Is Kisaeng still a thing in Korea?

The Kisaeng Party
At the apex of the entertaining world in South Korea are kisaeng houses, where well-trained women entertain customers. Like the geisha tradition in Japan, it derives from the Confucian idea that it is the duty of women to serve men in all things. Dinner in a kisaeng house, along with the subsequent drinking games, is an expensive undertaking, and foreigners are likely to find that invitations to such establishments are rare.
A typical kisaeng evening will involve much food and drink, with the girls (sometimes mature women) feeding their male companions and playing party games with them. There is also likely to be singing and dancing. Sometimes the entertainment is confined to traditional-style performances by the kisaeng, but nowadays the rest of the party are also likely to join in, in the style of a karaoke bar. While it is not unknown for a foreigner to organize a kisaeng party, it is wise to be guided by a Korean before attempting this.
Below the kisaeng house there is a variety of other establishments. “Salongs” or cocktail lounges will provide female company in less exalted surroundings but can also be expensive. Salons may also be called “business clubs”, but the service is the same. In all these establishments, if the chemistry and the cost is right, it may be possible to move on to more personal relations. But be warned, it is not part of the service as such.”

Rare Entertainment
Visiting the South Korean city of Kwangju, I took part in my only kisaeng party. As the evening progressed, the young lady looking after me, in addition to massaging my legs from time to time to an alarmingly high point on my thighs, kept offering me pieces of raw octopus that were still moving. I declined both the continuation of the massage and the octopus. Eventually, however, after a couple of hours, the octopus appeared not to be moving and so, when she picked up a piece with suckers on her chopsticks, I took it. It promptly grabbed the side of my mouth. Eventually I pried it off and swallowed it. My foreign colleague, a biologist by training, maintained that since it responded to stimuli and appeared to have the ability to move, it was alive.

(번역 미제공)