South Korea's rapid financial growth has implied some surprising adjustments within its traditional social structure, including the increase of supposed host bars, where affluent ladies pay the equivalent of hundreds of bucks for male company.
In the dim light of an underground room, a loads perfectly brushed boys stoop in rows, calling out their names.
Muscle, with glossy boy-band hairstyles, they pack side by side right into the slim space, waiting on us to make our option. Outside in the hallway, more of their associates are arriving for another evening at the workplace. It is 2am, as well as we are their initial consumers.
Concealed underneath the pavements of Seoul's ritziest postcode, Gangnam, the guys at Bar 123 become part of an expanding sector, which outgrew the lengthy traditions of Japanese geisha and also Korea's kisaeng residences yet with one vital distinction - the customers right here are all females.
Called "host bars", these all-night alcohol consumption rooms provide women customers the possibility to choose and pay for male companions, often at a cost of hundreds of extra pounds an evening.
Among the ladies I fulfill at Bar 123 is Minkyoung, a waitressing supervisor for a luxury resort. Once or twice a month, she says she comes to host bars.
The appeal of host bars can be subtle. Right here, she says, she has more interest from her male buddies, more choice and, most importantly, even more control.
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" In routine bars the people that consume with me have just one goal - to have a casual sex. I do not desire that, so that's why I come here, I desire to have fun," she says.
Hosts are employed by bars like this one to provide companionship and also home entertainment. Officially that implies pouring drinks for their customers, dancing and speaking with them, and also singing karaoke.
Host bar in Seoul
Sex is not officially on offer in most host bars. That would be illegal yet even Minkyoung appears satisfied to touch and flirt with her host, as well as the men right here estimate that around half the clients intend to pay for sex, either on or off the premises.
James has been functioning at Bar 123 for a number of years. In Korean culture, he claims, there is a great deal of satisfaction as well as working out a cost for sex is never done clearly. Rather, he tells me, it is all to the host's own evaluation.
" The guys below are pros - we understand what we're doing," he claims.
" After speaking with a woman for an hour we essentially recognize just how much cash she makes and what she does for a living. We've currently analysed her individuality and also what she wants to provide."
James as well as other hosts claim their clients include a few of South Korea's elite, which the cash and also benefits available boggle the mind. One client James met, during his first week in the work, asked him to authorize himself over to her for 2 years.
" She stated 'allow's make a contract. I've got this notepad and also I've numbered it 1-5. Whatever you make a note of beside those numbers, I'll obtain you.'".
James states at the time he took it as a joke but because learnt the exact same lady invested ₤ 60,000 ($ 97,000) on an additional host.
" If it happened now, I 'd do it - I 'd be thinking straight.".
Ironically perhaps, host bars grew out of among Korea's most established as well as, some state, misogynist service practices - the room hair salon. These are private alcohol consumption rooms where groups of males pick, as well as are served by, appealing female people hosting.
It was the people hosting' requirement to allow off steam after work, claims expert host Kim Dong-hee, that produced the preliminary need for host bars, with all-male team.
" What these people hosting desire is to [make us] do the exact same thing they needed to do in their very own workplace. These ladies are required to do points they don't intend to provide for cash.
" I assume a whole lot of them are in pain, and also a whole lot feel lonely. Put simply, they intend to buy our time and our bodies.".
Hostesses still compose a big portion of the consumers at host bars right here, yet at Bar 123, for instance, approximately 40% of the customers on a given evening are now from various other profession.
The reasons for that expanding charm are locked up in South Korea's quick economic rise. Within 50 years, the country moved from post-war destruction to OECD member.
But, according to Jasper Kim, head of the Asia-Pacific Global Research Group in Seoul, something important was lost in the process.
" I think that with all this quick development comes rapid change, as well as Koreans simply do not know how to manage it. Progressively, capitalism is surpassing standard societal norms that you would certainly expect a number of decades ago.".
Jasper Kim claims South Korea's notoriously lengthy working hrs have left several Korean ladies really feeling lonesome, while the nation's technological advance has actually left many people feeling detached.
" The human aspect of Korean culture that existed before just doesn't exist today. People are concentrated on modern technology, people are concentrated on their work, they aren't concentrated on human relationships any longer.
" In numerous ways, Korean culture today sort of advises me of 1960s culture in the United States, where it's on the edge of some type of cultural transformation.".
The grandfather of Seoul's host bar scene, Kim Dong-hee, agrees that several of the ladies that come to host bars are not spending for sex but also for friendship, which is why he opened a brand-new chain of freshly-marketed outlets targeted at the mainstream market - called Red Model Bars.
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Red Model Bar hosts.
Photo subtitle,.
Hosts at Red Model Bars can not touch customers.
" Men intend to have visual satisfaction as well as intend to really feel points, they're tactile. Ladies like to chat and also to listen. Which's why I thought about opening a bar like this - a sort of dialogue bar.".
Red Model Bars are various to traditional host bars in one essential respect - there is a no-touching policy. Hosts remain on one side of the table, consumers on the various other, and no physical get in touch with is enabled, and also absolutely no sex.
Perhaps because of this there is an absence of furtiveness among the people that function or consume alcohol here - the lights are reduced, the style generally dark red and the room is divided right into discreet booths, yet it is an open-plan room and also consumers and hosts are separated in each booth by a huge table.
This new business version depends entirely on females paying the matching of hundreds and even thousands of dollars to talk with good-looking boys over a drink. Still, it appears to be working - three brand-new branches are due to open this year.
Sitting at a table at one end of bench was one of their routine customers, a florist called Kim Nayu. She tells me she comes right here each day to meet her much-loved host and discuss issues she is having at job.
The rate for this slice of male focus is $487-650 (₤ 300-400) a day.
" Talking to buddies would be less costly" she confesses, "but they do not pay attention as much. They're active, as well as in a rush to chat about themselves. Below, individuals will certainly take note of me and they'll listen to me.".
" I spend a great deal of cash however it's worth it of what I obtain psychologically. People pay to visit see a psycho therapist or psychoanalyst, so it's comparable but less difficult.".
Nayu's much-loved host Sung-il claims it can be hard to maintain his expert and also personal life different.
" Honestly I 'd be existing if I say I have not been tempted to take things additionally with some consumers, because we're human, we're men, yet there are policies.".
One of his customers talked a whole lot to her partner regarding him and when the three of them fulfilled, Sung-il and also the other half became close pals.
" No one hides - the workers don't hide that they work right here, and clients can be open too.".
This openness is posing a new type of challenge to South Korean culture, various from the in some cases sleazy underworld of standard host bars as well as their hinterland of male prostitution.
By supplying females a "decent" way to test conventional sex roles as well as bend their financial power, these brand-new bars ask concerns of Korean society that are ending up being more challenging to neglect.
Listen to the complete report on BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents. You can pay attention by means of the Radio 4 internet site or via the Crossing Continents podcast.
The appeal of host bars can be subtle. Here, she claims, she has more focus from her male friends, more selection as well as, most importantly, more control.
James has actually been functioning at Bar 123 for a couple of years. Rather, he tells me, it is all down to the host's own assessment.
And also that's why I believed of opening up a bar like this - a kind of dialogue bar.".