Love the Love Motel

Love motels: primarily used for couples looking for a discrete place to spend some private time together. I found the term “motel” a bit of a misnomer. I was half-expecting the place to be riddled with bed bugs and love stains.  Daejeon’s love motel situation is a maze of modern and decrepit buildings lined with dated movie posters and various pictures of each motel’s room accommodations. We decided on I Motel, one of the sleeker-looking structures on the block.

After finding the lobby entrance in the parking garage we went straight to the front desk and paid 70,000 \ for the night. No IDs required. Along with the room key I was given a small plastic traveler’s case with the motel’s logo printed on the side. Inside I found his and her scented lotions, a pair of toothbrushes, condoms, massage oil and a razor.

The goody bag guests receive after checking in. Clockwise from left: his and her body lotion, two toothbrushes, a razor, condoms and massage oil.

Once I got into the room I found a bedroom almost twice the size of my studio apartment. Inside was a queen size bed, a twin bed next to it, an enormous flat screen TV and two desktop computers. I found the second bed a little strange. Is it for a third visitor?

Curiously, this room had a queen and a twin bed.

And then I walked inside the bathroom to find this little beauty: a bowling ball-sized shower head and jacuzzi tub! Like many Korean apartments, my shower consists of a tiny shower head situated in between the toilet and the sink, so this was a delightful surprise.

The bathroom, complete with a jetted tub, is bigger than my apartment.

With a convenient check-out time at noon, I was delighted by my first love motel experience. (Although I'd never be brave enough to comb through the place with a black light.)

If you happen to find yourself in need of a place to stay in Daejeon, I Motel can be found about four blocks to the left of the Daejeon Express Bus Terminal. The number is (042) 635-3877.

Brianne Beets

Brianne has written for various publications since 2005. After university she worked a string of non-journalism-related jobs, including working as an auto parts delivery driver, food festival event planner and a casino employee before moving to South Korea in the fall of 2013. She currently works as an English teacher at a Hagwon near Korea’s west coast. Read more.