While definitely not a standard YPT destination this is somewhere that we pass through on our Extreme Philippines Tour, thus meaning we feel it deserves an Angeles City Guide.
We take a look to see if there is more to the city than its moniker as a nightlife hub and THE city of sin of the Philippines.
Whats the Angeles City Story
Angeles City doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It was a quiet town until the Americans showed up and built Clark Air Base, turning it into a hotspot for soldiers, war, and everything that came with it. This was all part of the Cold War game, but it meant thatGI dollars turned it into a thriving red light zone.
When the base closed after Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, things hit rock bottom. Then came the Koreans. With money, connections, and vision, they carved out one of the biggest Korea Towns in Southeast Asia. Restaurants, real estate, karaoke bars, all of it built on serious investment. But not everything is clean. Locals complain about rising costs, lost identity, and a city that’s moving forward without everyone on board.
Angeles is still hustling, still gritty, and still trying to figure out what it wants to be next. Until it works that out though things largely go on as they pretty much always have done.
Angeles City Bars
You cannot do an Angeles City Guide without talking about the bars of Angeles City. Now one could actually write a book on this, but it goes something like this, Angeles is full of girly bars where ladies dance and can be “bar fined”. This means gentlemen can pay said fine and then take them home. No need to explain much more to this.
Most of said bars are located on what is known as “Walking Street” and due to what they offer attract tourists from western countries such as the USA and China, but in recent years also many from South Korea.
We will not go much more than this into things, but suffice to say that even people watching along this street is quite the eye opener to not just Angeles City, but also the darker side of South-East Asia in general.
Is there more to Angeles City than girly bars?
In fact there is much much more to Angeles City than girly bars, with Pampanga the province it belongs to being known as the culinary capital of the country. This means that the city is blessed with great food and a fine selection of restaurants.
Some famous dishes include sisig, a sizzling pork dish made from chopped pig’s head and liver, kare-kare, a rich peanut-based oxtail stew, and bringhe, a local version of paella. Pampanga is also known for its tocino, longganisa, and tamales, showcasing its reputation as the culinary capital of the Philippines.
And then there is Korea Town….
Korea Town Angeles City
Korea Town in Angeles City isn’t just another strip of KBBQ joints—it’s one of the biggest and boldest Korea Towns in Southeast Asia. Sprouting from the post-EDSA boom, this enclave grew not by accident, but through serious Korean investment tied to the Clark Freeport Zone and its business incentives. What started as a few expat-run restaurants quickly evolved into an economic ecosystem: Korean schools, supermarkets, golf resorts, and even K-pop bars.
The area now thrives as both a commercial hub and a late-night destination, where soju-fueled nights meet sizzling samgyeopsal mornings. It’s a place where business deals and bibimbap blend seamlessly, and where the South Korean presence is felt not just in food, but in finance, real estate, and nightlife. And it truly is a great, if not bizarre place to hang out, particularly if you are more used to Pyongyang than Seoul!
Is Angeles City Worth Visiting?
Aside from Korea Town and great food the major draw here is and likely will for a while the city of sin elements to Angeles City. This means that unless that is your thing the city is probably only worth a brief stopover at best.
Things though are slowly changing with a train line set to built from the airport to Manila and many now seeing it as a quieter alternative to the capital. Rome though was not built in a day.
You can see the city of sin on one of our Philippines Tours.
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