Whitenoize End of Summer Party

Another Whitenoize event is here and there are only a few days until the Summer holidays finish and everyone is back in work mode. Sarah is also leaving to head back to the US, so i couldn't miss it.

I met back up with the guys who were visiting form the US and we headed to club Answer in Cheongdam. By the time we arrived, things were already kicking off, so we decided to get a table upstairs in the VIP lounge... in Korea it never takes long to attract a few gold diggers, so a few of them arrived and we just chilled.

As the party started to heat up, we were joind by my friends and a few relatives. Three bottles of Absolut later, we were all going crazy, dancing on the sofas and tables.... it was insane! I ended up crawling out of there around 4:30am with a few friends.

Grey Goose Launch Party

The french vodka company were putting on a small event to promote themselves amongst koreans (most koreans don't drink vodka much and prefer whisky). It was held at a pop up store, Urban Lounge in Garosu-gil, Sinsa.

Garosu-gil is known as the Paris of Seoul.... it is a long road lined with trees and fashionable boutique stores, cafes and restaurants. The road is lined with luxury cars and if you are not looking very stylish, you would stand out.... a lot! To foreigners, it is alo known as Green Street (not many streets in Seoul have as many trees). This street seperates, Apgujeong and Cheongdam - the other two most classy, fashionable and expensive areas (Sinsa is the third) in Korea.

Needles to say, all cocktails and shots created with Grey Goose were free. I recently spoke to a couple of designers form the US on Couchsurfing, as they were looking for people to hang out with and just by chance they were there... so we had a great conversation and decided to meet up later in the night as i was heading off to Sarah's (my california girl from the Whitenoize parties) event at club Answer.

Korean friends from England

In Korea, people value their weekend much more simply because of the conservative approach to weekday socialising, so this Sunday I decided to meet up with my friends from school. We just walked around Gangnam, had a few drinks and something to eat. Then off to a norebang! (singing room) Nice catching up with everyone.

Relatives

Went out to meet some korean relatives for drinks... nothing special happened, but we always make each other laugh.

Thursday Afterwork Party

Its that time of month again, when i head out to the Thursday social event 'Afterworks Party'. I met up with Jade and Co. This was my first time being introduced to Paula, a sweet girl from Sweden... we'll be hanging out again im sure.

Absolut Cheers Party

I received a call from Jade last telling me about this event at club Heaven. It was a decent night with free drinks all night. The music was pretty good too but the event closed at 1am... but then again, this is Korea and partying on a Thursday night is not very common.

Back to LUV...

So by now i have become a regular at LUV lounge in Itchywon (Itaewon). I have become well established with the owner, David and often bottle service... my partner in crime is Eric, me and Eric work together and he is happily married. But he lives in the area which means he is often out getting wasted.

On this particular night, we met Adrian, a really cool guy. Most people who know me, know that most of my friends a female, so since coming to Korea, iv been trying to make some some good male friends.... but to be fair-most of them i meet are complete dicks. Anyway, Adrian introduced me to Nara.... a smart, funny and sassy girl from Canada. I like Nara, but something disturbs me about this girl, hehe! (sorry Nara, i dont know what it is though!).

World Cup 2010: South Africa!

The games for the world cup were showing at 3 times of the day: 8:30pm, 11pm & 3am! So many places were open 24hrs.... Platoon was one of these places and because they have large screens and a comfortable surroundings to sit down in, i watched the Korea games here.

I must admit, that although football is popular here... the supporters dont have the same passion and energy as back in England and i really missed being in a bar/pub back home (my last time was the champions league in a pub in Chelsea >_<)

Most of the games i watched at home though, otherwise getting up for work would be a bitch (to my korean readers... this means not good).

Melange Private Afterparty @ Hotel Gossip

Title says it all really... a new artist performing at a private event in Cheongdam. Met up with a friend there, it was a nice crowd (as expected in this area/location).

