Nightlife

This section has pages packed with photos showing how I and hundreds of other teachers, engineers, military staff and others from abroad, and our Korean friends, spend a typical Friday and Saturday night in Changwon, Korea.

Many bars in the city have "Western Bar" sprawled over their signs, but they're pretty much the same as the Korean bars, which are not at all "western".

The IP

The owner Soon-young is shown here, dressed in Hanbok for a Korean holiday.

The bar is quite small and while this creates a great atmosphere, it is sometimes rather too crowded and uncomfortable on a busy night.

The Monkey House

The Monkey House started to gain popularity as an alternative to the IP in 2003, as its drinks were of comparative prices and as, well as a dart board, the Monkey House had the added attraction of a pool table.

Jackie (shown here) is one of the lovely ladies that work there.

O'Briens

In August of 2003 Austin (pictured here) opened his own Irish pub, O'Briens, just across the hallway from the Monkey House.

O'Briens is the largest of the three bars.

There is more choice on the menu, a nicer dart board and a newer, well-lit pool table, as well as a fusbol table and big-screen TV.

A pool league runs on Thursday nights and the bar has a soccer team that play local teams occasionally to run-off some of the beer consumed.

In addition to live sports on the big screen, O'Briens has held very popular open-mic nights and a DJ contest which provide great fun and entertainment.

Norae Bangs

Norae bangs (singing rooms) are very popular in Korea and great fun.

The choice of English-language songs is sometimes poor, but you get your own private room with comfortable sofas and use the huge remote control to request tunes while you enjoy drinks with your friends.

Above: Darin's uncle (visiting from California) and Ray showing the brick-sized remote control.

Left: Sabine and Ray in duet.