Daegu Part II

In Korea, once night falls, music fills the streets. This is not a metaphor. All the clubs and bars have speakers outside that lure you in. It reminds me of Night at the Roxbury how the outside of the club looks like the inside because walking down the street dancing isn’t much different since you can walk down the street drinking as well. Think VegasX10. Anyway, any given Friday in Daegu makes Hot Mess look like a preschool gathering. To put it mildly, they know how to party in Korea. The bars don’t close until about 7 AM and most of the clubs have 2+ floors and flat screen TV’s everywhere. Our night started on the train with a few bottles of soju. (For further reference, my group consists of Tristan from Minnesota, Jesse from Alaska, Me from Oregon, and a native Korean named Yeong Hee aka Liz) Our next stop was Julliard which is a show bar filled with blacklights where nearly every drink required some sort of fire stick. There was what I like to call a youtube DJ which seems to be pretty popular here. A guy searches youtube throughout the night finding different videos to play on the flat screens and projectors that covered the walls. American Top40 is insanely popular here and you haven’t heard anything until you’ve heard a room full of Koreans who don’t speak English screaming ‘shut up and let me go’ by the Ting Tings.

We didn’t stay at Julliard long because Club Frog was just a few streets away. At first we were scared they wouldn’t let us in as I didn’t have my passport with me. No, I’m not forgetful, it’s just that my passport is at the embassy being registered for my alien registration card. I wont get it back for a week. But America is seen as pretty high and mighty here so I was able to get in with just my Oregon Driver’s License. And let me just say, American clubs, pay attention and take note on what Korea offers. Club Frog had four floors, plus a lounge roof. The first floor had access one of the dance floors and walls covered with lockers where you could put your purse and jacket while you danced. The locker keys were put on necklaces that you could wear without losing the whole night. The second floor had a bar and another dance floor with little side nook type tables for privacy. The third floor was yet another floor with another bar, a couple of big booth tables for larger parties and access to all dance floors. The dance floors aren’t entire floors here, but rather a kind of backward tiered wedding cake style. The first floor has the largest circular dancing area, second floor is smaller and frames the first floor and the third floor follows the trend. The fourth floor of Club Frog was the womens lounge which was literally a giant women’s restroom filled with lockers, vanities, and couches. Then there was the roof which reminded me of the porch at Rotture where people went for fresh air. Smoking is allowed anywhere here so sometimes I needed to go to the roof just to breath.

Every floor had security guards who I was so kindly introduced to when one of them tried to karate chop my arm. Taking pictures in this club is strictly forbidden as it’s known as a hangout for Korean celebrities. The music was apparently too loud for the guy to tell me no pictures so he hit me instead. Not to say that he hit me hard, but the surprise of a random guy in a suit hitting me nearly made me cry. Don’t worry though, I thought of the suited men as a challenge and eventually outsmarted them to get a few pictures. Jerks. Then to top it off, Frogs had a lot of foreigners and military men and it appeared I couldn’t walk two feet without being hit on. Korean women are beautiful but they are so thin that they don’t have an ass. Military men apparently like girls with an ass. Needless to say, I was a hot commodity (as Tristan put it) and saying I had a boyfriend meant nothing. Unless they see a ring on your finger, you are free game. I will be buying a fake wedding ring before next weekend.

Next was Club G2 which you actually can’t get into unless you’re with a Korean. Fortunately Yeong Hee aka Liz, was with us so we were able to get in with no problem. This club is apparently the number one spot in Daegu but the layout was so strange that we spent most of our time being confused. You walk in to a high class looking room with a bar and a stage where something is happening but it’s all in Korean so I really have no idea what’s going on. The music isn’t too loud and everyone keeps going in and out of a side door which I assume to be a bathroom. Wrong. The side door leads down stairs covered in graffiti to the top part of the dancing floor. Hate to make the comparison, but it’s kind of like barracuda how the floor frames the dance floor below. The dance floor below was beyond packed and the thought of going down there made me slightly nauseous. (also kind of like barracuda…weird) Fortunately we didn’t stay at this club for long. I think Jesse was harassed in the mens bathroom and we took that as our cue to leave.

No one really gave me much of an explanation on Korea before we left Gumi and went to Daegu. The trains stop running for a few hours from about 2 AM-6 AM. This means, you have to party until the bar closes in order to get home or you have to stay in Daegu. I didn’t bring clothes or makeup or anything with me so the thought of staying in a hotel was less than appealing. By this time it’s 4 AM, our entire group is beyond intoxicated and I’m beyond tired. It’s of course at this time when I realize I have to either live it up for 2 more hours and then make the journey home by myself or stay in a hotel with the rest of them. I, being difficult, opted to go home. We left the bar around 5 AM to walk back to the station to get me on a 5:50 train. Once at the train station, I realized I had no idea how to get home. I would have to take the train and figure out my stop without an English translation, then take a taxi, then walk a mile since I have to use landmarks for taxis and can’t give directions to my apartment. I was drunk. I was tired. And I was horrified to leave my group. For all I know, I could get confused and wake up in Seoul.

So I followed the group to a love motel right outside of the station. When Tristan first told me of love motels, I was disgusted. These places are NOT disgusting. They’re AMAZING. For $30,000 KRW= $27 USD, you get a room with a big actually comfortable bed, down comforter, plush pillows, big bathroom, cable TV, and a mini fridge filled with pomegranate juice, milk, etc. If you disregard the fact that they also give you condoms and toothbrushes, they’re really quite nice. There’s no real check out time so you can sleep in until whatever time you prefer. But naturally, I was out of my element and woke up at 11 AM ready for the day. Nothing like a little 3 hour nap to push you through another day in Daegu. Tristan and Liz slept in until two, so Jesse and I started our Daegu adventure. We walked all over the city, ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken (WHERE THEY DON’T HAVE MASHED POTATOES!!), saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D, and had an overall amazing Saturday. Took the train back to Gumi around 7:30 where we went to another bar for drinks and pool. The boys were ready for yet another night. They were going to take another train to Daejon and go watch some live bands and drink themselves stupid again. I couldn’t do it. My mom nickname stood true and I left the group and took a taxi to megaline and walked the additional mile home. I was in bed by 10 PM Saturday night. Didn’t wake up until 10 AM Sunday morning. I have no intentions of leaving my bed today. I don’t care of I need to go grocery shopping, if I really should take a shower, if I have dishes to do, or if I should really clean my apartment. I am NOT leaving my bed today. I had an amazing weekend. I made some friends. I love Korea.