Muchen Ice Bar
If you like to drink beer and throw things, there is a great place in Gwangju to go. Found in Gwangju’s “Cheomdon” neighborhood, The Muchen Ice Bar is quickly becoming a popular place to spend a weekend night or your average weekday evening. Not only do heaps of Koreans come here, many foreigners from Cheomdon, Singa-dong, Sin Chang-dong and surrounding areas, frequent this attractive drinking location as well.
The main attraction here, surprisingly, is the OB draft beer. They serve this in the traditional mug and also offer pitcher selections. But, they give you the option of an “ice” mug pint for 3000 won. This is a plastic pint served inside an ice cup. This has two impressive characteristics: 1. It keeps the beer ice-cold. Korean beer is bad. The colder it is, the better it tastes, and smoother it goes down. 2. Once finished with the beer, you may then throw the surrounding ice cup at a target. If you hit the middle, you can win a prize. Prizes range from a free beer to 30,000 won in gift certificates to the bar. The one catch is, any gift certificates you win, you have to use on your next visit. This is their way of a assuring a returning customer. However, you will not need these certificates to return. Once you go to Ice Bar you will want to go back.
Aside from their OB selections, they have many central European beers available in bottles (Leffe, Hoegarden, Franciscaner, Lowenbrau etc…) and Krombacher on tap. Of course you will have to pay a bit more for these beers. Also, a food menu is available serving typical Korean bar food.
To get to the Ice Bar, you have to get to Cheomdon. If you tell a taxi, “LC Tower (L-Shee Towaa) Cheomdon,” that will get you to the main shopping district of Cheomdon. From there, its a short walk and would be best to have someone meet you there that knows the area. Cheomdon is in the outer ring of Gwangju so expect to pay around 10,000 won from downtown by taxi. Many busses go there as well, including the “9” bus from downtown and bus terminal areas.
Next time you are looking for somewhere new to go, check out the Ice Bar in Cheomdon. The people there are great (guys you will see as soon as you walk in) and there are many other bars in the area to hop around to. You can generally get a nice crowd there by suggesting it on weekend or weekend night to anyone who lives in and around Cheomdon. See you there!
- Andrew Eisenhart
