Gay Guide to Seoul
South Korea has never criminalized homosexuality in civilian law, which makes the one exception conspicuous. Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act still punishes anal intercourse or any other indecent act between soldiers with up to two years in prison, and the Constitutional Court upheld it again in 2023, the fourth time it has done so. Military service is compulsory for men, so this is not an abstraction. There is also still no comprehensive anti-discrimination law, leaving South Korea among the very few OECD countries without one, with bills stalled in the National Assembly since 2007. The movement is coming from the courts instead: in July 2024 the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex partners qualify as dependents under national health insurance, the first decision of its kind in the country.
Itaewon carries the visible scene, concentrated on Homo Hill, a short steep lane in Yongsan lined with small bars that open onto the street. Queen, Trance, Why Not, Soho, Glam Lounge, Rabbithole, NoTea and Shiba are all within a couple of minutes of each other, with Gray, Gym and Ping running the club end. It is the international side of Seoul and the easiest place to arrive cold.
Jongno 3-ga, north of the river near Nakwon, is the older and far quieter half. Bars like arq, Ounce and Shortbus draw a mostly Korean and generally older crowd, English is thinner on the ground, and the atmosphere is closer to a neighborhood local than a night out. It is also the more historically significant of the two districts.
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival is where the politics surface. The city has repeatedly refused it Seoul Plaza, on one occasion granting the space to a Christian group that applied the same day, so the festival has moved around the city, and large evangelical counter-protests are a standing fixture. Attending is a mildly political act here in a way it is not in most cities in this directory.
Seoul is enormous but the subway makes it manageable, and Itaewon and Jongno are a straightforward ride apart. Trains stop around midnight, which shapes the night more than anything else.