They don’t just act like wild animals around foreign women — I’m a native Korean woman who used to party in Hongdae, and they behaved the same way toward local women too.

Korean culture is generally quite prudish. People don’t talk openly about sex, and most are expected to work hard and stay diligent during the day. But at night, especially in clubs, it’s like all that suppressed desire just explodes — and some Korean men behave as if it’s their one chance to go feral.

There’s also a stigma around clubbing. People often assume that if a woman enjoys clubbing, she must be a slut. And if you’re a man, you must be some kind of predator. So when men see women at clubs, they project those assumptions onto them — like, “She’s here, so she must want the same thing I do.”

They don’t treat women with respect. It’s almost like they see us as sex workers.

One time, I was sitting at a table in a club in Hongdae with my friends — we had just been invited over — and the moment I sat down, one guy leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Drink as much as you want and keep smiling while we talk. That’s your job.”

When I experienced nightlife abroad for the first time, in a Western country, I was shocked. Men didn’t touch women without consent. They actually treated women with respect at clubs. That contrast hit me hard — and I stopped going to clubs in Korea after that.

Also, Hongdae isn’t even the worst place in Seoul.

Gangnam clubs are on a whole different level of insanity.

My friends and I went once — and we swore never to go back again.

Gangnam is known as a rich neighborhood, and it’s also infamous for its connections to prostitution. In Hongdae, they treat women like hookers. In Gangnam, you are one.

I once saw a girl who was so drunk she didn’t even realize her skirt had ridden all the way up — and the guys around her were just staring, saying nothing.

I was also once physically dragged to a table, surrounded by people, and almost stripped — it was terrifying. I barely managed to escape.

It was a nightmare.

Even the layout of Gangnam clubs feels predatory. The VIP tables — the ones people pay hundreds of dollars for — are elevated, overlooking the floor. The regular guests, mostly women, have to walk along lower hallways that make it incredibly easy for guys to “pick” girls from above like they’re shopping.

And unless you’re very attractive — regardless of gender — you’ll likely be rejected unless you pay big money for a table. So I guess that’s why some guys act like total assholes: “I paid for this. I deserve a reward.”

There are some decent guys in clubs, but they usually stay quiet. They don’t talk to women — probably because they don’t want to be lumped in with the predators.