As I was taking the bullet train to Seoul I was talking to the guy next to me and he asked where I was staying in town, so I told him Itaewon, and he shook his head and said now isn’t the best time for Itaewon. And I was confused because I read it’s one of the more happening places in Seoul, but then he brought up the Halloween crush incident. Ohhh, shit. I had kind of forgotten about that, it’d been two months since it happened. No wonder that name sounded vaguely familiar. He was saying people are kind of avoiding Itaewon right now. Bad vibes. Hmm.
When I arrived it was a little eerie. My guesthouse seemed to be on the darkest, seediest street in the whole neighborhood, the bar next to it was abandoned, windows broken in. Yikes. But it was fine once I was inside the guesthouse, although the days of spotless bathrooms in Japan appear to be over. After a brief walk around it really was a diverse place, lots of Muslims and kebab shops, even a mosque nearby, also a surprising amount of pizza parlors, cute coffeeshops, an African restaurant or two, really lots of different cuisine, Italian, Vietnamese, Mexican Korean fusion, etc. Not that much traditional Korean food, which was a bit of bummer. And hardly any of it was crowded. Just a few people here and there. The one Korean BBQ was packed though.
Walking down the main street I passed by a side street fully loaded with thousands of sticky notes on the wall and a policeman standing around. Well, this is it. The street where the crush happened. Damn. Very surreal. It really looks so painfully ordinary. It’s just a pretty normal looking side street that connects to the bar street running parallel to the main street, forming a T-intersection. It’s got one convenience store on it closer to the main street that people were able to escape into.
It’s quite difficult to imagine how it’s even possible for 156 people to die from suffocation on a fun night out. I mean the crowds in the street must have just been massive, but even then I still can’t quite fully fathom how it happens. So it was quite a sobering start to the Seoul trip, reading all the post-it notes on the wall to the victims. Visiting the memorial with all of their photos. They give you a rose to put wherever you’d like. There’s a shockingly large number of police still around. Everyone in the photos is so so young. Really just awful to think about. Two months after and you can almost feel the heaviness in the air, like a dark cloud hanging over the place. It is going to take some time for Itaewon to get back to normal. So, uhh not exactly the greatest first night in Seoul.
The next day I did some exploring, I didn’t have much of a plan, but I took the bus to Gangnam Station and did some walking around there. The station actually has a whole subterranean mall that goes a few floors below street level. Pretty impressive.
From there I walked a few kilometers to the massive mall complex, COEX, checking out all the high rises and making a pit stop at a temple. It’s fun to notice all the different architectural design elements than what I’m used to in the US.
At the mall they have a famous library, an open public space with tables to work or study, and library shelves that go from the floor to the roof. I’m not sure if you could check out the books or not, but you could definitely take them out and read them, if you could reach them! And since it’s Christmas time, it’s gotta have a massive tree smack dab in the middle!
Outside the mall is a sculpture garden, as well as a bunch of old temples, nestled in between all the big buildings. A small respite from the city hustle and bustle.
As I kept walking things got ritzier and ritzier, boutique shops, a Lamborgini dealership, exclusive looking luxury high rises, restaurant with finely dressed attendants out front. Eventually I ran into fashion street, which is where all of the high end fashion brands have their flagship stores, and I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ll let the photos do the talking!
That evening I found a hookah bar and ended up drinking with a Saudi guy at the bar who was a pilot, really funny guy, he even paid for my whole tab too without me realizing it! I stayed at the bar until like 3am, and he said he stayed out that morning until 7am, I can’t handle that! Plus I stuff to do with only 4 full days in Seoul!