Most Westerners think of motels as simple lodging facilities with free roadside parking but South Koreans have long identified them as shabby sex shacks.Interesting that when a foreigner stated that fact in a Gwangju News article she got chewed out by a Korean writer in the Jeonnam Ilbo, in a story that got picked up elsewhere. The Yonhap piece continues a little later:
Such notions are changing, though slowly, as more and more motels are transforming their guest rooms into private entertainment places equipped with wide-screen TVs and other high-tech gadgets as a means of attracting clients.
Motels in South Korea have served as covert places for couples seeking to elude public scrutiny in a society where sex and romantic liaisons are anything but an open subject.
But in the face of a steep increase in competition, motel owners are transforming their guest rooms into private entertainment complexes, renovating once spartan furnishings into lavish accommodations.
Couples can now find rooms in some of the country's leading motels equipped with a swimming pool, a sauna or jacuzzi, and flat-screen displays. Popular game consoles like Play Station or Wii, as well as karaoke machines, multiple PCs and a tastefully decorated bed are all part of the package.
"Lodging facilities used to be just for sleep or sex," said Lee Kyung-su, head manager at Seoul Mate Hotel. "But these days, such limitations don't make money."
And elsewhere:
"Motels used to be a place I go at night, have sex, and wake up in the morning," said an 28-year-old office worker who identified himself only by his last name Lee. "But now I go there also during the daytime with my girlfriend watching movies, playing games, or just lying in bed together listening to music."
I've been meaning to do more profiles on particular motels in Jeollanam-do and elsewhere, but until then I'd invite you to look through what I've already written and browse a couple of the directories of upper-echelon love motels in Korea: Hotel 365, Motel Guide, and Yanolja, a dating site.
5 comments:
This kind of thing isn't all that new. Ajŏshis have been using them for drinking parties and low-stake go-stop marathons for years.
The thing is... virtually all motels are love motels in Korea.
WORD VERIFICATION: stickily
No, actually "sticili," but close enough.
They are World Inns. Remember that? The Koreans renamed the love motels World Inns right before the World Cup in 2002. Great place to bring the family right. I'll bet ajosshi was confused on whether to give mom and dad the condoms with the kids present.
The Love Hotel is one of my all-time favorite things about Korea.
You can go to nearly any town and get cheap and efficient (and often quite swank) lodging for 30k-40k.
AND two toothbrushes and a condom.
That's a good deal in any country.
Love motels are awesome: combined with relatively cheap transportation, they make South Korea a more affordable place to travel than just about any other developed country on Earth. In Vancouver, even a so-so room is going to cost you 2 to 3 times as much as a decent love motel in Korea.
Yeah, kushibo, I think I posted something about a big gambling bust in Wando at a local motel. They're used for all manner of deeds. Even suicides, unfortunately. Suncheon has had its fair share.
Love motels are great not only b/c they're cheap, but because they're well-equipped. Big TVs, A/C, huge bathrooms (for Korea), furniture, big comfortable beds, computers, and you can find loads of other gimmicky rooms. Peter, you'll remember I texted you that I stayed in the "Spain Room" at a motel in Yeoksam back in 2006. They are far superior to the average tourist hotel in Korea, and far cheaper. Then again, I haven't stayed in a newer hotel here, like the Ramada in Gwangju.
I think in the Japan post I mentioned that a hotel room in my alma mater's town in rural Pennsylvania cost between $100 and $130 a night. That's just for a Days Inn or Holiday Inn. Even around here in suburban Pittsburgh a room'll often cost you upwards of $60 per night. I'm looking at a Motel 6 website just out of curiosity, and the room nearest my house is $45.99 (wifi is $2.99 per day). So I guess that's not too bad, considering, but unlike the motels in Korea, if you don't have your own transportation, you can't get there.
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