Itaewon

We went to Itaewon today, an area that my friends keep telling me to check out but have been avoiding because I don’t see a particular need to visit what is essentially Little America in Korea when I normally live in Little America (Canada), But my sister’s on a shopping mission, and her shopping comfort doesn’t really extend beyond Bayshore, so the best place we though to find her style and price in Korea was Itaewon.

Itaewon is where the foreigners in Korea seem to hang out. That’s where you'll find the Quizno Subs, the Hard Rock Cafe, the english-style pubs, and steak houses. Most importantly, that's where you'll find clothing in non-Korean sizes ("CLOTHES FOR BIG WHITE PEOPLE WHO EAT STEAK"). So many signs advertising "Big Sizes".


See what I mean? All this Western stores...and also a sign, if you can read it, that says "A&H BIG SIZE OUTLE". That's right, outle, not outlet. the clothes are so big, you don't even have room for that final T.

my sister didn't end up finding anything (strangely enough, she found her stuff at a stand in the subway station), but i was surprised to find the Shin Jung Hyun records i'd been searching for, at a sidewalk music stand. score for me! also, that's the only place in pretty much all of Korea that I saw black people. And a Jewish rabbi.

In the evening, we went for Korean buffet with Mom's side of the family, the Mins, where i got a glimpse of what i'll be like when i'm older, if the Min genes hold strong. My forecast seems to be lots of white hair and a cheerful disposition, which is kind of hard to believe if you know me now at my present (cynical) age.