This is really nothing new other then the fact the Korean media is reporting it:

Seoul’s two well-known downtown club areas near the Hongik University and Shinchon were classified as “dangerous areas” by the U.S. State Department.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the U.S. State Department’s travel guide Web site introduced the areas as “dangerous areas” as early as May 2006.

A U.S. embassy official said, “The embassy regularly collects safety information and reports it to the State Department. My understanding is that when there were crimes against Americans in the two areas in 2005, the department introduced them as ‘dangerous areas’,” JoongAng Ilbo reported Saturday.

The newspaper said the reality differs from the U.S. decision. A police officer at Mapo Polilce Station said, “There have been virtually few crimes this year. Even the ones happened were also minor scuffles, usually happening by people who got drunk.”

Lee Seung-hwan, an official with the non-profit organization, “Club Culture Coalition,” which promotes a healthy night life, said, “Since the clubs in the Hongik University area banned the entrance of American soldiers, there was hardly any incident involving foreigners.”

Lee added, “In the past, there were many brawls between American soldiers who inappropriately approached Korean girls and Korean men who responded to the situation.”  [Korea Times]

We all know Korean men never inappropriately approach Korean women at Hongdae.

Just the fact that an American soldier approaching a Korean girl is worthy of being assaulted validates the State Department’s rationale for declaring the neighborhood a “Dangerous Zone” in the first place.