Any bars/whatever that play 80s city pop?

tbh the best city pop vibe i've found is at this tiny spot called Record Room in Mangwon. it's a listening bar so they're serious about the sound system and the owner mostly spins original pressings from japan and korea from the 70s-80s. no cover on weeknights, just buy a drink and u can sit there for hours flipping through their records if u ask nicely. it's behind the main mangwon market street near the old fire station, easy to miss

arrow_drop_up 13 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

I'd throw in Soca in Sinsa-dong near Garosugil. It's a small spot that does 80s Japanese city pop on their house system most nights, not just a themed thing, and the owner has a thing for Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi. Drinks run about 8,000 to 10,000 won for a cocktail and it's usually quiet enough to talk until midnight when the volume creeps up. The crowd is a mix of locals in their late 20s and early 30s who actually dig the genre rather than just the Instagram aesthetic.

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

If you're into the live band version of city pop, Club Evans in Hongdae has a monthly night called "Retro Wave" that leans hard into that sound. It's a small basement spot near the main Hongdae walking street, drinks are cheap for the area around 5,000 won for a beer. The crowd skews younger but they actually know their Tatsuro Yamashita deep cuts, which surprised me.

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

the whispering thing is real but its not about the sauce lol. that guy runs a 2am handoff with the chicken supplier, they drop off fresh birds from a farm near Chuncheon three times a week instead of using the frozen stuff most hongdae spots rely on. thats why the texture hits different, not the sauce itself. if u go back ask for the neck & wing combo off menu, its cheaper & honestly the best cut they do

arrow_drop_up 24 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

the thing nobody mentions is that Dogdogdog's sauce gets its body from cheong, the Korean rice syrup, not sugar. thats why it coats the wing so thick and stays glossy instead of going sticky. i asked a guy who worked there and he said they also add a splash of maesil (plum) extract at the end off the heat. that fruity tang under the garlic is what you're tasting. go on a weekday before 6, weekends the wait hits 40 min easy.

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

honestly the "secret sauce" thing is prob just marketing. every fried chicken place in Seoul has a version of that story. the real difference at Dogdogdog is they double fry in rice bran oil and toss the wings in the sauce twice, once right out of the fryer and again after a 30 sec rest. thats where the crunch comes from, not some mystery ingredient. if u wanna taste the actual base, order the banban half plain half spicy and dip the plain one in the spicy sauce yourself.

arrow_drop_up 5 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply