Itaewon

The name Itaewon was originally derived from the name of an inn located there during the Joseon period. Today it's called Itaewon alluding to its abundance of pear trees (梨泰院).[http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0068370 "이태원(梨泰院"], Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. According to a folktale, the name was also written using different Hanja characters that alluded to foreign babies (異胎院). When the Japanese invaded Seoul (1592–1593) during the Imjin War, a group of Japanese soldiers seized a Buddhist temple in what is now Itaewon where Buddhist nuns lived. The soldiers stayed at the temple for a while and raped the Buddhist nuns. When the soldiers left they burned down the Buddhist temple. The raped Buddhist nuns now homeless settled nearby and eventually gave birth to children. People from neighboring villages named the area where the children were raised Itaewon in a portmanteau of terms meaning different, foreign and fetus.{{cite book | last=Tudor | first=D. | title=Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon | publisher=Tuttle Publishing | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4629-1022-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT310 310]}} During the Imjin War this was also where wounded and surrendered Japanese soldiers (이타인/異他人) were allowed to live.{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Jun-gi|title=Itaewon|url=https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/5637|access-date=3 January 2022|website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture}}

File:Itaewon neighborhood (4971866443).jpg

Itaewon was originally a transportation hub where travelers could get horses during the Goryeo period (918-1392). During the Joseon period (1392–1910), Itaewon became more of a significant area as the new leaders relocated the country's capital to Hanyang – modern-day Seoul. As foreigners began to enter Korea in the 1880s, embassies and inns began to pop up in the region. Apart from Incheon, Itaewon became one of the most prominent spots for foreigners and travelers heading in and out of the capital city. Itaewon housed the city's largest cemetery until 1937.{{Cite web |title=Itaewon's Complex History and What's to Come |website=Pinpoint Korea |url=https://www.pinpointkorea.com/itaewon-history/ |date=2022-08-11 |access-date=2023-01-07}}

The recent history of the Itaewons district of Seoul's Yongsan District is closely linked to the US military base Yongsan Garrison established in 1945. With the large number of bars and brothels, the area has been coded as a dangerous place for many Koreans. Here, security was not just a local matter but sometimes blew up into national or geopolitical crises. {{citation needed span|

Since U.S. soldiers were given pleasure leave from 1957, brothels sprung up in Itaewon. Minors and women were kidnapped and forced into prostitution well into the 1980s in camp villages that operated under U.S. jurisdiction, and the South Korean government designated some of the locations given over to U.S. authorities as official "comfort facilities" for soldiers.|reason=support not seen in currently-cited soutces. Added without supporting cite in https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Itaewon&diff=prev&oldid=1132222785|date=April 2023}} Under this system, there was an absence of full legal accountability in the face of frequent abuses committed by American GIs. Criminal liability was limited in many cases where GIs would attack or abuse women living in the camp villages. The Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and South Korean government stipulated that all crimes committed by U.S. military personnel fell exclusively under the jurisdiction of U.S military courts. A National Assembly report from that time compiled a list of 39,542 crimes committed by U.S. military personnel between 1967 and 1987, including murders, rapes, theft, arson, and smuggling, which went largely unpunished.

Twenty years after the Korean War (1950–53), Itaewon became a shopping district. The district gradually became gentrified and, in 2013, the US military moved its base with 17,000 soldiers to southern Seoul. Itaewon also became something of a home for the LGBT movement and was considered to be as open to foreigners as it was to Koreans. However, while representative commercial buildings had been erected in Itaewon, the area's characteristic of narrow streets had remained.{{Cite web |title=Seoul's Nightlife District Was Built for Tragedy |author=Se-Woong Koo |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/11/korea-halloween-itaewon-development-built-tragedy.html |website=curbed.com |date=2022-11-04 |access-date=2022-12-26}}{{Cite web |author=Eunwoo Lee |title=Itaewon, the Site of Seoul's Recent Catastrophe - The city's multicultural history illuminates South Korea's agony, modernity, and future.

|website=inkstickmedia.com |url=https://inkstickmedia.com/understanding-itaewon-the-site-of-seouls-recent-catastrophe/ |date=2022-11-08 |access-date=2023-01-07}}{{Cite magazine |title=Tim Shorrock |url=https://newrepublic.com/authors/tim-shorrock?page=1 |access-date=2023-04-19 |magazine=The New Republic |language=en-us}}

