Seoul

[Traveling Tom]

They existed when I lived there 15-16 years ago. I used to try calling but there was no English on the other end and no interest in serving a non-Korean client.

Often find cards around hotels with girls photo and phone number. Never tried but any take from someone who has? What kind of experience did you have? Please share?

[MrTarzan]

Often find cards around hotels with girls photo and phone number. Never tried but any take from someone who has? What kind of experience did you have? Please share?

[Traveling Tom]

Hope I'm not breaking any rules but follow up on my own previous post. I've gotten a fair amount of responses from my CL ads from Korean, Filipina, and euro girls looking for short term sponsorship. Anywhere from 150-225 k an hour. Not cheap but also not as high as foreigners at anmas.

For the experienced Seoul guys, what are the chances these responses and conversations are some sort of sting op from Korean law enforcement? Maybe that's crazy but would seem like an easy way to bust businessmen and travellers no?

Officetels sound great but not enough guarantee for me to put in that efforts. If anybody has had success with a sponsor and on CL and wouldn't mind sharing their secret, I'd love to learn from you.

[Nother Monger]

Also, where are you getting this info that ops are "on the way out"? There are plenty of them LOL and loads of Korean girls working at them if their adverts are anything to believe.

I'm comparing the number of advertisements from 5 years ago. The # of advert's today has seriously gone down when I compare it to back then. Yeah there still are a bunch, but it's way, way down. From talking with other Koreans, previously if a booker was caught it was just a fine and no jail time, but now they are sentencing people to do time.

[Seoul2012]

Anything that offers full service with Koreans is notoriously hard to get into for westerners. Put simply Korean men do not want to see foreign guys with their women.

Each establishment is different; for geonmas, lip cafes, hugaetels, the foyer, lounge and shower room offer ample chance for customers to by pass each other, the establishments can get a really bad name with their clientel if they are seen to be accepting foreign customers.

L speak Korean (TOPIK level 4, old system) and flat out get rejected when l ring up full saloons, shirt rooms, anmas and OPs. Language is not an issue. Some anmas will play ball with you if you go during unsociable hours and agree to pay the foreigner surcharge. Ones that play ball always go the same way: size, nationality, surcharge.

Also, where are you getting this info that ops are "on the way out"? There are plenty of them LOL and loads of Korean girls working at them if their adverts are anything to believe.

[Traveling Tom]

Officetels sound great but not enough guarantee for me to put in that efforts. If anybody has had success with a sponsor and on CL and wouldn't mind sharing their secret, I'd love to learn from you.

[RubberDuckyBos]

It's a mixture of ignorance, racism and xenophobia, even if you speak the language.

Some bookers will be patient with you if they know your language skills are poor. If you ask them to text you the address and instructions, they usually do. Other bookers wont be as patient and would rather not bother to deal with you, business is that good for them.

The general trend goes like this:

*Korean and fluent in korean - 100% chance.

*SE Asian customer who can pass for korean and can speak korean - 80% acceptable.

*SE Asian customer who can pass for korean but can't speak korean - 70% chance if you somehow manage to get through the hoops (this also applies to gyopos and East Asian visitors).

*White western customer who speaks korean. Around 35% chance.

Thanks for the breakdown, very helpful!

[RainMania]

I was checking out opstar for officetel options, scouting them out prior to leaving, and it looked like many of them offer stuff like a lot more BB options, and greek, etc. As addons whereas it seemed like anmas were more very specific rates for a very specific set of standard services, with no other options listed. Is this not the case?

I guess if officetels are really on the way out, then I shouldn't bother really trying to figure them out, but on the off chance that I want to try them out on a future trip, can you clarify. Will I not be able to book an officetel because they don't accept people who don't speak Korean (is it like a xenophobic thing?) or are you saying I won't be able to go to one because even though the booker is willing to accept me, he won't be able to communicate crucial info to me? Because again, I'm a very poor Korean speaker, but I can speak and understand stuff at a very basic level just fine, and I think directions and room info and stuff would fall within my ability to communicate, as long as its spoken slowly and maybe repeated once or twice. As long as its not a xenophobia thing, I think I can make it past any potential language difficulty with a bit of patience on both parties' parts.

It's a mixture of ignorance, racism and xenophobia, even if you speak the language.

Some bookers will be patient with you if they know your language skills are poor. If you ask them to text you the address and instructions, they usually do. Other bookers wont be as patient and would rather not bother to deal with you, business is that good for them.

The general trend goes like this:

*Korean and fluent in korean - 100% chance.

*SE Asian customer who can pass for korean and can speak korean - 80% acceptable.

*SE Asian customer who can pass for korean but can't speak korean - 70% chance if you somehow manage to get through the hoops (this also applies to gyopos and East Asian visitors).

*White western customer who speaks korean. Around 35% chance.

*White western customer who can't speak korean. Around 25% chance.

*Black western customer who speaks korean. Around 20% chance.

*Black western customer who can't speak korean - 10% to 15% chance.

*South or SE Asian customer who can't pass for Korean and can't speak korean - 10% to 15% chance.

[RubberDuckyBos]

In my experience services are generally comparable to anmas / massage places. In other words, I don't think there's any more to be had.

