Drinking in Busan

Full Busan Travel Guide »    South Korea Interactive Map »    Print This Article »

Nampodong by night

Busan has thousands if not tens of thousands of drinking places scattered throughout the city. Popular spots include Nampodong and the area around Dave's Fish and Chips. M-F 7PM-10PM, Sa Su 9AM-10:30PM. Sadly, Dave's is no longer open.Pusan National University. Drinking spots popular with the foreign community include:

Kyungsung University area: Currently this area has the most selections in terms of density and sheer numbers of drinking establishments of any area in Busan.

• Ghetto, Probably the cheapest drinks in Busan. ₩1000 shots of your preferred liquor. The music is loud and sometimes obnoxious, but this place always draws a dancing crowd.
• Vinyl Underground, A good place to meet Korean girls and act like a total douche bag. Sometimes cover. Has become more clubby lately, as opposed to pubby. pusanweb.com/dongha/vinylunderground.htm
• Foxy, Plays hip-hop, caters more to the college crowd. Sometimes there are live performances of locals. Cover varies nightly, can be as high as ₩15000. You will want a private room to escape the crowd, prepare to pay for that as well.
• Ol'55, A usually quiet western style bar with a free to use billiards table and dart board. Sometimes live music. pusanweb.com/dongha/ol55.htm
• Kino-Eye, Darts and a big bar, occasionally there's dancing. Look for the creepy rabbit with the red eye. Party starts after 1am or so. Movies shown nightly.
• 302, Small, but there's (pretty good) live jazz on the weekends.
• Thursday Party Much akin to the other Thursday Parties in town, one of the most popular places for Koreans and Westerners to intermingle. If you've been to one, you've been to them all.
• O'Brien's The an excellent 'dive' bar in Busan. Very relaxed atmosphere. Pat owns the place now and is a great bartender. Slammin' burgers and Western chow. Live Music on occasion. Just past Seomyeon on the #2 subway line, Gaya station exit #2.
• Rock 'n' Roll Bar . ₩3000 cocktails, ₩6000 for high-end drinks. Occasional live music and a laid back atmosphere. E-dart board and Pool Table. Across the street from the Lotte Hotel (look for the large sign with Kurt Cobain down the small street perpendicular to Lotte)

In Haeundae:

• Elune In the basement of Paradise Hotel. This is the newest club in Busan and by far the most worthy of being considered a club. Elune is sizeable, attracts international DJs, and has a good sound and light system. Expect to pay a cover.
• MURPII, Novotel Ambassador Busan, entirely renovated, the trendiest night entertainment on Haeundae Beach www.murphys.co.kr
• U2 Bar, across from the Novotel Ambassador Busan.
• Starface Bar, Dalmaji Hill. Pool table and cool Americans aplenty.
• Maktum, A bit of a flashy dance club that brings in Foreign DJs http://maktum.co.kr/.
• Boracay In between Haeundae and the Apec Center. In the basement of a hotel. This is a Korean style booking club. It's expensive and offers the potential to meet Korean women, which are customers not employees.
• Thursday Party Much akin to the other Thursday Parties in town, one of the most popular places for Koreans and Westerners to intermingle.

PNU:

• Crossroads, A chilled out sit-down bar with an excellent music selection
• Moe's, A funkier atmosphere, sometimes live music
• Soultrane, A dancey, loud place.
• The Basement, An ultra smokey bar with pool tables and plenty of expats and food.
• Camel Bar, Miniature billiards and rarely a second customer in the place.

In Gwangalli:

• Hollywood Star, Pool table and darts available. Talk to Jun, he's friendly and knowledgeable and speaks great English. Usually has sexy girls working there.
• Fuzzy Navel, A lot of fun in summer but dead in winter. Beware of the Long Island Ice Tea, famous for its blackout-inducing potential.
• Beach Bikini
• Thursday Party, Gwangalli classic. On a good night the foosball table area becomes a dancefloor and in summer the party spills onto the beach.

Seomyeon also has a lot to offer:

• O'Briens Irish Bar and Restaurant, A variety of Beers, Live Sports, & sometimes Live Music together with Good Western food available til late. pusanobriens.food.officelive.com
• Foxy's, Formerly Hollywood Star. There are two floors, three bars, and a balcony.
• Cowboy Bar, There's a cheesy wild west theme going on, but it has a good selection of drinks.
• Miller Time, Order pitchers of Miller Genuine Draft and eat some HOF style snacks.
• Thursday Party Much akin to the other Thursday Parties in town, one of the most popular places for Koreans and Westerners to intermingle.

• pusanweb.com/dongha/vinylunderground.htm
• pusanweb.com/dongha/ol55.htm
• www.murphys.co.kr
• http://maktum.co.kr/
• pusanobriens.food.officelive.com