KMK: Oi

The other night I decided to check out Oi, the lastest hot spot in Hongdae. My co-worker, Amanda, had gone there a week before and loved it. Her thumbs up came on the heels of a raving review of Oi in the December issue of Groove magazine. With two glowing recommendations how could I not drop in?

After work I jumped in a cab and zipped over to Hongdae. Since I had forgotten the Groove Magazine it took about twenty minutes to find Oi. It’s in the Catchlight building which is near the Park where the craft and jewelry stands and just around the corner from the Khaosan restaurant. I took the elevator up to the third floor and stepped into Oi. The welcoming sign at the entrance proclaimed:

Welcome to Oi we takes you into our heart anytime

Watch your step so as not to slip

So please be careful

We wish you to take a cordial time

That sounded promising. There was also a stand with a stack of bags for carrying your shoes. With shoes bagged and ready I proceeded through the narrow, twisting, cave entrance. Candle light lit the way into the main bar where sensory delights waited.

Visually, emerging into Oi felt like experiencing an undersea odyssey. The space has an organic quality mimicking the flowing shapes and curving lines of oyster colored coral reef. The dips and rises serve as the seating. You can just slide down onto a throw pillow near one of the slightly raised tree stump table tops. There is also a series of raised spaces where you can sit on a second level.

The mood of Oi is enhanced by the lighting and music. The uv lights bathe the shell colored walls and floors in blues. Green and purple trim snake around the edges like a neon circulatory system. The music pushes the deep-sea vibe even further with as waves of sound flowed over my senses in a symphonic stream of strings and synthesizers that segue into chilled out lounge and out-of-body trip hop.

Of course the extrasensory overload begs for some liquid libation and you may be feeling a bit peckish as well. If that’s the case the Oi menu awaits. Drinks range from 100,000 won bottles of wine to beer to colorfully named cocktails as well as the usual selection of teas, coffees, and sodas. Appetites can be satisfied with several selections of Western or Korean side dishes.

Did I also mention that they serve shisha? They do. Fire up your hookahfor 10,000 won and relive that past life spent idling away the days in an opium den. Do you need any more incentive?

Oi has a fragile dreamlike quality that should be experience first hand. Stop out of the body to body jam packed madness of M1 or the boozy dungeons of Tin Pan and step into the bliss of Oi.