Itaewon--the west in the east, for better or worse.

Friday, January 15th

I’m currently sitting in a Paris (pa-ree) Baguette Cafe a few blocks from Itaewon Station, and as I type this, an elderly Korean woman is walking past the bay window wearing a pair of baggy, rather unapologetic, American-flag pants.

Itaewon is where the foreigners go to feel a little closer to home. As I sit here, I’m hearing an equal amount of English and Korean (and broken Korean) being spoken. I suppose it’s no coincidence that I am also spitting distance from the red light district (the two prominent strips affectionately known as Homo Hill and Hooker Hill). As one of my colleagues put it: You can see every gradient of society here. There are leagues of street vendors grilling foods and hocking their wares to the drunken passers-by, while well-dressed Koreans and foreigners walk out of the adjacent storefronts of chic clubs and posh western-style restaurants. There’s also a significant population of Nigerians here, which is a bit of a curiosity--no one that I’ve spoken to can offer a corroborated reason for their having established a community here, although it seems that many people are suspicious of them.

And right now, I’m half-eavesdropping on a girl talking about Commercial Drive hippies...

I think what I find most interesting about this area is how many Koreans there are walking amidst the foreigners. I mean, I can understand the homesick, lonely foreigners who come to Itaewon in search of a Guiness, a slice of apple pie or pay-sex, but I wonder why the Koreans frequent the area. Could it be that this is where they come to experience western culture? It would be a shame if that were the case--that this full service haven for foreigners is the most convenient inroad to some kind of western cultural experience.

But before I paint too bleak a picture (because it’s easy to sneer at manifestations of western culture in foreign lands), I should say that Itaewon is a very interesting region. True, it has a bit of a seedy underbelly, as it’s so close to the red light district, but it also has a certain unique vibe to it, too. The main strip is full of shops for foreigners, like Columbia Sportswear or Outback Steakhouse, but the side streets and back alleys are teeming with little shops and stalls where you can get everything from Turkish lamb kebobs (which are spicy and delicious!) to indian spices to Toblerone bars. There’s also a great english book store here called “What the Book?” which sells new books and also serves as a used book exchange. I am looking forward to exploring this area more thoroughly in the safety of daylight because I have a feeling that somewhere within the network of back-alleys lies a wealth of blended culture and food for thought.