According to this article in the Korea Times the closure of the Seoul Pub signals the death of the old Itaewon:
Master Jung pours beers at Seoul Pub in Itaewon during the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup. / Courtesy of John Redmond
Seoul’s most popular and famous expat hangout, Seoul Pub, is set to close its doors for the last time in over two decades, Sunday.
Centrally located in Itaewon, across the road from the Hamilton Hotel, Seoul Pub was for years Seoul’s most popular bar, blending a patronage of English teachers, U.S.military personnel and businessmen, offering affordable beer, pool and entertainment from the manager, Master Jung.
It essentially paved the way for more European-style pubs, thanks to former manager Gunther Kampf, who went on to open the original 3 Alley Pub.Its low-key, no-frills atmosphere became a magnet for foreigners tired of the cowboy bars catering to a U.S.military clientele.
First opened in 1996, the popular premises saw its popularity peak during the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup, as did many now defunct international bars. (……..)
The closure of Seoul Pub signals the death of old Itaewon. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but I like the new Itaewon better then the old Itaewon even if it means older establishments like Seoul Pub are forced to close due to the increased competition.
This photo, taken on Nov. 23, 2017, shows a barbed wire fence, which was inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, relocated to Gwanghwaun Plaza in Seoul. The fence will be set up at the venue of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics after people attach ribbons carrying their wishes for peace to it. (Yonhap)
I am really not surprised by this at all considering how littering still does not seem to have much social stigma attach to it yet in Korea:
The crowd at the 2017 Seoul International Fireworks Festival on Saturday were treated to breathtaking blooms of fire-flowers, as they are called in Korean.
Teams representing the US, Italy and Korea took turns showing their best-coordinated fireworks.
Unfortunately, as events like this attract large crowds, the following morning showed the not-so-beautiful side to the show.
In the area street cleaners faced mounds of garbage haphazardly thrown away by the 1 million-strong crowd that attended the event.
In order to prevent this, Hanwha, who organized the event, had precautionary measures in place on the night of the event; plastic refuse bags were handed out and warnings were issued to only dispose of waste at designated zones. However, it seems the effort largely went ignored. [Korea Herald]
It seems many people’s attitude is why walk over to a garbage can when I can just throw it on the ground for someone else to pick up after me.
The city’s on-post soil analysis of Yongsan Garrison did not show contamination above safe levels. This may be an indication that the off-post soil contamination may not be from the base as claimed. However, the results are not going to matter to South Korean leftists who have been using this issue to create tension in the US-ROK alliance:
Yongsan Garrison in Seoul.
The result of Seoul City’s probe into soil and groundwater in areas near a US military base in central Seoul over alleged oil leaks came out Tuesday, showing below average levels of contamination in the samples from six of nine sites around the military base in Yongsan.
In August, the Seoul city government conducted its own survey on soil and water near the US base for possible contamination with toxic chemicals, amid growing calls for the disclosure of pollution levels in the area.
According to the analysis of samples released Tuesday, all six areas had soil and water contamination below average levels, based on the Soil Environment Conservation Act here.
However, two spots, the main post and the transportation office, will be reinvestigated next month, the city said, as samples from there were close to the average level.
Officials said that levels of total petroleum hydrocarbon detected from these sites were close to exceeding the standard level of 500 milligrams per kilogram. The detected amount was 471 milligrams per kilogram.
“Although there were no significant traces of contamination found from the probe this time, we are still concerned about areas where contamination levels were close to the standard, while the source of the pollutants near the US military base remains unknown,” said Kwon Ki-wook, chief of the city’s water circulation safety bureau. [Korea Herald via reader tip]
This is really something everyone in the Seoul region should be preparing for, not just a group of wealthy residents of a posh apartment complex:
Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
With North Korea’s military provocations increasing the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula, a luxurious residential-commercial complex in Seoul recently held an emergency session for residents on what to do if war actually breaks out.
The managing office of Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, held the session on Sep.18, where participants were given practical tips on what to do when the complex, one of Seoul’s wealthiest communities, issues various warning alarms.
Residents learned what to do when they hear an air raid alarm, a poisonous gas alarm or a war warning wherever they are in the city.
The residents also learned what to pack for emergencies, including a large backpack, gas mask, sustenance for two weeks, two two-liter bottles of water, a family photo with durable coating, a passport and a little cash. [Korea Times]
Of course the United States has military options that do not threaten Seoul. In fact one was just executed with the recent B-1 show of force bombing exercise in South Korea. The real question is if there are military options to remove North Korea’s ICBM and nuclear facilities without endangering Seoul:
The United States has military options for North Korea that do not put Seoul at grave risk, Washington’s top defense official said Monday.
The remark by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis marks a departure from the popular argument that there is no viable military option that would not leave thousands of South Koreans and U.S. service members dead.
“Yes, there are,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon when asked whether there were military options that would not seriously endanger Seoul. “But I will not go into details.”
Mattis said he discussed with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo the issue of reintroducing tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea to counter North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats. But he declined to say whether the option is under consideration. [Yonhap]
