Rabbithole Arcade Pub's drag shows welcome all - but watch your liver
The door to Rabbithole Arcade Pub shows the rabbit and terrapin, characters from an ancient legend, underwater beneath central Seoul's Mount Nam. A message written over the door warns all who enter to watch out for their livers. / Courtesy of Rabbithole Arcade Pub
By Jon Dunbar
It's the Year of the Rabbit, that quick and crafty little mammal that escapes from the Dragon King who wants to eat its liver. People entering Rabbithole Arcade Pub in central Seoul's Haebangchon (HBC) neighborhood are similarly advised to watch out for their livers, in a warning written in Korean above the front door.
Yes, the rabbit motif of the place comes from that traditional story, not “Alice in Wonderland” like one might assume.
Rabbithole is the only bar in HBC that offers weekly drag shows, every Friday and Saturday. Shows typically feature three drag performers giving two sets on Fridays, and about double the number of performers doing three sets on Saturdays. There's also plenty of audience interaction, with games for audience members between drag performances and a dance battle at the end of the night where people compete for a bottle of champagne.
An audience participant swings on the pole at Rabbithole Arcade Pub, while South African drag queen Chaka looks on. / Courtesy of Rabbithole Arcade Pub
The drag shows start at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., which is fairly early compared to many others. When Rabbithole opened in December 2016, it was rare to find drag shows happening so early.
“At that time if you wanted to see a drag show on a Saturday night, you had to go to the hill very late past midnight and they only book Korean drag queens,” said the American manager of Rabbithole, who prefers to go by his Korean name, Bong-gu.
Looking to build a more inclusive community, Rabbithole features drag performers from Korea as well as around the world. It also features drag kings as well as various other performers.
Korean drag queen J-Queen / Courtesy of Rabbithole Arcade Pub
“The beautiful part about drag is that the scene is constantly evolving and accepting performers from all walks of life. You have drag queens for sure, but also drag kings, bio queens, voguing queens etc.,” Bong-gu said. “I have also seen the drag king community explode in the scene here in the last couple years. There was at first only a handful and now many more.”
Bong-gu isn't a performer himself, but he books and organizes the shows as well as comes up with themes.
As well as drag, Rabbithole also offers comedy and karaoke, as well as plenty of dancing. It has even
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The
hosted by Song Eun-jeong on Wednesdays has been filling new niches. “The vibe is very Korean because we started the first LGBTQIA+ comedy night,” Bong-gu said. “Some foreigners come too and all are welcome.”
“What sets Rabbithole apart from other venues is the diversity of customers as well as performers ― on top of that the mingling atmosphere and the uniqueness of our clientele,” Bong-gu said. “Rabbithole is a gay bar, however we open our doors to EVERYONE. So our venue attracts people of all walks of life.”
While Korea's LGBTQ community has been under increasing attack from hardcore conservative Christians, Bong-gu says Rabbithole has mostly avoided any such backlash.
“Hope it continues that way,” he said. “Some Korean neighbors walk in and turn around once they realize it is a gay bar but some stay and end up liking the place a lot. There is even a local ajumma that sometimes frequents the drag shows and she comes in with her ajeosshi husband and drinks some wine while enjoying the show.”
South African drag queen Chaka, left / Courtesy of Rabbithole Arcade Pub
There will be an especially big show this Saturday after the Seoul Queer Culture Festival's Pride Parade. Starting at 9 p.m., the show will feature Korean drag queens J-Queen and Coco, plus dancers, hosted by South African drag queen Chaka. Entry costs 10,000 won.
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