| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 5:38 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
So where's the All American Diner now?
My daughter loved that place. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
meangradin
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 10:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I hadn't been to Itaewon since 1995, so imagine my surprise when i visited it last month - it was so much cleaner than before. One place that blew me away was a pub called Proust. WOW! That place was very nice. Anyone know who owns it? Whoever they are, they must be very wealthy. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
| meangradin wrote: |
| I hadn't been to Itaewon since 1995, so imagine my surprise when i visited it last month - it was so much cleaner than before. One place that blew me away was a pub called Proust. WOW! That place was very nice. Anyone know who owns it? Whoever they are, they must be very wealthy. |
That is interesting because I couldn't disagree more. Those trendy characterless bars with shiny chrome decor and overpriced beers are horrendous, and are slowly tearing the soul out of Itaewon. But yes, probably very lucrative for the owners. Those young Korean gold-diggers have to go somewhere.. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:43 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I agree with cj. Prost and most of the bars back there are places to be seen now. I'd much rather Seoul pub or some shithole like it that at least has a bit of character and doesn't charge stupid prices. The food in Prost is crap too. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PatrickBateman
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Location: American Gardens Building, West 81st Street
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Hopefully The Grand Ole Opry is on its way out as well. That place is a DUMP!(I was forced to go there once) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
| meangradin wrote: |
| I hadn't been to Itaewon since 1995, so imagine my surprise when i visited it last month - it was so much cleaner than before. One place that blew me away was a pub called Proust. WOW! That place was very nice. Anyone know who owns it? Whoever they are, they must be very wealthy. |
Prost is opened and operated by MYK, Inc., which has been a very big part of gentrifying Itaewon. In 2006 they opened the first B One, which was, at the time, one of the nicest venues in Itaewon. After a few years they opened Between in 2010, then District, which is Prost, Glam Lounge, and Club Mute in 2012. Recently they moved B One into where the Hard Rock Cafe used to be. They work out of the largest and most valuable real estate in the neighborhood, and yeah, they do very well for themselves and constantly reinvest into the area.
Their venues do foster more of a "place to be seen" vibe, and have really driven up a lot of traffic from south of the river, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? You can still go across the street to any number of dive bars and drink your 2,000 won pints of Cass all night...at least for now. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
Itaewon has gotten a facelift but it hasn't gone far enough. Hooker Hill needs to be demolished and redeveloped. Lots of the useless and empty stores need to be changed.
But yes, I agree that the reemergence of Itaewon (it used to be the hotspot of Seoul in the late 1980s) has raised prices and such. Good thing that I don't drink Korean beer anymore. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kimchipig
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 5:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
When I got to Korea in 1993 for the first time, Iteawon was the only place in the entire country to get even a sniff of Western culture. The one and only McDonald's in the whole country was there. I was in Deajeon and we often caught the late train to Seoul after class on Friday. We'd get to the Nashville Club at 11:00 pm, feast of brews and beers and then head off to Just Blues for jazz and dancing. It was loads of fun.
It was a dirty, seedy place, made more so by the subway construction, that was chronically running out of money. The whole place was a shambles for ten years. The back allies were especially interesting. I lived in Iteawon from 1998-2000 and it was quite an experience, let me tell you.
I was back in 2011 and like so much of Asia, globalisation has made Iteawon just another designer brands street. Chinese tourists thronged the place. The charm was gone. So was the filth, but I miss the total cheesy seediness that Iteawon excreted two decades ago. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
| kimchipig wrote: |
When I got to Korea in 1993 for the first time, Iteawon was the only place in the entire country to get even a sniff of Western culture. The one and only McDonald's in the whole country was there. I was in Deajeon and we often caught the late train to Seoul after class on Friday. We'd get to the Nashville Club at 11:00 pm, feast of brews and beers and then head off to Just Blues for jazz and dancing. It was loads of fun.
It was a dirty, seedy place, made more so by the subway construction, that was chronically running out of money. The whole place was a shambles for ten years. The back allies were especially interesting. I lived in Iteawon from 1998-2000 and it was quite an experience, let me tell you.
I was back in 2011 and like so much of Asia, globalisation has made Iteawon just another designer brands street. Chinese tourists thronged the place. The charm was gone. So was the filth, but I miss the total cheesy seediness that Iteawon excreted two decades ago. |
yup thats the old Itaewon I miss so much. we used to do the same thing back in the 90's, get an 8P bus to Seoul, arrive at around 10:30 get some food at Nashville and hit a bar or two. There used to be a decent yogwon up the hill near where Tony's is now, we used to stay there. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
T-J
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 2:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
| kimchipig wrote: |
When I got to Korea in 1993 for the first time, Iteawon was the only place in the entire country to get even a sniff of Western culture. The one and only McDonald's in the whole country was there. I was in Deajeon and we often caught the late train to Seoul after class on Friday. We'd get to the Nashville Club at 11:00 pm, feast of brews and beers and then head off to Just Blues for jazz and dancing. It was loads of fun.
