Violent Imaginations

CEU eTD Collection In partial of fulfillment requirementsthe for thedegree of Doctor of Philosophy Seoul and the United States Armed Forces in South Korea. Liminal Encounters from Camp Town to the Inner City. Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology Violent Imaginations: Professor Daniel Monterescu Daniel Professor Central European University Central European Professor Don Kalb Budapest, Hungary Budapest, Elisabeth Schober Elisabeth Submitted to Submitted Supervisors: May, 2011 By CEU eTD Collection 2 May Budapest, 31, 2011. iswhere acknowledgementinexcept appropriate made form the of reference. bibliographical institutions. materials thesis published noThe contains and/or by another person, written previously in for anydegrees materials other noany accepted other contains I herebythat dissertation this state Statement CEU eTD Collection 4. Itaew Militarized Entertainment ontheFringes of Korea ‘Vil(l)e’3. Material Encounters: The and Territories Imaginative of Garrison StateGarrison to AffluentLiberal Democracy. 2. In the Thick of the Fire. South Korea’s Long March from 1. Introduction: Of Violent Imaginations andLiminal Encounters Acknowledgements Abstract 3 IV. The Early III. Beginnings The Spatial II. Arrangements I. Ville Space as Endangering and V. Endangered V A Tour through the VillesIV. in Camptowns Ky as Material Spaces Our III.on Nation’s the Daughter? Periphery The Yun murder II. and page its 101 aftermath I. De-Militarizing the Garrison State (1980 IV. –) III. “A Shrimp Amongst Whales” II. (1895-1960) I. V. IV. The The City’s Entertainment IV.Districts: III. Violent Violent Imaginations, Liminal Encounters and the III. I From Ally to II. Aggressor I. ǂ n’s page Freedom:153 Of Violent Nightmares and American Dreams in Seoul’s Entertainment Districts Methodologies for aStudy on the U.S. Armed Forces Ghetto and Ghetto AdultPlayground kiji’chon Barracks (1961-1987) Nation(s)-in-Arms Urban Militaries Urban Spaces and De-Militarization of Everyday City Life City of Everyday De-Militarization “If “If you arein a certain neighborhood…” The Rise and Fall of a Neighborhood –The It’aew Militarized Masculinities: Between Imagined Between Masculinities: Militarized “the colonized bodies women…”.of our Militarized Modernity and Capitalism of the (Anti-)Militarism At Large:(Anti-)Militarism At Adapting Anthropological asimaginative spaces Tableof Contents ǂ nggi-Province ǂ n page 165 page 161 page 154 page 132 page 150 page 115 page 98 page 67 page 97 page 81 page 47 page 50 page 36 page 46 page 25 page 14 page 8 page 2 page 1 page vi page v CEU eTD Collection Bibliography 6. Conclusion: Seedsof Antagonism,Children ofDissent 5. Demilitarizing theUrban Entertainment Hongdae. Zone: 4 VI. From Hongdae to Tae’chu-ri and VI. Back. The Chaos Class V.Kids IV. Protecting Protecting the from Innocent The Corruption: Moral IV. I. Expanding the Limits: The Emergence of III. Hongdae A Walk through the II. Neighborhood I. Living that VIII. Freedom? Three Nights Out in Foreign Town. VII. Coming Changes. The Closure of VI. Yongsan Garrison V. Hongdae and their Chaos Class Class Chaos andtheirHongdae Antagonists Panic over Western Influences in Hongdae. as Alternative Party Space as Party Alternative Hongdae Sex Scandal, (Un-)disclosed. Gay Hill District from Districtfrom 1960stillthe today “Hate the war, not the warriors”. The GI Punks of page 270 page 256 page 264 page 224 page 242 page 235 page 217 page 209 page 214 page 181 page 208 page 205 page 188 page 186 page 167 CEU eTD Collection 5 notions. preconceived diversify extensively or confirm essentially contradict, drastically often that districts in entertainment place take that encounters actual and the fieldof researchin andnear Seoul, Isought toexplore both imaginations violentthe held aboutGIs, my 21months During (sex-)offenders. asaggressive depicted nowadays typically thatyoung are men by presencethe offoreign soldiers, female with locals being particularly riskfallat to the prey to “contaminated” having been portrayed as mediaoften Korean –arein with each the contact daily other non-militaryonly spaces in U.S.Armed Forces which Korean personnel and South into civilians come the –practically districts AdultEntertainment United (USFK) personnel. States inKorea Forces Armed with popular nowadays are that Seoul near inand districts entertainment of types three of exploration imaginations” that have GIs at their center are to be contextualized and further complicated through the “violent These Korea. and States United the between relationship uneven putatively the for stand-in acts soldiersof U.S. stationedinKorea have beenSouth amplified by Korean an a outraged public as in fewdistrict in north anentertainment 30kilometers of Seoul 1992.Overcriminal the lastdecades, much dissentinside South Korea ever since the brutal murder of a Korean sex-worker raised by a U.S. soldier increasingly has presence military foreign This well. as (in-)security of equation the into figures single) prominently maleyoung, are and of whom of (most a contingentsoldiers app. 28,500 U.S. year. 60th With largefacingin troops each lock-down other a permanentalong Demilitarized Zone, the its entered now has country united formerly the of parts Southern and Northern the between face-off where armed the onthis planet, militarized regions heavily most is of one the peninsula The Korean Abstract CEU eTD Collection workers at soKim helpedhavemany Elli, Uen-ae,who tothe Song meout and staff times.Mydeepest gratitude of (fully) whom I unfortunately nameI am mycannot here. frienddeeply indeptedto Yuto Cheonghee, And of course I want to thank the countless people that have helped me during my time in Korea, many from Korea-Verband,colleagues HanNataly Junghwa. in particular encouragementfive in-putover the and lastIn goestomymy years. Berlin, friends gratitude and kindness, patience and warmheartedness with which they have welcomed me into their offices and offices their into me welcomed have they which with warmheartedness and patience kindness, Sz Alexandra Steur, Luisa Ivancheva, Mariya Deneva, Fedyuk,Anca Neda Olena Simionca, co-fighters my Budapestan thank wantto faculty,other staff in and Budapest, students Cluj,Halle,London involved. were and Sibiu who Ialso SocAnth Doctoral Training I was partthat School of – abigyou thankMichael to and Stewart all the I have also benefited from both formalthe andtraining network informal provided by Marie Curiethe and have participantsof all seminar the write-up helpedthe greatly last that mein stages of writing.the Dan Rabinowitz alsoto –thanks Hoare Lisa Law, James Berliner, Rigi, David Rajaram, Kumar Jakob sections of the manuscript,spent time andenergy make papers, onvarious comments and chapterdrafts early provisional to including Sophiehave indepted toall peopleam who I the years.Furthermore, the keep workingon projectthis over Day, Don Nonini, allme helped greatly assistanceencouragement and thistime.to throughout Theirconstant competent Michael Herzfeld, CalinI wouldlike thank Kalb to for Don and andDanielMonterescu supporttheir generous devoted Goia, Prem as well as by fundingvarious provided by Central European University. by EarlyStagefunded Curie beena Marie SocAnth) TrainingCurie This has (Marie Fellowshipproject 6 Durebang , and in toYu, and particular Young-lim, Yufor their Sumi,and Park Pok-nim, Ę ke, Gábor Halmai, Zoltán Dujisin for their friendship, their friendship, their for Dujisin Zoltán Halmai, Gábor ke, Acknowledgements CEU eTD Collection Lastly,dedicateI wantto this tomy husband, work endearing Yi Wonho. women I met in kiji’chon, Imiss you all and wish you the best. Hyungyin, Rob, Niko, Crazy Flower, Jeehwan, Jayden, parkkids,the It’aew the Genuine Security House U.S.Troops inKorea and 7 introduced me to the world of kiji’chon. Thanks a lotalso to the people of World Without War , I have also found –thanksin, IhavealsoKim lot open a doors to particular Chu H , I have greatly enjoyed our collaboration. Thanks also to my dear friends Karo, Jefe, Karo, friends my dear to also Thanks collaboration. our enjoyed greatly have I , and of , as well as to the staff of Haet-s al. At al. Sarangbang The National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by NationalCampaignforEradicationof The , a drop-in by shelter, adrop-in organization the Peace Network Peace ǎ i. Lina i.from Hoshino ǂ n and the crowd, , Seoulidarity Magdalena , CEU eTD Collection 8 sovereignty sovereignty as masculine.understood 2009:16f) (Lutz and honor ascrimesagainstnational violence againstwomen thisinterpret type of more tend militarism, nationalist to activists based other in whereas patriarchy and/or war crimes represent acts these that make point the antibase activists Feminist soldiers. have focusedSome of mostthe powerful – andmobilizing –arguments [against bases U.S. overseas] on the2005:213) high people’sin (Feinerman citizens other countries. like second-class betreated to sent overseas rates streetof with wariness crimesor utterly ignored – second-class regardedon against, economically,the by taxis,protested clubs, to bypassed denied entrance citizens in their ownagainst country, theyYet are they find themselves ghettoizedin GI camptowns, on force. a protecting therole as their becauseof bottom superiority arrive of sense and amisguided with overseas girlsrungfamilies of society their and culture their from disconnected are who in, and interest about little have little and know they countries to shipped are who women women and men young are These committed by U.S. Of Violent Imaginations and Liminal Encounters Liminal and Of Violent Imaginations 1. Introduction: CEU eTD Collection soon & get married butnowi can’ti will stay here & pay myfor mistakes.” (Slavin and Hwang 2007). [sic]for everyone makesmistakes and wasthis mine”.“I Headdedthat was suppose[d] goto home recollections whatsoever of the assault; he urged the woman he attacked not to“thinkbad of americans no have to claimed victim, the to apology of letter public in his Ramirez, help. for scream woman an finally alley and a inside until building, heby wasarrested Korean forces whopolice had heardthe cleaning job that Sunday morning. Ramirez would beat and rape the woman repeatedly, on the street, in early morning hours, he came across a 67-year-olddowning beers by from convenience stores himself. Stumbling through a nearby residential area in the Korean woman who was on her andkept however,sleep. neighborhood, coldof to the Ramirez, andthe streets returned went way home from a night,that he stepped beyond his limits usual and drank inHongdae hisbuddy until six ormixedfive betweenregular three But he consumedbeers evening inaddition to shots drinks. to 9 vigilant at all times.” to be personnel all require States United the to opposed personnel by antagonism War potential Global on Terrorand “The memorandum onthe buddy system aUSFK (11 September paramount”, are 2008, USFKpersonnel USFK Command Policy all of safety the Letter and #6, Buddy Protection System) “Force proclaims, installations. military of U.S. out encouraged timesand in of highly evengreaterare risk required to always country beaccompanied by the USFK in another when personstepping dependents and contractors civilian members, military endorses: (USFK) Korea Forces States 1 the drinking”, out went collegeknown neighborhood itsfor many bars and clubs. […]The pair10 p.m. inat checked And then in“Afterterritory: going out Seoul, Ramirez’sdowntown saidhe friend knew ina a motel Hongdae, that all rooms at the military hotel were booked, and decided for asleeping arrangement outside of U.S. Army theU.S. YongsaninsideGarrison found of located they inSeoul, center recreation Forces Armed town of Tongduch' of town soldier friend ofhis, made two-hourlongthe ride from hismilitary baseU.S. locatedin remote the inmid-January On 2007, 23-year-olda Saturday GeronimoPrivate with Ramirez, together another The so-called Buddy-System policy, widespread in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, is also a practice the United the practice a also is Forces, Armed U.S. the of branches all in widespread policy, Buddy-System so-called The ǂ n all the way to central Seoul. First having lunch at the Dragon Hill Lodge, an Lodge, Hill Dragon the at lunch having First Seoul. central to way the n all Stars andStripes I. “If you are inacertain neighborhood...” reports. Ramirez would later tell a Korean court that on a on that court Korean a later tell Ramirez would reports. 1 had had enough CEU eTD Collection 10 Tongduch' money the supposedlyor Korean rude behaviordrivers. of The languagein of communication has becomeboasts, he drivers, cab up beating and almostmeet, to get ever they that people non-military only the are a base) competition for someemployed in the “Ville” area of the town (that is, the entertainmentof district adjacent tothe U.S.military his comrades,howit is. Nothing else do up to there anyways”.who In Tongduch' easilyjust that's but “Sorry, smile: apologetic an with adds tendthen and whores”, to “Go straight-away, answers to get into rows over of North capital.the Askeditisfriends havewhenspend,little they what his he that free-time do a to hisabout off-post life in Tongduch' deal deal students.Ionly how to soldiers, gotthat?” –Jay with know with eventually me tellingstarts forpartner me –“I’m a good not guy to talk in to, youcase haven’tnoticed yet. Idon’tknow how to any meal possibly containing Kimch’i, with meJay asking inmild disgust,“You really that shit?”eat little –grilledbitfood direction. a we ruled out a when –arrives; Heonly earlierrelaxes chicken the inour he beer the bottle that just edgeofthelooks emptiedtable, concerned atthe causingadditional tables until the young people there nervously shifttheir eyes away. Eventually, hestarts to noisily grind saying”, Jayis keepinghimself busy by some of returning staresthe he receives from neighboring the you ignoring are but “Whatus, politely decidedly Jay’sfuckisit of the interceptions that occasional he andIseembe to onlyforeignthe guests this evening. While hisfriends chataway in Korean next to typically noisy and tightly packed bar locateda inlocation, the in this popular Chongno attracts Jay district of short-haired centraland Seoul,muscular tall, where that stares many the of aware become immediately I hers), of friend college a and girlfriend (Jay’s acquaintances Korean two with together member whom I gettoknow in Seoul downtown in late 2007. Descendingintoa crowded basementbar The first time I hear about this rape incidentis during a conversation with Jay, a 22-year-old U.S. Army After some initial remarks by Jay that he would most certainly not be a good conversation ǂ n is a mix of broken English and Korean, and Jay himself has also quickly learned how to ǂ n, a town militaryn,30 kilometersUS adjacent CampCasey atown to about ǂ n, bar staff, taxi drivers and sex workers CEU eTD Collection 11 inner-city mainlyentertainment frequentedby district idea His anyKorean students and artists. that districts nearby U.S. military bases such as Tongduch' light quasi-red the of conflation his in results This districts. entertainment Seoul’s of intricacies the with the hisupcomingthan Middle mind muchhis moreto East occupied with deployment isclearly soon, rather end an to coming here tour his with and me, he tells now, year a than less for country the in been has He abroad. time first his is Korea in stay his themselves, for careers military chosen mostly town havingand beenraised in lower-middle a classfamily in Arkansas whosemale members have knowledge of country,the its language and its history is unable tofully Coming grasp. from a small limited his with Jay that space urban social complex a of misreading a signifies also it Korea, South of context particular the woman. In a “decent” on attack than crime alesserthe constitutes somehow has become aleading (Cp.LeeChang-hun2010),namely principle violatingthat asex worker aftersex-worker all – not only betrays alogicwithin rampant institutions where hegemonic masculinity a been have may woman old the – actions Ramirez's of justification Jay's underlying error crucial The US military from bases, inner-city the Korean studentspace of Hongdae: distance that separates him andhissoldierfriends, hangin whousually camp out nearby towns remote knew from sight, and gives me an account of the event that reflects the extreme social and geographical “that there is already plenty otherorphanages community or “Theprojects. ideadevelopment behindthis is, Jay of course”, adds, of bad press about us out publicity suchasprojects” sending soldiers outto teach localEnglish at schools for aday, sponsoring there.” He then brings up Ramirez, whom he me”,with he adds. say “fuck off” and“I’ll you”kill in Korean, “that’s usually driveenough to guys away wannafuckthat neighborhood, you gotta be a hooker. That’s just how they see it. see they how just That’s hooker. a be gotta you neighborhood, livingonly inwomen these it. Well,you I’m sure he came onto the woman,meetbut… They were inone of areThere was this guyareas, who wasprostitutes. charged with raping a60-year old woman. I know the guy; he still claims he didn’t do too.But then, Butyou know, of thecourse, Korean media, theythe said soldiers, that normal people arethey don’t see it that way. If you are in a certain The U.S. military, Jay tells me, invests a lot of energy and monetary funds every year in “good year every funds monetary and energy of lot a invests me, tells Jay military, U.S. The ǂ n which he is well acquainted with, with a lively those neighborhoods, you know. Where the Where know. you neighborhoods, CEU eTD Collection custom that they were completely uninvolved in uninvolved completely were they that custom vile as a prostitution denounced whilethey publicly themselves: as authorities strategy Korean the for asimilar has opted all while, the (USFK), Korea Forces States TheUnites countries. neighboring deprived economically from coming increasingly nowadays but poor, local the amongst recruited been up to day this youngprovide entertainers for their soldier clientele, with in women the pasthaving the what was derogatorily known as the “Kim’chi tour”. Korean owners of “GI clubs” adjacent to the bases military nearbases US – akind of “reward”came for publicly hardships that the unacknowledged with “Villes”)(or intowns of camp bodies spaces female confined the Korean to easyaccessibility involved Traditionally, onetotwo-yearthe deploymentmale of young,predominantly and soldiers single neighborhood. student Korean experimental an of territory unknown the into in Korea patterns infrastructures has brought along for the upper half of South Korea (in the midst of which Seoul is accompanyingthe compression expansion transportation and encroachment urban that of in ascentitseconomy. infast-paced of global the themidst rapid urbanization With thespace large has setat in that Korea experienced are nowadays bases,a nearby U.S. districts entertainment 1997:100). doorstep of basestheir by local (e.g. policingof women suspected carrying STDs)(Cp.Moon byinvolvingsystems managementthe hands of in dirty entertainment at the themselves daily the 12 and human trafficking.” (United States Forces Korea command Policy ofprostitution #12, Prostitution and Human activities Trafficking).illegal the regarding Tolerance’ policy ‘Zero a have USFK and of defense department The rights. Trafficking states that “Prostitution and human trafficking is illegal, immoral, and deprives an individual of basic human 3 all members of the four branches of the United States Forces Korea (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine). 