Badminton In Seoul

[event]

As queenmillenia pointed out in the other thread, there are several ways to get a map off your computer and into your hands so that you can show it to people and ask them to point you there. I personally haven't found Seoulites on the street to be particularly good with either maps or with directions and especially when it comes to a gym, you can't expect the average pedestrian to know it. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult for any of us to attempt to give you 3km of walking directions in a city with never-used and rarely-marked street names. I personally haven't been to that part of the city in years and can't give you reliable landmarks.

Also, as queenmillenia pointed out, there are two Hyundae Hyperions and we're not sure which one you're at. Fortunately, my suggestion to you is to take a bus which goes by both of them. I'll therefore repeat my suggestion to take the #700 bus headed for Bucheon. It does a straight shot from both Hyperions to the Gyenam Gym and it comes every 8-12 minutes. To get to the bus stop, go to the Hyperion II, and go across the street from building 205. There should be a GM Daewoo branch of some kind there, along with a Tous les jours bakery, and something called JJ Dragon and a building 103 of a different apartment complex should be behind there. At that bus stop, get on the #700 bus and take it about 3km.

You get off 7 stops later, at a stop called Jeongnang Gogae (Jeongnang Hill). There aren't a lot of landmarks there. In fact, there may be no buildings at all on the side of the street the bus stops at (because of the park the gym is part of) but it is across from building 404 of an apartment complex. You can walk back in the direction the bus came from, past the Sentry Technotown, turn left before building 201 of another apartment complex, and that little alley should take you up to the gym.

Before you go, print out the name of the gym: 계남다목적체육관 and the name of the bus stop: 정랑고개

Let us know how it goes.

[pnvinh90]

Thanks 4 the help. I found it.

[event]

You didn't happen to go to Gyenam to play today, did you? If you had, you might have run into a Yonex event featuring the great Kim Dong Moon.

[queenmillennia]

He's not in Korea.
Anyway, how's it with Koreans? Do they try to communicate with you in English or body language?
Does the attitude toward a foreigner differ at which Dong you are playing?
I thought Mokdong people are highly educated and have high fever of higher education
and thus happily try to assosciate with foreigners if they have chances.

You didn't happen to go to Gyenam to play today, did you? If you had, you might have run into a Yonex event featuring the great Kim Dong Moon.

[event]

He's not in Korea.
Anyway, how's it with Koreans? Do they try to communicate with you in English or body language?
Does the attitude toward a foreigner differ at which Dong you are playing?
I thought Mokdong people are highly educated and have high fever of higher education
and thus happily try to assosciate with foreigners if they have chances.

Sorry, was that directed at me or pvinh? As for me, I have only ever communicated in Korean with badminton players and I have never played in Seoul.

[queenmillennia]

Sorry, was that directed at me or pvinh? As for me, I have only ever communicated in Korean with badminton players and I have never played in Seoul.

Of course, pvinh. You are a white, aren't you?

[negon]

Hi guys,

Can any body help me. As i have read in the previous threads you have to be a member of a club to be able to play..
Is it there any place possible for drop ins? Me and my friends want to play after office hours, preferably near yeoksam station(yeoksam-dong)..
i have click the links that have been provided above but they are in korean..

If anyone can suggest which court is near yeoksam-dong which allows drop-ins or cheap registration, it would be highly appriciated.

Thanks,

[event]

Hi guys,

Can any body help me. As i have read in the previous threads you have to be a member of a club to be able to play..
Is it there any place possible for drop ins? Me and my friends want to play after office hours, preferably near yeoksam station(yeoksam-dong)..
i have click the links that have been provided above but they are in korean..

If anyone can suggest which court is near yeoksam-dong which allows drop-ins or cheap registration, it would be highly appriciated.

Thanks,

Hi. Are you talking long-term or short term? Many members here have just been in the area a short time and thus have managed to prevail on the hospitality of a local club for a few visits. I've found that works for up to 3 visits but if you are looking for somewhere more permanent, you'll likely need to join a club unless you can find a public facility, i.e. somewhere where the club doesn't pay rent for the courts, as is the case with school gyms. The only places I know of in Seoul are quite far from Yeoksam-dong, but then I don't know Seoul very well. Tanzent might be able to help you better. This place, where the Gangnam Club plays, might be public. It's not that close to Yeoksam either, though. Google Maps might help you.

Another might be here, where the Crowbar?/Clover? club plays. As for English, you are out of luck there. Find someone to help with the info given or work through the Korean yourself or another option might be, since you're looking for public facilities, to visit the Gangnam-gu 'Office' (강남구ì²*). They will have a list of public gyms in the Gangnam area and you should be able to find someone there who speaks English.

