Itaewon: Troops remember a place known for its vices

[unhappycamper]

People pack the streets of the Itaewon entertainment district near Yongsan Garrison.


Itaewon: Troops remember a place known for its vices
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, January 4, 2009

SEOUL — The day James Hiden arrived in Seoul for inprocessing in 1986, the 18-year-old caught a taxi to Itaewon, where he was overwhelmed by the tailor shops and sneakers on sale for $8.

"I could not resist the Korean food, and I was fascinated by the sight of go-go dancers," he said. "When you’re 18 years old, you feel the freedom of being far away from home."

Hiden, like many current and former U.S. troops who e-mailed Stars and Stripes for this report, remembers his first visit to Itaewon with nostalgia. For many, the tour in South Korea was their first taste of life outside the United States.

They said the often-dirty, often-seedy bar and restaurant district, packed with soldiers, was where they felt comfortable and where many shaped their perceptions of the country.

Roland Keller lived in South Korea three times, first as a child in the late 1950s and early 1960s and later as a soldier.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59770