Clubbing: Harlem, NB2 & NB Gangnam

Club NB2 on a weekday

I have only been Hongdae clubbing 5 times in total so far. Thrice at NB2, once at Harlem, and once at Katakomb (KUBA Halloween party). I really need to hit up the other places once the cold Winter season is over, such as Cocoon and Mama Gorilla.

Been to Gangnam for clubbing 3 times at: Twice Lounge & More (KUBA Koyon Games afterparty), the A, and NB Gangnam.
I will talk about the A in another post, Twice Lounge & More wasn't anything interesting so I shall lump that with my upcoming Koyon games post - extremely late post I know.

EDIT: 18th Dec '14
I visited Monkey Beach twice before I left Korea and grew to love it more than NB. Read about it here.

Many clubbing-in-Korea enthusiasts may have already gathered that I took advantage of the 'triple party' wristband, which is only available on Friday and Saturday nights (I think).
By paying 15,000won, one can gain entry into 3 clubs on the same street in Hongdae with a free drink: (the infamous) NB2, NB1, and Harlem.

They're pretty much within walking distance of each other. NB1 is directly across Harlem, whilst NB2 a few establishments down from Harlem. Right across NB2 is Monster Pizza, the perfect place to hit up mid-way through the night - or even when the night ends, for some tasty and greasy pizza noms. A huge slice of pizza only costs 3,500won, and it tastes amazing! The best pizza I've tasted so far in Korea to be honest. Right above it on 2F is Coffine Gurunaru - chain coffee store, and above that on 3F is the Eat Your Kimchi Studio.

You can easily get to these clubs from Sangsu Station exit 1. Upon exiting the stairs, take the street to your right and just keep walking down the street for about 5 minutes and you'll see NB2.

Okay I'm getting off topic. Back to clubs...

I have yet to enter NB1. Purely because I was told that it wasn't worth visiting since it was pretty much dead most of the time. Most people tend to flock over to NB2 than the other 2.

Club Harlem

Harlem, like NB1, is pretty dead too, but not as dead.

At the entrance we found out that our student ID cards weren't good enough to prove our age, despite having our date of birth on it. But the guy we approached knew a tad bit of English and told us he will let us in this time, but next time we should bring our ARCs.
I usually brought my ARC during the first couple of times that I went clubbing, can't quite remember if I ever used my student ID before Harlem happened...


It was the one time I went to Harlem because it was my friend's birthday, and we both wanted to see Kim Bumju perform at the Hater Snapback launch party that was happening at this club. After taking 3 tequila shots elsewhere in a bar called 'Zen', we arrived at Harlem a bit after midnight. The place had people, a decent amount, not packed, but not many were dancing. Most just lounged at the sides while a few worked it lazily on the dancefloor.
The music sucked too.
But at least I didn't get a random arm snaking around my waist, which brings me onto NB2...

NB2

NB2. Oh NB2... The amount of unforgettable memories you have given me from the very first day I came...

So, out of the 3, NB2 is the most infamous yet the best club to go to. Why? The music is great - a mix of electronica and hip hop, there are more people, and most importantly it's fun because there are more people.

There are a few major downsides to this club though, hence why it is so damn infamous:

1. It is crazily PACKED on weekend nights
2. The guys are very hands on and HORNY

I'm going to sound like some broken record player to some who have read the countless blogs mentioning this already, but these two factors are in fact true and extremely ridiculous.

The first time I went to NB2 was with a bunch of friends, after getting overly tipsy on the roadside from convenience store bought soju and juice. Before we even got to Hongdae I was already tipsy since we all pre-drank at one of the CVS stores in Anam - the one near the PoliSci side gate.

From the moment we went down the stairs of NB2 and onto the dancefloor we were literally squashed.There was no room to even move. Literally every part of me was being pushed against bodies.  I fell once and had someone lift me back up by the waist.
And because I was bordering drunk, when we were trying to get closer to the stage for space - the only place had space, I started yelling for people to get out of the way. Bet some people must've remembered me as the loud foreign Asian girl with the 'RATCHET' hat from that night.

Monster Pizza (bottom left in pic) across NB2.

