By Via Korea Beat comes news that GI’s are supposedly behaving badly in Itaewon:
37-year-old office worker Mr. A went to Itaewon last weekend for an office dinner when he was shocked by what he saw in the street.
A foreigner and a Korean woman were sitting in a corner on the sidewalk, embracing each other so heavily it was as if they were having sex. Mr. A said: “I had thought I was going to see the Itaewon of the past, and to have to see that shocking scene made my co-workers feel awkward…. I had the thought that Itaewon has changed so much in just a few years.”
The atmosphere in Itaewon has changed drastically in the past few years. The change is the consequence of the increasing number of foreign tourists, but is also because of the increased number of US soldiers. Local office worker Mr. B said that “since a year ago when the curfew on US soldiers was lifted, the streets are something you don’t want to look at, and you frequently see foreigners talking loudly or having an argument.” [Korea Beat]
Read the rest at the link, but that is (sarcasm on) some pretty scare stuff foreigners talking loudly and arguing on the street. You never see that in Korea.(sarcasm off)
Robert Koehler who lives in Itaewon says he hasn’t really seen any difference in Itaewon with GI’s. Likewise when I spent some time in Itaewon earlier this summer it seemed like Itaewon was actually getting fixed up and less rowdy.
Anyway ROK Heads may remember how SBS a few months ago tried to push the evil GI’s in Itaewon meme claiming increased crime. However, they didn’t mention that overall crime has increased the past few years because USFK allowed servicemembers to drive cars.
Anyway the English teachers in Korea should be thankful for all of this because now the Korean media focus is back on GI’s instead of English teachers. Like I have always said the Korean media shifts focus regularly from GI’s, to English teachers, to 3D workers. This is just the continuation of this cycle. After a few months it will likely shift to 3D workers unless an English teacher does something really outrageous to shift it back to them.
4:33 pm on October 4th, 2011 1
Just on schedule, too (as soon as the weather cools down, that is).
4:48 pm on October 4th, 2011 2
C’mon English teachers! We believe in you. Surely you have one amongst you who can pull off a granny rape. Throw in a subway pushing incident and we’ve got it made!
5:35 pm on October 4th, 2011 3
Yep, a Korean woman and an American HUGGING in a “dark corner of the street?”, IS shocking.
We used to Pay 40 USD and go to their ROOM.
As for talking loudly, we could never top the Korean men in Itaewon at that.
If Mr A and Mr B are offended, perhaps they should stay off Hooker Hill. Isn’t Itaewon supposed to be for the “outsiders”, to keep them away from the rest of Korea? I’m sure I read that somewhere in a Korean History Class.
8:23 pm on October 4th, 2011 4
“Yep, a Korean woman and an American HUGGING in a “dark corner of the street?”, IS shocking.”
Don’t be silly. Anyone can read that article and understand what the author is saying is that the American is having sex with a prostitute in public.
9:52 pm on October 4th, 2011 5
More needs to be written in Korean papers about the truth when these situations occur. The average Korean will never read an English daily.
10:41 pm on October 4th, 2011 6
Where was he? Sounds like a hell of a good place!
10:44 pm on October 4th, 2011 7
Hongdae? One of the redlight districts? Oh, a foreigner-type place. I see the difference…
At least in the great subway brawl of the early 1990s, when an arm around the waste was turned into sexual harassment/attempted rape, it was rare to see public displays of affection between non-same sex Korean couples. (Seeing men holding hands wasn’t so uncommon.) It had changed a good bit by 2000 when I left the first time, but back then, a man and woman holding hands was deemed brazen.
12:19 am on October 5th, 2011 8
Baseball would be much better if it weren’t for those damn Yankees, err foreigners.
2:42 am on October 5th, 2011 9
#4,
No, she claims it looked as if they were having sex, in other words… “Ooh, someone hugging in public! The horror! My poor virgin eyes? Don’t they hugging leads to sex?”
3:25 am on October 5th, 2011 10
Tom #4, and what do you think I was paying $40 USD for Tom? Hugs? At least Hookers had their own room.
Even in the field, GI’s will look for a location not open to view. So I believe Mr. A and Mr. B are talking out their collective A$$es. To put it more simply, they are making it up, or hugging is as close as they have ever gotten to sex. Therefore the confusion.
4:40 am on October 5th, 2011 11
#10,
Yup, I bet the what gets pounded most in her bedroom is her bible.