The crackdown has been steadily going on for the last few years. The number of Officetels compared to 4 or 5 years ago has gone down drastically and I don't expect that trend to stop. As I have posted about in the past, some places will have bookers that can speak some English, but they aren't very common so to have the best chance of getting in, you should speak Korean. As for texting, they will text a general location but when it comes time to get the actual details (ie: the building and room), you will almost always need to speak to them over the phone (in Korean).

I was checking out opstar for officetel options, scouting them out prior to leaving, and it looked like many of them offer stuff like a lot more BB options, and greek, etc. As addons whereas it seemed like anmas were more very specific rates for a very specific set of standard services, with no other options listed. Is this not the case?

I guess if officetels are really on the way out, then I shouldn't bother really trying to figure them out, but on the off chance that I want to try them out on a future trip, can you clarify. Will I not be able to book an officetel because they don't accept people who don't speak Korean (is it like a xenophobic thing?) or are you saying I won't be able to go to one because even though the booker is willing to accept me, he won't be able to communicate crucial info to me? Because again, I'm a very poor Korean speaker, but I can speak and understand stuff at a very basic level just fine, and I think directions and room info and stuff would fall within my ability to communicate, as long as its spoken slowly and maybe repeated once or twice. As long as its not a xenophobia thing, I think I can make it past any potential language difficulty with a bit of patience on both parties' parts.

[Nother Monger]

By "on the table" I mean more services are available and negotiable, not quite literally on the table.

That's unfortunate the gov is cracking down, I dunno when I'll be back again in Korea to have the opportunity to try them out, hopefully they're still a decent option by then. Is this specific to the current administration? Or is this a general trend in Korea that won't change even after the next administration takes office (I believe in about 2 years?

Is speaking Korean a requirement? What about reading / writing Korean? I'm technically still bad at that but better than speaking. Can I set something up just via texting?

In my experience services are generally comparable to anmas / massage places. In other words, I don't think there's any more to be had.

The crackdown has been steadily going on for the last few years. The number of Officetels compared to 4 or 5 years ago has gone down drastically and I don't expect that trend to stop. As I have posted about in the past, some places will have bookers that can speak some English, but they aren't very common so to have the best chance of getting in, you should speak Korean. As for texting, they will text a general location but when it comes time to get the actual details (ie: the building and room), you will almost always need to speak to them over the phone (in Korean).

[Traveling Tom]

Fair point but for someone like me who will only be in Seoul for a short time and has a bad case of yellow fever, these MR girls will do the trick. I love anmas and went to them on a weekly basis 15 years ago but now it sounds like frustration and disappointment going there and maybe not even getting in.

In other news, found a girl advertising on CL looking for a sponsor. Blonde Euro bird. Intriguing but certainly not cheap. Quoted 300 k for two shots.

Sexy massage republic girl is an oxymoron. But you are right, the foreigner rates for a lot of anmas aren't that much different from an hour with MR providers.

[Seoul2012]

Officetels aren't for GFE, GFE is done at kiss rooms, full sallons. Officetels are exactly as Nother Monger describes it.

[Seoul2012]

Thanks for the great report brother. White guy here and have been researching my options for my trip to Seoul in Jan. I really want to try out the club option if it is open to white bros. If not, from what I have researched, the foreigner rate at an anma isn't much different from a sexy massage republic girl in the comfort of my hotel. I've started chatting with a few birds that have reviews on MR.

Sexy massage republic girl is an oxymoron. But you are right, the foreigner rates for a lot of anmas aren't that much different from an hour with MR providers.

[RubberDuckyBos]

GFE in an Officetel can also be hit or miss in my experience but speaking Korean will make things easier. Not sure what you mean by "on the table" since there is no massage involved at all. The routine is usually you go in, chat for a bit, shower, then do the deed, shower, and maybe chat again before you leave. Looks and age wise, I'd generally say yes, the girls working there tend to be a bit younger, but not always more attractive (but that's just me). Lastly, regarding Korean language. Yes, there are some places that will not require it, but not speaking it will seriously limit your options. Additionally, there seem to be less and less Officetel's these days as the government is cracking down so your options will be more limited if you don't speak the language, especially now that some places will want to vet you first.

By "on the table" I mean more services are available and negotiable, not quite literally on the table.

That's unfortunate the gov is cracking down, I dunno when I'll be back again in Korea to have the opportunity to try them out, hopefully they're still a decent option by then. Is this specific to the current administration? Or is this a general trend in Korea that won't change even after the next administration takes office (I believe in about 2 years?

Is speaking Korean a requirement? What about reading / writing Korean? I'm technically still bad at that but better than speaking. Can I set something up just via texting?

[Nother Monger]

Next time I'm around though, I'd really like to try out officetels. Seems like the consensus is you get better GFE, more services on the table, and younger / better looking providers at a lower price, right? But given everyone says speaking Korean is a must for that, I don't know if I'll be able to make that work. I guess I should start practicing.

GFE in an Officetel can also be hit or miss in my experience but speaking Korean will make things easier. Not sure what you mean by "on the table" since there is no massage involved at all. The routine is usually you go in, chat for a bit, shower, then do the deed, shower, and maybe chat again before you leave. Looks and age wise, I'd generally say yes, the girls working there tend to be a bit younger, but not always more attractive (but that's just me). Lastly, regarding Korean language. Yes, there are some places that will not require it, but not speaking it will seriously limit your options. Additionally, there seem to be less and less Officetel's these days as the government is cracking down so your options will be more limited if you don't speak the language, especially now that some places will want to vet you first.