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Originally Posted by Revved
We did two years in Seoul back in 86-88 living in Hanam Village outside of Yongsan. The compound we lived in backed right to Itaewon and was completely surrounded on all sides by Korean houses. They cleaned it up ALOT getting ready for the 88 Olympics and it sounds like they've kept it clean which is good.... our experience there was far different. Dirty, nasty, smelly, heavy, smog, tear gas a couple times a year from riots at the college down the road protesting Americans being there by jumping off buildings on fire killing themselves. A month after we left the housing area was raided, gate gaurds beaten up, numerous residents vehicles stolen or flipped and burned The general population in the city was a mixed bag... some were very very nice people, some were very very shifty. A couple times a year there would be a GI that would get beaten up from getting stupid in the local bars and then subsequent riots- likely a well deserved beating but it just reinforced that there were times that we didn't go out of the compound without parents.
I always remember driving anywhere was an adventure. Driving laws were just suggestions out there.... anything was fare game... sidewalks, wrong ways.. Scooters piled with 10' of crap strapped on the back would zip between traffic and down the sidewalks. The Busses ruled the road and they let you know it- if they wanted your lane they would push you out of the way A friend's mom had a 80s Chevy station wagon well appointed with the purple marks from multiple run ins with the Korean busses... after a while they learned to stay out of her way. Kias and Daewoos were everywhere and were disposable... I saw so many small wrecks where they crushed like aluminum cans. My Dad had a green 75 Chevy C10 Van that they were always trying to buy off of him because they did LOVE American cars.
Outside of the city was beautiful but the people were very poor. We traveled around outside of Seoul a few times... went up to the DMZ...(the "Demilitarized zone" supposedly "neutral ground" right on the border between North and South Korea where they would have talks) walked on the North Korea side of the conference room. Walking up to that building is definitely intense.
The smell of KimChee was everywhere- everyone had their giant ceramic pots on their balconies to ferment. I massively expanded my comic book collection in the countless comic book shops where you could pick up old issues for the equivalent of about .05, mastered Shinobi in the numerous arcades, and got into racing RC cars. Definitely an interesting time in my life. I wish I was older and could have appreciated it more.
Sounds like your project is heading in the right direction! Good luck and enjoy your time overseas!
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Sean -
Sounds like it's changed a lot.
I suppose Seoul and Korea are a bit dirty compared to some of the nicer cities, but not filthy.
We live on base - Yongsan. Hanam Village is still open, but shutting down. Much of Yongsan and Area I (2ID) is moving down south to Camp Humphreys.
We have periodic protests, but small, quiet, and peaceful.
VERY little violence against servicemembers. The violence is usually US servicemembers against each other. Sometimes US against local national. Very rare for Korean to attack US servicemembers.
Driving is still pretty intense. Zero traffic enforcement except by cameras. Red lights are just a suggestion to stop. Scooters are nucking futs! All over the sidewalks, running lights, passing on the shoulder, etc. Love the homemade scooter pickups, too -
See all sorts of types of transportation - not sure exactly what this is, but I've seen a few:
Lots of Kias, Hyundai's, Daewoos, etc. Most folks buy a $1,000 Hyundai Sonata beater for their tour. They're everywhere and the locals can easily fix them. I got lucky and bought a 99 Yukon 4x4 for $1,000.
Have been to the DMZ; definitely intense.
Thanks,
Scott