2 of kind certain speaksof a therefore besexually necessarilyavailable needsto neighborhood” in across “acertain hecomes woman The most recentThe memorandum (issued 11 September USFK’sthe 2008) on prostitution policy toward andhuman While “soldier” inU.S. military jargonusually only refers to a memberof the Army, Iuse the term loosely here, to denote To complicate matters further, notions and practices of the Ville, originally contained in the contained originally Ville, the of practices and notions further, matters Tocomplicate dis-placement 3 , at the same time they did on occasions get their of decades of GI experiences and behavioral 2 CEU eTD Collection 13 in are militarydistricts nearof nowadays all that and entertainment Seoul with popular personnel U.S. (types) different greatly three out will sketch I Militaries”) and Spaces Urban Districts. Entertainment of many in South Korea aggressor in from how has changedits information United ally role eyes the on the States gradually to (section II). Following background givesome briefly to however,necessary beitwill Life”), of Everyday Militarization these De- the and Encounters twoLiminal Imaginations, parts,“Violent entitled introduction, this of III section in section IV ( entitled “The City’s loci as Forces Armed theU.S. with associated spaces entertainment some re-casts both that militarization personnel seek entertainmentin are subjected to. In particular, Iwill explore agrassroots process of de- symbolic transformations vicinity.presence inits finally,And keep open-ended current, an eye to social,and economic on Iseek ways in which urbanlandscapethe of Seoul has been affected by this military decade-long foreign of devaluationdifferententertainmentdistricts in and Seoul. around Thirdly, to pay want myriadattention the I to andwish provide into insights to the actual liminal takingencounters between place in civiliansGIs and re-appreciationI Secondly, today. soldiers U.S. targeting imaginations violent of trajectory political and emergence thatThis thedissertation various spaces seeks new pictures that focusU.S. on the putatively violent nature of all U.S.to soldiers stationed in Korea. achievemilitaryup manyconjure to havestarted since successes, economic stellar 1980s and its democratization the four goals:meantime such images have graduallybeen undermined. Bolstered by both their county’s thorough First ofas the everydayall, ambassadors of their liberal-democratic I Westernwant nation that was to be in long viewed midst: often inuniform presenceWhile not emulated, of the over agowere their GIs strangers the into the shed divided increasingly also are themselves Koreans lightmeantime, in the And futile. be to proven have alone on the historical tothem areas ascribed certain entertainment to soldiers of U.S. of strategies containment located), of GI violence, while converting others into (potentially) military-free zones of urban enjoyment. urban of zones military-free (potentially) into others converting while violence, GI of Before exploring each one of these individual points in greater detail willbe in detail done in (which of points each greater exploring one individual these Before CEU eTD Collection 14 South Korea. concernshave that guidedand shaped my as experience a researchermy during months21 spentin Forces in Seoul’s Entertainment[“(Anti-) Militarism AtLarge: Adapting Anthropological Methodologies for a Study on theU.S. Districts”],Armed I shallandhave as functioned for mesites my during fieldethnographic research. Andfinally, in section V lay out some of the methodological premises and CEU eTD Collection 15 2002, Cumings 2005a,Moon 2007. Heon2004. Jung 2005,JinwunJoo Kim 1989 and 2001,Kweon2010, Kern 2004, Lew Young-Ick 2004, Kim Seung-Hwan 4 – in Korea often subsumed under the notion of in the mentioned ones the as incidences such decades few last the over why however, explore, to significant mightbe more come It a surprise. as not does its enemies alliance between military, political and economic alliance between South Korea and the United States. decade-long the of essence very the about a point make to violence sexual of incident an amplify re-contextualize and Korea’sseeks to South here Korean antagonist citizens, long-time communist inaseries Hongdae the rapedescribedSituating of earlier U.S.soldiers involving and events other inKoehler woman”GI rapedanold (quoted 2007a). death and schoolgirlscar droveoveryounga to aggressor troops slapped a former lawmaker of South Korea on the face in broad daylight, an armored occurred in an unbroken chain suchinhumane atrocities asevidenced by factthe that asoldier of the official newspaper of People’sthe Republic’s Workers’ January Party on 22 “Itis due to the shackling alliance between the U.S. and South Korea”, writes the than a friend to Korea; itKorea; was to friend than a more was States “The United KimJinwun. writes experience,” historical their because mainly of States and when exactly did the atmosphere that U.S. soldiers deploying to Korea step into change for good? beautiful nation” of Unitedthe States (Cp. Drennan lost so2005:290) much itsof grace in Korea,South “the that happen it did How well. as just peninsula the of half Southern in the people amongst dissent For literature exploring this issue from various angles over the last few decades, see, for instance, Feinerman 2005, Hwang interests are at risk. (Rubenstein1985:12) World, Third but any the to of democracy theseand values may rights, be jettisoned human without development, hesitationeconomic or peace, compunctionto if commitment U.S. military profess Americans The or strategic That North Korea would seek to capitalize on a matter that could damagethe that amatter capitalize potentially on seek to wouldKorea That North “Traditionally, majority the Korean the of people hadfavorableimpressions about Unitedthe the friend, and there was no more enthusiastic ally to Koreans” to ally enthusiastic more no was there and friend, II. FromII. to Aggressor Ally migun p migun ǂ mjoe , or “GI crimes” – have created so much so created –have “GIcrimes” , or nd 2007, “[...] thatthere 2007, Rodong Shinmun Rodong Shinmun , the 4 CEU eTD Collection 16 surprise to Americans accustomed tolaborwrangling at home.”(quoted in Cumings 1997:388). opportunity a heaven-sent to help is family It and a hardship. nation. not is The factit, see that filial… Work,Koreans piety as ethic. extends work to the boss-worker Confucian the is Korea relationshipin men comes as business a further 5 2000s, one continuous source of local anger was the fact that in case of even the gravest violations such early in the place took amendment significant a Before soil. Korean on while soldiers U.S. to applied be were to inlaws country the domestic degree the what to clarifying thus inKorea, personnel operate signed in 1966 and in amended thelegal2000, established under framework whichmilitary U.S. first agreement, executive bilateral This U.S.. andthe Forces Korea (SOFA)Agreement South between sensemilitaryangerimmunity over of the virtual providedtoU.S. Status through the personnel of democratizationturbulent in 1980s the and 1990s. for would worseduring takea whenmatters the country’sturn the quickly subsequently even greater whonever said,‘Yankee,home’”, go points BruceCumings out(1997:342f) disciplined labor, talented technocrats, high GNP growth, egalitarian distribution of wealth, and citizens and as“ahaven of perceivecheap small the East Asianto country primarily yearsmay havestarted the over leaderships military and political U.S. the people, Korean South the by admiration unconditional such seemingly Because with of freedoms associated West. the political, sexual also the social and freedom, democracy, and human (Drennanrights” 2005:290). of exemplar “the being many, of eyes in the nation, Western the with for, stood it democracy liberal because of forces viewed in very promises theUSasasupporter the too, bay.of country, the Leftist afterwards, whichthroughout keep they helped to emanating Communistthe from threat North the at allies because of during their unwavering military support Korean Warin the the and decades wouldKoreans in comeacross theirlives –werewelcomed daily by of large sections population the as U.S.(2001:173). soldiers –for several after1945 decades only the larger foreignersof group who Fortune Magazine The soldiers stationed in the country in such a way came to be seen as signifiers and agents of agents and assignifiers beseen cameto ina way such in country the stationed The soldiers Benevolent notions held about GIs were over the years gradually undermined by a growing a by undermined gradually years the over were GIs about held notions Benevolent in September1977 depicted South Koreathe in following way: “What positively delights American 5 . The shock was . Theshock CEU eTD Collection its authoritarianism,military dictatorship, and political (2007:121). terror” beeninvolved inKorea deeply for butalso responsibility hadshared theKorean of history, ugliness for United thatthe Stateshadnotonly movement] members of democratization [to the “proved decisively in suchaway, “The Uprising”, Gwangju Namhee Lee. Historian Korean awakening”, arguesModern on behalf of its peoplethe butalso deep in involvement suppressionthe uprising wasthe of a rude intervene failure to U.S. only the not Koreans, South mapof cognitive the on States United of placethe Chunnew publicly following“Given the massacre. dictator the privileged Doo-hwan endorsed the look dare otherwayin the atrocity,such to many Koreans wouldan case hadbelieved not of in fact town of Kwangju in an attempt to quell the local resistance against the regime, the United States, which opening may have finally arrived. ademocratic ayear earlier, flyinghighthat now been assassinated and were Chung-hee hopes had who ending regime 18-year-longthe of Park hadKorea just of autocratic experiencedtime, the brutal South can be found in the controversial response of the U.S. to the Kwangju Popular Uprising of 1980. with, At that be grappled to reality daily isa anti-Americanism where one into world in the countries American from pro- most of the one Korea which transformed themoment haslabelled asLee Namhee turn”, supporting in local repressive crisis regimes times of (Cp.Brazinsky 2007:13ff). “Copernican The byrepeatedly of democracy during whichthe over those concerns American security placed allies 17 irresponsibility on the ground, however, proved to be the daily prosecutehow to offenderthe Feinerman Mason2009). (Cp. 2005, and whether on decide single-handedly then could who authorities, military U.S. the to over handed be murdersoldier usually automatically of as therapeor U.S. would a Korean individual, apprehended an In the years to follow Kwangju, Anti-Americanism and Anti-U.S.-Militarism became firmly became Anti-U.S.-Militarism and Anti-Americanism Kwangju, follow to years the In South-Western inthe protesters of hundreds slaughtered military Korean the when However, Perhaps even more damaging than such uneven legal frameworks implicitly encouraging social encouraging implicitly frameworks legal uneven such than damaging more even Perhaps realpolitik surrounding Cold WarKorea, CEU eTD Collection rooted outside of thestands today. realm of thebe understand grappled with when to trying the complicated of nature U.S.-Korean the alliance asit miraculous. factor itsto is intocore, a crucial economy world very the of periphery from climb the unprecedented But rather,(2010). This “Miracle of the Han river”, as ithas been euphemistically labelled and whichperformances GDP entailed worldwide an of listing Fund’s Monetary they International in the 15 number as ranking were the be in whichcan seen most its it also since, recent ever has steadfastly walked economic success that direct outcome however,just decades,of course survival. Over the three itlifted of a pathof itselfout poverty – of the world, from heavily largelyailing corruption, unemployment and foreign aidfordepending on its in Korean states of as the War the poorest started devastation the of the one after out (1950-1953), in its wake cannot be disentangled from the dramaticStates has morebecome andmore popular nearly (Kern within all social 2005:258). strata” economic ascent of United of the criticism South “strong where a country into turned been hadalready Korea time, South By that Korea. The vehicle. military country, aU.S. by killed been had who girls school middle Korean two of death the over fury into flocked of thousands forin streets instance,people the of toexpress Seoul and 2002, their saddness 1990sandboth the 2000swould of see explosions angeroverrepeated public “GI crimes”. Tens of from liberal midstits military of to everyday democracy, long in transition dictatorship the occurrence an long-term States becomingUnited overthe contestations presencein country the Forces Armed those very forces, it would eventually spread to ever more sectors of societies just as well.events of 1987 whenmilitary Chundictator forced into With resignationwas led week-longafter by protests public 18 chapter of this dissertation. 6 in the entrenched Minjung means “oppressed masses” – the movement attached to this name will be explored inmore detailthe in historical Upon closer look, the reasons for the economic successes of the country in fact were very much very were in fact country the of successes economic the for reasons the look, closer Upon The political metamorphosis toward democracy anti-Americanism fuelled democracy suchwidespread that metamorphosis toward The political minjung 6 democratization movement(Cp. ibid:109ff), andafter ground-breaking the CEU eTD Collection 19 War lackingthe Korean alsocrucially still confidence and orgrandparents memories thattheir parents economic and political newfound country’s their by boosted citizens, Korean of generations younger way, Koreans. Insucha harm inflicted on GIshad eventslocal which women during against and other friend. false be hadallowed to brotherolder a who of out the seemingly turned reprehension theunthinkable: the such it contestationspromised escalatedKoreans quickly from get-go, the a degreethat to South ithad that democracy full of the helppackage facilitate going not to wasapparently U.S. the that GIs’ the against violentbehaviorputatively possibility. in a sinkto started gradualrealization the Once country lesson U.S.dollarsthe made dependentalong thesoldiers brought public that expressions imaginations. Fundamentally, it was the fact that South Korea’s stellar economic performance made the for Unitedthe therise –wouldlater States very the of provide pointIcall starting violent what its intoeconomy very which by was facilitated military center endorsed regimes several repressive manner. and fate inyet democratic ready todecide their own a direct Korea’sSouth not notion were that the people non-Westernaccepting as well just – ultimately allies its be amongst spread were to liberal democracy that of principles appraisal the of itsrepeated despite democracy and into human anindefinitewere being future,rights with postponed States United the – costs. human at all All while, the development and economic promoting theUnited States with alliance security the fostering state, anti-communist strong a maintaining in role crucial most the play inbillions of dollars (Cp.Brazinsky invested U.S. Koreanthe security apparatus would 2007:71ff), Korean Central Intelligence Agency bothof (KCIA), by lifted which andwere blown power up into Korea (ROK) in Of 2005). TheRepublic powerful the with (Cp. Moon conjunction Forces, Armed period of industrializationrapid and urbanization under auspices the of a South Korean military regime population’s ruthless violentduring an “Militarizedexploitation and acontradictory era of Modernity”, Such condemnation, aswe shall see, wasvitally linked tocontroversies over sexual violence It is crucial noteto how this road taken – namely,Korea’s climb from the periphery of the world CEU eTD Collection 20 a daily each on basis. other canencounter Koreans and South soldiers spaces whereUS only the practically are that Seoul near and in districts entertainment frenetic the me: to mentioned had Jay that neighborhoods” be “certain in found mores those to and corruptive specificities to the putative colonization and (de-)militarization peninsula,on Korean the much attention bewould eventually paid “GI layingatthevery crimes” ofvital nexus largely and questions of nationalism, (de-) unsolved over contestations the with And sovereignty. country's their on infringing were that transgressors the as Korean than increasingly imaginecounterparts, theirnow USsoldiers,rather possessed, North would CEU eTD Collection 21 Marines respectively up make approximately each3,500 (Cp. Tice and Hoffman 2009). 