There is an unspoken rule in Korea. Well, maybe it’s not so secret after all. The first rule of Drinking in Korea is that you must buy a side dish (anjoo). Ya’ll know about this, right? The drinks at Korean bars are cheap for a reason: the side dishes that are more like an invitation for love handles, are really expensive. Inevitably you will be faced with the dilemma: what if I’m Really Full but I just want some goddamn beer?
Well fear not, fellow drinkers. There is a solution and it is called Woodstock. It’s a small in Gangnam, near exit 10 . Woodstock is the closest to an American dive bar that I’ve come across in Korea. The bar is usually packed with Americans. Typical. There are a few perks about Woodstock that keep me coming back every week. The first is the music selection. For those of you who like music ranging from Bob Dylan to the Knife, Metallica to Bat4Lashes, Patti Smith to Depeche Mode, you’ve come to the right place. They have two walls filled to the top with old LPs and CDs. They have blank music request cards at the bar that you can take to your table and bring back. If they have your song, they will play it for you. Loudly.
The other perk has already been mentioned. No need for food here. It’s like you’re back in America. You can order a beer and be done with it. People come alone and sit at the bar. The bartenders are friendly and will chat with you. There is also a dartboard for all you dart fiends. They have a full bar and beer on tap: Cass or Hoegaarden. Can’t forget that you’re in Korea, right? But they do carry bottled IPAs and Pale Ales. Yum.
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The Rundown
Woodstock
I love this place. One of the few western style bars south of the river. where you don’t have to order food like most Korean places. Just good drinks, good service, and good atmosphere. Awesome music request service.
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H ithere – very nice review & awesome photos! I used to live in Gangnam and share a lot of your observations. Just wanted to say that there is another Woodstock music bar, a bit hard to find, on the Yeoksam-dong side in a basement, and I personally liked that one even better, because it has less of the expat feeling that I’ve encountered in so many other places, and not just in Korea — just seems much more authentic to me. You may want to give it a try one of these days – up on the hill towards the Dublin pub. I think they have a new facebook page now, although not much else seems to have changed since the last millenium. once good, always good, I’d say. cheers. here it is: http://www.facebook.com/Woodstock.Music.Bar.Gangnam.