SOUTH KOREA-LOVE HOTELS Once furtive and seedy, South Korean love hotels go up-market

Record ID: 144293

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA-LOVE HOTELS Once furtive and seedy, South Korean love hotels go up-market
  • Date: 12th August 2015
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 7, 2015) (REUTERS) FAMILY WITH CHILD WALKING INTO LOBBY OF BOUTIQUE HOTEL FAMILY WITH CHILD CHECKING IN AT DESK FAMILY WITH CHILD GETTING OUT OF ELEVATOR AND WALKING TOWARD ROOM VARIOUS OF PARENTS PLAYING WITH CHILD ON BED CHILD LAUGHING COUPLE PLAYING WITH CHILD (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 30-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN CUSTOMER OF BOUTIQUE HOTEL, YU DONG-HW
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1PXDIGKIM1ZFFA7P2JM93FGK2
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The grimy windows, racks of adult videos and red bedroom lights are disappearing from South Korea's love hotels, known as short-stay hotels, and being replaced with bright, comfortable and affordable rooms which are even suitable for families.
    Thirty-year-old Yu Dong-hwa recently stayed at a boutique hotel in Seoul, which also offers short stays, with her three-year-old son and husband for a night.
    "I can get a room with two beds for a reasonable price here. Also old motels are inconvenient and embarrassing to bring children to, but this place is comfortable to stay with the family," Yu said.
    Love hotels, classified as "motels", provide rooms with good facilities including a large bathtub and big screen TV at a reasonable price, and young couples as well as families and tourists are become less inhibited about using them.
    Also, as conservative South Korea becomes more open about sex, love hotels are moving upscale and mainstream, with TV ads featuring celebrities and smart phone apps catering to the privacy-seeking young couples who make up the bulk of the customers.
    "In the past, it was avoided and people were ashamed to stay in motels. But now, our guests are staying here without feeling restrained," said Kim Young-su, a manager at Yanolja, a company which owns the Yaja Hotel franchise with 70 locations and also provides information on motels and hotels through its popular website and app.
    South Korea's hotel business boomed in the late 1990s and early 2000s after the government issued thousands of permits in the wake of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Many of those hotels turned into love hotels, catering to couples who live with their parents and want privacy.
    Many love hotels also engaged in prostitution, which is illegal in South Korea, until a crackdown in 2004 by then-President Roh Moo-hyun put many of them out of business. By 2013, the number of hotels and motels of all types fell to about 25,000, down 12 percent from 2006.
    At the Yaja Wangsimni in Seoul, part of a growing franchise chain, amorous couples enjoy snug rooms featuring whirlpool baths, laptops, brand name amenities and a message assuring them that the bedsheets have been changed -- all for 30,000 won ($25.61) for three hours.
    Huh Soon-young, 52, bought what became the Hotel Yaja in Seoul's Wangsimni neighbourhood earlier this year.
    In the lobby of her hotel, customers waiting for a room can help themselves to popcorn and coffee or a snack from the vending machine - a departure from the black-curtained parking areas and hidden entrances that traditionally shielded customers from prying eyes.
    "I hope it (motel business) can be more open and move away from its shady image," she said, referring to prostitution. "This should be a bright and healthy place, where people can take a rest."
    The short-stay lodgings market is becoming increasingly competitive and tech-savvy clientele can compare before booking.
    "The rooms were very neat and I liked it, it had a large television," said one user on an app in a review of short-stay hotel.
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