To Itaewon on my own

      Most Koreans I've met have been friendly, and many have reached out to offer help.  One time I was riding in a subway car on line 9.  It become obvious to a couple of Korean passengers that I was a bit lost.  They weren't ease dropping.  I was studying a map and it was plain obvious.  Both of them asked me if they could help me find something.  Within a moment or two, I learned what I needed to do thanks to them.

     It was Sunday morning.  I had enjoyed a chorus concert the night before - my first night in a love motel.  This was my second venture to Seoul (after having lived in Yeongcheon, South Korea) for almost a year).  This time, I ventured alone, on my own.

     I won't lie to you.  I am a Gay man and I was committed to a guy who lived in the Philippines.  I did not come to South Korea just so I could be nearer to him.  I came because I needed a job, and the opportunity was introduced to me, so I pursued it.  I had made up my mind that I would never cheat on him, and I never did.  Still, I was interested in knowing about Gay culture (if it existed at all) in South Korea, and I was open to chatting and making friends with GLBT people who lived there.

     Of course, I spent some time studying the matter while I was still living in the USA and preparing to move to South Korea, but reading about it was one thing.  Observing the reality of it all was another.

     It didn't take long to find out that Itaewon was a hangout place for LGBT people and all sorts of other people who enjoyed frequenting clubs / bar / taverns of various sorts.  I found out there were two well known "hills" there:  Hookers Hill and Homo Hill.  On this Sunday morning while I was in Seoul, I decided to venture through Itaewon and see for myself whatever I could see.

     At the time of this writing, I had not been to Itaewon since many months in the past, so I couldn't say what changes (if any) have been made in Itaewon.  But, when I was there, this is what I saw.  Basically, Itaewon wasn't very big, at least it didn't seem so to me, but it was filled with people from all over.  What I mean by "all over" is "all over the world."  It was definitely an international kind of place, and many of the restaurants featured foods common in other countries.

      I found Hookers Hill and Homo Hill.  Basically they were parallel streets lined with bars and clubs the names of which could clue you in on which hill you're on.  I walked up and down both of them.  It was late Sunday morning, so there wasn't much going on (and I didn't expect that there would be), but as I was walking down Hookers Hill, I was politely greeted by a couple of ladies who, from the looks of it, were inviting me into their clubs.  Politely, I declined and kept walking.

      I ended up eating at a Kraze Burger restaurant where they bake their own bread and burger patties fresh and cook to order.  While there, an older, slim man dressed in a three-piece gray pin striped suit sat down at the table next to mine.  He was there to enjoy a bottle of beer.  Very kindly, he introduced himself to me, and told me the story of his father who had fled North Korea many years before.

      I didn't stay in Itaewon much longer.  I knew getting to Daegu would require a couple hours on a train, and I didn't want to miss the last train from there to Yeongcheon, so I got back to Seoul Station at around 4 pm.