Gangnam goes from education to wild nightlife

Gangnam, the southern district of Seoul, is representative of wealth in Korea as well as private education but things change when night falls.

At locations like a luxury room salon in Sinsa-dong, the entrance is lined with the Mercedes-Benzes and other luxury cars, unloading men in sharp-looking suits.

They often ask for specific hostesses and move on to another bar when they are not around.

At other times, the elevator takes clients to the second floor where they are presented with a "selection" of 10 hostesses, women who are sometimes called "assistants".

These clients normally drink expensive liquor for about two hours and move on to the "second round", which means leaving the bar for a more private environment.

While prostitution is illegal in Korea, this has little meaning in locations like Gangnam.

One bar operator here said the base tipping rate for the "first round" is about 100,000 won ($90) while the second brings the total to around 300,000 won.

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