8 jurisdiction overcrimes committed by US soldiers with narrow and limited application.” (Civil Networkbefore 2001) 1967, because SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) into went effect1967, allowing in thesouthKoreancourt around 100,000. be Unfortunately to estimated is Korea) the south in Korean governmentstationed doesfirst were they not have (when statistics1945 8, on US soldiers' September crimes since committed US by soldiers committed crimes if take into account those cases not handled by the south [sic] Koreanpolice. Basedon the statistics, the total number of soldiers were involved (including soldiers' families) in these crimes. The statistics imply that the actual figure may be higher 7 of the country. movement bases anti-U.S. prolific very times at the in involved also often are who spectrum nationalist informationis in another usually somewhich or way shaped–or Forces Consequently, Korea. with acquainted of U.S. the employees heavily rely secondary on people soldiersU.S. stationed inthecountry (app. 28,500) of numbers small currently the to due nowadays, citizens Korean most that out point to seek I rather, which indicate crimes upto100,000 that may have been by committed 2001 from GIs 1945 to by Korean questioninto NGOs fictitiousness andput published crime makestatistics the at aclaim setting that was normally that of an entertainment area of somewhat ill repute. a female), and not than often victim (more local a a GI, form in of the a perpetrator components: three involved in soldiers Seoul of “ordinary”behavior the U.S. was toillustrate seen, usualstory or the that mehad ofto they newsstories readabout once areas capital. that the entertainment Relaying adultthe in on theloose (sex-)offenders aggressive GIs aspotentially would depict Korean partners conversation South Korea, whenever part of of movement 1980s.the democratization the myThroughout monthsin offield21 research talk came to U.S. soldiershegemonic discourse in South Korea – that is, a widespread form of representationin that first emerged as the country, as a counter- imaginations call violent emergence the what I of contextualize theoretically I shallnow I was struck by how many of my 19,000 out of the total number are currently made up of Army personnel, with another 7,000 from the Airforce. Sailors and “50,082 crimes were by committed US from soldiers 1967to 1998 (including those by soldiers'families), 56,904 and US III. Violent Imaginations, Liminal Encounters and theDe-Militarization ofEveryday Life I call such frequent negative depictions of U.S. soldiers “violent imaginations” to “violent not in order I callsuch frequent negativeU.S. soldiers of depictions 8 , are most likely not going to be personally framed – from by actors leftist- the 7 . But CEU eTD Collection imaginations in such a way, therefore, I try to on the one hand point to the to point hand one the on to try I therefore, way, a such in imaginations of such a frame and explore theactual biography is necessary to it and then Korea, States United between unearththe relationship its specificalter as a seeking larger to the kind to injustice agents spreadbyspecific subjected frame of politicalincreasingly are soldiers U.S. that imaginations violent trajectorythe view to are we If Korea. South affecting as well. In world-system in the capitalist shifts large-scale the inmay reverberating way case utilizing some add, are, I our the term of violent become an (almost) mainstream discourse. mainstream (almost) an become reasons behind this frame’s conception, and whyand how iteventually seeped downinto society to is, historical both the frame with –that particular of lineage with this the hand,preoccupied Iam community byitsunited violent behavior inclination toward against Korean civilians. And on otherthe conjuring into heterogeneous group goes of up thevastly U.S. employeesArmed Forces asone thus implies a implies thus situation, and establish culprit whothe is just aswell ibid:615).(Cp. of interest – is,the that way in movements which social identify putativethe victims of a given unjust antagonists, andbystanders observers” Foror ourcase, (2000:613). “injusticein frames”, particular, are “signifying agentsactively engaged in production the and maintenance ofmeaning for constituents, in fact whoare actors” very the “movement focus on for a they argue rather, But ideologies.” existing or events, unanticipated grow automatically of structural arrangements, meanings that out Social movements, Robert Benford and David Snow argue, are not merely “carriers of extantparticularly ideassuccessful career inand the studies of social movements, may prove to be useful in this context. Goffman’s book 22 theseof such basicto elementsrefer to use I as I word am able the is to frame identify."them; in (1974:10f) involvement subjective our with] [in accordance “and Goffman, writes 9 "I assume that definitions of a situation are built up in accordance with principals of organization which govern events”, An understanding of An understanding movements of knowledge production within social The notion of framing, a term first introduced into the social scientific debate by Erving by debate scientific social the into introduced first a term framing, of notion The dynamic Frame analysis: essay An onthe experienceorganization of , deliberate , and heavily , and negotiated production frames by of who in key actors momentofmediation (1974) à la Benford Snow and 9 , which has had a that CEU eTD Collection dynamic processes andcontingentmeaning-making andpower-claiming of South Korea’sthroughout by variousdeployed competing factions sincethen, in who wereall symbol the using of nation the master-narrative, recurrently likea economy.modern becameworld ideology is that something an It infringementsof its as part process of the sovereignty of country’sthe inclusion forceful into the 19 in in late as the ideology emerged Korea that an Korea (which is be explored to in in more detail Nationalism the upcoming here chapter). Iunderstand in history perplexing the of linkedbe national question the needs to readasintimately frame to that a is consequently, GIs, of identification of form This States. United the toward nation-state Korean are an outcome of a complex lives. everyday in their frames these manipulate greatly times politicalat and with experiment to be seen project can actors movement bysocial circulated messages ofsuchinjustice differentrecipients how explore that made use allows me to not ofonly focus on the actual messagesparticular emanating from social movement actors,Imaginations butViolent alsoof to emergence the to contributed have they ways very the and events such of events to repositionU.S. hegemony groundinitstouches most violentmanifestation. An on focus ethnographic impactthe the beingintoimagined turned spaces both of national shame and transnational spaces of empire, where now militarywere byU.S. personnel) frequented areas entertainment (i.e. specificthe places process, whatsimilar Marshal“structural to as hasdescribed Sahlins amplification” (2005). Through such a placetook a time at in of politicala fundamental the turmoil great country ledand to eventually shift murdermomentwas a Koreansex of the worker, in hands the dyinga U.S.soldier 1992,which at of casting of the veryin re- resulting specifically the with others, occurrence one frames than production subsequentof the spaces that U.S. to better have in themselves lend militaryhistory moments see, case,asweshall particular Korean In the South personnelbeeach andbound exactly how (Das1995)come events” into to “critical to other. investigation actors tend to frequent in their free time. This key 23 The currently widespread negative depictions of U.S. military personnel, as I mentioned military of asI depictions earlier,personnel, negative U.S. The currently widespread an entails me also to frame injustice an as imaginations violent of exploration an Additionally, th century in reaction to large-scale to and repeated in reaction century CEU eTD Collection 24 20 turbulent damned as traitors to the nation who are guilty of seeking an easy way out of country’s of the are guilty easy wayout seeking an to thenation forof who traitors damned struggle as duress, asin 1992 the Yun arequietly in be will 3,or murder in case explored chapter that detail injusticethe frame production process either turned into stylized victims resembling in thenation in are military bases, U.S. nearby in GIclubs the employed typically (“Western whowere princess”), of such framing These endeavours. “campwomen”, town derogatorily also knownas usually assumed beto doing this in exchange for money or other tangible benefits – are at the very core (Cp. Cohen 1985:12). being distilled, with borderthe lineis that being drawn establishing the in-group Koreansof just aswell boundary making1969) throughwhich (Cp.Barth putativethe essence a of constitutes GI is what foreign between division the maintaining and establishing in soldierrole a crucial played have sexualities their and and localactual female bodies of that said nation. In the case at hand as well, we shall(male) see that women’s bodies (Cp. Yuval-Davisbeiscitizen. not only thought butat to 1997), to, equivalent alsowith the analogous times Violent imaginationswomen. man’s local the after powerful by the eroded that found painful realization the be friend going American regularly could therefore development(Cp. Brennan are2005:295). Such an image ofbrotherly affection in was beingparticular also a formStates asof thesocial older brotherof imagination, significantly, standsof in stark contradistinctionKorea to an older understanding whose of the United have Korea’s that violated itsits terrain of history. course roleand the national over sovereignty This kind it is to guide theshall lastsee, over the few decadeshave firmly been within positioned a longyoungintruders line historical of nation toward thisprogress prism of the nation just as well and The Korean women who have had sexual encounters with foreign soldiers – and who are who soldiers –and with foreign haveencounters hadsexual women The Korean who times many writers feminist by ascertained been has as nation, the of boundary symbolic The The U.S.military inKorea,presence unsurprisingly, increasingly came tobeviewed through th century history. . Viewed through such a national frame of analysis, US soldiers, we soldiers, US analysis, of frame national a such through Viewed Yanggongju CEU eTD Collection 25 representationsmake itabout it tobe, and insuch in out a manner, interstitial spaces the thatenablethe the than open-ended and complex more be to proves always as however, Reality, districts. in form and shapingpeople’sdiscourse still acompeting the country interactions in entertainmentthe liberalization of the East Asian country. Such positive frames,as explained earlier, were once dominant keeping theNorth within its boundaries, whilealsofunctioning asagents of a potential Western-style and more positive boththeemergence recent viewing encounters, these beimaginations needs of to violent keptin mind, depictions in near In Seoul. and districts entertainment inthe andcivilians soldiers between U.S. taking place of GIs taken into encounters liminal actual the of –theexploration dissertation focusthis of second the meto leads This account as well, which tend to stress their role in inmen clubsofinner-city Hongdae5). the district (seechapter entertainment mid-2000s, when were found tohavethose out in taken decidedly toosexy part foreign with parties placement women reaching hipnew innercity entertainment just districts as well. instance Inanother of menandlocal foreign between sexualconduct the over moral panic occasional the with territories, women whoare gettinginvolved themselves with its isfindingU.S. soldiers new way into all local identity,national held insecurities against over some ofthe decade-oldcontempt Amidstrising category (again) the constantly dueto numbersgrowingforeign of living residents in Korea.South hasbecome acontested “Korean” a term the time when at place and Koreans take between Americans over findingCrucially,sex work. to attached contestations disreputability of the by stigma furtherthe enhanced and a suitable frame thatsuccess. makes out victims and perpetrators in the everyday encounter The pollution resultingfrom mix-upthe with American soldiers is either wayfirmly established , “Yanggongju” accusations were levelled against a group of young college women in young the , “Yanggongju”of women college a group against levelled were accusations Liminal Encounters dis- CEU eTD Collection spaces to be spaces explored, whichattimes to “a forces in suspension society, usual of the rules issuing a reinforcing an almost carnevalesque moment With(Agamben 2003). illicitness is and abound,lawlessness images of creating areputation of it freedom”enjoy in full violenceto in pure order onedisplays festival where “unrestrained occasional and order. In suchinto a way, turned been areas have these be to both may dangerousboth and creative, destruction rise give to meaningandsocial production of and may times may theirdistricts practices very prove (Turnerentertainmentrowdy arise” at 1967:97), installations. U.S. the nearby foreigners,widespread inturn lawlessness this has imaginations alsorise given to of reigning utter form of a form 11 playing and interactions taking place in some entertainment districts as well. Likewise, well. Ishall as utilize time and the space in notionof orders “communitas”between thatsuspension a Turnerproposes involving as well,experiences asI see it tobeextraordinary fitting other to to the socialbe attributed role can Gennep’s three-phased rites of wouldpassage – gradually be extended from astrictly ritual-bound occurrence to one that The ForestSymbols of zones them Koreans makes to which andpersonnel, resources their own with areas the policing of in charge left islargely military U.S. the soil, Korean on located technically in heredeploy in both a symbolic and a conditions (Cp. Choi 2011).SOFA agreed ofthe realm ofthe outside sending besituated to and believed orally are which practices – guidelines and patrol” on police military regulations armed communicating by bases, to close of businesses punishment and crackdowns line with Giorgio Agamben’s notion of in theUSA. also, They are of between that and sovereignty Korean betwixt located spaces ambiguous 26 10 vastly imaginationscontradictory arebeingin worked out often unexpected ways. these of uncertainties and ambiguities the of much civilians, and soldiers between encounters fleeting The most recent of suchcontestations overwho is to police Korean territory adjacent to U.S. military bases came in the Iborrow slightlyand adapt Victor Turner’s usage of “liminality” asput forth in hisbooks 11 Beingintoplaces turned of“pure possibility novel whence ofideasconfigurations and relations . not As beinto theKorean police handlinginvolving charge isunderstood transgressions of Significantly, spaces in analyze near Ientertainment Seoul and as Kyunghang Sinmun (1976).In Turner’s work state liminalitythe of – i.e. in-between-ness first described inArnold van article, in which the reporter ascertains that “USFK has been running a system of parallel system a running been has “USFK that ascertains reporter the which in article, state ofexception de jure , repeated on a nightly basis in some of the entertainment the of some in basis anightly on repeated sense. While camp town areas nearby U.S. bases are areasnearby U.S. Whilecamptown sense. (2005), exceptional spaces, (2005), loci that are understood to house to the thatareunderstood de facto zones ofliminality The Ritual Process ambiguously regulated a term 10 (1969) and which I here, as here, CEU eTD Collection choice of calling South Korea a “totalizing society”. “totalizing a Korea South calling of choice explored in greaterdetail in chapter2, which will explain why wouldI want to make the figurative (and admittedly connectionrisky)between life SouthKoreanbarrack everyday and underits militaryroutines (1961-1987)dictatorships will be institution, with this term having frequently beenutilized by others forthe descriptionof military life enclosed,formallyafter that.administered round of life” (1961:xiii). The givesGoffman military barracks as one example fora total large numberof like-situated individuals, cut off from the widersociety forappreciablean period of time, togetherlead an subsumed unde the term of the total institution:“A total institution may be defined as a place of residence and work where a 13 similar positions. the individuals finding themselves inthe in-betweenstate of liminality in turn being able to take strengthfrom eachother’sthemselves a state in of realm of liminality.Both homogeneity inferiorityand are two characteristics of communitas, with entertainment areas, and its accompanying day-to-day militarization militarization areas,andits accompanyingand de-militarization processes. day-to-day entertainment political meaning liminal of such encounters taking placein in-between the space of urban margins over.can connect thatthey bethe to explored: This,inleads element third turn, ustothe to being very the of playsina sharedexperience acrucial them dissertation, role relegated giving inlater on this stage thecenter will who soldiers,take homosexuals punks) and (e.g. sexworkers, In multifariousaddition, the experience of marginalizationeveryday most participants unites that of the 27 12 forsocieties thepotentially totalizing feelings contempt of nightly 5). basis (see