Places to place at Seoul

Discussion in 'Japan / Korea' started by zackery, Jun 2, 2005.

  1. zackery

    zackery New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    will be going to Korea to study Korean for 1 year. Will be looking for places to play badminton around Sinchon & Hong Ik university area.

    Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

    zackery616@gmail.com
     
  2. david14700

    david14700 Regular Member

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    Hiya

    Are you Korean or American? I'm Korean and I've played in Seoul as a visitor a few times so I'll tell you what little I know.

    Seoul is divided into boroughs (I think the Korean word is Gu), and each borough has its own badminton association and each borough is divided into neighbourhoods, and each neighbourhood has its clubs, usually around a dozen. There are a lof of schools with good gyms, and the clubs are almost exclusively run in the early mornings before school starts (start around 5-6 am and finish around 8-9 am).

    The good thing is that most clubs run 7 days a week so you can play as much as you want. Some clubs have a joining fee, around $100-200, one off payment. Some clubs just have the monthly fee of around $20.

    If you are a non-member, they have this funny practice where you can just turn up and play, but you have to bring your own feather shuttles and use them.

    Because there are so many players who just play recreationally (i.e. outdoors, no net) if you say you play badminton, some clubs will want to see how good you are and may say no if you're not good enough. The standard is not that high though. An intermediate club level will get you into most clubs. You usually have to call up the club secretary and ask permission to turn up the first time. There are loads of web sites and a city directory of clubs on the Korean Badminton Association website (there is also a Seoul Badminton Association website that lists clubs by Gu).

    If you're going to be a student at a university, it will definitely have a few badminton clubs. The main univ team will be very strong, probably some pro/semi-pro players sponsored to represent the univ. But there will lots of other clubs, some good level, others purely recreational (just an excuse to get togethere to drink and date really). It's usually pretty cheap though. Some of these univ clubs have amazing gyms, like huge indoor stadiums.

    Hope this helps, have fun (Shinchon area is one serious party location!)

    David
     
  3. alinseoul

    alinseoul New Member

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    Hi David I couldn't find the websites you mentioned (Korean/Seoul Badminton Association). I'm new to Seoul and just joined a club which is a bit far away from where I'm living now (COEX) but couldn't find info about other clubs.

    Other websits are all in Korean :crying:
     
  4. event

    event Regular Member

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    The best website for finding a club is this one

    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/index.cgi

    ...because it has the gu names romanized and because some of the club links have maps, albeit in Korean. You're looking for clubs under #37 and #45 if you live near COEX. Get someone you know to help you because some of the clubs play outdoors.

    This one is in a neighbouring ward but is in a public facility with an indoor gym. It might be tricky to get to from Yangjae Station.
    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/read.cgi?board=seoul-sucho&y_number=2&nnew=2

    This should be near you. It is near Irwon Stn near the Samsung Medical Centre. 45,000 a month and they play in the mornings. Indoors, I think.
    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/read.cgi?board=seoul-kangnam&y_number=11&nnew=2

    This is 35,000, is in Gyeonggi High School indoor gym (6 courts) which should be straight north of Samsung Stn and they play in the evenings.
    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/read.cgi?board=seoul-kangnam&y_number=10&nnew=2

    This is near Sunneung Stn in the indoor gym of a girl's high school and they play in the mornings.
    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/read.cgi?board=seoul-kangnam&y_number=4&nnew=2

    This club plays in the mornings and it is a little farther (near Maebong and Guryong Stns) but it is at a public facility: the Gangnam Citizen's Gymnasium. In some cases, this can mean that you can play in the gym without joining a club. Outside of Seoul, this kind of facility is heavily subsidized and one can play for 1000won a pop. I've never heard anything firsthand from Seoul but it's worth checking out. It's the Gangnam Gumin Chaeyookkwan at 02-3461-3877.
    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/read.cgi?board=seoul-kangnam&y_number=1&nnew=2

    There is a large brand-new badminton-only facility in the west end in Magok-dong but it's only really reachable by bus.

    I hope you find a place to play conveniently and reply if you need any other information.
     
  5. event

    event Regular Member

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    Hi Zackery,

    I'd suggest the second link for you also...

    http://minton.x-y.net/cgi-bin/technote/index.cgi

    ...but you'll want options #43 and #47 for your area. You'll need to read Korean but there are some maps to the gyms on there and everything.

    If you're looking for top-notch facilities, there is a brand new badminton-only gym out in Magok-dong which shouldn't be too far away by bus from your area. I have never played there but it looks a lot like what we have down here in Suwon. When I was there, it was during a tournament and I forgot to ask about admission fees.

    A lot of the clubs you will find on the above website, play outdoors or even on indoor dirt surfaces, although most are at schools with proper gyms. The public facilities are more likely to have a low admission fee as opposed to the schools, where you have to pay 30,000won a month and up for membership in the club, which in turn pays to rent the school's gym. I can't speak for the gym in Magok or Seodaemoon specifically, however. Nor do I know how crowded any of those places are.

    Unfortunately, I have never heard anything firsthand from anyone who has actually found a club in Seoul.
     

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