Matheus is leaving Korea next week so the family went out to support him for his last DJ set in Seoul. It was at LUV Superlounge - this place opened last month so is fairly clean and fresh in terms of demographic... this is a big deal for me as i avoid Itaewon and this place has given me reason to be in this area... i have a feeling a few decent places will start popping up, splitting the area in 2... leaving old Itaewon to the less sophsticated socialite. We shall see.

Adventures in Sky Park

A few posts back you will recall i spent one afternoon consuming beer on a rooftop. Well that afternoon was the day this random girl came up to me and smiled... gave me her number and told me she wanted to meet up. A week later we went for dinner and got on really well. 2 days after going for dinner we went to the movies. The day after, she bought me a $100 hat (hers only cost $70, ha!).... the thing is, she is so sweet and innocent she was just like a little sister and she made me laugh a lot. So no... nothing happened if you were wondering!

Anyway, we finally went for a picnic and spent the day at Sky Park walking around and enjoying the scenery. A lot of fun - i would defo take a date to this place... but cant see that happening anytime soon! (i'll say why in a later post)

My secrets: Part 1

I decided to start a series in my blog where i will post random images of things i have found online or created myself in order to reflect some of the crazy stuff that has passed through my mind or simply because i find it interesting-its visual emotional rollercoaster... make of it what you will for i am a pretty abnormal human being.

The Day We Became a Family

Today i took Ahyun (the girl i met a few posts ago at the Afterwork Party) to a rooftop BBQ at Platoon Kunsthalle, in Apgujeong/Sinsa. Platoon originates from Berlin and is a platform for creative people to meet and socialise. It is made of 36 ship containers and has 4 floors, NIKE room, 2 bars, dancfloor/club space and studios which are rented out to anyone in the creative industry for FREE. This is my favorite place to network in Seoul by a long way. Artists, musicians, journalists, actresses, designers, architects.... this place is a hub for creative social activities! Fun times are ALWAYS had here, You can hold exhibitions here or attend the monthly night time flee markets.

On this particular visit, i met up with several people i knew via Facebook but never actually met (yes this happens). Then i met the DJ, a Swedish guy called Matheus, several Parisians (no not Persians - people from Paris, silly!) studying for a semester in Seoul, an american and a few koreans. In total around 15 of us instantly 'clicked'.

The event was from 2-9pm, so around 5pm, Kiara (one of 2 korean girls-the other is Amy) decided we all go eat in Gangnam, drink at a lounge and head to club EDEN for a crazy night out..... and that we did!

Quiet night in with friends

A few of us decided to have a chilled drinking session at one of our friends apartments. Good times.

Too much champagne is bad for the brain

I was chilling at home and my friend Jade told me about a party in Sinsa, for the launch of a fashion label... i ended up calling my friend Cat - Cat is a gyopo (a korean american, who for some reason are usually form California). Anyway, she had a friend visiting form the US so we all met up in Apgujeong and headed over to the party.

The party was okay but we only stayed an hour then decided to head to ARK lounge in Cheongdam. We ended up in one of the VIP rooms, drinking way too much champagne.... goodnight world!

4th World DJ Festival

I ended up going at the last minute to this annual event, which itself is not worth the $50 entrance fee ($1 = 1000KRW so i'll just use $'s in my blog from here on out).

Anyway, i had fun - met up with my friend Eva (she is a DJ in Seoul) and as the day went on, i hung out with Jessica and Casey.... and a bunch of randoms in between.

This event was from 2pm Saturday until 6am Sunday so i cam prepared with layers and picnic blanket for us all to sit/sleep on!

A Day of Prayer and Beer

Today, I had a business trip and ended up going to a temple to learn about buddhism... it was actually quite interesting - i made a prayer bracelet from mala beads, did a few rituals and learnt how to make and serve traditional korean tea.

During lunch a fewof us decided to skip the afternoon session and head out in the area (we were in Insadong) for a few beers on a rooftop and enjoy some sun.

