Where to find a game of chess around Seoul 40

For a casual game in Seoul the meetups are the way in, and they mostly gather in cafés and bars rather than in a club room. Seoul Chess Club holds social chess nights with language exchange in Hongdae and other neighbourhoods, a women-only group plays on Sunday afternoons in a bakery café in Jung-gu, the Jamsil beginners' club meets on Friday evenings near Jamsil Station, and smaller groups arrange games in cafés in Seokchon, Ilsan and Suwon. Each meeting is usually signed up for in advance.

Mapo Chess Club meets at a café on weekend afternoons, and a youth club in Mullae plays on Saturday mornings. Serious play happens at tournaments: academies and clubs in Itaewon, Bundang, Sujeong, Goyang and Gimpo run their own numbered series, and the federations fill the National Science Museum in Gwacheon, Korea Job World in Bundang and a tournament hall in Shin-Nonhyeon. A few cafés keep a chess set for guests, and a greenhouse café in Namyangju has a large board outside.