Figure out even more regarding women-only host bars in Gangnam, Korea

South Korea's quick financial growth has actually implied some shocking adjustments within its traditional social framework, including the rise of supposed host bars, where rich women pay the equivalent of countless dollars for male company.

In the dark light of a basement, a dozen perfectly brushed boys kneel in rows, calling out their names.

Muscle, with shiny boy-band hairstyles, they cram side by side into the slim room, awaiting us to make our choice. Outdoors in the corridor, more of their colleagues are getting here for another night at the office. It is 2am, as well as we are their first consumers.

Hidden underneath the sidewalks of Seoul's ritziest postal code, Gangnam, the men at Bar 123 become part of a growing market, which grew out of the lengthy practices of Japanese geisha and Korea's kisaeng residences however with one critical difference - the clients below are all women.

Called "host bars", these all-night drinking rooms provide women clients the opportunity to pay and pick for male friends, in some cases at a cost of hundreds of extra pounds a night.

Among the ladies I satisfy at Bar 123 is Minkyoung, a waitressing supervisor for a first-class resort. She says she comes to host bars when or twice a month.

그랜드룸싸롱 Minkyoung is very quite and also her clothes are immaculate. She does not look like a person who would certainly need to spend for male company. However the allure of host bars can be subtle. Right here, she states, she has even more focus from her male buddies, more option and also, most importantly, more control.

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" In normal bars the individuals that consume alcohol with me have just one objective - to have an one-night stand. Yet I do not desire that, to ensure that's why I come below, I intend to have fun," she claims.

Hosts are hired by bars like this one to provide friendship and also enjoyment. Formally that means pouring beverages for their customers, speaking and dancing with them, and vocal singing karaoke.

Host bar in Seoul

Sex is not formally available in a lot of host bars. That would be prohibited however also Minkyoung appears pleased to tease and touch with her host, as well as the guys right here approximate that around half the customers want to spend for sex, either on or off the properties.

James has actually been working at Bar 123 for a pair of years. In Korean society, he claims, there is a great deal of satisfaction and bargaining a cost for sex is never ever done explicitly. Instead, he informs me, it is all down to the host's own analysis.

" The people here are pros - we know what we're doing," he claims.

" After speaking to a lady for a hr we essentially recognize just how much cash she makes as well as what she provides for a living. We've already evaluated her character and also what she wants to give."

James and also other hosts claim their clients consist of a few of South Korea's elite, and that the money and rewards on deal boggle the mind. One client James satisfied, during his very first week in the job, asked him to authorize himself over to her for two years.

" She stated 'let's make a contract. I've obtained this paper and I've numbered it 1-5. Whatever you make a note of following to those numbers, I'll get you.'".

James claims at the time he took it as a joke however considering that figured out the same woman invested ₤ 60,000 ($ 97,000) on one more host.

" If it occurred now, I would certainly do it - I 'd be assuming straight.".

Ironically possibly, host bars outgrew one of Korea's most entrenched and also, some claim, misogynist organization practices - the space salon. These are personal alcohol consumption spaces where teams of males choose, as well as are served by, appealing female people hosting.

It was the hostesses' demand to allow off heavy steam after job, claims professional host Kim Dong-hee, that produced the preliminary demand for host bars, with all-male team.

" What these people hosting desire is to [make us] do the exact same thing they had to do in their very own work environment. These women are compelled to do points they do not desire to do for money.

" I think a lot of them are in pain, and also a great deal really feel lonely. Simply placed, they wish to buy our time and also our bodies.".

People hosting still comprise a huge portion of the customers at host bars below, but at Bar 123, for example, approximately 40% of the clients on a provided night are now from various other strolls of life.

The reasons for that growing charm are connected up in South Korea's quick economic rise. Within 50 years, the country moved from post-war destruction to OECD participant.

According to Jasper Kim, head of the Asia-Pacific Global Research Group in Seoul, something important was lost along the means.

" I believe that with all this rapid growth comes rapid modification, and Koreans simply don't know exactly how to cope with it. Significantly, capitalism is overtaking standard social standards that you would anticipate a pair of years back.".

Jasper Kim claims South Korea's notoriously lengthy functioning hours have left many Korean women feeling lonesome, while the country's technical development has actually left lots of people really feeling removed.

" The human element of Korean culture that existed in the past merely does not exist today. Individuals are concentrated on modern technology, individuals are concentrated on their jobs, they aren't focused on human relations anymore.

" In lots of ways, Korean culture today kind of advises me of 1960s culture in the US, where it's on the verge of some sort of social change.".

The grandpa of Seoul's host bar scene, Kim Dong-hee, agrees that a lot of the women that come to host bars are not paying for sex however for companionship, which is why he opened up a new chain of freshly-marketed outlets focused on the mainstream market - called Red Model Bars.

Red Model Bar hosts.

Photo caption,.

Hosts at Red Model Bars can not touch customers.

" Men intend to have aesthetic enjoyment and desire to really feel points, they're responsive. Females like to speak and to listen. Which's why I thought about opening a bar like this - a kind of dialogue bar.".

Red Model Bars are different to standard host bars in one vital respect - there is a no-touching regulation. Hosts remain on one side of the table, customers on the other, as well as no physical call is permitted, and also absolutely no sex.

Maybe therefore there is an absence of furtiveness among the people that function or drink here - the lights are low, the decor generally dark red as well as the room is separated right into very discreet booths, yet it is an open-plan area as well as hosts and also consumers are separated in each booth by a large table.

This new business model depends totally on ladies paying the matching of hundreds or perhaps hundreds of bucks to talk with attractive young males over a beverage. Still, it appears to be functioning - three brand-new branches result from open this year.

Resting at a table at one end of the bar was one of their normal consumers, a floral designer called Kim Nayu. She tells me she comes right here each day to satisfy her favourite host as well as go over problems she is having at job.

The price for this slice of male interest is $487-650 (₤ 300-400) a day.

" Talking to buddies would certainly be more affordable" she confesses, "however they do not listen as much. They're active, as well as quickly to talk about themselves. Right here, individuals will take note of me as well as they'll pay attention to me.".

" I invest a great deal of cash however it deserves it of what I obtain mentally. People pay to go to see a psychologist or psychiatrist, so it's comparable however much less stressful.".

Nayu's much-loved host Sung-il states it can be hard to maintain his individual as well as expert life different.

" Honestly I 'd be existing if I claim I have not been lured to take points additionally with some customers, due to the fact that we're human, we're men, yet there are policies.".

One of his consumers yapped to her spouse regarding him and when the 3 of them met, Sung-il and also the spouse ended up being buddies.

" No one conceals - the employees do not conceal that they work here, as well as clients can be open also.".

This openness is positioning a brand-new type of difficulty to South Korean culture, various from the often seedy abyss of standard host bars as well as their hinterland of male prostitution.

By offering females a "reputable" method to challenge conventional sex roles as well as bend their financial power, these brand-new bars ask questions of Korean society that are ending up being tougher to disregard.

Listen to the complete record on BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents. You can listen via the Radio 4 website or through the Crossing Continents podcast.

The attraction of host bars can be refined. Here, she says, she has even more attention from her male friends, more selection and, most importantly, even more control.

James has actually been working at Bar 123 for a pair of years. Instead, he tells me, it is all down to the host's own assessment.

And that's why I believed of opening up a bar like this - a kind of dialogue bar.".