Itaewon Isn’t So Shitty After All: Book

by Robert Koehler on January 17, 2009

Reporter Mun Gwang-nip has written a book, “Itaewon: Gateway to the World,” which not only provides useful tourist information about the neighborhood, but also strives to dispel the widely held image of the neighborhood as a fun but dangerous shithole populated by foreigners who are either drug addicts, drunkards, sex criminals, gay or some combination of the above.

Apparently, a number of socially upstanding foreigners are profiled, including Joe McPherson of Zenkimchi.

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Canuckygreg January 18, 2009 at 2:07 am: 3 Alky Pub is the defining “diamond in the rough” of Itaewon.
2 CactusMcHarris January 18, 2009 at 5:45 am: ‘fun but dangerous shithole populated by foreigners who are either drug addicts, drunkards, sex criminals, gay or some combination of the above.’

Sweet Mother of Hanyang, that’s precisely why I spent thousands of dollars and hours there.
3 Mizar5 January 18, 2009 at 8:48 am: Itaewon has changed drastically. Back in the day, it was filled with bars and houses of prostitution catering to US servicemen. One establishment was famous specifically for blowjobs, long before this was an accepted practice among ordinary Korean prostitutes.

When I returned to Korea a few years ago, Itaewon was almost unrecognizable. I’m not sure how this happened, but it has now become an acceptable place for Koreans and foreigners to hang out. I believe that past administrations (Park Cheong Hee, Chun Doo Hwan) fostered the growth of these places around U.S. Army bases to accumulate hard currency. This changed as legitimate enterprises increasingly began to bring foreign currency into the country. Nowadays, it looks as though any U.S. serviceman looking for action has to leave Itaewon.
4 CactusMcHarris January 18, 2009 at 1:19 pm: #3,

How hast thou knowledge of the KKLH?
5 Bipolar Mindscrew January 18, 2009 at 3:34 pm: The 3 Ally Pub is nice but nothing special… not the best reason to visit Itaewon. Gecko’s Garden is the true diamond of the area, a unique place in all of Korea, I think.
6 ZenKimchi January 18, 2009 at 5:31 pm: What? That’s the first I ever heard about… oh… Gwang-nip. Cool. His book’s out.
7 Arghaeri January 18, 2009 at 6:10 pm: “3 Alky Pub”

is that a freudian slip, since there are a few more than three alkys there.

gecko’s garden unique – for what exactly – when did average food and atmosphere become unique?
8 Sperwer January 18, 2009 at 7:11 pm: Re #7: when it came to Korea
9 Rick February 13, 2009 at 9:34 am: I’ve seen the book…looks amazing….but where can you buy it??