File:20231103 - Itaewon - 3.jpg

As Seoul's International District, Itaewon is known for serving cuisine that are not widely available in Korea, such as those from Great Britain, Germany, France, India, Italy, Southeast Asia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Mexico, United States of America, and Canada. It is known as the "International District" or sometimes as "Western Town," reminiscent of many Chinatowns in Western nations.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} All That Jazz, the oldest active jazz club in South Korea, is located in Itaewon.{{Cite news |date=2017-08-16 |title=All That Jazz |url=https://www.timeout.com/seoul/music/all-that-jazz |access-date=2024-08-16 |work=Time Out}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-08-30 |title= |script-title=ko:한국 재즈의 성지 '올 댓 재즈' 올가을 관객들과 다시 만난다 |url=https://www.chosun.com/culture-life/2022/08/31/FRLIN6A3GJAA3NALXASJ6P4F6Q/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=The Chosun Ilbo |language=ko}} Itaewon Books, the oldest English-language used secondhand bookstore, is also located in Itaewon.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-10 |title=From used cookbooks to Virginia Woolf, Seoul's independent English bookstores have you covered |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-02-10/culture/books/From-used-cookbooks-to-Virginia-Woolf-Seouls-independent-English-bookstores-have-you-covered-/1977452 |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |language=en}}File:181013 이태원 지구촌 축제 착한콘서트 식스밤 2.jpg in Itaewon on October 13, 2018]]

Itaewon, along with neighborhoods and attractions like Hongdae, Insadong and Seoul Tower, is one of the most popular places in Seoul for tourists.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVt1BgAAQBAJ&q=itaewon&pg=PA17|title=Seoul's best 100|date=2010-02-02|last1=Government|first1=Seoul Metropolitan}}

Itaewon includes the area known as Homo Hill and is Seoul's gay village.{{cite web|title=Itaewon|url=https://www.theseoulguide.com/sights/neighborhoods-and-districts/itaewon/|website=The Seoul Guide|access-date=11 May 2020}} Despite the taboo nature of homosexuality in South Korea, people can express themselves openly within the neighborhood.{{cite web|title=Gay Seoul|url=https://www.gaytravel.com/gay-guides/seoul/|website=Gay Travel|access-date=11 May 2020}}

Itaewon is also a district with a strong Muslim community. It is home to the Seoul Central Mosque, built in 1976.

File:Seoul Central Mosque 01.jpg

Itaewon was long known as a hub for high quality counterfeit goods, but those products have largely disappeared.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/korean-counterfeit-fake-luxury-vogue-editor-style-value|title=Listen to Monica Kim Discuss How Korea's Counterfeit Culture Shaped Her Style|last=Kim|first=Monica|website=Vogue|date=27 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}} Some authentic goods that are only produced in Korea for the international market, as well as some authentic imports, are also available. Itaewon is known for its tailors who produce custom-made shirts and suits.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Gyeongnidan-gil is a street in Itaewon. It is in the middle of the Itaewon Elementary School ({{Korean|hangul=이태원초등학교}}) district. There are many international restaurants along the street.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GDd0BgAAQBAJ&q=itaewon&pg=PA78|title=Soul food of Seoul: Seoul Dining, A Delicious Epicurean Journey |date=2014-09-18|last1=Government|first1=Seoul Metropolitan}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic Itaewon was a source of a major disease cluster traced back from over 130 confirmed cases. South Korea's media began focusing on the neighborhood after public health authorities announced that a man who later tested positive for the coronavirus visited several establishments in the area on 2 May. Because of the outbreak in Itaweon, homosexuals have been stigmatized.{{Cite magazine |title=How South Korea's Nightclub Outbreak Is Shining an Unwelcome Spotlight on the LGBTQ Community |url=https://time.com/5836699/south-korea-coronavirus-lgbtq-itaewon/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |magazine=Time |language=en}}