First Thursdays Afterwork Party - May

On the first Thursday of every month, a champagne infested party is hosted in Apgujeong or Cheungdam for those who, like myself, enjoy networking with a more sophisticated crowd. Beautiful people, great music and comfortable venues...good times. These events are invitation only and the organisers have an online screening process, which keeps these parties fairly exclusive.

Having fun with my friend Jaehwa Kim (holding drink) and her fellow korean drama actresses.

Awesomely chilled house beats

My lovelies H.Kim and Eva (right)

Making Russian friends

Victor and his russian friends

I ended up going to another party with my new friend Victor, he speak fluent Russian as he's lived in Moscow for a decade-in the oil business! Let me put it this way, he was back in town for the month and had his RR Phantom flown over....and it was niiiiiiiiiice.

We ended up at JJ's (inside the Hyatt Hotel) where we spent the next 4hrs on the dancefloor with more champagne. I was approached by a cute girl who ended up spending most of the night with, she was fun but I wasn't interested in her so turned down a dinner date.... then as i left her friend mentioned she was famous (but i wouldn't know a famous korean person so it didnt matter, but on seeing these blurred pics, i got a big response from my korean friends)

Former KBS anchorwoman and announcer, Sohn Mi Na.

More socialising...

This is actually are bar at night, OI (pronounced oh-eye) is like an Alice in Wonderland type of place hidden form the main streets of Hondae... u have to take your shoes off on entering into these cave like seating areas... can be a nice place to chill pre clubbing but the cowd seemed to be a little strange.. or just not my kind of ppl.

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Cat, is a girl i met in Butterfingers - ordering my food, she looks, i look, she asks if im alone, i say yes, she asks me to join her ..boom! Thats usually how i randomely meet ppl. For some reason Butterfingers is attended by 99% cute korean girls... the weekends, a few foreigners hang there, and the odd guy dragged there by his gf. Not sure why its only hot girls in this place... the food is great! Anyway, met up with Catherine for coffee with her other random friend.

At my favorite cafe in Gangnam - Baek 100

Then there's Aboli... this is the most random girl iv met, she is from India and we hung out and went for dinner etc... fun times were had. Oh and if ur thinking "she doesn't look Indian" take a trip to north India sometime.

On the way home im sitting on the subway with a girl standing opposite, keeps looking over... im surrounded by koreans who notice this but its normal for koreans to watch my every move... so the girl gives me a flirty smile... i hold my hand out, she drops her cell phone in my palm, i key in my number and hand it back.... she sends me a txt saying "hi this is the girl in front of you, my name is ***** , what are you doing now? wanna grab some coffee? So we got off t the next station and had drinks... everyone who saw this was pretty shocked at the smooth transition of making new contacts. Anyway, im random like that... and most koreans dont know how to deal with my random approach. It makes for funny situations. I recall the other week i saw a couple on the subway.. the girl asks about my life (where im from, job etc), but a little flirty so i ask them "are u guys a couple?" and at the same time he says "yes" and she says "no! he just wsnts to be but he is only friend", haaaaaaaaaaa! I love Korea!

Pancakes.... again!

I met up with a few friends who were visiting Seoul for the day. They live in city of Incheon, which is about an hour away.

I met up with Adidas and Isobel in gangnam, I met Isobel the night of the fashion show with Anja - it was 6am, we were getting food and she looked mega cute... and she asked to hang out, so we did. Took them to Butterfingers (I havent metioned this place much but its an american breakfast diner open 7am-3am and takes my money at least once every week... western food is not cheap in orea, but im addicted to their pancakes and $10 shakes, mmmm)

Isobel

Adidas (yes that is her english name)

Took the subway today (i rarely use it as taxis are pretty cheap in Korea)

Whitenoize 1st Birthday

My friend Sarah is a California girl, who spent time studying in London. She spends some of her time in Seoul hosting some crazy parties and this was one of them.

I ended up going with Kelly, a korean girl who spent her high school years in Atlanta - i think its fair to say, she was influenced a lot by the black culture whilst there and she is actually one of the most open and funny koreans iv met here... we met through Couchsurfing (Seoul CS'ers tend to arrange activities each month, moveis, festivals, hiking, dnner etc).

