Seoul Sex and the City

Trip Start Mar 02, 2004

Trip End Apr 02, 2005

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Flag of Korea Rep. Seoul, Korea Rep.
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

On a recent Saturday night out in Seoul, I found myself wallflowering at Hodgepodge in Hongdae, in the early hours of what was technically Sunday morning. Having spent most of the night with my dear friend Nicole, I surveyed the remaining troopers in our pack, all young, mostly single men like myself--aren't we always 'mostly' single--and saw that none of us had done all that well for ourselves at the pick-up window.

So I got to thinking, what is the secret to picking up? As guys, we all have our own methods of seduction, our modus operendi. But can we learn from each other? And does any one man have the secret to success? So in my best impersonation of a journalist, I gathered together a trio of Seoul's most eligible bachelors to answer the burning question: What really is the best Plan of Attack?

John, an American on the first of what may prove to be numerous tours of South Korea, is a pick-up man

angry face

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. "I'm a bartender," he says, flexing his muscles. "So when we close up shop at 3 or so in the morning, it's harvest time."

His line is smooth, and if it seems a little advantagious he's quick to clarify his methods. "Even before I started bartending here I was in on the scene and a quick draw at the bar," he explains. "It's not all about being a bartender, or even about being hot, but about being confident enough to approach girls."

Craig, another Yank, is rather more resevered. "I envy guys like John," he says, in his understated accent. "But I tell you, in a city like this, it's easy to find girls on the internet." A cursory check online reveals some pretty sophisticated dating services geared to foreign men and the Asian women who love them. But it's not as easy as one might think. As John puts it; "The online services are cool, but if you're hot, they think you're a playboy, and they're all over you and nothing at the same time."

"That's because they're sober and don't know you from shit," says Drew, a Canadian teacher on his first and final year in Korea. "It's like trying to order off a menu written only in Korean, you gotta ask for a recommendation." Drew is of the twice-removed school of picking up

happy face

. "Most of the girls I've dated were chicks I met through a friend," he explains with a rather uncouth grin. "Someone once told me that it's easier that way, but fuck, whatever works man. If you're a buddy of her girlfriend, guy, you're set."

The one thing John, Craig and Drew can aggree on is that, regardless of methods, Seoul is a pretty decent place to pick up. "I was in Taiwan and the place was weak," says Drew. "Korean girls are the best reason for being here," says John. "I've been laid here more than I ever did in high-school and college combined," admits Craig, who has signed up for another year. "That's gotta count for something."

And I guess it must. Whatever your method is, however you approach it and however you are successful, trying to hook up is a major past time here, and sure beats staying home.

David, aka Carrie Bradshaw wanna-be

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