Chicken Truck
Itaewon is a place you can buy just about anything. Actually I’m joking the electronics are crappy and you can get better buys on imitation purses at Dongdaemun. But if you in the market for people or chipmunks you’re in luck. I wish I was joking. Yesterday as I was coming out of the bookstore a prostitute was trying (very early in the evening) to proposition an older gentleman who wanted nothing to do with her. The chipmunk looked lonely and bored sitting in his cage, as did his seller. All of this happened out on the street. If I haven’t mentioned it Korea has wide sidewalks, usually wide enough for a cart to set up and for people to gum up traffic if they stop to “eye shop(as they call it).”
Itaewon is mish mash of Korean and American influence with a dash of everything else mixed in. On weekends it’s a bazaar. Walking from one end to the other is not something one can do quickly. On one side there is traffic from people going in and out of western stores such as North Face and Nike, while on the sidewalk there are carts selling everything from touristy trinkets to Halloween masks. Mixed it with that are fruit sellers and yogurt ladies, adding to the congestion. Yogurt ladies who were yellow vests and have yellow coolers on a wheelie, filled with you guessed yogurt.
Itaewon is also a good place to get international food. Some of it is over priced crap, but a lot of it can be very enjoyable. Although the newest addition is a guy with a chicken shwarma rack in what can only be described as a crack between two buildings. You can get Indian, Thai, Javanese, Japanese, French, Italian, Mexican etc. I’m not guaranteeing quality or price, but it’s a nice change from everything covered in red pepper paste and “good for you”(everything Korean is good for you, at least that is what they tell me). There are also a few foreign food stores were you can pick up spices, canned dal, or tortillas. One of my favorite things about Itaewon is the used bookstores. Love them. I’m addicted. So, combine all of these factors and you get a lot of foreigners. Oh, I forgot one crucial factor the bars. Yes, it is bar city. On any given night you can here Russian, meet an Nigerian, get hit on by a slippery Frenchman, and drink down some beer with Canadians, Brits, Kiwis, and Irishmen. There is also a bit of a Muslim community with masjid, but you of course don’t meet them at the drinking holes.
One thing you will not find a large majority of are Koreans, although that is changing. Some Koreans are actually afraid of Itaewon. This maybe because Koreans have died in Itawon. In the Burger King bathroom as the rumor goes. Some bars have banned G.I.s and at night one will see military police patrolling. Why? Well for a combination of reasons. One could blame it all on the G.I.’s going with the over dramatized stereotype, which has some bits of truth, but lets be honest. Everybody’s a little bit racist(it’s a song from Avenue Q).
Koreans are a mostly homogeneous race. There aren’t a lot of mixed Koreans in Koreans, and they tend to be looked down upon. This was highlighted when Hines earned MVP during the last Super Bowl. Korea was excited about it because a half Korean had won it. The irony is if he was living in Korea, he would have been ostracized for being different and for being the son of a G.I. He has since visited and meet other children like him, talked to them and giving them hope. He also set up a charity for them. Which is good. I digress though. Koreans, especially Korean men sometimes do not like Korean women dating foreigners. Korean men will occasionally start things with foreign men who are with Korean women, especially if they are drunk. And it isn’t just they don’t like them dating Africans, it’s Caucasians too. But, especially if you are a G.I. If you have a degree from a prestigious university and a high paying job then it would probably be okay. At the same time, some Korean see marrying a foreigner as a great opportunity. Well, there are shades to every story.
Every time I take a Korean to Itaewon it is interesting, because I feel perfectly safe and at home while they dig their nails into my arm in nervous tension. I know they are afraid of this place that has lived so long in their memory as a terrifying place, as a place where savages kill Koreans. Where strange creatures eat unknown food, dance to loud music and drink the devil’s drink. It is a place of prostitutes, drunks, and violence. It is an unknown land in the center of their country. Actually, you can find prostitutes outside of Itawon sitting in windows under pink lights, and just walk down the street any night and you’ll see salary men being carried home after too much soju. Violence well, the closest a friend has ever gotten into a fight was in Korea. Personally, I find it all ironic and I like the food, but that’s Itaewon(kind of).
Itaewon is mish mash of Korean and American influence with a dash of everything else mixed in. On weekends it’s a bazaar. Walking from one end to the other is not something one can do quickly. On one side there is traffic from people going in and out of western stores such as North Face and Nike, while on the sidewalk there are carts selling everything from touristy trinkets to Halloween masks. Mixed it with that are fruit sellers and yogurt ladies, adding to the congestion. Yogurt ladies who were yellow vests and have yellow coolers on a wheelie, filled with you guessed yogurt.
Itaewon is also a good place to get international food. Some of it is over priced crap, but a lot of it can be very enjoyable. Although the newest addition is a guy with a chicken shwarma rack in what can only be described as a crack between two buildings. You can get Indian, Thai, Javanese, Japanese, French, Italian, Mexican etc. I’m not guaranteeing quality or price, but it’s a nice change from everything covered in red pepper paste and “good for you”(everything Korean is good for you, at least that is what they tell me). There are also a few foreign food stores were you can pick up spices, canned dal, or tortillas. One of my favorite things about Itaewon is the used bookstores. Love them. I’m addicted. So, combine all of these factors and you get a lot of foreigners. Oh, I forgot one crucial factor the bars. Yes, it is bar city. On any given night you can here Russian, meet an Nigerian, get hit on by a slippery Frenchman, and drink down some beer with Canadians, Brits, Kiwis, and Irishmen. There is also a bit of a Muslim community with masjid, but you of course don’t meet them at the drinking holes.
One thing you will not find a large majority of are Koreans, although that is changing. Some Koreans are actually afraid of Itaewon. This maybe because Koreans have died in Itawon. In the Burger King bathroom as the rumor goes. Some bars have banned G.I.s and at night one will see military police patrolling. Why? Well for a combination of reasons. One could blame it all on the G.I.’s going with the over dramatized stereotype, which has some bits of truth, but lets be honest. Everybody’s a little bit racist(it’s a song from Avenue Q).
Koreans are a mostly homogeneous race. There aren’t a lot of mixed Koreans in Koreans, and they tend to be looked down upon. This was highlighted when Hines earned MVP during the last Super Bowl. Korea was excited about it because a half Korean had won it. The irony is if he was living in Korea, he would have been ostracized for being different and for being the son of a G.I. He has since visited and meet other children like him, talked to them and giving them hope. He also set up a charity for them. Which is good. I digress though. Koreans, especially Korean men sometimes do not like Korean women dating foreigners. Korean men will occasionally start things with foreign men who are with Korean women, especially if they are drunk. And it isn’t just they don’t like them dating Africans, it’s Caucasians too. But, especially if you are a G.I. If you have a degree from a prestigious university and a high paying job then it would probably be okay. At the same time, some Korean see marrying a foreigner as a great opportunity. Well, there are shades to every story.
Every time I take a Korean to Itaewon it is interesting, because I feel perfectly safe and at home while they dig their nails into my arm in nervous tension. I know they are afraid of this place that has lived so long in their memory as a terrifying place, as a place where savages kill Koreans. Where strange creatures eat unknown food, dance to loud music and drink the devil’s drink. It is a place of prostitutes, drunks, and violence. It is an unknown land in the center of their country. Actually, you can find prostitutes outside of Itawon sitting in windows under pink lights, and just walk down the street any night and you’ll see salary men being carried home after too much soju. Violence well, the closest a friend has ever gotten into a fight was in Korea. Personally, I find it all ironic and I like the food, but that’s Itaewon(kind of).
posted by PolskaMando | 2:07 AM
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