Cigar Blog

Happiness is a good cigar

Where to Smoke Your Cigar in Seoul

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South Korea is undoubtedly one of the smoker-friendliest countries on earth. With one of the highest smoking rates in the world, a prevalence of attractive smoking advertisements, and cigarettes available nearly everywhere, it’s an easy city to light up in. According to the Ministry of Health, 25% of South Korean adults and 10% of teens are smokers- and an astounding 44% of adult men smoke.

There are possibly several reasons behind this: not only are cigarettes cheap in Korea, but apparently most of the men begin smoking during their military service, which is mandatory for all. Also noteworthy is the small number of adult women who smoke; it’s traditionally taboo for women to smoke in Korea, and a number of Korean women have taken to “smoking openly as a gesture of affirmative action”.

However, all of this could all change soon: the South Korean government has recently proposed a slew of anti-tobacco measures, which include an 80% price increase on tobacco products, requiring photographic warnings on packs of cigarettes, and introducing smoking bans in several public places.

Which is where we come in. Because cigars are smoked tobacco products, it’s going to get a lot harder to find places to smoke our beloved cigars in South Korea.

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A good place to start online is looking through the archives of the Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society Blog– which, sadly, looks to be inactive now. Still, their list of cigar-friendly places is a great place to start.

We’ve heard good things about the BURN Lounge and Cigar Bar located at yongsan gu 305-7, which also features live jazz acts, and a good selection of wines and cocktails. The 3 Alley Pub is known as a “foreigner bar”, and is a lot more casual than BURN, but also cigar friendly.

Cigar Smoking and Other Acts of Machismo

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There is something about cigar smoking that shouts machismo all over it. We are not talking about the more serious side of being “macho” which is associated with the violence done by men on women. Rather, we would focus on the lighter side of men’s efforts towards achieving a more manly image.

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Cigar Smoking

It is not clear when cigar smoking became identified with machismo considering that a review in history will show that women have also been doing their share of cigar smoking. This belief that a man looks manlier with a cigar permanently stuck in his mouth or hand may have been brought upon by the glamour of movies. Dashing leading men used to puff their way into their leading ladies’ hearts with nary a skip in mouthing love dialogues.

Aside from leading actors on movies, there were also presidents and other world leaders proudly displaying their cigars. Whether this made them think any clearer is unknown, what is known is that they have become identified with it. Who can really blame ordinary men from taking up cigar smoking when most who do it seems to be successful and desirable?

No To Crying

No real man cries, at least that’s what most men say. It must be pretty exhausting to be doing this especially since men are also human. This was especially true during early times when men were expected to take it all in without showing any sign of emotion. Fortunately, this belief is gradually starting to relax.

Participation in Dangerous/Extreme Sports

Someone said that a true man can court danger without fear although it is not known whether the one who said this lived long enough to tell the truth of his story. Courage and recklessness are two entirely different things. Participation in extreme sports may be considered courageous in a way but doing so for the sake of show and doing it in a reckless manner is not manly at all. More boyish, maybe.

No to Domestic Work

This is actually so 50s but there are still remnants of the male specie who believe that doing domestic work is only found in the domain of women. Their idea of a macho man is someone who is waited on by his wife. Many men have realized that their stronger physical built was given for another reason which is to help around the house.

 

Quotes from Certified Cigar Smokers

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Cigar smoking is usually sought to be justified by some smart explanation but none are more eloquent than words spoken by certified cigar smokers themselves.

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“Gentlemen. you may smoke.”

These words of King Edward VII were probably music to the ears of many men who have been prevented from smoking by the ban imposed by Queen Victoria. This proclamation soon came right after his ascension to the throne. Edward reportedly smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day.

“The only way to break a bad habit was to replace it with a better one.”

Spoken by Jack Nicholson in reference to his shift from cigarette to cigar smoking, it reflected his belief that the latter is a better and safer option than the former. Even if the view was not supported by the medical world, many hold this belief as true. Unfortunately, as far as the medical world is concerned, the safest level of cigar smoking is none at all.

“If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.”

Spoken in true Mark Twain style, these words show just how much cigar smoking was part of his life , some say in the same level as his writing. He was described as the picture of a dedicated smoker. He was rumored to have started at 100 cigars a day at a very young age. He was unable to write without smoking cigar. He tried many times to quit but eventually gave up on the effort. He has also written an essay about tobacco.

‘If I had taken my doctor’s advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn’t have lived to go to his funeral.”

Coming from a much alive and kicking 98-year old George Burns, these words echo his triumph over his own doctor’s advice. Not everyone will be as fortunate as him though. It probably felt good for him to say these words.

“The Christians met on the way many people who were going to their towns, women and men, with a firebrand in the hand, and certain weeds whose smoke they inhale which are dry weeds stuffed into a certain dry leaf in the form of a muset made of paper, like the ones the children make on the day of the Holy Ghost; and burning a part of it, from the other part they suck or absorb or admit the smoke with breathing.”

These were the words of Christopher Columbus prior to his discovery of tobacco from the American Indians.

About the Author:

Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information to offer to her readers. She currently maintains four personal blogs.