Fellow CSer Kelly

The Whitenoize party took place at Club Answer also known as Le Nuit Blanche (was the new name, then was changed back to Answer recently to save confusion, although both names are on the building entrance, so... double confusion).

Jennifer comes to visit

Jennifer is still in London doing another Masters degree and had a 3 week project in China, so she came by Korea to see me a week in advance (yey!). She took me to a nice seafood restaurant and we hit a club.

Club Answer is in Cheongdam. At this point I should metion the 3 main areas for the fashionable trendy folk hang out are Apgujeong, Gangnam & Cheongdam (also full of many weekend millionaires but mostly ppl who try too hard to be cool, which in turn is not only plastic.. but very funny to see)... so why do I go here? Well the venues are really nice and clean, there is always room to mingle and dance, the people are good looking and because the prices are pretty high for by Korean standards, it keeps the 'shit' away. The downside is many people stand around clapping their hands for 4hrs whilst standing around commenting on everyone else. But hey, my feet don't stick to the floor, the bathrooms are clean and my drinks are well made.

So Happy in Paris? Michaël Canitrot @ Club ANSWER, Cheongdam.

So Happy in Paris? Michaël Canitrot @ Club ANSWER, Cheongdam.

Socialising has been somewhat of a dilemma for me in Korea. Before I came here, most of my friends I spent time with in England were korean and most of my friends here are korean. But 99% of them are still fairly conservative compared to westerners, which means although they like to go out and party until 6am... they are not able to carry the same crazy energy im used to experiencing back in Europe.

To solve this problem, I can head out with my american friends, who really do know the difference between simply jumping up and down, screaming until the early hours and ACTUALLY bringing their own personal energy out with them. To do this I would generally have to go to Hongdae though. Hongdae hosts the biggest and best design school in Korea (i teach some of the students there) so they are usually not living at home and can be pretty rowdy/crazy... so they have a lot more to offer in terms of energy than the more trendy parts of town. I used to go to Hongdae a lot when I first came here because there were many foreigners there and was just easier... and if u want to get wasted for little money, its the best place to be (although there are some very nice, but hidden bars, cafes & eateries). Problem with Hongdae is:

a) its full of students

b) its pretty cheap (quality), no room to dance, toilets are diguisting, feet stick to floor, sweaty beyond belief by just standing there.

So then why don't I just go to these trendy/cool places with my foreign friends?

Well, quite simply, they refuse to pay $30 to get into a club.... or $15 for a drink. I don't earn a lot of money in korea by any stretch but most of my foreign friends clear $2000 minimum each month, living in korea is not expensive.... thus i spend it all on partying and travel!

So Happy in Paris? Michaël Canitrot @ Club ANSWER, Cheongdam.

So Happy in Paris? Michaël Canitrot @ Club ANSWER, Cheongdam.

I tend to roam around wherever I please in Seoul as im often mistaken as someone famous.

CS'ers in Seoul

Many of you may not know, but I do a fair amount of 'couchsurfing', which is either hosting a stranger who is visiting Seoul or when I travel I could also search for a couch (i only host atm), so far iv'e hosted 2 couples from the US, a girl from Egypt and a guy from Japan. Dave is from Jamaica and teaches in Japan so i didnt want to pass up the chance of uniting with a fellow Jamaican (and for my Seoulites who are still confused-my parents are from the Caribbean... not Africa).

Dave also met another CSer, Julia lives in Korea... she is half Korean, half Japanese.... but doesn't use her japanese in Korea (for obvious reasons) and her attitude is very free and very refreshing, which stands out from the conservative nature of the average korean girl (more about that later!).

We went for dinner and coffee in Gangnam (one of my 3 favorite areas in Seoul). There aren't many foreigners here (except the main street), so it still feels authetic but in a modern and fashionable way.

Seoul Fashion Week A/W 2011

I decided to take Anja to fashion week, nothing too special on show but we had a nice time.