It’s always hard to describe one’s exact thoughts or views about a city upon the first sighting. After the initial shock of being in a new place washes away, it’s easier to decide how you feel about a city. When I moved to Boston for undergrad, I remember thinking how old and historical the city felt every time I walked the streets. Los Angeles seemed so fresh, expansive and sunny when I first arrived there.
My first impression of Seoul left me thinking I had disembarked in Neon heaven. Neon signs are literally everywhere in my neighborhood. There is even a church right by my apartment building that showcases a neon sign. I live in a grimy, edgy district of Seoul and the people in this area seem to be working class.
Last weekend I took a subway ride to another neighborhood to get a different visual perspective on this urban jungle. I went to a part of town that is close to a lot of universities and it was absolutely gorgeous. There was less neon, cleaner streets, neat looking boutiques and cool cafes.
So on the following Monday morning, I asked one of the other foreign teachers how Seoulites viewed the area we live in and she said, “Oh, some consider it the ghetto”. Hmmm, I wouldn’t have necessarily gone as far to call it a ghetto but every culture has its own meanings for words. However, according to encyclopedia brittanica, a ghetto is:
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a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
There are definitely no minorities in this neighborhood outside of the few foreign teachers who trickle in and out of the area for their year contracts and I’m not sure about Koreans having to live here vs other nicer neighborhoods due to social, legal or economic pressures because I don’t know any Koreans to get their opionions. But, I have recently learned that the mafia opened a lot of brothels in this area and it is considered the red light district.
Yep, you heard me right, I live in the red light district of Seoul! There is even a street where women sit in windows waiting for potential suitors to come and give them employment. I haven’t been to this street yet but I will be making a journey down there soon enough to see if it rivals the red light district of Amsterdam.
Although it is the red light district, this area still has a very family oriented vibe to it. In the mornings, I see parents taking their kids to school and senior citizens having their morning walks. There are a vast array of nice restaurants of Korean, American, Chinese and Japanese cuisines within 5 minute walking distance to my apartment. There is even a body shop (facial products) in this area which would never be in any ghetto back home. I think Seoul might be on to something. Just because you live in the red light district, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to go have a nice dinner and then go pick up that new exfoliating mask you’ve been eyeing in the store window…
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