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

If you’ve ever been to a Korean style bar, you know it’s not too easy to meet new people. Everyone is there with friends, and bar layouts do not follow drink and mingle feng shui rules. So if you’re a lonely and thirsty soul in Korea, head over to these 10 foreigner bars in Seoul to make new friends!

1) Dillinger’s

Dillinger’s is a very good choice for those bumming around Itaewon looking for a bar. The music is really what makes this bar interesting, as they play a big mix of American music from the 90s-2000s-Today. This foreigner bar in Seoul also hosts a trivia night (pub quiz) every Thursday and has trivia league competitions as well. The best special is the Mason Jar Double, a good cheap way to get a buzz. Grab a mason jar on trivia night and either ask to join an existing team or start up a friendly rivalry between your team and another. Nothing feeds socialization like cheap booze and useless knowledge!

Itaewon, Exit 4, walk straight passing Outback, it’s a second floor bar with the entrance down a mini-alley where there’s also a Korean pottery store, look for the bright yellow sign!

Check out this in depth review by One Shot Seoul!

2) Wolfhound


Our Irish readers will feel right at home in the two-story Wolfhound pub in Itaewon.  Groups of Irish revelers are known to wander around various bars in Seoul on the weekend but always return back to Wolfhound to rest their weary souls or to get their third wind! The food isn’t half bad either! Two for one fish and chips on Tuesday is a pretty sweet deal! The second floor is more for established groups of friends to hang out. The third floor, however, is an excellent place to mingle. Buy someone at the bar an Irish Car Bomb and you’re off to a good start for your night!

Itaewon, Exit4 , do a 180 and then take the first right, after that take the next right, Wolfhound is on the second and third floor.

3) Reilly’s Taphouse

Tired of the same old Cass, Hite, and OB? Head to Reiley’s Taphouse for one of the largest selections of imported draft and bottled beer in Seoul. The beer menu comes with very elegant descriptions of the different flavors of all of the beers and the staff is very friendly and accommodating to their largely foreign clientele. This is also home to Asia’s only certified Cicerone (expert in pairing beer with food), so trust their recommendations! If you’re looking to meet new people, ask someone what beer they’re drinking and if they can help you choose a tasty one, just make sure you buy them a round to thank them!

Itaewon, Exit 2, go straight and Reiley’s will be on the second floor above Smoothie King

4) The Bulldog Pub

Source: Naver blog

Source: Naver blog

Not every bar in Gangnam is glitz and glamour! Bulldog offers a very comfortable atmosphere with overwhelmingly pleasant bartenders. They’ll play pretty much any music you ask for, a big plus for those picky music consumers out there. One of the biggest pluses, however, is that they offer their entire pub menu until they close. Chicken fingers at 3am? YES PLEASE! Mingling here is best induced by shots. It’s tradition at Bulldog that whenever you take a shot you have to yell “BOOM-BANG-FIREPOWER!” You couldn’t ask for a better icebreaker!

Shinnonhyeon station, Exit 5, walk straight, take the first left and then the next right, Bulldog will be on your left.

5) Rose & Crown

If what you’re craving is a traditional British pub in Seoul, look no further than the Rose & Crown. There’s an extensive beer and pub menu that’s sure to please. As the night goes on it becomes easier and easier to mingle tables. However, we also recommend Rose & Crown for a drink after a nice date as the window-side tables can be quite romantic. If you want something more single-friendly, you can grab a game of darts or start a tournament!

Itaewon Station, Exit 1, take the fourth alley on your right, look for the red windows

See next page for more foreigner bars!

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.

  4. Becoming a hit on the mobile scene, you can actually play a desktop
    version through your Chrome browser (if you use Chrome).
    Right now, the answer is no, but luckily there’s a workaround
    as with most things online. Google released an android SDK that developers may
    access by downloading it.

  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

  10. […] 10 Foreigner Bars in Seoul to Drink and Make Friends l Seoulistic […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *