Monkey Beach. If you’ve been in Seoul for longer than two weeks I’m sure you’ve heard of the place even if you have never dreamed of going. However, if by chance you just never heard of it then let me help you out. Just picture a smoky B1 club tightly packed with prowling GIs, overeager Uni students, and throngs of men and women dancing on tabletops to a deafening wall of sound blinded by epileptic inducing strobe lights.
Now throw in pool tables, dart boards, a basketball hoop and add bucket sized alcoholic drinks and a fire show and that’s Monkey Beach. Oh, and did I mention the security guards who resemble refugees from the Expendables? No? Well, they’re there too.
Monkey Beach brings together an unlikely mix of East and West that swirls together in a boozy heap of grinding, flirtatious come ons, and bold cock blocking that comes a hairs breadth of going over the line but manages somehow not to.
Maybe that’s due to the light hearted, steam releasing water gun fights or Chucky masked employees dueling patrons in RPS to bash them in the head with a rubber hammer if they lose or offer a free shot if they win.
If you’ve read enough to tempt you into a night at Monkey Beach then take exit 2 from Apgujeong station and walk toward the Galleria mall. Cross the road and make a right just after McDonalds. Make a left at the second side street, walk past a few buildings and you’ll see the sign.
The Good:
Cheap drinks! Live crowd with Koreans and expats!
The Bad:
The music gets a little repetitive. The tracks seem to be on a loop.
The Weird:
I did mention the half naked fire twirler, right?
Ive been to monkey beach last year November 25th, and I plan to go again this year today my birthday, ive never had any issue with race (im of mixed latin, french, and african american descent) in the past two years here (I.e. monkey beach) ive seen white people, black people, latino people, (both men and women) in all actuality they wave foreigners in more and leave a line of korean guys standing outside the door, they basically let any kind of female in though… (sorry, preferential treatment). Needless to say I love the buckets and I love the club.
I haven’t heard much of a problem at Monkey Beach. Though, I haven’t been in awhile.
While the club was indeed well decked out with all the usual bells and whistles of lights and sounds, its brazen policy of denying entry toward dark-skinned people (yes, Koreans themselves are colored ppl in US, Europe and elsewhere ironically) such as US servicemen of Africans, Latinos and other Asian descents. In my case it was my disability (as a result of a 3-tours stint in AfPak) but the bounty said it was my 35 yrs of age (ageism lol?!). I was with my buddies who are white and they were waved in without even presenting their IDs (and only were asked to AFTER they came to my defense). Rampant ignorance among the superficial whiteness-worshiping native monkeys. There are plenty of other nearby joints more opened especially in Hangdae–the entertainment center, so I say give this buffoon of a monkey a pass!
I’m sorry this happened. I know the feeling. I make it a strict policy on my part never to return to places where I have received such treatment. It’s why I’ve never been back to Club Volume even though the incident happened close to three years ago.
I'm new here in Seoul. Is Monkey beach still open?
Robert: Monkey Beach is still going strong!