chapter a togetheron andbrought punks Korean are American soldiers where ofHongdae, public spaces GIs is simultaneously also by occupied Seoul’s queer community 4),orfinallyinchapter (see also the often fragile alliances with their soldier clients (see chapter 3), or in It’aew younginstance, amongst laboring migrants Filipina U.S.camp in remote areas town where theyform communitas in result, it room gives some instances emergence to the an andhighlyof fractious unlikely (Kenney2002:4). order, theexisting hierarchies” andchallenge political As to reversing social and a By totalizing society I mean a social organization that shows some of the trademarks of what Erving Goffman has Victor Turneruses theterm Such vastly different actors are united in an at times very uneasy comradeship, with their with comradeship, veryuneasy are unitedat times inan Such vastly different actors 12 between the GIs and civilian inhabitants and visitors of those areas. This can be seen, for communitas to refer strongto the sense of comradeship emerging betweenindividuals finding 13 they they emergebinding from them together. ǂ n, where the party space for CEU eTD Collection 28 2009:1) (Lutz places.” other many and Philippines the Kuwait, Israel, in facilities or unacknowledged secret as well as years, many last the over Afghanistan and Iraq in presence troop and building massive the they do as excluding $146 billion. These official numbers are entirely misleading as to the scale ofU.S. over- seas military basing, however, and territories. There, U.S. the military owns or 795,000 rents acres of and land, 26,000buildings and structures val- ued at 15 Sherry Sturdevant1995, and Stolzfus 1992. Girson2003, Birchard and 1991,Gonzalez 2010,Johnson 2004,Lutz 2001, 2002,2009,Mann 2003, 2004, Marullo 1993, worldwide, see instance, for the following texts:BacevichBurke 2005; 2004, Enloe 1983, 1989,2000, Frese Harrolland 14 incursions of the U.S. military of hereincursions U.S. the out in brushstrokes can beonly sketched broadest the exploredin detail greater inpremises chapter2,the past resultingin the nearly globe-spanning ‘common-sense’ tocivilsolutions problems” (1983:9). as seen populace, become the and to areacceptable which developments “thedegreeto such toward it points insense, into anideological while institution thecivilian arena”, of encroachment military the it material the “In thesense gradual encompasses material and anideological dimension”: a both with a process “as militarization understand I Enloe, Cynthia with line In North. communist the both emanating and home-grown reaction Japanesethe laterfrom the to imperialism threat (1910-1945) (Johnson 2004:23)– on onethe hand, andalocal form militarization on other,the which emerged as bases” its “empire of into Korea of South incorporation successful its rather – and militarization historical backdrop to today’simaginations violent andliminal HereIam encounters. referring U.S. to which has been targeting Korean muchterritory during of 20 the tounderstandIn order a glimpsea large this thirdat aspect, isof project inorder double-militarization showed its first aspirations toward creating an empire of its own relatively late: only after decades only late: itsrelatively own of empire creating an toward firstaspirations itsshowed seekinggame power of Western toassert military It nation-states might. their dominance through now dimensionsthe of networkthat the USmilitaryhasthe spun thearound worldby aretrulystaggering “Officially,190,000 over [US] troops 115,000 civilian and employees massed are 909 inmilitary facilities46 in countries Formore detailed explorations on the subject of the U.S. military and its political, social and economic ramifications 15 , the United States, interestingly enough is actually a relative latecomer in centuries-long the latecomer isactually arelative enough interestingly States, , theUnited While the historical conjunctures that have led to the emergence of Korean militarization will be will haveled militarization that the emergenceKorean to of conjunctures historical While the (De-)Militarization, GlobalandLocal th century century and shallprovide the 14 . Although CEU eTD Collection power andyet financial power with has asmuchalmost support, range emerged. Local geographical 29 Cockburn2007:67-78. Women's Network Rico Against Militarism” Asia-US-Puerto “East of the (now “Women umbrella the for Genuineunder 1997 Security”).as early as Forthemselves a portrayal connect to of their started activities, have however, see Women activists2009). from Zeijden South (Cp. Korea, process the the in Philippines, stone Okinawa, stepping crucial Japan,a be to Puerto proved 2007 in Rico,Hawai’i, Network” Guam, “No Bases the and called continentalalso Bases”, U.S.A., internationalan campaign.” In particular, founding the of the “InternationalNetwork for the Abolitionof MilitaryForeign community campaigns resisting military bases have started to joinforces to tackle the global spread of military bases with 16 1990s early the since at sametime, sub-Saharan the too, Africa, in increasingly and of Europe parts East, Middle the throughout the Asia, region, Americas, Pacific the coming particularly sharply into focus. allow in eastAsianand nearbyChina with flexibletroops deploymentof region, southeast wider the KoreanNorth invasion, areunderstoodbutrather bymilitary thatwill strategic analysts as outposts transformation, US military bases in South Korea no longer serve mainly as bulwarks against apossible which military (ibid:everywhere” quickly,capabilities 18).Asaresult very can beprojected this of military andhis understood whonow bases from advisers, as“offensive,platforms expeditionary relativeimperial stagnation, objectives came backin full force theleadership under W.of Bush George of Berlinthe Wall bringcertainly not did aboutthe actual military end of US bases.After aperiod of of communism). The breakup of the Soviet Union,however, made such reasoning obsolete. Yet the fall beto justified ideological on grounds (i.e., as baseswereunderstood defensive against spreadposts the itswithin 2009:10ff). range ofinfluence (Cp.Lutz War World After military bases II, overseas tended military outposts new of acquisition increased by the marked also were that ambitions respectively; a widebrought rangecolonies of under influence. U.S. world, involved United the got States intheoutcome War,the Spanish-American in of which 1898 European countries hadto scramble started for influence,land in andresources regionsother the of Political scientist and activist Wilbert van derZeijden sees the year 2003 as the starting point, afterwhich “different local Other historical benchmarks whichafter were 1945and2001, US global wouldaspirations peak While the United States continuously increases its military budget to saveguard itssaveguard hegemony budgetto military increases its While theUnitedcontinuously States 16 a network with much less political less much with anetwork CEU eTD Collection 30 region, in particular,see forinstance Asako 2010, Jun 2003, Kensai 2008, Manabu 2006, Shigematsu and Camacho 2010. 17 from aforementioned the originating often actors, where civilian poverty. of out country its lift to effort in acommunal night and day away laboring soldiers actual or potential of brotherhood nation-in-arms. In such a way, conjuredup the political community first andforemost signifieda premises and the economic goals its elites embraced, was imaginedby itsleadership as a combat-ready geopolitical its because particular way.under of Korea, South industrialization form export-led of (such as schools, universities, factories and companies)in tobringorder in rapidmodernization the by militaryeither institutions ororganizations that directly and successfully militaryimitated structures mostof country’s life the of civilian an encroachment This barracks. entailed call the of to a capitalism I wantbroughtalong2005) that “militarized what (Cp.Moon modernity” form heartedly a embraced of reversed be to times, at threatens, (and making the in largely is still again). de-militarization of process the where SouthFrevert2004). The case of South Korea that I am Koreaabout to presentis another type of narrative, however, was militarizenot too longin due de- can once militarized been thoroughly have that societies (Cp.1983:9f).Indeed, militarisation” timeagoof levels as different a experience times quasi-garrisonwell,different at societies “different that writes she when as,contingency for instance, 20statea hold. to encroachments such bring to whose seeking movements acting locally and thinking globally leadershipsometimes in more waysbeen oblique not only by touched militarization,U.S. also but by very those full- cry increasingly seeking connectto themselves worldwide in order to gain momentum for their “No Bases” militarization and are areas affected the U.S. of inall practically havesprungup movements For recent literature on the global network of anti-base movements, see Lutz 2009, Zeijden 2007. For the the For Asia-Pacific 2007. Zeijden 2009, Lutz see movements, of anti-base network global the on literature recent For 17 . The lives of the people that will be described in this dissertation, too, have sometimes directly, When viewing such When Iembrace viewingcounter-hegemonic efforts, global such Enloe’s Cynthia on stress The Korea of today, however, is a vastly changed country and home to a vibrant democracy, a vibrant to home and country changed vastly a is however, today, of Korea The th century century German history vividly illustrates (Cp. minjung movement for CEU eTD Collection 31 (2005:207) Mistakes made by the U.S. military are exaggerated far beyond similar mistakes made by Koreanthe Korean military and industry.” anti-Americanrights issues to attack the U.S. presence NGOsin South Korea”, writes James V.have Feinerman. Heunder theNational also Security theclaimsLaw, that “mostmany dissidents foundhave activities workaim inNGOs and have used by environmental and human of undermining 18 the ability of U.S. troops to maintain trained troops in Korea. Nowadays increasingly within operating NGO frameworks to roll backmilitary of process the haveencroachment. beenworking incessantly democratization continuous andeffectscontinuous local persistent on people’s lives. large-scale, havehad that forms militarization of homegrown and imported are addressingboth along each continuously other way, the reinforcing in struggles increasingly South the de-militarization inmilitary locally drivenin militarization Korea andhand the peninsulathe went hand,with two of the be addressed.Curiously, become to increasingly asubject inmanner projects of that U.S. same the the long-lasting incorporation Korea into the global of South military network of installationsU.S. –has militarization, – that is,home-grown ailing andfrom.struggle, U.S. the deep wakeof the this In too military and islegacies country that the often deeply structures still (quasi-) entrenched be to perceived “In South Korea withtight control overdissent evenafter democratization, particularly involving North-Southissues 18 , these activists have sought to tackle the tackle to sought have activists these , CEU eTD Collection social processes that have shaped the three (kinds of) entertainment districts in near Seoul districts and entertainment of) three the (kinds thathaveshaped social processes and economic political, specific The Korea. in spaces urban different on had have personnel military of (foreign) numbers largeractual that theimpact byexploring sense literal its more backto notion the urbanthe rich in populations LA the In contrastsuch area (Cp.1990). to understandings, Iseektobring of “fortification” describe increased the it to asDavis is with used particular,such a notion, associated implied. is the of figurative term of Los work in The usage MikeAngelestheorist School Davis, When talk comes to the “militarization of urban space” nowadays, more often than not a somewhat permanencies in ways which constrain naturethe of socialthe (1997:23) process.” processes which areproducing spatio-temporalities aswell and producing things, structures, itheterogeneous in is, in of idea itself,that the of favor a container conflictual asetof or action social asite urban as simply of the view of “the embraceHarvey, abandonment like to I would the therefore, follow, and at times will observation,turn into a crucial the (f)actorurbanentire conglomerate in the the ultimately narrationmy research, conducted I metropolitan inwhich sites the as functioned of have that itself.well) as Seoulsection this becomesIn accordance the mainwitharea stageDavid of of theSeoul ethnography isestablishedas well. the that islocalitybe should to Seoul of name the by known conglomerate urban massive the into fit neighborhoods I seek to examine.is Korea’sthat South urban palimpsest city. capital ofhowthese biggerpicture the Furthermore, With attention the meaning mundane in highlymilitarized attimes action to production social of and the the city as specific pay shall I where dissertation, of this chapters respective inthe detail in greater bediscussed my unit of 32 Inch' of Seoul, units the into divided administratively is 19 When I speak of “in and near Seoul”, I mean the urban conglomerate that is made up the interconnected urban space that space urban interconnected the up made is that conglomerate urban the I mean Seoul”, near and of “in speak I When While I subsequently will heavily focus on specific entertainment spaces (to be introduced in be While spaces heavilyfocusonspecific entertainment introduced I subsequently (to will IV. The City’s Entertainment Districts: Urban Spaces and Militaries ǂ n and the Ky the and n ǂ nggi Province. nggi 19 are to CEU eTD Collection (global and local) actors who are facing each other over their competing interests, overaccessto interests, competing over their are facing who eachother actors local) (global and b) very asthe and population; Korean from complex,the heavily institutionalized andlong-term between encounter U.S.military the and the the a) both: as them understand I essentially havebecause in that taking place social discourses emergedaboutthem, andthe them) practices inthem. party and labor, live, who people those for contestation for anchors 2005) (ibid),I shall ethno-histories, the present spatial specificities, and critical the junctions (Cp.Kalb resistances” enable and identities shape that practices of‘ideas’ embodied of asamatter than less of making,conceived place of processes in andpolitical Withinterest “social the informants. a decided for look to in which places the merely than more much necessarily as sites (sub-)urban these and (Gupta Fergusoncommunity understand andhistorically constructed” are discursively I 1997:6), operating“simply world-wide) as natural,askinggiven without or howperceptions of locality and to avoid the pitfall ofU.S. soldiers looking for short term diversions in city the theirduring scarcefree timetreating off-post. Trying “the local” (as opposed to the global, here in the shape of a military Seoul, which locusare allboth focus forandmale young, pinned down very well through the exploration of a set of different entertainment districts in and near 33 2006:3f) (Kalb discoverable.” or no real but term less of the sense narrow the in empirical be less may which well, as relations imaginary and desired remembered, betweennominally distinct domains suchas economics, politics, and the law. These junctions, significantly also “include 22 (Cp. Tice and Hoffman 2009). facilities for families, as well as kindergartens and schools are to be provided inthe large base facility nearby Pyeongtaekalsomay which increase, the on now are be however, tours, Accompanied part behind. family one’s leaving entailed usually ofcountry the USFK’s larger21 strategywhenconsideration talkin comes to taken GInot violence typically amongst also are they as the local topopulation. dissertation, this of scope improvethe within neglected be to have experiences the image of its20 troops in the country. In particular, more housing Critical junctions referto relations in time and relations inspace, relations of powerand dependency, interstitial relations South Korea, until very recently was known as a “hardship As interesting as anexploration of womenemployed the in USFK may certainly be, unfortunatelytour” theirdistinct amongst military personnel, as the deployment to the 22 Therefore, I seek to investigate these entertainment areas (i.e. the spatial arrangements, the arrangements, spatial the areas (i.e. entertainment these investigate I seekto Therefore, The local histories and global linkages of such “conflictual heterogeneous canbe processes” heterogeneous “conflictual of such linkages and global The localhistories that have produced these very places that indeedmeaning, very the have and gravity, very possess these that that places produced entities that allow entities thatallow everydayfor negotiations incidental (built and lived-in) and (built 20 andunaccompanied) single(or typically sedimentations between various between resulting 21 CEU eTD Collection it the 3 making capital, the area of metropolitan in greater the located are 24.6 million people Moreover, about well. as to the very center of the city, and to other areas that were originally thought of as rather peripheralout the recent history of Seoul’sjust city center. Emotive, symbolic and commercial value is attributed both either, asweshall see comparativeby perspective sketching be fornot astraightforward a useful type which is increasingly being devalued infavor and circumvented of suburbsthe (Cp.Dear2002) may center the over out won ultimately have peripheries the where Angeles, Los of model studies urban studies major (Cp.Park1925). However,by urban of been school Chicago the other described the Westernhas as centralized of – city a typical inhabitants to compared contents different with rather country (1960s-1980s) on otherthe are reasonsthe why“center” tomany Seoulites