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Dublin Bar
This large 'Irish' pub has indoor and outdoor seating, five draught beers including Guinness, and bottled Newcastle Brown. They host trivia nights and all the usual fun pub stuff.
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Feel
This live music rumpus room run by totally eccentric Shin Kyung-so is so packed with the mementoes of a lifetime that it's hard to squeeze in. But it's worth it when Shin and his musical friends get together to play anything from jazz to folk rock. Where else can you listen to a Simon and Garfunkel song being played on an accordion?
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Free Bird
Rock, punk and funk are blasted out every night by young uni bands between and . Four different bands, with names like Incubator, Scarface and Bum, perform every night generally at a high volume. The beers is cheap enough and they do have a happy hour.
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G-Spot
This late-night cellar disco opens very late and irregularly. It attracts mainly Korean gays but is an experience for the daring as the steps down to it are like entering a catacomb.
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Gecko's Terrace
This comfortable and popular 2nd floor bar and restaurant has a global menu, lunch specials, six draught beers and lots of bottled ones plus the obligatory-in-Itaewon darts and pool. It can get like a rugby scrum at peak times.
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Gold 2 Bar
On the 2nd floor, the bar has wood cabin décor, bar food and, best of all, a 500ml beer costs peanuts. No need to say more; grab a window seat and enjoy a few.
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Grand Ole Opry
This grand ole country-and-western bar and dance hall is still going strong with staff who chat and DJs on Friday and Saturday. Beers and cocktails are at suitably old-fashioned prices.
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Hakchon Green Theatre
The smash-hit rock musical Line 1 takes a satirical look at Seoul - the 'Ladies of Gangnam' song and dance is a memorable highlight. The nearly three-hour show has English subtitles on a screen on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
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Igloo
This extraordinary Apgujeong café is only for dog-lovers - 30 canine breeds roam around freely. Most of them have starred in Korean movies and they relax here in between engagements.
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J Bar
This funky subterranean cellar with a youthful vibe and a dance area generally has live music every Friday and Saturday from to . At other times the bar staff have a choice of 6000 LPs as well as numerous CDs. There is a pool table, an occasional DJ and beers are not too pricey.
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Jeontong Dawon
Sit outside under the shady fruit trees in the very pleasant courtyard hideaway or inside a 19th-century hanok decorated with scribbles on the walls. Small art exhibition spaces surround the courtyard. In summer sip delicious omijacha hwaechae fruit punch ( omija are tiny dried berries said to contain five flavours). The nokcha (green tea) is unusual, as it's served with milk.
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JJ Mahoney's
Up the hill and inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel is this classy nightclub with nine different zones, and a live rock band nightly except Sunday. Drinks are hit with a 34% surcharge and there's a dress code. Take a taxi to get there.
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Joker Red
All shades of techno are heard in this club, which has some red lighting effects to justify its name. The chill-out room is useful when it all gets a bit too much.
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Juju Tent Bar
Popular in summer, this outdoor bar near Apgujeong has a retractable roof. Beer and soju is pretty cheap but the food, such as chicken gizzards or feet, grilled eel, stews and fish, is relatively expensive.
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Jumanji Game Café
Select a board game such as Monopoly or Risk from their global selection and start playing — all night long if you want. Most have an explanation in English or a staff member can get you started.
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Kayagum Theatre
These entertaining and lavish 1.5 hour shows include traditional Korean music and dance followed by a glitzy Western/Asian cabaret revue. The hotel theatre is over 1km (0.6mi) from the subway, so take the hotel shuttle bus or a taxi.
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Korea Film Archives
The archives screens classic Korean films with English subtitles. The seasonal programmes provide a rare opportunity to see films that are not normally shown.
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Korea House
You can enjoy a fine dinner of Royal Korean cuisine at this noted restaurant then relax in the intimate 150-seat theatre for a one-hour performance. Put on by a large troupe of top musicians and dancers, the shows have some onscreen commentary in English. You'll see court dances, unique pansori (traditional Korean opera), a fan dance, a spiritual shamanist dance, energetic female drummers and a finale of the samullori , a traditional farmers' dance.
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Labris
Take the elevator up to this comfortable, quiet and relaxed women-only lesbian bar that has sofas, a big screen showing music videos and friendly staff.
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Live Jazz Club
The Seoul Jazz Academy, just off Daehangno has three different jazz groups playing every weekday and Sunday night until well past midnight. Special concerts are held every Saturday. All jazz genres are featured, and Western-style meals are available onsite. Don't miss this serious jazz venue.
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Lotte Cinema
This multiplex has five state-of-the-art cinemas plus Charlotte Hall (Mon-Fri around ₩25000 , Sat & Sun around ₩3000 ), a luxury cinema with 34 reclining plush red armchairs where you can sip beer or wine as you watch.
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Luxury Noraebang
Sing along with the video songs in a range of mostly palatial rooms in this new breed of noraebang , (karaoke venue) which is open all night and provides a more luxurious setting for acting out those rock star fantasies.
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M2
Deep underground is one of the largest and best clubs in Seoul. It has a high ceiling and plenty of lights, and plays mainly progressive house. Telephone to reserve a chill-out zone upstairs. Wednesday is ladies night - free admission is only the start.
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Macondo
This fun and frenetic Latin American dance club in Hongik starts buzzing relatively early, and is soon as crowded as a Where's Wally? cartoon. Free dancing lessons are available. Named after a village in the classic One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, this bar is one of the few places in Seoul that serves dark beer.
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Marronnier Park
This free performance area in Daehangno usually has something happening on warm weekend afternoons. Student artists draw portraits in one corner while high-school rock bands crank it up on the glass-roofed outdoor stage, and a samullori troupe bang their drums and gongs while dancing around under the chestnut trees. 'Mr Guitar', a musician and comedian, regularly performs in front of a large and appreciative audience.