7:33 am on October 5th, 2011 12
Last three times I was in Korea I saw young Koreans acting this way in Myungdong cafes, at the Express Bus Terminal, and in a fairly expensive galbi place in Suwon…
The “shock” I suppose is merely institutionalized racism… “The foreigners are destroying our culture! Look! Hookers! (but ignore those glass houses behind the train station)”
Glad to see Chinese Tom survived the recent purge… We need some comedy relief during the election cycle…
8:24 am on October 5th, 2011 13
#12,
The few students who dared to claim in class that prostitution in Korea catered strictly to US soldiers could never explain why there were so many “Anma” signs near the local train station and yet the closest USFK base was 50km away.
4:37 pm on October 5th, 2011 14
G.I.s or English Teachers or 3d teachers….they have one thing in common, they are third class LBHs.
4:38 pm on October 5th, 2011 15
3d foreign workers
5:29 pm on October 5th, 2011 16
#14,
If you only knew how much money I earn from my investments, you’d piss yourself.
8:34 pm on October 5th, 2011 17
9:33 pm on October 5th, 2011 18
#16 money doesn’t buy you class
10:39 pm on October 5th, 2011 19
#18 And neither does immigrating to the West…or a Western education…
11:31 pm on October 5th, 2011 20
#18
Neither does making snotty comments on a message board.
12:35 am on October 6th, 2011 21
Well, to go along with this I see that there are two rather interesting new off-limits establishments as of Yesterday – the King Club and the UN Club, supposedly for ‘Force Protection’ and ‘Drugs’:
http://yongsan.korea.army.mil/DES/Downloads/USAG%20Y%20Off%20Limits%20List%2005%20October%202011.ppt
Did I miss out on some kind of big-time all-out brawl down there recently? Didn’t see anything from the usual news sources. I know both places have been the scene of some notorious fights/stabbings, etc. before but I wonder why it took this long for them to make the off-limits list? Perhaps the owners haven’t been quite such ‘good neighbors’ as of late…
I know UN has been off-limits before but never the King Club, that I know of. Bet that will crank-up the UCMJ action exponentially, as both joints are popular with GIs…
1:47 am on October 6th, 2011 22
#21 The official word is trafficking of illegal or banned substances, I forget which word, I’m guessing Spice.
A lot of feelings are going to get hurt since the King Club is off limits.
3:35 am on October 6th, 2011 23
Oviously a “leadership” failure by the Army. Perhaps pockets were not lined well enough.
5:38 am on October 6th, 2011 24
#18 orbit – “money doesn’t buy you class”
It does in S. Korea.
Blepharoplasty is classy. Rhinoplasty, classy. Honey-glazed men’s suits, blindingly classy. Adolescent human growth hormone regimines, very classy!
6:55 am on October 6th, 2011 25
“supposedly for ‘Force Protection’ and ‘Drugs’”
Obviously an issue of payment being drug out for forced “protection”.
7:15 am on October 6th, 2011 26
#18,
Why buy something you are born with?
8:34 am on October 6th, 2011 27
TD FTW
4:47 pm on October 6th, 2011 28
#26 typical 3rd class LBH comment. Stuck at high school level even when he’s an old fart.
4:48 pm on October 6th, 2011 29
#24 like you have any right to judget another country. It’s like a trailer park trash judging rich.
4:50 pm on October 6th, 2011 30
#19 At least I am not a loser who joined military because he couldn’t get a job or coudlnt go to college.
5:16 pm on October 6th, 2011 31
#28,
The irony of that comment is lost on you.
#30,
No, you’re just a loser who hasn’t finished high school yet.
6:08 pm on October 6th, 2011 32
#28 nope, it’s all on you.
#20 nope, went to college.
6:47 pm on October 6th, 2011 33
What was your Major?
7:41 pm on October 6th, 2011 34
The real question is… who paid for college?
8:03 pm on October 6th, 2011 35
Well, the complaining worked, b/c effective immediately, USFK Curfew is back in effect! Just announced this morning.
7:43 am on October 7th, 2011 36
#32,
You can’t even get the numbers straight…
And college? Where I’m from college is for people who can’t get into university.
#33,
Not anything that involved number and counting, I hope.
7:46 am on October 7th, 2011 37
#33,
His major was finger painting and learning the alphabet.
8:16 am on October 7th, 2011 38
So… too busy playing civilization to get a scholarship? Mommy and Daddy paid for it?
6:20 pm on October 7th, 2011 39
lol at usinkorea deleting my comment yet again.
6:44 pm on October 7th, 2011 40
orbvious troll is orbvious……
10:03 am on October 8th, 2011 41
Returning to the newspaper article, whenever I read something like that I wonder if the writer doesn’t want South Koreans to study English (stories like this could discourage people from studying English because it potentially diminishes their interest in associating with its speakers, or it decreases motivation to learn the language).