Gwangjin jazz bar with pastry pizza: Kick Ass Jazz Club

I love going to see shows and I love going to rock festivals too, but indie shows mean trekking all the way to Hongdae, which is just too far. Then I heard there was a jazz bar in Gunja—not rock, but still—and visited with my husband. I had been to a jazz bar somewhere in Gangnam six or seven years ago, but there is one in Gunja now too! Kick Ass Jazz Club (킥애즈재즈클럽), a Gunja bar and cocktail bar, is a live jazz bar with jazz performances on Fridays and Saturdays.

Hours and visitor information

• Hours: 18:00–02:00 the next day; last order 01:30
• Closed every Monday; no-kids zone
• No parking available

A jazz bar near the stage by Gunja Station

Just a short walk from Exit 3 of Gunja Station, you will spot the stylish sign for Kick Ass Jazz Club. Open the door, and it feels like another world.

There are counter seats too, where you can watch the owner making cocktails in the middle of the room. The instrument setup right by the door had such a La La Land vibe. A jazz bar with this atmosphere in Seoul! The one I visited before was much larger, but Kick Ass Jazz Club is not huge, so you are closer to the stage—and it feels even more like La La Land.

Friday and Saturday live-jazz reservations and menu

Jazz performances are held on Fridays and Saturdays, with a ₩12,000 cover charge that all goes to the musicians. On performance days, you must order either one bottle or one dish/plate plus one drink per person. You need to reserve in advance through Catchtable on Fridays and Saturdays. It was nearly full, and many people who tried to come in during the show could not get in.

They sell a huge variety of alcohol—draft beer, wine, cocktails, whiskey, cognac, highballs, and more—so you can order to suit your taste. We ordered pastry pepperoni pizza, two Budweiser draft beers, a Kick Ass Highball, and Wild Turkey! During the performance, you order by QR code and they bring it over. The show went on for more than about two hours, and we kept ordering drinks in between.

Pizza, drinks, and popcorn refills

When you order, they give you popcorn as the standard bar snack and a lemon-scented liqueur as a welcome drink.

It was sweet, refreshing, and delicious!

At first we ordered a highball and draft beer. The draft beer came out quickly, but they said the highball would take a little longer because orders were backed up. It arrived when I had drunk about half my beer.

We had eaten dinner before going, but my husband wanted pizza, so instead of a bottle we tried ordering a plate plus two drinks.

The dough is pastry, so it is super crisp. It is flaky and slightly sweet, and it went so well with the salty pepperoni. My husband said it was delicious and ate all five slices! Yum yum with the hot sauce and cheese that come with it sprinkled on top!

As we ate the pizza, the highball came out, and when the popcorn was gone, they refilled it on their own. The staff were incredibly kind.... We did not even have to ask, and they refilled the popcorn a whopping three times..!

While watching the show, my husband got excited and ordered another beer, then more whiskey too. They gave us a big cube of ice, so we could pour it over and drink it..! There are so many types of alcohol that you can choose exactly what you feel like drinking.

Lee Yeon-jae Friends live jazz performance

The performance runs from 7:30 to around 9:30, and they will do an encore if you ask. If you reserve via Catchtable for a performance day, seats nearer the front are assigned in reservation order. The room gradually filled up, and the performance began at 7:30!

The day we went, it was a <Lee Yeon-jae Friends> performance. Lee Yeon-jae was on saxophone, Choi Bo-gyeong on piano, Song Jong-bin on bass, Kim Min-ho on drums, and Park Ye-chan on guitar; Park Ye-chan, the guitarist from Chwihyangsangjeom, joined as a special session player. Wow... I am going to Let’s Rock this time, and Park Ye-chan from Chwihyangsangjeom was there—my eyes got huge.... I do not know jazz well, and rock is my main thing, so I go to rock festivals and listen to lots of indie rock; I was so happy to see him! I sometimes listen to jazz playlists on YouTube, and although I like Chet Baker, I was not someone who sought out songs by other jazz singers. This time, though, I completely fell for jazz’s charm!

My only saxophone experience was seeing teachers who could play it perform at school festivals when I was in middle school, but hearing it at a jazz show like this was so cool..!! It was my first time seeing a six-string bass, and it was fascinating! Personally, I think bass is the foundation of band music, and yes, the foundation..! So cool! Park Ye-chan of Chwihyangsangjeom was an amazing guitarist too. I think the charm of jazz is its spontaneity, and watching them improvise was so cool and moving! I am sharing a video that really stayed with me too.

Receipt-review benefit

You also get one Budweiser draft beer when you write a receipt review, so it is worth taking part! You need to pay first and then write the review.

Final thoughts on this Gunja jazz bar

I cannot believe Gunja had a jazz bar with such a great atmosphere! It does not seem to have been open for very long, but I hope it stays in Gunja for a long time. The food is tasty, the drinks are not expensive, and getting to watch a two-hour show for ₩12,000 is just the best, the best. I will have to visit from time to time. Found another great place today.