Itaewon has a reputation as Seoul’s ‘foreign’ area. Standing next to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, it has long catered to the off-base needs and urges of military personnel, gaining a sleazy reputation in the process. Many South Koreans were afraid to set foot there until a few years
A few years ago, I saw a notice up in the elevator of my apartment in Seoul. It was about replacing security guards — at least fifty in all seven buildings of the compound — with machines. The resident representative announced that a “new security system” would curtail management expenses.