The Philosophy of Pleasure: How ChunHee is connecting people through culture and kink
Words and pictures by Christian Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Dancers contort on top of the table, adorned with tattoos, lace, and slivers of fabric. They whip each other until a woman in the crowd approaches one; the barrier between the performer and the audience is gone as they kiss and feel each other. Thumping beats, an entranced crowd, latex, dog masks, screaming, rapping, guitar bashing, and more. ChunHee (춘희, 春姬) is quickly becoming one of the go-to spots in Seoul for the more curious and daring.
Recently opened on March 18th ChunHee has drawn in a crowd of both Korean and international club goers and performers, old and new to the kink scene. There were several weeks of packed lineups to celebrate the opening, featuring a menagerie of acts, including Cathy LaChoi (Fiction), Soraere Brocken (STECXHNO), FlowerBomb, and BalanceQueen69 (Spice Seoul). In a brief chat with bar tender Kim Euna, she said that many people who come here liken it to Berlin. However, opening a bold, sensual club in the heart of Seoul was a long journey spanning years and countries for owner Lee DooSeung.
He has his own preferences for the music he wants to play as DJ DooDoo (Middle Eastern techno, French music, etc), but is happy to play whatever fits the party. ”You know if you're a DJ, you have your own colour, but I’m not that kind of DJ. I am more of an organiser.” Cabaret DooDoo is his pop-up party platform, which has been running events around Hongdae and Itaewon since 2022. Before that, he was translating French material ranging from cinema to Camus. An important catalyst for him came last year when he saw shibari artist Hajime Kinoko’s work, which deeply moved him. Then, a few months ago, as he was frequenting Cave, one of his favourite bars whose sign is still hanging outside, the owner mentioned off-hand he wanted someone to take over the space. Without hesitation, he jumped at the chance. Thus, this new kink-inspired bar came to be.
DooSeung’s French accent adorns every word and is a testament to his time there. As a student of sociology, he also engaged in philosophy and film, with a focus on Guy Debord. Between 1996 and 2007, DooSeung lived in Paris and, eventually, got to live out his wildest dreams. “I saw the film Betty Blue and I thought to myself, ‘I have to go to France to— to love!’” During the 11-year stay, he dreamed of meeting Béatrice Dalle, the lead actress of Betty Blue, somehow. It didn’t happen. On returning to Korea, he got a call from a Busan Film Festival rep asking him to take care of Jean-Pierre Léaud (one of the lead actors of The 400 Blows), who was there as a guest. He hit it off with Léaud, who was obsessed with Korean shamanism. Dooseung helped him meet and record a shaman performing an incantation. Léaud invited him to visit Paris. During an annual visit to France, they arrange to meet. Formally dressed with champagne and cake in hand, DooSeung is surprised to find Léaud relaxing at home in bed with various papers and awards strewn about. DooSeung has pictures on his phone holding Léaud’s Palm d’Or and César awards. And this was only Christmas Eve.
On another trip to France, he attended a lecture by Béatrice Dalle. Her talk was full of sweat, tears, and life, not unlike her performance in Betty Blue “I was deeply moved by her passion. After the show, I went out for a smoke. She came out and she told me, ‘Hey, give me a cigarette.’ I gave it and told her, ‘I tried to learn French 20 years ago for this moment where I can speak French correctly with you. I was looking for you for over 10 years in Paris. But I couldn’t meet you, but now my dream has come true, and I can talk with you in French.’” She was deeply touched, declaring it the most beautiful words she’d ever heard. His eyes are brilliant recounting that day: after some long talks and champagne, she handed him her number, and he treasures it still. So, where does ChunHee fit into all this?
Savvy book/opera fans might recognise ChunHee (春姬) by another name, as the titular tragic heroine of Dumas fils’ The Lady of the Camellias, later turned into Verdi’s opera La Traviata. In Japanese, and later Korean, the title was written as 椿 (ChunHee). DooSeung first named his cat ChunHee (replacing the Chun hanja to include the meaning of Spring). After his beloved pet passed, he was inspired to name his bar ChunHee as well. When put together, the hanja could actually mean courtesan, but “honestly, I never intended to do that. I just loved the play [word/stage play] and I decided this Hanja for Chun was better. But it’s a bit of wordplay, and it all comes together.”
