTAY & HOUSETAY?

    you can stay there and enjoy PUBSTAY.

  6. Waz says:

    I’m amazed Ho Bar made it on to this list. It’s probably one of the most racist chains of bars in the whole of South Korea, and is well – known for denying foreigners entry. I’ve even seen a number of Ho Bars with ‘no foreigners allowed’ signs out the front.

  7. Lonely Mofo says:

    Wow! These really helped! I got soooooo fuckin’ wasted within hours and met so many new people! Sure, my family was worried sick about me, but who cares ‘cuz I HAD FUKING FUN WOOHOOOOOOOOOO

  8. PARTY GIRL T says:

    THE BIT ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS INTERESTED ME AND WE WANTA PLACE WITH GOOD MUSIC SO WE CAN DANCE ! PARTY GIRL T.

  9. whatever says:

    people go to thursday party… hongdae. i cant belive it wasnt mentioned

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