It was a dirty, seedy place, made more so by the subway construction, that was chronically running out of money. The whole place was a shambles for ten years. The back allies were especially interesting. I lived in Iteawon from 1998-2000 and it was quite an experience, let me tell you.
I was back in 2011 and like so much of Asia, globalisation has made Iteawon just another designer brands street. Chinese tourists thronged the place. The charm was gone. So was the filth, but I miss the total cheesy seediness that Iteawon excreted two decades ago. |
Um, not quite.
There were McDonald's all over the place. One in the basement on the Grace Department Store in Shinchon (now the Hyundai dept. store). Wendy's was here back then as well. I used to eat at the one at the COEX. Taco Bells were to be found in 이대 as well as 압구정. The TGI Friday's has been in 홍대 since '94 or so, though back then it was located on the NE side of the intersection behind the now non existent "Blue Roof Gas Station" that was iconic back in the day. Pizza Huts and KFCs were ubiquitous as well.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MollyBloom
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Location: James Joyce's pants
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Apparently at some time in the near future, the left side of the street that is parallel to the main road (going towards Hooker Hill...where all the phone shops and old Vatos building stands) will be bulldozed and turned into a bigger street. I guess you can see red flags on the rooftops where people are protesting that the gov't doesn't demolish their building. I suppose that's why no one has bought the old Vatos building because it's just going to be ripped down. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| fezmond wrote: |
| I agree with cj. Prost and most of the bars back there are places to be seen now. I'd much rather Seoul pub or some shithole like it that at least has a bit of character and doesn't charge stupid prices. The food in Prost is crap too. |
I agree. I walked in, took a look around, and then walked out. I can't stand places like that. Western cities are full of places like these where the trendy and yuppy-like tend to go. No soul or character at all. I'd rather sit down and drink in the Seoul Pub. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| Apparently at some time in the near future, the left side of the street that is parallel to the main road (going towards Hooker Hill...where all the phone shops and old Vatos building stands) will be bulldozed and turned into a bigger street. I guess you can see red flags on the rooftops where people are protesting that the gov't doesn't demolish their building. I suppose that's why no one has bought the old Vatos building because it's just going to be ripped down. |
For those of you who had been to Hooker Hill in the 1990s or the turn of the century, the place now doesn't even resemble what it was like back then.
Someone above mentioned that he was surprised that the OP is just now realizing this. I agree. This has been happening for the last 5 years or more. And they're not finished with it yet. It won't even be recognizable to many old guard foreign patrons once the Koreans transform it completely.
Find a new area. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm With You wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
| I agree with cj. Prost and most of the bars back there are places to be seen now. I'd much rather Seoul pub or some shithole like it that at least has a bit of character and doesn't charge stupid prices. The food in Prost is crap too. |
I agree. I walked in, took a look around, and then walked out. I can't stand places like that. Western cities are full of places like these where the trendy and yuppy-like tend to go. No soul or character at all. I'd rather sit down and drink in the Seoul Pub. |
The one time I went to Prost I ended up getting into a set-to with an angry midget gyopo and the fat American heifers he was apparently guarding, despite their obnoxious behaviour. That was after 10 minutes of entering the establishment. The whole place was full of people who didn't seem to be enjoying themselves because they were too concerned about how they looked compared to others, while supping on 8000 won Heinekens.
Saying that, Seoul pub is a little too far on the other extreme, if you know what I mean. . |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Someone above mentioned that he was surprised that the OP is just now realizing this. I agree. This has been happening for the last 5 years or more |
Of course we've all seen how there's been a changeover of restaurants in the area. That's been talked about to death by many of us.
This thread was started because another thread only mentioned the end of Outback when, all around it, many other restaurants and shops on the main drag are being closed down now and that's happening right now. If you've been to Itaewon this summer you'd be shocked at how rapidly the "old guard" restaurants and shops on the main street are being closed to make way for whatever is coming next. Clearly this is bigger than a changeover of one or two shops and restaurants.
Don't just insult the OP for starting a general thread on the subject- share your wisdom about all things Itaewon. What is coming next on the main street? Will it become another "Skin Shop" mecca? Some of us live very far away while some of the posters live right there, in Itaewon. Share what you've heard. Surely someone has heard something by now, if they've been living in Itaewon and paying attention for the past 5 years or so. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
