Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56527

Koreans welcome later curfew
By Ashley Rowland and Hwang Hae-rym. Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, August 3, 2008


SEOUL � Park Cha-hwa watches each weekend as U.S. troops dash for taxis just before their 1 a.m. curfew, trying to get back to U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan or out of Itaewon and away from the military police.

When those troops leave, so does much of his business. So Park, who operates a popular food stall on one of the busiest street corners in Itaewon, was thrilled to learn that servicemembers soon will get to stay out an extra two hours each weekend night.

"I am so pleased with this news," said Park, who has sold inexpensive snacks � chicken on a stick, spicy rice cakes and deep-fried vegetables � at night in the popular entertainment district for six years. "But basically, the curfew should be removed."

U.S. troops will be allowed to stay out until 3 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays when the revised curfew goes into effect on Aug. 15.

Itaewon bar managers and others who cater to the late-night military crowd said they welcome news of the later curfew.

U.S. troops spend more money than English teachers � the other sizable American group that frequents Itaewon � and usually they're better-behaved, they said.

But bad behavior is something military officials have worried about: Does letting servicemembers have more time to carouse mean they're more likely to get into trouble?

No, said U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Walter Sharp, who announced changes to the curfew last week after two months of talking about it with troops across the peninsula.

He said he decided to shorten the curfew because servicemembers "will do the right thing" and shouldn't be punished for the problems caused by a few.

But that doesn't mean he won't worry.

He plans to review the curfew every six months.

"In that six months, I will not sleep easily on the weekends until I get up in the morning and look at the blotter reports and see, �OK, are my troops doing as I expect them to do out there, or not?'" Sharp said Wednesday.

No bar managers interviewed for this story said they were worried about troops causing problems under the new curfew. Neither was Park.

"Maybe a few soldiers will misbehave, but it won't be serious. I think most of them know how to control themselves," he said.

"They are very frightened of their military police."

A few bar owners said they had heard rumors that the curfew would be changed. But most, like Bae Su-jung, manager of the Hard Rock Cafe, were shocked when asked Thursday about the new curfew.

"This is great news for us. It should have been eased far earlier," said Bae, who plans to hold more events and promotions, including give-aways of free drink coupons, to lure troops into the bar after the curfew changes.

A Korean police chief at the Itaewon station said he doesn't expect to see more U.S. troops misbehaving after the curfew changes, because most crimes in the area are committed by South Korean men.

He said he doesn't plan to increase the number of police who patrol the area.

Gecko's, a popular bar at the main intersection in Itaewon, closes at 2 a.m., but even the extra hour of business from U.S. troops � including those who travel an hour or more from Osan and Dongducheon � will help profits, said manager Kim Ji-hoon.

He said he wasn't worried about drunken soldiers misbehaving because the MPs patrol the area regularly and his bar has good bouncers.

But Pfc. Seth Meney, who is stationed at Camp Casey but leaves South Korea next week, said he does expect problems.

"It's not going to last long," he said, while drinking a beer at Gecko's bar in Itaewon. "People are getting in trouble already, and curfew's only one o'clock. There's going to be one person that screws it up."

[cdninkorea]

[ytuque]

[Guri Guy]

[i4NI]

What about the people who stay out until 5 AM anyways? The people on Hondae and Gangnam, they don't look like English teachers to me for sure.

[wylies99]

[Pyongshin Sangja]

[Yaya]

[JongnoGuru]

This seems the most quoteworthy line in the article, everyone's quoting it:

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Join Me]

I give this curfew a month tops. Then some soldiers will screw it up. As per usual, the soldiers will be locked down on base and us trouble making penny pinching English teachers will be left to deal with the Korean public.

[Ya-ta Boy]

If the Itaewon bar owners think the penny-pinching ESLers are worse behaved than the soldiers, just how bad are the teachers who hang out there? According to the posts here at Dave's the GIs are pretty bad but in less than 10 years the ESLers have surpassed them.

[dc'79]

[komtengi]

a curfew for english teachers would be great..
at least then the wouldnt turn up to classes with a hangover