Itaewon Introduction (Remnants of an aborted book)

Situated just south of the city center and east of the massive Yongsan American military base Itaewon is the nexus of the foreign and Korean worlds—the veritable intersection of Western culture and Korean subculture. This ad hoc love-child of pragmatism and offensiveness exists as an island within Seoul: isolated by its reassuringly foreign as well as its uncomfortably recognizable traits. Nowhere else in Seoul will you find trashy western bars, homosexual havens, Korean rub-brothels, heterosexual and gay saunas, Japanese massage parlors, streetwalkers and your local MacDonald’s all in one place. Make no mistake; this is the seedy epicenter of Seoulite seediness.

While Itaewon is no longer the explosive GI circus of drunken street fights, testosterone, and treatable herpes it once was, a palpable vestige of its former glory remains. The “bars” and brothels lining Hooker Hill and its tributaries that were once oozing with customers continue to persist, albeit with far fewer clients. Their flashing neon tastelessness blinks overtly suggestive titles like Best Club, Tiger Tavern, and StarButts as they summon stray GIs and English Teachers to lose their inhibitions and reservations. This place has a quaint style of seediness that encourages visitors to misplace their principles just as it inspires locals to execrate its lewdness. For anyone in search of Korean debauchery, Itaewon should be near the top of their list.

History and Background

The exact etymology of the name Itaewon is unclear. Of the possible origins there are two likely candidates (both from Chinese roots): 南部 屯芝坊 梨泰院契 a grove of pear trees, and 異胎圓 an allusion to an area of foreigners. The available information on both of these origins makes them equally plausible; and there seems no reason not to promote the historical accuracy of both, unless of course we are to assume that the presence of pears precludes the possibility of the presence of foreigners. However, since a grove of pear trees is about as mundane as, well, a grove of pear trees, we shall concern ourselves only with the second, and heartily more interesting, possible historical origin.

The reference to a place of foreigners is deeply rooted in the passionately nationalistic mythology surrounding three successful invasions of Korea: two Japanese and one American. According to Korean legend, after the sixteenth century invasion (1592-98) some Japanese soldiers sacked the Unjeong-Sa Temple in present day Itaewon and proceeded to rape the female monks living there. The Japanese then burnt the temple and left, leaving the women homeless and pregnant. Since the word Itaewon can also be interpreted to mean “different navel cord,” some have accepted the notion that the place was named for the half-Japanese bastard children of these raped monks. When the Japanese returned in 1910 to initiate what would become 35 years of occupation they chose the area around Itaewon to build a military base. It’s not difficult to imagine the area swarming with Japanese soldiers heading off to or returning from the many fronts of their various campaigns just as American GIs have done ever since. And it is no small coincidence that the former Japanese military base now houses an American one.

Through the 1970’s the Itaewon area changed from a collection of thrown-together dime-stores and souvenier venders to a more notable assortment of tailors, shopping outlets and foreign-style bars and restaurants. The Seoul-hosted 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games completed this transition, and the area was declared a “special tourism zone” in the 1990’s. Throughout these years residing diplomats, soldiers, immigrants, and more recently English teachers have contributed to the still burgeoning foreign community. As for the more sordid institutions in this area, their history is a bit more clouded, but infinitely more attractive.

Hooker Hill
(this section is still incomplete......additions will be made and posted)