The guys at NB2 will take advantage of the fact that it is crowded as hell. I had a variety of male hands attempt to slink their way around my waist, a few gropes on the butt and wrist grabbing. I found this kind of shocking since I always saw Korean guys as fairly timid beings in comparison to Westerners. Come on now, even guys back in England didn't do this to me when I went out clubbing.
But literally everywhere I went, there would be a guy trying to grab me. Heck, any girl that they laid their eyes on they would attempt to grab. Once you manage to pry off one guy and he walks off, another one will come to take his place within seconds. Why don't these guys get the point that I don't want to be touched?! Especially the waist. No one should touch my waist.
And what's even worse is that these guys take advantage of the fact you are technically pressed against them no matter where you are on the dance floor. So they start rubbing their dick against your ass whilst you attempt to dance. I didn't learn how to avoid this situation until my 2nd visit where you basically have to dance at the sides with your back right against the wall, or on the stage. 

I think there just came a point that night where I got tired of trying to pry hands off me - happens all the time wherever I go clubbing in Korea to be honest. So I just ended up settling with one guy grinding himself against me whilst he latched himself onto my hips - the amount of times I had to keep those hands away from my waist...

One extra thing to mention.

If you don't wish to make things more intimate between yourself and the guy, REJECT HIM WHEN HE SUGGESTS THAT THE DANCE FLOOR IS TOO HOT AND THAT YOU AND HIM SHOULD MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE COOLER.
I'd like to name this special intimate place the 'DARK AC' area. This is basically the prime makeout place of the NB2, located to the left of the stage (when you're facing it) where one of the huge air condition machines are.
I learnt this the hard way.

No matter what day you go to NB2 it will always be packed. It's at its extreme on weekend nights. Weekdays are slightly better, there's space a tiny bit of space and you can breathe a little more. You can actually move.

Gangnam NB

NB Gangnam: 360 Sounds event

This place is basically the prettier, larger and more spacious version of NB2 Hongdae. But otherwise it's the same. Guys here will still grab onto you, but at least you will have more space to move away and reject them.

Luckily, a lot more people dance here.

Entrance ticket is 20,000won. One of the cheapest clubs in Gangnam I believe.

Conveniently, there is a Family Mart convenience store near the club to do a bit of outdoors pre-drinking. Also, right across the store is a ledge where you can put your drinks on to mix.

The one time I went was on a Friday night in November, purely because me and my friend thought Beenzino would be there to perform or something with 360 Sounds since he posted a poster of the event on his Instagram. Unforunately, Beenzino didn't appear Well, at least he didn't perform. Instead, Hi-lite Records came: B-free, Reddy, Okasian, Kid Ash, etc. which was surprising.
I recall my friend dragging me towards the stage when they were announcing something in Korean, and when we got there a dense crowd had already formed. Then out popped Okasian and B-free and I went mental. Needless to say, I grabbed my phone and went straight to camera recording mode. The videos turned out super blurry since I quickly downed almost a full bottle of soju beforehand, tipsy video recording is never a good idea.

The only clear picture I got amongst a throng of blurry pics. Hiya Shane.

It was this night that I ended up being just metres, and made skin contact, with khiphop people. Having already seen The Cohort perform earlier in the month at Prism Hall, I got to see all 3 members up close.
Reddy probably brushed passed my arms at one point when he was performing.
Later after the performance was done, Okasian was going all out crazy on the dance floor, doing his typical stage dance where he's practically jumping around all over the place. He ended up bumping into me once. Him and his hat and hoodie. A minute later a girl with a black crop top caught his eye, and he proceeded to take multiple selcas with her. If you look on his instagram from that night a picture of that girl will be there.
I almost got to interact with Kid Ash. Whilst making my way out of the club to meet my 2 other friends I saw him hanging around at the balcony area. I was literally an arm's length away from touching him, I could have, but didn't. Now I regret it, because when I passed him I said "hi" and waved at him. At the same time, with a very bored (maybe stoned) expression, he turned away from me. I have no idea if he heard me or not, but I did greet him pretty loudly...

The music here was superb, but that was because 360 sounds were there - a group of really talented DJs. Unforunately, my 2 other friends weren't so appreciative of the hip hop music, so we left around almost 4am.

If I were to pick between NB Gangnam and NB2, clearly the Gangnam branch would win because you actually have space. Paying an extra 5,000won is worth it. But if you're low on money then it's better to hit up NB2.