Itaewon. Take 2

With the last month being extraordinarily difficult, I have felt the urge to occasionally drown my sorrows. In Itaewon there are dozens of American style bars since the U.S. military base is near. There are many pubs there with pool tables, dart boards, and American cuisine. Sunday, I had a hamburger with A.1 sauce. God, how I have missed A.1 sauce.

I am going to relate two stories from Itaewon that pertain to yesterday's post. Having no idea which pubs are good, I randomly enter the Rock N Roll Cafe on a Thursday night. With only the bartender present, I order a beer and talk to her. She asks where I'm from and what I do. I ask where she learned to speak such good English. She replies, "I learned it here. Want to shoot some pool?"

She lets me win a couple games of pool so I buy another beer. As I am drinking my second beer, two couples enter the bar. The two Korean ladies wave at the bartender and sit with their dates in a corner booth. A few moments later one of the ladies approaches me. She is quite possibly the most physically beautiful woman I have ever seen. She has long black hair and a very nice figure. She is wearing a halter top and a miniskirt with high heels (a very common outfit here).

"Where are you from?"

"The States," I reply as she walks back to her date.

A few minutes later, "Where are your parents from?"

"The States," I reply as she walks back to her date.

A few minutes later, "So you would be a typical American? Where are your grandparents from?" The look on my face must have been perplexing. After a moment's hesitation, she shrugs. "I am curious," she says as she gives the bartender a knowing look. Then it dawns on me. Her goal is to simply keep me here to buy more drinks. Suddenly, she is no longer attractive. Next bar.

I try a place called the Oasis since it advertises being a Sport's Bar. I'm hoping the NBA playoffs are being shown. I am met at the door by the hostess and enter what can only be described as a lounge. The purple booths are cool and the bar looks inviting, but again no one is around. I order a beer that cost twice as much as the last place. The hostess sits next to me and starts to ask questions. "Where are you from? What do you do? How long are you here? Where are your parents from?" My head drops.

Her English is not that good so she starts to hum which is pleasant and disturbing all at once. She moves closer, "Buy me a drink?" Oh my God, she is the girl in the ad. Now the ad makes total sense. This place is a juice bar. So called because the drink the girl will choose is juice. When your job is to get the client to buy a $20 drink, you can't afford to get blitzed on alcohol. I've been told that if you spend enough money, there are other activities they will do. Great. I tell her no and that I am trying to find a place to watch the game. She starts humming again as I finish my beer and leave.

I don't know which made me sadder: that they tried to get money from me simply with the attention of a pretty girl or that it didn't work. Oh, well, there are other, more positive stories from Itaewon (like finding people that play Euchre) that I will share with you soon.