To enter Itaewon you have to pass under one of two archways on either end of the strip whose lettering gleams: "Welcome to Korea", despite the fact that the area lies in the very heart of Seoul above the crook of the Han river.
Yet they might be better oriented the other way around, for the 'dong' of Itaewon is a seething hot mess of foreign cultures, people and ideas rubbing shoulders, bristling hairs and making love. Turbans, fatigues, fishnets, and prada are sported by foreigners, military men, prostitutes, and korean youths - though not necessarily in that order.
The steam and smoke that fill the night streets, mix and mingle the discharge of street vendors, pipe tobacco, african diners, and subway vents, sticks to your skin and gets in your clothes. In complete defiance of Seoul's space-age modern high-rises and sleepy hanok homes, here is where, in one of the most ethnically homogenous nations in the world, the unknown breathes.
Unsurprisingly, this confusing and permissive settlement is also home to one of the centers of gay life in Seoul. Though by no means the largest, or even the most important, it's certainly the loudest and most visible. 'Homo Hill', located right off of 'Hooker Hill', is hardly the seedy backalley you'd imagine, but a polished and posh attraction that pulls tourists, soldiers, and adventurous locals off the beaten path for a beer and a cocktail. Though it won't have to for long, as last week saw the opening of the first gay bar to creep down onto the main strip - another of many signs lately that the great clamshell of sex in this Confucian society is slowly being plied.
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