I'm interested in knowing what you can find in that area as I have a colleague who will be staying in Yeoksam-dong next week and playing badminton is on the to-do list. Several BC members have mentioned similar wishes, however, and I always end up coaxing them out to the 'burbs, where I know where one can find a game (and a heated gym).

[negon]

Thanks for the info "event", we would definitely be playing long term. I guess joining the clubs would be the way to go.
But just incase anyone know or can suggest a place where theres a per visit fee type of thing(no registration or anything, just pay every time we play), like the one below where Tanzent is playing.

Hope anyone knows something like that near seoul or yeoksam(5-10 stations from yeoksam would still be fine).

I usually go to YangCheon(KyeNam) Gym at weekend afternoon(pm 2~6). but It's very difficult in booking court at that time. so use the morning time(10:00~13:00)
admission fee: 2,600KWON(weekend), 2,000KWON(workday)
Closed day: second sunday monthly.
weekday & saturday: 07:00~22:00
sunday & holiday: 09:00~18:00

[event]

Thanks for the info "event", we would definitely be playing long term. I guess joining the clubs would be the way to go.
But just incase anyone know or can suggest a place where theres a per visit fee type of thing(no registration or anything, just pay every time we play), like the one below where Tanzent is playing.

Hope anyone knows something like that near seoul or yeoksam(5-10 stations from yeoksam would still be fine).

I can certainly suggest something near Bojeong-dong, which shows in your location, but that's not what you asked for. You never know. Someone might know something for Yeoksam area.

[negon]

Please do.. It would be favorable to me because i live there, it would be just a matter of convincing my colleagues..=)
Hope they'll go with it..

[negon]

anywhere the yellow line would be fine.. atleast for me.. hehehe..

[event]

anywhere the yellow line would be fine.. atleast for me.. hehehe..

You are at Bojeong, right? Not Bokjeong? Both yellow line but big difference. In any case, there is a gym with a 1500won entrance fee at Suji Fitness park 1.7km from Jukjeon Station. Faster to get there by bus from Gangnam, though, as 1550 and 6800 both get you to within 500m of the gym. There might be a similar deal at the Bundang Olympic Sports Centre, just SE of Seohyun Station, but I don't know for a fact.

[negon]

Yes I'am at bojeong. I do know jukjeon station but i havent heard of the suji fitness park, would it be okay if could provide me a snapshot of the exact location. Is there any website we could look into for details, i.e. schedule of the gym, do they require reservations? is it first come first serve basis? would there be racquetes for rent etc..

Thanks again.

[negon]

is it aound here?

[event]

Yes I'am at bojeong. I do know jukjeon station but i havent heard of the suji fitness park, would it be okay if could provide me a snapshot of the exact location. Is there any website we could look into for details, i.e. schedule of the gym, do they require reservations? is it first come first serve basis? would there be racquetes for rent etc..

Thanks again.

Okay, this link should show you the GS25 / Paris Baguette area where you can get off the bus (the bus stop, #29755 has the rather unfortunate name of 동아아파트.삼익아파트.풍림아파트 or Donga Apateu, Samik Apateu, Poongnim Apateu). As you should be able to see from the map, you walk back in the direction the bus came from, then turn right (south) and walk 300m south and you'll be opposite the park. Turn right and go over the giant pedestrian overpass and keep going a bit more to get to the gym itself. A little more information is in Korean here.

The opening times should be until 10PM, as the Any Club plays until that time there. No reservations, that I know of. Clubs play there but it is public and has an entry fee so the clubs operate as cliques and they might exclude you and play with themselves if they don't like you or you're not good enough. If the gym is busy, all you can do is get 4 people for a game, play the game, and get off the court. If you're just rallying around and warming up for too long without playing a game, then 4 people who have arranged a game will walk on the court and boot you off. Many gyms, including this one, I think, have a system where 4 people who intend to play a game will stack 4 shuttles beside the net post to signal to those presently playing that they are waiting to use the court. You play, you get off, you find 4 people for another game and stack your shuttles on a court and wait.

No racquets for rent. There is a pro shop on the second floor of the adjacent building where you can buy whatever you need or have a racquet restrung. If you join a club, most of this will be similar except that the club members will fix you up for a game and if it's in a school, there won't be a shop nearby. Instead, one of the club members will likely sell privately to the rest of the club and will always have at least shuttles on hand to sell, with racquets on request, quite often.

[event]

Oh yes, not only the buses from Gangnam but also 27 from Jukjeon and 500, 1550-3, 7, 7-2, 720, 720-1, 700-2, 77-1, and 730 all do the short hop there from Migeum Station.