February in Itaewon

While I worked in Garden Grove, CA, I lived in Newport Beach for a year.  Newport was not kind: At least three times I was insulted because I was Jewish, I saw a friend assaulted (and need facial reconstructive surgery after), I had a roommate who was robbed at gunpoint, and the archetypal “bro” jostled me at every bar I visited.  Newport was the kind of place where trouble was easily found, a lot like Itaewon actually.  In February 2011, I lived in Itaewon, a district of Seoul, and I saw the grittiness of Newport reflected during that month.  Itaewon is a tough area of Seoul: The U.S. army base is stationed there and droves of the soldiers prowl the streets on the weekends, racial friction (between Americans, Koreans, Arabs, Filipinos and Nigerians) has caused much violence, and prostitution is a notorious pillar of the city’s underbelly.  However, even in the presence of some nefarious elements, I enjoyed my month in Itaewon as I enjoyed my year in Newport.  My tales from Itaewon begin with Seolnal.  (Seolnal marks the lunar New Year: The white tiger of last year recedes and the rabbit replaces it.  Seolnal was on February 3^rd.)

For Seolnal and for the rest of February I shared an apartment with a friend, Otto, in Itaewon.  The apartment was situated north of the Crown Hotel and down one of Itaewon’s many alleys.  Beneath our apartment was Manila Bar, a mostly Filipino bar, which was owned by our neighbors and served frosty San Miguel.  Manila Bar was a quiet dive, off the beaten path, but beneath Manila Bar was Venue.  Venue was a lounge-type club that buzzed and vibrated the floor of our apartment.  Venue attracted a hipster crowd that was absent of the aggressive soldier-type; it was the kind of place where I could gorilla clap without disturbing the vibe.  On Seolnal we went to Manila Bar and met a group of fellow English teachers; they took us on a wild adventure: Up “Hooker Hill” (no hookers encountered), into a dive bar called Carmen, and (around 7AM) Otto and I enjoyed late night/early morning double-quarter pounders. 

Itaewon has a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde feel to it.  At night, there is alcohol, friction, and so many women.  The women flocked to Itaewon and they were gorgeous.  The moon in the sky meant that the high heels were donned, the short skirts were adjusted, and groups of girls giggled throughout streets.  As the evening turned into the early morning the craziness of Itaewon accelerated: random hollering, inebriated yelling, dry heaving, pools of vomit, prostitutes, military police, arguments bordering on fist fights, occasional glass shattering, drunken singing, and the constant chatter of taxis and cars.  During the day, Itaewon was different though: The shops were all open, the salesman were outside offering “handmade leather vests”, the smells of exotic foods everywhere, and in the distance a vision of North Seoul Tower.  Itaewon was actually a family town during the day!  In my opinion, the best part of my time in Itaewon was treating myself to meals that I hadn’t had in a while: a burrito from Taco Bell, of course McDonald’s (breakfast and burgers), and a 12-inch Tuna on wheat from Subway.  Most of my meals though were not from American fast food chains.  I was eating Indian, Irish, Italian, French, Brazilian, Moroccan, and, of course, Korean food…I gained a couple pounds during February, but it was a savory gain.

While one must be careful in this city at night, it still had beauty to offer.  My advice: Take a walk, before the sun goes down, and see this city for what it is and not just the avenue of foreign shops and restaurants.  A sunset on one of Itaewon’s hills, above the chaos and looking at North Seoul Tower, is one of a kind.  If Itaewon was to resemble a person it would be a loud, threatening, muscular, cheap-beer drinking dude wearing Nikes.  (I swear I saw guys like that in Newport all over the place.)  Although Itaewon is rough around the edges, there are moments to be enjoyed there.