Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jdog2050]

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Here's the deal with Itaewon. It's harmless, ok?

Oh my god, some guy tried to sell you a suit and you were enough of an idiot to look in his direction? How about manning up and just, I don't know, ignoring them?

Wow, you go to every crap hole bar and hot dang people are starting fights and the girls are gross!!! Ever hear of Bar-Nana, Bricx, Wolfhound, or one of the other 80 billion places that are completely awesome and chill?

Hooker hill? Ewwww! Shut up; please walk around the south side of chicago or the south bronx and come back to me about sleazy.

Too many foreigners? Well, I guess the kimbop and samgyeupsol are enough for you, carry on, as the 'won is one of the few places to get half decent foreign food.

Military guys scare you? If you're a guy and you said that, you're a *beep*. How about, I don't know, talking to them?

If you can't tell, this is in response to that other Itaewon thread; some of the stuff I saw there just annoyed me as it's basically coming from the mouths of people who have *never* liked that sort of atmosphere, and it wouldn't matter if it was in Korea or New York, etc, etc.

To those coming to Korea for the first time...Itaewon is TAME compared to any of the other night life scenes around the world. Yes, you'll probably see a lame barfight, yes you'll see hookers, yes you'll see poor korean girls who need to be saved from the gross white guy that THEY PICKED TO DATE.

Through it all, Itaewon has a lot to offer, especially when you go off the beaten path and just explore. Here's an idea, something that I did. Instead of letting your friends take you around to the usual crap holes, how about just taking one night and literally ducking your head into every bar you see, just to know what it is. What you find may surprise you.

P.s.
Koreans are, for the most part, scared of Itaewon because of the usual Korean xenophobia. In the coming months you'll find A LOT of things that Koreans are scared of that are old hat for us.

[Woland]

What brought this on?

[twg]

[jdog2050]

[Woland]

I guess. I always get worked up enough to make/copy ascii art over two year old threads, too.

[jdog2050]

[lastat06513]

For the 6 years I lived in Korea, I live 5 out of those 6 years in the "t'won", I had no problems there.
And I lived in the area right behind MacDonald's and at the end of my street was the philippine embassy (which moved there in 2003).
Although the novelty of living there wore off, I still found it very convenient;

1. Itaewon was THE CENTER of Seoul (literally!). If you understood the bus route, you would know that you could take a bus from Itaewon to any of the major bus hubs (Hannam Dong and Namyoung Dong) to take a bus anywhere in the city. Not to mention that line number-6 was connected to all major sub-lines in the city.

2. As someone had mentioned before, you could find EVERY kind of foreign cuisine in Itaewon (minus Russian food, but I knew where to go for that). Abeit it might be atad expensive, but at least you can get some different kind of food other than Korean or fast food.

3. Aside from all the "juicy bars" on hooker hill, there were some cool hangouts in Itaewon like Seoul Pub, Nashville and Geckos, but if people ventured alittle further toward hannam dong, they can find some pretty cool Korean style pubs near the university hospital and Dangkuk university.

4. Finally and not least, Itaewon was the kind of place you can walk 2 meters and hear 6 different languages being spoken.

My list can go on forever in regards to Itaewon. If I were to put down a place, I would put down Hongdae, been there several times and I found the place overpriced and overhyped.

Most people only hear about what happens there at night and brush aside the positive side of things that happen during the day- but I must ask this; if Itaewon is so bad, can't other areas of Seoul be worse?

[blynch]

[lastat06513]

[mnhnhyouh]

New meat here. Been in Seoul for two and half weeks. I have been to central Seoul a couple of times, COEX once, Yongsan, and live in Mok-dong.

I went to Itaewon for the first time yesterday. After seeing very few westerners I was surprised to see so many. Yes, it is a little sleazy, but not enough to bother me, yes it is cheesy commercial, but not too bad compared to other tourist traps I have been to.

Still I didnt like it. I do like Korean food, so dont yet feel the need for restaurants from other countries, though I might later. I had a beer from home, expensive and past the end of its shelf life

h

[Dev]

[twg]

[JZer]

[Zyzyfer]

[reconhottie]

I live in Itaewon. Am I afraid of it? Nope. But then again, I like staying in my house even before curfew.
The vendors just make me laugh now, they used to make me feel bad for not paying attention to them.
I actually think is a fun place to see the clash of cultures. But that is if you are open minded enough to not get frustrated by the GIs, or Canadians, or whatever kind of people walk the streets.