isindeed associated Historical disruptions onthe one hand,and development rapid during the industrializing periodof the from-margin-to-core. of trajectory significant the along place taking arenowadays soldiers U.S. Attention also needs to be paid to the categories of periphery and center, as much of the movements of locals between andencounters military foreign place personnel on a take daily basis. useful neighborhoods view as theseinto veryrealmsthe which yet asymmetrical,contested heavily for domination, spacesof areas asviolent entertainment U.S. 34 23 inherently yet widespread, than rather the as astarting adopting that point, propose bodiescontested is question the and territories. toclaim of over who disputed As I aconsequence, Information taken from citypopulation.de rd The Seoul of today The Seoul isis today of toapproximately a megacity inhabitants. home that million ten most populous urban area on the planet after Tokyo and Canton Province (China) A Center-Periphery Movement Axis of analytical purposes it might prove more political 23 . About half . About notion of CEU eTD Collection came]in lines form local the straightthe of paddy motorways, of fields, andbuildingsroads, were promoting cheaphousing for massesthe in high-rise shape of the construction, and “progress [thus by areas the central re-organizing about went now Korea, of South success economic “miraculous” whoand ParkChung-hee, tohaving is Kim2000). the the military dictator attributed manufactured resultingin five-timethe multiplication city’sthe of population within a30-year time span (Cp. Hill countryside, in the homes original their from basis adaily on in masses arrive would urbanites aspiring inunderdevelopment favor of promotion the newly industries,of since established urban 1960s the from the North and other parts of the country. In the period to followpalaces andtemples havingbeen turned into majorthe tourist of sites Seoul. this, as a consequence with ofmodernization efforts, civil warand ofsomecolonialism, reconstructed rapid fewexceptions the rural downtown, barely nothing remains of oldthe as wooden structures most of them fell to victim of buildings high-rise modern the in between nowadays: Seoul central modern-day in astroll on out area tothe city’sinhabitants. Very current the however,littleoldaesthetics, canbemade system of of 14 according to the guiding of the according principles to economic engagements in the transient spaces of spaces of the city. in transient the engagements economic rooted in ruralindustrializing moloch hugeof dimensions, wherepreviously strictly familial regulated social relations, communities, city theoriginally in of small-scalepre-modern matter process, intowas an a decades developed were now rapidly giving way to new forms of sexual, political and 35 middleof 20 the the dimensions isinextricably sped linkedtothe updevelopment thethat tosince country was subjected such of amegacity nearby. of Seoul as cities in itThe establishment satellite around the clustered of country’sthe total 49millionpopulation inhabitants)approximately (of finds itself either in or Seoul th century), with fewwith century), remaining the some old gates degreestill downtown to today the demarcating The 1950s already had seen hadThe 1950s fleeing city a largeinflux seen the already during civil war of to the refugees The original settlement of Seoul, built under the auspices of the first generation of th century in detail Within on). century be later will (which discussed greater such a p’ungsu (fengshui), was encircled by a city wall (built in the late Chos ǂ n kings CEU eTD Collection a revival of area. downtown the This million urban $900 projecthasdevelopment increasingly attracted reconstruction hidden brook kmlong 5.8 of the itunderneath (the last decade or two – in particular the clearance of the of clearance the in – two particular decade or last in thecity.life overthe economic and old center, however, made acomeback The social, cultural has of well-off center as actual Koreans to the function blocks nowadays fancy and apartment facilities into theturned richest areaof Seoul, and highrise its office buildings,shopping malls,entertainment 1980s onwards: Kangnam. The largelylandin region agricultural was inamatter this of a few decades well. as underdeveloped other municipalities areasbelonging to it surroundingurbanization were subjected to in city, the to incorporated city were the then edges of the quasi-rural firstthe Therefore, construction in 1972inthe thatmake districts uptoday’s northern Seoul (Cp. Lee Claire 2011). its maximum for takingcapacity inmore newcomersleading and businesses, aban to furtheron River” Han of the south Consequently, spaces in(ibid). open 1970salready,in had the reached Seoul through a green belt the around city, and byencouraging in high-rise apartments varied sizes and prices newcomers of influx city. the the of accommodate, yet outskirts restrict, to attempted officials City repair, and publiclagged services wellbehind population (Cp.Hillgrowth” and Park2000). soon its“Much limits driven to of Seoul’sof absorption: infrastructurewasin physical direneedof and crowding insub-standardnearby housing riverthe areas and hillylocations of Seoul, the city was city the of facilities manufacturing many in the employment find to looking people With conditions. times horrific underat labored lived and of workers thousands areawhere sweatshop an inner-city into piercecome to in through city the center late1960s,the with areas the the highwaysurrounding turning 36 ingrounded functionalism”practical (Ryu 2004:10). This in turn also led to the emergence of a new area on the other side of the Han river from the onthe settlements tookupresidence Many “migrants insquatter newly the internal of arrived Furthermore, as part of several major highway projects, the projects, highway major as partof several Furthermore, Ch' ǂ nggye highway in 2003 andthe subsequent Ch' Ch' ǂ ǂ nggyech' nggye elevated highway would ǂ n stream) inaugurated stream) CEU eTD Collection commuting distance from such satellites into spaces of urban enjoyment such as Kangnam or Hongdae or Kangnam as such enjoyment urban of spaces into satellites such from distance commuting live Thein the longer longer Seoul. actual can no afford to who for commuters urban builtthere been being with a city massive label the bedroom typically communities rewarded recently only due to itmeans a smaller town with very little local shopping or entertainmentfacilities itsof own that has demarcate. Usually to term easier mightbe aconsiderably “periphery” Seoulite, for average the clarity larger landscapeSeoul. part of of the central outskirts of city,the by nowminutes they areamere away from and20 subway thoroughly downtown quasi-rural the on located were still fifty ago spaces entertainment While two these entertainment. South the side river,the forof on highly evening crowds look-out the both areas are popular with and theaters ( theaters My areall that smaller centers for different –some reasons popular may be forshopping famous (e.g. Kangnam downtown. Inaddition has and developedseveral to city other downtown, the Seoul of from distance actual physical means becauseof their “peripheral” city are byno as experienced that living business arrangements, however,and entertainment, usuallycan befound districts inother of the palaces, together with major publicbuildings such as city hall set the tone of the atmosphere. Everyday together: “I really friend of mine, whom I got to know Myung-bakinthrough-out themonth-longthe protests the against FTAentertainment agreement with United the States. As one 16-year-old area of Hongdae, put it to me one day as we drove into downtown 37 areas around Gwangwhamun, Ch' 24 suchasthe projects where prestige 2004). merchants of areahavethe found themselves displacedrapidly inthewake of process (Cp.Ryuthis high rise and projects new building inner intothe financial whilecorporations district, the poorer In 2008, it became inscribed as a space of public resistance in the minds of many Korean youngsters, who flocked to the ǂ ng-dong While “center”, for the above mentioned reasons may be a notion not readily available with full with available readily not a notion be may reasons mentioned above the for “center”, While Downtown Downtown Seoul mainlyis today thought of aceremonial,as political Daehangno , Tongdaemun only come here when there is protests taking place.” taking protests is there when here come ). It’aew ), others for its art galleries ( galleries art for its ), others ǂ ǂ nggyech' n and Hongdae ǂ n, and City Hall to express theirangerwith thecurrent government of Lee Ch' ǂ nggyech' are two of those de-centered centers that are situated on are situated that centers de-centered those of two are ǂ n , the , Pu’am-dong Chogyesa temple and the various kingly , Insadong 24 ), a third one forits and touristic space, and touristic CEU eTD Collection Korea’s recent past (chapter 2), I will explore various entertainment areas popular with US soldiers in soldiers US with areas popular entertainment various I will explore 2), Korea’spast (chapter recent will that delvingIn thethreelarge into historical chapters followchapter analytical the ethnographic spaces. city unknown center to access easy Ramirez) Geronimo perpetrator aforementioned the (including soldiers young allows which Seoul, of 38 city. Tongduch' to are well-connected actual the decidedly yet in areasthat located themselves urbanized peripheral, town spaces are nolonger the forlorn outposts that they used to be. Instead, young soldiers find of nearby ina way, intoand such megacity network the broader the incorporated firmly camp facilities residinginareas andworking camptown directly bases.the adjacentby now, tothe But theyfind their beyond those with population local the contact little for very allowed areas, which in rural entirely in country, the wereactually military installations built most of their those firsterected Armed Forces unexplored reasons for the contestations over the U.S. military presence in South Korea: When the U.S. military facilities on the very outskirts of already remote satellites. This is in fact one of the more of Seoul. parts cheap and feasableoptionsyoung for seeking night somein people Friday entertainment glitzierthe participants just aswell, a2-hour-long and on ride subwaythe intois the city center still amongst the urban into ofsuchsattelites theinhabitants of hasturned intoSeoul, conglomerate broader the spaces of unattached priorly incorporation with however,the rural areas, together of previously encroachment forcohabitation one’swith frequentreason marriage). until Theprogressive urban parents much of becausea choice prices inrenting the city are bynowexorbitantlyhigh is(which also one is, the less attractive itmay seem liveto there foryounger people, who often, however, tend to not have The same holds true for U.S. Armed Forces personnel nowadays, who are typically located in located are typically who for nowadays, U.S. personnel holdsForces true ArmedThe same ǂ n, for instance, is by now a part of the wider network of the greater metropolitan metropolitan area of network greater of the isinstance, wider the for bynowapart n, Kiji’chon, It’aew ǂ n, Hongdae n, CEU eTD Collection unemployment in their own peripheral economies has even further solidified the disengagement of both of disengagement the solidified further even has economies peripheral own in their unemployment due pricehaving forto good foreign leftkiji’chon deprivation,female arrival the of fleeing entertainers more Korean orless instead.Nowadays, with workers sex in assources figuring mindareusually agendas own their with areas these targeted have who activists anti-base and groups, Christian writers, about is kiji’chon gainedsecondarily.only media representationsleftist-nationalist The orthe of much people’sof knowledge obtain, to difficultmilitary rather U.S. the civilians of outside access to local between and encounters women up. menwould beconjured American when Koreans would hear the word ‘kiji’chon’, oftentimes images of commercial exploitationConsequently, into. of sexual foot a set would person ordinary no that sites stigmatized heavily into zones these material opportunities in of base.prostitution, shadow the PX Rampant U.S. the epidemicsmuggling the of jobs and of in search come had who Koreans destitute economically those accommodate to themselves. inliteraturecamplanguage the town English 39 25 introduction. The first (type of) space that I want my to sketch of end the out mark here will which is that of research, my field during arising issues of discussion methodological a one of introducethem.briefly these At to like this spaces,before Iwould passingon to point, depth,bein of greater strugglestaking and each Ifoundplace to accounts give detailed everyday the areas and sold on the black markets. This issue will further be discussed in chapter 4. chapter in be discussed further will issue This markets. black onthe sold and areas had a vast impact have onstations thePX Korean in America. economy home back stores forthe in awhile due to finding to the used large are they amounts goods of consumer goods same buy thatthe werecan smuggleddependents out of the base 26 Sturdevant1992, Yea 2005). sex nearby growing industries the military facilitiestheir and (Cp. for instance Cheng2002, Korea 2010, 2007and Lie1995 South 1997,and Moon1997, in presence USmilitary the between nexus the describe to sought then since has researchers Taking some clues from Cynthia Enloe's path-breaking book PX or Post Exchange, refers to the retail stores that can be found on bases where U.S. military personnel and their and personnel military U.S. where bases on found be can that stores retail the to refers Exchange, Post or PX As these neighborhoods are As theseneighborhoods typically from geographically remote of Seoul, center the with and After the Korean War, villages or smaller towns nearby U.S. installations were hastily built up 26 intoKorea’s blackmarket, drugusage and other formsillicit of activities would soon turn 25 , and typically just called “the Ville” by the soldiers the by Ville” “the called just typically and , Bananas, BeachesBases and kiji’chon – kiji’chon (1989), a number(1989),of also known as known CEU eTD Collection early (Cp.Jeon 2005). 1990s of parts liberal other of that Seoul,than heresincethe gay with the scene assembling and transgender significantly 2003).(Cp. Han SexualGeon-soo minorities, too, have found It’ risen has area in the Ghana, and Nigeria from mostly migrants, African of number the recently, from the Middle East began to settle near Seoul Central Mosque (erected in It’ (erected Eastbegan from Middle nearto settle Mosque Central the Seoul during the difficultyears of Yusinthe era(Cp.Kim Eun-shil migrant2004). Eventually,communities It’ makeyoung to to ex-cursions started andother people students afewKorean Eventually quite college all GIclubsthe after of neighbourhood the endthe Koreanthe of War (Cp. Kim and Shin 2010). Korean rock musicians around Sin Consequently, It’aew being of one’s drawn out encounter novel,surprising” the to (1990:266). secureroutine and strange, has opened upthis areatothose young adventurous people seeking“the pleasure andexcitement of to claustrophobic sex-scapes (Cp.Brennan2004)unwelcomingnon-military to itpersonnel, when comes kiji’chon into No-Go areas. young in by night whoaredrawnillicitnessattracts every promise partiers has same turned that the of areasof city the speculated nowadays. Well-connected toSeoul’sit public system, transportation conglomerate that originally of butwith its located on outskirts the capital, rapidinclusionthe into the urban is today’s Seoul, it finds itself in the midst of one of the most pricy and heavily 40 more accessible. much has in the meantime turned intoan entertainment area catering to foreign and Korean civilians alike – is bases. nearby military and Koreanits state the citizenry spaces U.S. in in-between these aew It’aew ǂ But where the quasi-rural, isolated locations of isolated confined, locationskiji’chonBut wherethedeeply haveproduced quasi-rural, of In contrast to such camp town areas, the second space I will explore – a former kiji’chon that n as well, attracted n by as well,freedom USbase relativethe proximity the the tothem of promised attracted ǂ n, an urban factor that Iris Marion Iris factor n, Marion an urban that Young of city” the dimension “erotic asthe haslabelled ǂ n firstgenerationhugely of has become and ahome The types: to diverse shelter It’aew ǂ n , a neighborhood adjacent to the Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison, was Garrison, Army U.S. Yongsan the to adjacent neighborhood a , Chunghy ǂ n, for instance, learned their trade by playing the stages of aew aew ǂ ǂ n in 1976); while n air tobe more CEU eTD Collection 41 one way. US military employees, acutely aware of their ongoing stigmatization and progressive the stigmatization of their way. ongoing one aware acutely military employees, US inmore just than with be each other associated havein factto come neighborhoods these city Seoul, inner of world glitzy areas andthe camptown between distance geographical the despite consequence, political and sexual experimentation,it only takes a subway ride in that vast urban space of Seoul. As a markedby as hip intostudent neighbourhoods cold small-scale social, during wartimes everyday (Kim Chiman 2005). summed up matters newsreport foreigners”, asone being from upwith mixed has“degenerated that and view local where visitors asone forthem prime the inevitable reason downfall a neighborhood of in muchlesswelcome are clearly seekers, they powers-at-be. in andtypically suchsee disenfranchised the who opposition students themselvesartists to as groups beproved to the most importantphysical space toemerge for more economically and politically men.white-collar however, mainly toHongdae, in of urbanlandscape that the catered Seoul due time into beinserted districts would of number adult anincreasing entertainment denieddecades, several for and 1980s,driven by insatiablethe ofKoreans desire for kindthis of consumption they that had been starting manylate1970s areas of the non-U.S. military city from spreadingto the erotic consumption potentially Korea’stotalizing of grip South capitalist late modernity. With adultand entertainment fame eversince the early in particular1990s, young attracting seekcrowds urban that to escape the enter the urban space of space urban the enter GIs while But neighborhood. this of streets and clubs bars, the frequent to come have who foreigners other with alongside soldiers, quite afewU.S. has attracted mixture that boundaries –aprogressive unique and infamous for the sexual freedoms and its subcultural niches itits provides within One Finally, Iwill alsofocus on To move from heavily militarized red light districts that are still being run under similar logics out of of out several inner-city up-and-coming districts in entertainment Seoul,is today Hongdae It’aew ǂ n on equal or privileged footing compared to other entertainment other to compared footing privileged n or equal on Hongdae , a student neighbourhood that has ascended to nation-wide to ascended has that neighbourhood a student , Hongdae , where many clubs have refused them entry, them refused have clubs many where , CEU eTD Collection 42 militarist legacies that are the outcome of unresolved armed conflict in the region. and state of Korea’s democracy in the security Korea’s on alliance, concerning U.S.