ChunHee’s Instagram mission statement reads “sustainable pleasure, a sense of triumph over grief, revolutionary decadence” (지속가능한 쾌락 슬픔을 이기는 관능 혁명적 퇴폐). Previously, it included one line in English that said, “and all that sex,” although this has since been removed. Off a small street in Hongdae, north of the many other bars and venues, there is the sign for Cave. Downstairs is ChunHee: brooding with red lights, a feathered centrepiece on a long table, a bar, a sex swing, a pole, a secluded room and a turntable. The most alluring section is a small alcove with butcher strip curtains that offer privacy in both sight and sound. The sign above reads “No Smoke, Yes Sex.” This room has a bright red Saint Andrew's cross in front of mother-of-pearl inlaid boards. With various tools like whips, this is where ‘playing’ happens (a kink term that describes kink activities). “Because of the walls and curtains, it’s not well ventilated. My first concern is safety, so I wanted to emphasise that there is no smoking in this room, but a sign with no smoking doesn’t grab attention, so then I added ‘yes sex’ just for fun. I don’t encourage it, but I want people to feel freedom.”
Freedom is actually the main point of ChunHee, not exactly sex. Through freedom and respect for each other, people can “discover themselves and their sexuality with games. It’s all about playing. They could go into the room and try things, and realise they have discovered their sexuality.” Korea is still rather shy about sex, but when asked about the difference between Paris and Seoul’s club scene, he states that Parisian culture is “very old and they have experience of everything already. But in Korea, the young generation is discovering in their own ways and are more dynamic, before we didn't talk openly about sexuality, So it's more interesting.” He highlights that young women of Korea are leading this revolution about identity and sexuality. “especially young women are very active in the underground culture scene and they are more open“ Tempering his excitement he says that “if the different communities, the different sexualities and identities could all just respect and enjoy each other, we could solve everything.”
Though there are other avenues to find the underground kink scene in Korea, they are only alluded to on Twitter or in whispers, excluded from maps. BDSM and Shibari events are not easily accessible. ChunHee is something new for Seoul, for Korea: a safe place to explore sexual things and enjoy performances and music. DooSeung clarifies that there is nothing legally amiss about kink or risqué shows. Still, there's a possibility that if “somebody denounces ChunHee’s shows, saying ‘oh there's sexual content,’ it can be a problem,” but all the kink content he presents is part of culture and art. The most recent show featured a shibari performance that was accompanied by a cellist improvising, followed by a jazz flautist, far from what most would imagine as a sexually explicit show. “It’s not selling sex. Everyone was appreciating it as a genre of art.”
DooSeung admits that he shares provocative stories on the club’s Instagram, but people misconstrue the identity of ChunHee as sexuality, but actually the suggestiveness is “a part of openness.” Though he has seen people flee upon arrival “some people say ‘oh, I'm afraid to go there every time you go there that there's naked woman dancing on table’” but, in gesturing to the whole bar, he points out how calm it is tonight, and sometimes this bar full of classical music, jazz and relaxing discussions.
DooSeung believes ChunHee is a platform to help open up Korea. “The last 10 years have been an important period for Korean people discovering themselves.” Korea has gone through a lot of changes, especially in terms of gender, identity, politics, and sexuality. He believes the country is still in the throes of growing pains, but that young women play a critical role in helping society mature. There are still prejudiced people, but they can discover themselves naturally by playing. “My idea is that Korea has now discovered how to pronounce the difference of sexuality, [gender], and feminism”, and this has led to a lot of conflict between different communities. ChunHee is a direct response to this growth, conflict, and pain. “ I think if I can contribute, to make this scene where they can be kind, your feminist, your confucianist, your LGBTQ+, BDSM, Vanilla, can be open and respect each other through sensuality and pleasure, then sensuality beats sadness.” This phrase is one of the tenets he highlights, along with openness, respect and safety. His space is meant to promote no hatred, more respect, and more elegance. This will lead to appreciation, art and talking openly.
When asked about what’s next for ChunHee, Lee DooSeung offered up an expected response. In June, he will invite an academic friend to host a discussion and seminar on BDSM in Korea: “It's academically accepted, I think it's one of the first thèse that was accepted ” in Korea. He noted the significant ties between art, philosophy, and pleasure. He admires the life of Foucault: philosophy and sexuality intertwined. But along with the academic seminars, ChunHee will continue to engage in content that pushes the boundaries of what audiences expect: experimental film screenings, live music of all genres, experimental nude performances, shibari classes, and anything else that can’t be found at another club.