It will be interesting to see how eager the people in Seoul are to rush back to these nightclubs and hostess bars:
Seoul health authorities warned clubs that reopened Monday after a 12-day operation ban to strictly abide by hygiene guidelines or face another shutdown order.All nightclubs, hostess and karaoke bars and other nighttime establishments in Seoul, called the “entertainment industry” in Korean, were forced to close on April 8 after a hostess in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, tested positive for the coronavirus.
They were allowed to open on Monday, a day after the central government’s so-called high-intensity social distancing campaign wrapped up.
The high-intensity campaign did formally end on Sunday, but central government officials said that didn’t mean social distancing was entirely over. Authorities outlined a new campaign that will last 16 days from Monday through Children’s Day on May 5, easing several guidelines in the campaign that ran for four weeks but fundamentally leaving hygiene recommendations intact.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
I guess this is better than the Hitler bars in South Korea:
Tucked away in the dazzling neon of Seoul’s Hongdae nightlife district, a small building bears an image of a North Korean-looking construction worker pointing to the slogan: “Look! It’s the Pyongyang Bar!”
There are no post, telephone or transport links between the two halves of the divided Korean peninsula, but Seoul’s only North Korean-themed pub aims to give its patrons a taste of their nuclear-armed neighbour.
Owner Jang Woo-kyung has never been north of the Demilitarized Zone — the two Koreas are technically still at war and Southerners need their government’s permission to visit — but the bar’s decor is inspired by imagery from across the border.
The premises are festooned with North Korean-style posters, the lime green walls reminiscent of the pastel shades seen on Pyongyang apartment blocks, and slogans painted around the pub are written in a white-on-red script similar to the North’s propaganda.
But rather than praise North Korean leaders, which might fall foul of the South’s National Security Act, the messages proclaim more prosaic goals: “Let’s provide the most cold beer!”
Others combine health regulations with allusions to the North’s uncompromising judicial system: “Execution by firing squad if caught smoking inside.”
– ‘Loyal to capitalism’ –
Even before the business opened, Jang was ordered by authorities to remove portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il — the grandfather and father of current leader Kim Jong Un — from the building’s exterior.
“I have no intention of dignifying or praising North Korea,” said Jang, whose business cards use the South’s English spelling for the North’s capital, Pyeongyang. “I’m just a man loyal to capitalism.”
AFP
You can read more at the link.
Welcome to the most hipster bar/coffee shop in the known universe. Yes, that is my drink. @… https://t.co/yU82G3bj2w
— Dr. Michael Hurt (@metropolitician) August 12, 2016
It makes me wonder how many of these type of bars are operating in Seoul especially since according to the article the bar is perfectly legal:
A clandestine bar where couples openly have sex and watch other couples having sex has been operating in the middle of Seoul, a TV network reported Thursday.
Couples in their 20s to 40s hand in their mobile phones and other belongings before the sex party, which includes group sex and swapping.
The bar is on the third floor of a building in the middle of Hongdae, one of Seoul’s busiest night-out areas, according to TV Chosun.
There are shower booths and cleansers for women to use after sex.
The bar even runs a blog where readers can find explicit reviews, a bulletin board aimed at foreigners, and photos of a dressing room that holds erotic clothing, TV Chosun said.
The bar has remained confidential for seven years, thanks to strict security checks. It is open only to members, who must make a reservation. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link.