-Korea questions the 2000s, placein nature andon the world, the at a time on when them encounter who the those country amongst discussion much raise they stillmilitary, U.S. the from free seemskeep to be ailing from inner-city with many to in liberal emergence their haveattempted visitors these spaces local that the of conflict. And asfurther well as personalalliances strategic lead to Koreans young highly politicized often with encounters their where districts, entertainment inner-city into venturing by devaluation escape their to seek increasingly tothem, allotted been have areas that theentertainment of decline CEU eTD Collection prepared its invasion whenof Iraq, I had been gettinginvolved with some Wisconsin studentgroups own lines of allegiance with anti-militarist my movements, drawn starting decidedly already had from too, the myself, daysI whenKorea. in the Unitedmovement Statesbases anti-U.S. the in involved point, such as the fact that Jil-sung had spent a good amount of his time over the last fewbe atthat addressed not could years issuesthat those now, many of aside brush temporarily to wewereable getting and the United entertained, attimesStates frightenedusabout had bewildered things attracted, that taken different paths in personal with our engagements Unitedthe States. By talking various the about with differentthe structural, social and political conditions we found ourselves in, wehadinevitably goodby changed for wemade. experiences the been hadin andindeed, partake the while, for to move a American distances Dream great to tempted of States United liberal of the hadbeen promises America, and wealth by youngthe age relatively exchangeUniversity studentat of Eau Claire, WIatthe age of 21. Wehad all beendrawninthree a at father’s small went whilecompany state-fundedhad bankrupt, me scholarship a bean allowed to beforein his a year high shortly aU.S. asa hadspent school States Jil-sung the teenager; to Colombia wewouldbooze experiences aboutour with talk “landof the now. free”the Paulohadfledfrom much over and – States United the in residence temporary of experiences their was however, common, very tense. One thing that the three individuals, having come from different corners of the world, hadin moments before Paulo had actually knocked on the door, the atmosphere in the room was admittedly Seoul. With walkjustin toavoid of intoa GI Jil-sung havingthreatenedto order room the out running aKoreaninwould punk,Jil-sung, the smallkitchen encounter an of Austrianlivingin anthropologist Oneinyoung afternoon amanearly 2009, Paulo, from Colombia whowasworkingfor U.S. the Army, 43 V. (Anti-)Militarism Large:At Adapting Anthropological for Study Methodologies a U.S. onthe As time had passed, however, and with coincidences and choices we had come to face, however, wehadcome coupled andchoices As time to had passed, andwith coincidences Armed Forces in Seoul’s Entertainment Districts Armed Forces inSeoul’s Entertainment CEU eTD Collection 44 a of the island)within “macro-constructions the settlement, fieldthe village, the delineated site (i.e. inhabited aclearly preferably sedentary typically who people about herinsights contextualize concerned itself with single-sitelocations. Itwas the task of the anthropologist tomore or less skillfully Ethnography,since theearly 20 months. the throughout in Seoul zone (dis-)comfort my temporary became nevertheless, together sit unexpectedly necessarilyconfideopened allowed upand not people wantto did who ineach other to whichattimes backgrounds, ethnic and social, economic different life trajectories, different ideologies, different between realms in-between The after. was I that participants unlikely such narrow, between navigational encounter butcertainly openedupinthe spacethatattimes available other,lives.” it from politics, kindof Indeed,was this ofour Irealized, across trenches the our of ateach shouted more words, afew day we can one I believebut exchange that between us, still there soldiertonight, but friend, wedrank, and laughed,and afew shared drinks. The barbedit’s wire,friend, had left again, Ijotted down the following words into my field diary: “We didn’t talk all that much in nearresearching and Seoul. spent 21months throughout the A my visitors of both after few hours breached if we were to avoidearly on in his childhood, and was not keen to revisit “the things it does to people”. an potentialwho were in themidst of deploying tothe Middle East for the first time, hehad seen real violence very conflict,not lookingforward togoing an to actual combat zonebecausemany unlike hisof young Army friends was contracttantamount with the military was about his first as Korea, after to nextdestination the making Iraq necessity,end contemplating nowadays was forsoon. It would economic soof out be 18 of age goodthe at Army the manyforjoined had who hishand, other the career, on Paulo, war. the against heother said, but he was evenings My attempt to tiptoe through this loaded evening, shipping around the subjects that had to be through thisloadedto tiptoe hadMy attempt shipping evening, to that thesubjects around th century century modernist re-invention of discipline,our has famously An Anthropology of Velocity CEU eTD Collection critical “relations through time” ethnography sum latter the up of type. Mygoal,is to matters onceexplore more,hand on one to the instead. shapelocalities that histories dynamic the and peculiarities less flows and scapes,insisted haveinstead on andspecificities, on explorations into the very fighting postulatingcaprices post-modern quasi quotations all-too-daring place- andimitations.Others, replications, endless for realms into been turned seemingly have areas urban the where world many acquiredanthropologists abig mark, question an almost ephemeral quality, in are-place-ability a capitalism. Space – an unquestioned category in earlier anthropological research has– in such a way to late of compression space-time the amidst adrift set been have notions and things humans, of numbers largerin anerawhenever into and inequalities insights connectivities toallow around usgreater targets” (which could be made up of people, commodities, orideas) (Cp. Welz 1998) are to be followed 45 27 system) world capitalist being all them of one largest the (with either systems suchvelocity,is entire rather thepremise that buttoward aredriven researchers that multi-sited ethnography. such through small-scale vs. large micro, vs. macro local, vs. global of notions dry travel to multiple destinations rather than just one – with the goal of complicating seemingly cut-and- spaces makeWelz (Cp. thatthem designs research embrace often nowadays ethnographers 2004), transnational across footloose the chasing of business the in Firmly move. the on anthropologists (Malinowski 1922:8) has long been supplemented and at times fully surpassed by newer generations of them” fallinto for whatwill andwait place, inthe right his nets “spread to in order location a (possiblygo to remote) to tradition the ethnographers of But larger (Marcus1995). order” social For anintroduction into world-systems analysis, see Wallerstein2004. The research presented in this dissertation was conducted with the aim in mind to produce in an with inmindto was conducted aim the this The research dissertation presented More often than not, itis not with the goal of cross-cultural or cross-site comparisons in mind ( Kalb 2006:3) which have manifested themselves in the South Kalb themselvesKorean 2006:3)which havemanifested South in the 27 should be explored, or “moving CEU eTD Collection experiences of experiences military structures U.S. of insertion bythe years last sixty the over rescaled been dramatically East hasAsian and city that personnel. Furthermore,journey taking the With I metropolis. wish Korean us South the of alongparts different tothrough ride a both on givereader the take to thenecessary vectorsa sense of oftime the and space,at times I itof, be will empire hope areasarethe these subject violence that and about andimaginations ideas highlyto present chaotic a detailed picture labor,political andof circulation the andmilitarized sexualized foreign flows of incoming the soldiers, of an U.S. for amusement spacesof betweenphysical connection explore the to people’sIn order lives. specificin haveof room given of turn against also militarization everyday the practices to resistance 46 of what weare lookingmuchfor more than Laborothers. migrants, tourists, refugees and expatriates Amongst the mobile subjects that anthropologists follow nowadays, certain groups seem to fit the bill as well. justlarge-scale into to spill the that over private threaten the to further restructurations and newmanifestations of everyday in processes demilitarizing the realm of areas( have these shaped that place-making of projects specific which emerged as a core tool utilized by the left to mark the shifting of the power relations over time.frame injustice –an imaginations violent I call what by level asymbolic on challenged increasingly militarized modernity dependency home-grown Unitedon the (past) and the Isee States nowadays long-term by financial and military assistance out Both Unitedthe doled States. legaciesthe of this the on population general the and regime military local the both of dependency of relation complicated the linked with is intricately junction this critical Furthermore, movement. democratization nationalist by been countered increasingly a leftist- modernity that has militarizedlocal case inbarracks of the a Furthermore, by exploring three sites into which I follow the soldiers, I will delineate the communitas emerging in the liminal space of the entertainment district, which may lead may which district, entertainment the of space liminal in the emerging An Anthropology oforforWarriors? Kiji’chon / It’aew ǂ n / Hongdae ) which CEU eTD Collection Armed Forces sought to directly incorporate anthropologists into their war efforts in the Middle East 47 Callahan 2010. warfare. For an account on the experiences of one anthropologist who was recruited to go to scientistsAfghanistan under in the such direct away, command of seethe military by embedding them with American troops Middlein Eastern hotspots of Systemwas initiated inJune 2005. A multi-milliondollar project, itsought to bring anthropologists andothersocial 29 28 research sponsor to seeking increasingly hereis since thatever warin the Afghanistan, national institutionssecurity inthe were United States worldwide following theseeruptions, however, thingshave changed significantly. factor Onecrucial relegatedniches. tofeministor andMarxist sensibilities, and orientations post-modern for circumvented being largely was political the when times muchduring statement outrightimplied seemed, an of ittoo militaries, globalization. Researching of (re-)emerging aspects more peaceful seemingly the concernwith itself preferred to that a discipline in quasi-sectarianism of space the to relegated quickly was anti-militarism and militarism political momentum: the time during between frame end the the of Vietnamese War and 9/11, talkof whogroups have stepped out of the boundariesold invarious ways. Schiller 2002),askewedlens focusing merely the national on iteven when hyper-mobileapproaches for to be researchthatseeksto predestined methodological nationalism so-calledovercome (Cp. Glick- persisted, causing anxiety andlocal resentmentamongst populations. These are allsubjects which seem moved aboutin people’sother fractious relations countries, between soldiers and civilians have have forlong so troops as landscapes. Furthermore, at even global times vast, move across to tendency institution other in history,world for arenotorious their for national disrespect borders and their factored vastly outbeen has move the on people of of category one our enough, strangely but mind, to equations come immediately of transnational inquiries – that is, soldiers. Armies, more so than any Withanthropologist and Yale terrorism. to graduate Montgomery related campaign,McFate serving astheposter Humanof girl the the Terrain research sponsoring was that mind to comes project Minerva 50-million-dollar the instance, For In the wake of two Middle Eastern wars, the Global Global Warthe wars, Middle Eastern wakeof two In the on Terrormilitarization andincreased One reason for this absence of research into globally acting Armed Forces is certainly that of that is certainly Forces acting Armed globally into research of absence for this One reason for the military conducted by anthropologists by conducted military the 28 . The US 29 , CEU eTD Collection 48 is adire militaries sakeof the for landscapes geographical newand social of encroachment accelerated interactions. Accelerated militarization of people’s social everyday their lives andstructures social that spheres,script thethe everwrite more that agents unavoidable seemingly the lives, their of this globe today, militariesluxury a Indeed, for most social the increasingly citizens that aroundusweremaking realities obsolete. – their own and those of other revisitingnations theirmotivations for having signed up for the Army – reserve whenare news of war broke out, wasthe most defining my factsdays hanging out at peace vigilsin Wisconsin,in or talking to my many U.S. college friends who were during learned had quickly I years. matters, ten military A from last the over detachment experienced wehave thatthe antagonisms political global mebecause of growing the onto pressed itself rather amatter but that spaceof academia, free-spirited luxuriously in choice made seemingly the in Korea. ButSouth in many ways, my engagement with this subject wasmuch less of a cut-and-dry process. the throughout it into co-opted being necessarily without network, vast “counter-counter insurgency” 2010)who of anthropologistswantgain (Cp.Network a to insights into Lutz 2010).My inown interestgrowing subject,the in a way,is symptomatic of largerthis trend – this clandestine extensions have had onthelives ofmillions of people living through and around them (Cp. and expansions, violent expeditions, military global that effects the with dealt that projects toward some members of our discipline Consequently,itself. on military done system little is the military, work so there sametime atthe while – and in particularraise the question how we could arrive at a point whereU.S. quite afew anthropologists American do research for the ones – were increasingly 2010, Network see also Gill 2007). 