Welcome to the Lesbian Bar (2023)

sapphic slice of life

I often mourn the fact that lesbian series don't have the financial backing to make longer productions and that feeling just multiplied several folds after watching this drama.

Tucked away in some unknown corner of South Korea is a small bar which openly welcomes lesbians; it's proprietress, a lesbian herself, welcomes all with the iteration “welcome to the lesbian bar.”

In these five short episodes averaging six minutes we get a look into four stories of love stories in different stages. The lives of closeted lesbians intersect in surprising ways.

Apart from this we learn how the conservative society of Seoul has affected these women who are simply searching for a way to protect their love. The lesbian bar becomes a cosy nook for them. And despite everything, these women find happiness.

While these are admittedly not cohesive stories, and they left me wanting for more more m o r e,,, but it's a nice way to spend half an hour, especially if your motto is like mine: seeing happy lesbians makes me happy!

And a plus for the butch representation, like thank you!

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It ended just as it began.

I love the warm energy of the bartender. She always seems to know just what to say to make her guests - and perhaps even the viewers - feel like they're visiting an old friend. Her bar becomes the cozy backdrop for lesbians in various stages of love and romance to safely unload their feelings about their place in a society that very much doesn't want them to openly exist.

The addition of in-character interviews at the end of the first few episodes is a nice personal touch that gives the series a quirky home video vibe. It allows the audience an opportunity to learn more about the characters that are only seen onscreen for a handful of minutes at a time.

Sadly, the moment we really start to see these characters and their stories unfold, the series ends. But perhaps, in a way, that's a lot like the barhopping experience. You sit down with a comforting drink in a cozy atmosphere, chat with the understanding faces around you as you share your life's ups and downs, and maybe you learn something from the different perspectives you've encountered before you inevitably part ways. In the end, what really matters is the good times we had along the way.

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