{{Main|Seoul Halloween crowd crush}}

On 29 October 2022, a crowd crush occurred during the 2022 Halloween festival. Over 150 people were confirmed dead and over 100 were injured.{{cite web|title=153 dead, 103 injured amid Itaewon Halloween crowd surge: officials|periodical=The Korea Herald|publisher=|url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20221030000006|url-status=|format=|access-date=2022-10-29|archive-url=|archive-date=|last=Lee Jung-Youn; Shin Ji-hye|date=2022-10-30|language=en|pages=|quote=}}{{cite web|title=Crush in Korea's Itaewon claims almost 150 lives|periodical=Korea JoongAng Daily|publisher=|url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/30/national/socialAffairs/Korea-Itaewon-crown/20221030012621029.html|url-status=|access-date=2022-10-29|archive-url=|archive-date=|last=Park Eun-Jee|date=2022-10-30|language=en|pages=|quote=}} Of the confirmed dead, 26 were foreign nationals. The influx of visitors from all over the country as well as foreign nationals was potentially caused by the pandemic restrictions being lifted after two years. It is said that the hotels and events were booked well before the event showing that large crowds were expected.{{Cite news |last1=Jeong |first1=Sophie |last2=Bae |first2=Gawon |last3=Hancocks |first3=Paula |last4=Whiteman |first4=Hilary |last5=Yeung |first5=Jessie |date=October 30, 2022 |title=What we know about the deadly Halloween disaster in Seoul |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/30/asia/seoul-itaewon-halloween-crush-explainer-intl-hnk |access-date=October 30, 2022}}

Korean singer-songwriter JYP (Park Jin-young) and Yoo Se-yoon's hip hop duo UV released the song "Itaewon Freedom" in April 2011.{{cite web|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2941959|title=[New Releases] UV|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=26 September 2011 }} The title alludes to (and the lyrics celebrate) a common Korean perception of Itaewon's "open atmosphere", in contrast with conventional Korean culture, which is more conservative.{{cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Chan-hee|title=The Cultural Identity of Itaewon|url=http://web.yonsei.ac.kr/bk21/situations5/Chanhee_kim.pdf|publisher=Yonsei University|access-date=3 October 2018|date=2011|archive-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115132251/http://web.yonsei.ac.kr/bk21/situations5/Chanhee_kim.pdf|url-status=dead}} The popularity of the song and its music video inspired a parody cover song and video from the girl group Crayon Pop in 2013. Both videos were partially filmed on location in Itaewon.{{cite web|url=https://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/08/crayon-pop-takes-to-the-streets-for-parody-mv-of-itaewon-freedom|title=Crayon Pop takes to the streets for parody MV of 'Itaewon Freedom'}}{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on WP:KO/RS|date=January 2025}}

The 2020 South Korean Netflix television series Itaewon Class is set in Itaewon.{{cite web|first=Ji-won|last=Choi|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200130000935&np=1&mp=1|title=Park Seo-joon to show perfect sync with original webcomic in 'Itaewon Class'|date=January 30, 2020|website=The Korea Herald|access-date=February 7, 2020}} The drama was praised for its diverse and inclusive cast and its realistic portrayal of subjects such as prejudice and discrimination against foreigners, ex-convicts and the LGBT people, as well as the portrayal of misbehaviors by chaebol corporations.{{Cite web |last=Auto |first=Hermes |date=2020-03-28 |title=Social taboos unveiled in hit South Korean drama Itaewon Class {{!}} The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/social-taboos-unveiled-in-the-hit-south-korean-drama-itaewon-class |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=www.straitstimes.com |language=en}} Time Magazine included Itaewon Class on its list of "The 10 Best Korean Dramas to Watch on Netflix" and Forbes included the series on its list of "The 13 Best Korean Dramas Of 2020".{{Cite web |last=MacDonald |first=Joan |title=The 13 Best Korean Dramas Of 2020 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2020/12/11/the-13-best-korean-dramas-of-2020/ |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Visitors to Itaewon can visit the original DanBam pub now called SeoulBam, which features famous dishes from the show such as soft tofu stew and spicy stir-fried pork.{{Cite web |last=Hatfield |first=Ian |date=2024-05-22 |title=Seoul Nightlife Guide: Itaewon, Hongdae, Gangnam, Euljiro & More {{!}} Wander Seoul |url=https://www.wanderseoul.com/seoul-nightlife-guide/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=www.wanderseoul.com |language=en}}

It is served by Seoul Subway Line 6 via Itaewon, Noksapyeong and Hangangjin stations.

• Itaewon Station – Seoul Subway Line 6

• Haebangchon
• Yongsan District
• Yongsan Garrison

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Itaewon}}

• [http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_6_1.jsp Official Seoul City Tourism :Itaewon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710141728/http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SH/SH_EN_7_2_6_1.jsp |date=2019-07-10 }}

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Category:Neighborhoods of Yongsan District

Category:Ethnic enclaves in South Korea

Category:Shopping districts and streets in South Korea

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