2007, Ribeiro drawn (Cp. ensued battles the before sensitive bemade culturally was to that combatants of new generation “anthropological terms”and military, the in “Counter-Insurgency its Manual”inas 2007,eventually published such discovered culture, ritual, race, and ethnicity, notions that were to be introduced to a It may seem a bit of an odd choice for a European social scientist to research the U.S. military As an outcome of such direct cooptation attempts targeting our discipline, some would finally CEU eTD Collection 49 fringes the be institutions, they tendto militaries totalizing meansare bynot at total with ones, arising contentions all while that fact the to attest they a way, such In for. work they Forces Armed the for usability where U.S. soldiers can also comewomen they encounter there. Atin the same time, they are alsotouchspaces of acute de-miliarization and processes,men with civilian foreign or local the people and move, the on labor military and dispensed ideas temporarily between that may undermine their potentialwomen’s lives form, and sexualities take placeis, in most acute its that in experiences embodied the men’s of and militarization everyday the of process this where in spaces are particular, districts, Entertainment force. labor actual the into recruited those of group real or potential the to belong not do they fact that the despite its orbit, into orientations) sexual their of (irrespective female civilians militariesto (Cp.Belkinattested male and Bateman both inadvertently But also draw 2003). and livelihoods make and careers build to sought have who men gay as well as women, outcome of that. divvy drinking joints nearby U.S. bases, when hanging out in divvy nearby whenhanging joints inner-city drinking U.S. bases, barsof out parks, clubs, and entering G.I. clubsspeakFilipina to to employed andRussiansexworkers there, when into stepping When many zoneoccasions. on comfort myown of boundaries the step over hadto necessarily Over the course of the 21months ofmy research in the adult entertainment districts in and near Seoul I by andvariousarmed conflict forms militarism.of allplacesaffected sprungupin orlater practically have sooner de-militarization aimingmovements at from acts within military,the individual of both andoutside group of resistance or larger and social Militaries are deeply masculinist and hetero-sexist institutions, which both and lesbian straight whichboth institutions, hetero-sexist and masculinist Militaries are deeply and centers of its quasi-hegemonic reach over people and territories. Small-scale struggles, Small-scale its and territories. people reach over of quasi-hegemonic centers Crossing while theLine Observing theBoundaries within them have CEU eTD Collection awareness of one’s own position in the field as a white, young, and single woman. What was much highly militarized male-centered entertainment district such as district entertainment male-centered militarized highly anthropology for longestthe time. Necessarily, researchingsexualized playand violence withina and(1995) Markowitzand has have out, Ashenazi been taboo in (1999) pointed the greatest subjectivity the during thats/hetime spends inthefield –,as such authors as Kulick Willson and conversations as well. Sex ability navigateto successfully morea seriesthrough fleeting, of often not highlythan sexually charged in the field – that is, how the researcher deals with his or her own erotic 50 about their agendasinthefirst place,my eveningsoutin It’aew other each with honest be entirely to seeks anyone rarely where spaces in impossibility an practically I felt maneuvering that often truly overwhelmed. a balancing requiredintoso much that act turned attimes indeed and my research experience money decline, an for clearout,to offer for sexinexchange aromantic drama to de-escalate, to conflict avoid, a to from, aconfrontation stay away to afistfight was it there seemed, week, every Practically didfear outright seem field fit that not experiences of textbook whatwas all to the research about. timesforsaken with rather myhugely divergent experiences of vulnerability,loneliness and at times feltat native, I (female) the toward desires exploitative their hard restraining have time a package who much coming white quasi-almighty males as with anthropological colonialist typically researchers herself. anthropologist bodily emotionalmay harm strategieswouldno that uponthe or that with comes guarantee deal that mind to comes literature little very informants, their of anonymity and safety the for demands While inmade are methodology students many nowadays acutely courses anthropological aware of the me. withhung manyintegral forof wasquicklybrought life out home I part to everyday of people the an is indeed violence that revelation of the people, assortment wildest with the districts entertainment Rooted in depiction (andratheroutdated) factin Rooted (nay, continuous the of caricature) Furthermore, with formal interviews or even full disclosure of my role as a researcher at times It’aew ǂ n or Hongdae stood andn Hongdae stood fellor my with ǂ n has involve ahigh of to degree CEU eTD Collection 51 “Durebang”, forin fivemonths where Ivolunteered 2009, and whichopened the many nightgates to called center counseling asex worker introduction the of through enter wouldonly instance, for I in be my military endavour. invaluable bases, nearby districts U.S. The red-light unwelcoming rather roaming the entertainment districts of Seoul, the support of NGO workers already in the field proved to of all. out strategy” “research significant endthe home, most in ratherthan following were apersuasivestranger factthe of a long night, in Friends,others. those situations,make sureended whowould thatI uptaking the taxiby at myself breaks, with instead, more being and andmore agendasof the prey become alcohol consumed, to my fragile stance as for hunterthe information, quietly scribbling away a fewnotes during toilet lose I wouldheld indeed manyout that was anight that The greatrisk projects. research ethnographic – with serendipity ingredient luck inall of to beingperhapsthemost retrospect crucial and underrated the most part to make the right choices in whom to trust and whom to stay away from I largely attribute order to make clear tothose around me that Iwas notentirely alone – and the fact that Idid manage for company of one or two friends I put my full trust in. This,in turn, required tomake alliances quickly in alwaysalone,into but tonever the out venture be of in most– the important which was, retrospect, integrity and that of at others risk eventually became my principleguiding for researchingSeoulnights pick hefightwith. wanted to a infuriated ex-GI showing up the doorstep of my flat at three in the morning looking for my roommate deal adrunk when and attemptingwith to nightspent drinkingyetoutdoors, another kids after sex worker, when trying togetsome sleep on mattressa flee-infested in a room filled with Korean punk dancing gay inacrowded bar, being when instructedon how topole dance in nighta lesbian by club a myline body for ontoaplatform over oftable again when on alengthysession the put dragged – own more challenging to deal with than such a need for reflection, however, was the necessity to over and In addition to a network In friendsaddition of to my acquaintances help and vouchedme nights who outon to A putinmymundanestrategies exit whole situations setof towell-being and threatened that CEU eTD Collection 52 another woman’s (romantic, sexual, orother) labor. ethnographic maleto comemeans chapters –one soldier’s thannot indeedmoreplay-time often each upon other’s existence. This is hiddenanother shall theme that parts run through of the are entirely that contingent play, necessarily fluidcategories are however,districts, in entertainment institutional support–butrather,in atnight. myindividual Work who works asaresearcher role and It’aew me otherwise. for unreachable haveclubsinvaluable thatwould andwomen’s stayed encounters homes, to access andgave ǂ n and Hongdae, however, I have mainly approached without approached mainly have I however, Hongdae, n and CEU eTD Collection 53 South Korea’s LongMarch from Garrison State to LiberalAffluent Democracy In the Thick of the Fire. the of Thick the In 2. CEU eTD Collection on this planet. itsuch intensity has that edges the turned of this buffer zoneinto mostheavily the deathzone fortified has border militarization this particularreached around place byBillClinton 2003), (Havely onearth” scariest “the as described Aptly Zone. Demilitarized the named ironically line dividing the along down lock- in has resulted apermanent opponents between the The lackpeace treaty of a real contestants. day,isbutlandat atregular intervals being erupt whenskirmishes orseabetween broken the wouldwas signedin Korean War;1953 that endthe this the ceasefire parties holds in uptothis place the armed face-off between the Northern and Southern half has now entered its 61 entered half hasnow and Northern Southern the armed between the face-off parts two formerlyof has the yetto country united be solved. War Cold swelling intricate andcontinuously the the between international that community conflict the year, Korean Ch' sinking the of South the for an hour, resulting in the deaths of between maritime states, wasshelled territory Korean the border disputed to heavily and close the two two civilians and two soldiers on the Southern side. Earlier that on a North torpedo Korean a North on Korean attack. Korean us of how an anti-U.S.perhaps not so much interesting for the amountmilitary of facts they may or may not contain, but rather, for the indicationfiredperspective they give from a U.S. can for submarinebe the cause likely most utilized the sinking indeed was attack torpedo Korea North a that conclusion the to ofcame operating commission the expert even ship,international in a a rumor casein thatthe that spreadarea fabricationto of(For the particularlytorpedo mostclaim by the South Korean governmenta wassummary withinlooks the range of possibilities. While anfast like withinof a thisstraight-forward South theory, Korea was seethat Sakaiof an accidentalNorth 2010). torpedoSuch contestationsshot are Korea’s South would target Y 54 31 Furthermore, the U.S. Armed Forces contributed tothe training with aMarine and Airforce Unit (Cp.Son 2010). 600 tracked vehicles, 90 helicopters, 50 warships, and 500 aircrafts that were also deployed South by the Koreans. 30 On 23 The sinking of the Ch' Approximately Korean70,000 Armed Forces members exercise taking part were the in in November2010, in additionto rd The Korean peninsula today is one of the most heavily militarized regions on this planet, where November 2010, in November themidstjoint 2010, military of a US-ROK exercise ǂ nan was subject to much speculation both inside of Korea and abroad, with some arguing that a 31 . Takento grave reminder together, provedtobearecent incidents these ǂ npy ǂ ng island. The island, located only 12 kilometers away from awayfrom North only 12kilometers located ng The island, island. I. Nation(s)-in-Arms ǂ nan naval broughtship had 46casualties blamed was which 30 , North Korean artillery Korean North , st year. An armistice CEU eTD Collection 55 see Drennan 2005: 291f). 32 backpeninsula’slook atthe 20 cast a turbulent it expansive system localmilitariesfacingin will each benecessary of this other conflict, to prolonged forscheduled April Hancock 2010) 2012 (Cp. being now OPCOM of transfer the with side, Korean Korea the to of Forces Republic Armed the over command USFKhasbeen handingpeace-time the in1994, (USFK). Korea Only UnitedForces States commandthe South over both Korean and American in troops iscase of war – still in hands the of the command) territory, Korean (operational OPCOM on yearspresence of military American after 66 that intoconsideration when we take apparatus defence Korean for the South US hasplayed years.in We last66 Korea the over engagement the therole fundamental appreciate to begin only can military political, breadth economic thevast and U.S. depth symbolicof and to pointing significance, hovers aroundinconsequential. 28,500,seemsalmost However, their presenceinthe isSouth huge of currently which country, in the soldiers U.S. of number the peninsula, the on militarization further for larger than of that opponentthe (Cp. Moon and Lee2010). in defense sector 2007, SouthKorea, its with $26.3billion defense spent budget, a sum times three (about $8billion) People’s of Democratic the ofKorea’s Republic into thenational gross income went stationed inthisborder region just aswell. Whileithas been estimated thatmore than 30 percent being them of numbers great with reserve, in the people million 3 another and troops standing as people 655,000 havearound currently of side DMZ, the The ROK other the situated on Forces, Armed 70 percent arestationed about of proximitytheir in Bermudez troops borderthe close to (Cp. 2001:1ff). it 5 the makes in (which the reserve million people additional 7.7 On the significant difference between operational command and actual control in the South Korean-U.S. military alliance, military Korean-U.S. South the in control actual and command operational between difference significant the On In the midst of In midstof such the large staggeringly local contingentstroop and financial resources deployed In order to understand both U.S.military In orderto continuous the involvementon Korean soil and the Korean People’sThe North million an Army soldierswith has over1.19 deployed, today . th century history. The aim here is tounearth some theof th largest armed force inforce largest the world); armed 32 – that is, CEU eTD Collection 56 nation(s)-in-arms. ascombat-ready Koreas of two the arms racein be shall uncovered, with this region the main being focus on imagining gradual the placed civilian life both sides of on border.the In such away, logics the behindand continuing dynamics the ofmilitarization targetingof more afore-mentionedeverhave realms tothe doubleprocess contributed that highlighted be shall interests economic and political foreign and local of conjunctures Specific system” peninsulasincebeen the (Paik2009)that has subjectedto thebeginningof War. Cold the “division entire an of modification and maintenance emergence, the investigate beto to crucial prove Korea intowhat they are today. While the main focus will be placed on the history of the South South, and it shall North both turned have that factors social and political economic, global and regional local, CEU eTD Collection 57 2002). However, before the Korean peninsula was propelled onto its 20 particular propelled onto However, was 2002). Korean beforepeninsula the States, wouldlater become leftist the narrative aleadingof forces mobilizing country the (Cp. Ceuster sovereignty, imperial devisedbyboth seen Japanandthepost-Worldas War of United superpower the leaders immediately fulldelay 1945”(Lee2007:3). The significantafter inachieving national fully andindependentestablish purge and nation-state politicalcollaborators to social an tainted and Korea’s experience tothe iscrucially country’s of the linked infact past problematic to “failure forframework deployed understanding Suchanegative amongst predators. as ahelpless creature nation. both North and South of oftenthe 38than not, this world evaluation Korea’sof prolonged find struggle to its timeproved andplace inarapidly changing world. More to be hostile, with nation’s a condensation of framework, the an or an such animage self-understanding, as explanatory a sense of crisis over forstarting aregional pointsovereignty analysis power (Cp.Shim In contrast, Iwould2009). like rather to treat driving actors as a interpreted been has occasionally piece of wisdom proverbial bigthe area,this the of players manoeuvreRhetorically charting desperately asmall nation country their to as its way amongst trying subjugationforces, tooutsidebeing namely peninsula likeashrimpthe whales. of that amongst In South Korea, there is a saying that is frequently brought upwhen talk comes to its repeated historical the 19 the and WestEast between encounter of Westernhalf in in The violent later region. the the powers imperial ruling country, the it first experiencedecade-longby wasto broughtabout a arrival crisis of the foreigntwo brought thecountry’soccupations, division,several war and acivil (military) dictatorships Here is the beginning of modern Korea: its leaders no longer could shape events as they wished. For the first time in history, th century, leading to the inclusion of East Asia into the capitalist world economy, would trigger a trigger would economy, world capitalist the into Asia East of inclusion the to leading century, The notion of a failed national history is deeply embedded in such an imagination of the country the of imagination an in such embedded isdeeply history national failed a of notion The the the country was shaped from without more strongly fromthan within. (Cumings 1997:86) II. “A II. Shrimp Whales”Amongst (1895-1960) th parallelinto embracing more the militaristever understandings of th century path, which CEU eTD Collection Okinawa and Hokkaido, both of whom had a long history of ethnic and cultural independence from the rest of Japan. of rest the from independence cultural and ethnic of history long a had of whom both Hokkaido, and Okinawa constructing the Meiji nation-state also meant the subjugationand forceful assimilationof the native populations of 58 33 self-colonization internal of aprocess triggered elites conservative Japanese Western institutions, after modelling theircountry militarization. Deliberately rapid and industrialization, accelerated finally inculminated inauguratinga shiftof power Meiji the (1868-1912)(Cp.PylePeriod 1996). signing Kanagawa Convention of the internal (1854)broughtof andeconomic turmoil political that the Japan, For Korea. and Japan China, of East Asian kingdoms North reclusive three the between relations had organized that order political old the of overturn the leadto eventually would diplomacy First Opium Waritshad instance knees,China alreadybrought of 1839-42, which this gunboat toof the with just Inconjunction as well. Korea for neighboring era an endof meant the inadvertently Uraga its toWestern shores tradein firstfew1853-54, the cannons at pointed Japanesethe townof harbour As Commodore Matthew C. Perry his and squadron of navyU.S. ships Japan coerced into openingup terms. national country’sthe elites for first the timesought toframe theirincreasingly struggledesperate for survival in prolonged state-of-emergency in case the of a periodfrenzyKorea, of which of some factions during successfully managed tocatch up with pace the makers of France and Britain greatly impressed the had country that – European modernization of compressed Central the the were beingemulated Cumings into Prussia-Germany’s (Cp. violentlyhad beeninserted 2003:280f). in particular, successes, Japan that order capitalist world global the function well within to meant thatwere subjects political ward off more powerful inplayers, such a way turning their own countrymen into modern industrial The term The The new centralized state emerging now would push through fast-paced political political reform, fast-paced pushthrough emerging would now state The newcentralized self -colonization, borrowed from Bruce Cumings, may be slightly misleading as we have to consider that Japan’s Rise, China’s Decline 33 to CEU eTD Collection any fractions of society (in particularthe formerly powerful Samurai) that could have posed into a dangerto its new 36 were the samurai Saig 35 path being foreclosed insuch away. reactionary political elites that focused primarily onindustrial and military might, with aliberal democraticbourgeoisie thatcouldor acommunist have spearheaded a social revolution, the task of modernizing wasboth in instances leftto examples of countries where rapid modernizationwould eventually lead toward fascism. In his view, inthe absence of a 59 34 military professionalizing intensely and backward”neighboring countries (Taiwan, Korea andmade China),by its vastly expanding possible the West, “hopelessly territoriesits intothe of inanaggressive expansion Japan increasingly engaged by.in both attemptSo regionally increasean importance itsfurther to and its safeguard toward position of bringing the new-found light of civilization to those “bad Asian friends” Japan saw itself surrounded aspirations toward to take step West”the a short of with nations lot itwas just civilized (ibid), cast our leave of and ranks for to the nations Asian us is better “It that one as the such from a statement indeed, during theirmissionsexploratory region,wouldfollowing into the nowquickly gain a inJapan. And ladder, asocial imageDarwinist thatforeign military andmen, diplomats had traders along brought in (Fukuzawa quoted civilizational proverbial the Atkins 2010:18).Thenotion on of taking ashortcut our neighbors [China and Korea] so that we can work together toward the development of Asia” the glories of the West, were propagating that there was no time left “to wait for the enlightenment of from tolearn GermansJapanese, whosentsomebestthe their 1996). of (Cp.Miyake students by. response to more advanced international actors in the world system that they saw themselves threatened country in the region where local elites initiated a process of rapid modernization from above in be useful for very Japanese in 1991:94f).purposes (Anderson Japan, such a way,became thefirst militarization to East Asia that was tightly interlinked with a state-professed nationalism that proved to military andparticular were Prussian structures being techniques copied,atype bringing of Long before the United Kingdom, Japan’s Meiji leaders had introduced conscription in 1873, while at the same disarming On the life and impact of Fukuzawa, see Nishikawa 1993. Two other authoritative voices onKorea withinMeiji Japan BarringtonMoore, in his Soon enough,Soon 19 ǀ Takamori and Yamagata Aritomo, the later prime ministerof Japan (Cp. McNamara 1984:44ff). Social Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship th century century influential Japanese such Fukuzawaauthors as Yukichi 36 . (1966) discussesJapan both andGermany as 35 , smitten by 34 In CEU eTD Collection heavily armed Western powers came knocking on the doors of the North East Asian countries in later 19 half the unprepared practically the of wascaught Korea form of capitalism, the a home-grown facilitated rise Withof (2000:3). have speakof would that little to industries very political weregranted” examination which important domination of posts system, state through the perpetuate were ablean who by marriageto oligopoly and and power alliances wealth strategic of i.e. the [… landed of families group small very the aristocratic end bya “was to controlled Korean many forsociety, feudal agrarian (1392-1910). state J.Eckertargues,centuries Carter historian foreigners arriving unannounced from East from a disturbancebut of to outside unannounced Asia nothing foreigners arriving were seen as in visitorsall usually the kingly 1997:90),other compounds (Cp.Cumings were confined at times place. neighbor,appease thepowerful furtherBeijing While no took exchange noble Chinese sent to to itsgoods emperor, yet tributary the beyond vassal itto a considered that Koreanthe kingdom year to interactions of theChina with supreme dispatched afewofficial region.the usually power per missions closelythe affiliated “Middle Kingdom”bay waskeptat by leadershipa Korean thatsoughtcurb to as functioned centerthe of cultural andmuch for political gravity Korean of history,pre-modern even on Korean an soil into beyond oddity all measures. While nearby empirethe incontestably Chinese descent non-Korean of strangers turned had centuries the over which time, that at leadership country’s 2000:8).(Eckert a lesserwith Japan” and,to degree, with China trade to tributary “was officiallyrestricted commerce international its and centuries, earlier the throughout world the of rest the to reclusive been had 60 2000:6ff). debate bothwithin Korea itself and amongst Korea studies scholars working on thesubject (Cp.Cumings 2003:282; Eckert 37 significant stepping stone in the building of modern nation-states (Cp. Finer1975). understood themilitary, inparticular and the conscriptionof all young, healthy meninto a community of soldiers, as a monopoly onviolence1991:95). (Anderson a way,such In example followed of it the many Western nations thathad The degree of modernizationundertaken by local elites before Japanese imperialist encroachment is amatterof heated Pre-annexation Korea is synonymous with the Chos the with synonymous is Korea Pre-annexation Limiting trade to the barestminimum was a key aspect of the extremeisolationist politics of the ǂ n dynasty that was ruling the largely the ruling was that n dynasty th century century when Yangban 37 . Korea ] CEU eTD Collection 40 Korea. against actions retaliatory 39 theirfirst military actionon Korean territory in 1871 by sending five warships on a punitive mission into Koreanwaters. 61 38 with crisis’, permeated fears of of ‘unprecedented ‘demise’ the “atmosphere a became ‘extinction’, and Korea’s Japanitsan of morale markonthe left population: invigorated ofanewly predatory reach States United by the Together undertaken encroachments other with effectively” (2001). more the sense in some and insidiously more the [all] worked Eurocentrism its state, aWestern by rule capitalist imposed its world-system colonial an through rule ratherAsian surrogate than direct through “because the notes: rightfully Nak-chung intellectual Paik Korean astheSouth reaching consequences, mostincrucialthe forcefully role toarapidlyup Korea open facthad far- world, changing a that MiddleKingdom. Consequently,itwas the wouldAsian neighborthat next overthe few decades play aggressions,into openinginternationalits to ports andtrade its severing lastformal the ties with by previously China Korea, Japan now coerced its from toward protected vassalstatus such andJapan in Following ofat anearlierisland appearance the a Japanese 1876. of Kanghwa, gunboat Korea between was driven treaty a fact by to Koreans home that evenmore, Kanghwa the declining could” (Cumings 1997:87f). if orescape they choices: assimilate and stay hadtwo hadThey experience. adifferent [...] Occidentals good beforepacking, sailorstreatment they received Shipwrecked JapaneseandChinese were sentbut who knocked at its gates, Korea said in effect, 'We have nothing and we need nothing. complicatedthe moral thathadorder been inPlease established of country the Morningthe Calm:“[T]o those go away.' Russia’s imperial postures toward Koreanthe peninsula were a major cause of Russo-Japanese the War (1904-1905). several undertook France 1866, in Catholics Korean thousand several and missionaries French of nine killing the After Following the destructionof ship a trading (the “General Sherman”)P'y in After Second Opium the War (1856-1860), power the of previously China was almighty Early Korean Nationalists ǂ ngyang in 1866, in ngyang United the States conducted 38 , France 39 , and Russia 40 , the , CEU eTD Collection writings of Korean nationalist Sin Ch’aeho). nation(seeinstance forSchmid 1997and Schmid 2000on Korean the symbolic ofthe appropriationattempts of territory the borders this in actual the over dispute a of many center the at been has that region mixed ethnically an is however, region, Manchuria the i.e. China, and Korea between borderland The Westernnation-state. ofthe ideals quite the to boundedness similar territorial and cohesion ethnic of concurrence a to subject were country ofthe parts Southern and central marking gradually degreesincreasing frontiers of of difference” (Morris-Suzukiseries 1998:21).However, “a with Korea’sentailed which peninsula status,at least then, the back empire Chinese ofthe ofinfluence sphere the in widespread 42 and were said to have been hired by the Japanese Minister to Korea, Miura Gor Miura Korea, to Minister Japanese by the beenhired to have said were and signing treaties withRussia. On October8, 1895, she was murdered by several assassins who had infiltrated the royal palace to be brought into narratives of world history that plotted the trajectory of all nations along the same needed nation [Korean] the of anewecumene, as global part “Seen discussed: being were prominently boundaries territorial Western powers’ atinfringing attempts continuous the country’s sovereignty,Korea’s over questions Japanese and concerns justbesides over as preceding well: the over decades bureaucrats politicians and Japanesewriters, been had occupying that the ones be to similar to proved upon pondered writers Korean nationalist early Thequestionsto it. these form resistance than rather of effective an order nationalism is frequently more a sign for the inclusion of a country into the global capitalist world emergence modern and thatthe Gellner (1991) Hobsbawm Anderson others of (1983), (1991), hegemony theirthat country fallwould soon inprey to, such a way indeed verifying claims madeby established basis ofmodern (ibid the nationalistKorean discourse” 2002:3f). itsto subjects, and in longthe run“the knowledge producedby individualsthese groups and established printmedia outlets that sought to imagine for the first time what Korea could newly possibly of mean a series for writing them of Most work. to went they danger, grave in indeed was sovereignty 62 41 Korea’s assassination insponsored of QueenMin 1895 movementnationalist Korea (Cp.Schmid of 2002). Appalledby such dramatic events as theJapanese- of fear,an networkwidespread loose environment form a intellectuals wasto of very first the elementdominantin better-informedthe circles of capital the [Seoul]” (Tikhonov 2003). Within such The notion of the border as a clearly demarcated line in space was rather contradictory to the worldview that was Empress My Contradictorily, in saw by opposition both they andinspired themselves Japanese to rise the of ǂ ngs ǂ ng, also known as Queen Min, had attempted to undermine Japan’s increased influence on Korea by 42 and the (il)legitimacy of its current leadership, civilization and current its (il)legitimacy the issuespertaining to of 41 which made clear that the country’s the that clear made which ǀ , himself. CEU eTD Collection 44 in Korea: the Beginnings (1880s-1910s) In order to counter the progressive “co-optation of areas of [Korean] nationalist thought developed form ideal its in in shaped Japan, embracingsaw he this model as a vision for a newmasculinity Korean society just as well: militarized of form a hail would Shin position anti-Japanese Confucian literary Koreans’education onto military prowess” (Tikhonov 2003). Despitehis thoroughly of effects spirit’ deleterious of and[the] ‘military of nation’, ‘fate importance the for the crucial hand, with a new militarized man to be erected in his place (Cp. Jager 2003:3ff). deal effeminate at tasks the astoo with to was nowportrayed being in that power intellectual aristocrat 63 his books 43 puzzled the Japanese beto tackled in Korea now as well. In particular, it was the had and previously that manhood failed failed nationhood between connection with prowress, the within thisscheme, wasunderstood to be ailing from both emasculation andmilitary alack of world’sthe nations beingin viciousengaged battle for dominancea continuous and Korea, survival. ontological [narrative] – a role it hardly ever played in its Western ‘homeland’” (Tikhonov 2003). ‘nation’, was introducedhistorian Vladimir Tikhonov in theexplains Darwinism”, role“Social time: that by Korea in viral ofgone had that anreadings Darwinist all-embracingsocial by influenced fundamentally was progress civilizational of paradigm, history universal created recently the within cosmic and social, Korea’sissue Theburning modern” 2002:7f). the of leading (Schmid to lines, potential place ultimately cognitive and On the life and work of Sin, see Em 1999. Tikhonov alsohas extensively dealt withsocial Darwinism and its influence onKorea’s first generationof nationalists in 2003:7f) inbecomecan it mobilization its nation.inbe astrong of Jager people to soldiers (quoted time are future soldiers this military training.while Studentsarefuture soldiers andmerchants former soldiers; machinists too farmers are formerdevelops soldiers. […] There isno one in the soldiers.entire country [of Japan] who does notgo through Only when a country can count on all of Influential historian Ch’ae-ho(1880-1936) Shin In such a way, questions the ofmodernity and civilization were condensedimaginationsinto of Physical education exercises the body, strengthens the will, and, by practicing certain skills, certain practicing by and, will, the strengthens body, the exercises education Physical Us · ng y ΅ lp’ae · i sinhwa 43 (The Myth of the Survival of the Fittest, 2005) and , “already well establishedin Japanese Meiji discourse on world and (2010). 44 , for instance, gravely insisted “on both [the] insisted“on both for instance, gravely , Social Darwinism and Nationalism Yangban , the typically CEU eTD Collection 64 attend the meeting, let alone present theircase (Cp. Cumings 1997:145). Conventionthat were to make a direct plea in front of the Western powers – however, desperatethelast attempt Koreans to save country’s the autonomy when dispatched he several representatives were 2ndHague the to not even allowed to paving the ground for afull annexation of Korea that was to take place in 1910. the as Korea’s (known Treaty King Kojong,Protectorate in 1907, undertook a 46 outsiders.” as rejected been also have be, may they acculturated very ofsuchethno-nationalistresult ( onKoreanness,notions blood’ who same “those lack a‘pure the relationship, nomatter how and one actually is ethnicity and race for word the that fact the in discerned easily most perhaps is that belongingness” in the case of South45 Korea. He sees it as a result of an “uncompromising conflation of race and ethnicity” /racial stressed ethnic unity that nation of the significancegreat upuntil today (Cp. Shin Gi-Wook 2006:2).Hepromoted adoptionthe of a definition eventually proposed a cosmology of the Korean nation as an ethnic community – a concept that is of beforeautonomously 1905Protectorate” the by Shin Japanese imperialists 2002:15), (Schmid take placetake inthemovement. The severe had on beginning crackdowns brought Japanese colonialism of annexation in 1910 Shin’s further ideological after havingturn-around goneinto exile toChina following Korea’s final virtually unassailable ‘sacred cows’ of life”social (Tikhonov 2003). became – society’ the of militarization general and – service military the spirit’, filial and loyalty of centrepiece legacy’, ‘the and ancestral state the to male subject a of duty central as‘the terms, were beinglaidfor emergence the in ‘traditional’ asanation-in-arms:“Oncerepresented Korea of fusion of other social Darwinist elements into the ideology of Confucianism, the discursive grounds incorporation mythical of into history aconception of what the nation mightbe, backed up by the foundedfirsthaveKorean half-godB.C. With whowassupposedto in the kingdom 2333 an such between Shin’s and contemporaries ancientKoreans back reachingall toTan’gun, way the the mythical bloodline andentailedof putatively ancient It Koreans. uninterrupted imagininglinkage adirect AfterJapan’s victory overRussiaduring theRusso-Japanese War(1904-1905),Japan enforced Korea’s signing of a Timothy Lim (2009) diagnoses “exceptionallyan rigid and narrow conceptionalizationof national identity and 46 is exemplary of the eventual splitinto a left and right national camp that was to Ǎ lsa Treaty in Korea) that turned the peninsula into Japan’s colonial protectorate, thereby protectorate, colonial Japan’s into peninsula the turned that Korea) in Treaty lsa Korea’s by Japan Annexation 45 , which he backed upwith a long genealogy of the jok ). As a CEU eTD Collection subjected 65 WaterCompany, were all AmericanSpring’ firms” (Cumings ‘Fresh 2003:280). Seoul the Company, Car Electric Seoul Company,the Light Electric Seoul the by the Americans” installed have electricity, trolley cars, and water, telephone and telegraph systems all atthe same time. Most of these systems were 48 2005. see Henry subjects, Korean colonized 47 renamed (now faceSeoul of the country. the capital reshape the particular In lifted misery out of 2003:14ff). (Jager ideal of the nationalistwholeheartedly embrace anarchism and idealthe of a transnational revolutionary replacingutopia, the warrior-hero with(Cp. Cumings 1997:154ff). ShinChinese inhis himself, exile hehad in that chosen 1910,started to that of global much violence only with endof the after late 1920sand30s,the colonialism exploded these conflicts deepened. Temporarilyby newsuspended crackdownsonKorean by nationalists in colonial the power revolution communist enchanted to byapotential those liberalism asopposed a Wilson-type propagating saw themselves who between those up. Therifts offeredwere being solutions to schizophrenia-inducingthe versus conundrum nationalism of imperialism thatKorea faced organizations, bannedfor many years, could resurface again for awhile (Cp.Cumings 1997:156). by Korean meant publications and reacted introducing that which anew“cultural policy”, follow. was to Facing international afterthebrutal condemnation quelling uprising,theJapanese of the muchleading swept through Korea,power deaths tothe that theof suppression thousands of during tackledthat the same in question 1919,then, 1918.InMarch mass against colonial demonstrations the eventually, byboth encouraged Lenin’s deeply appraisal of Self-Determination and Wilson’s 16points themselves realign would forces nationalist however, shock, first the After death. to put or imprisoned being now were intime, country the fled not had if they whom, of many nationalists, Korea’s Modernization had already reached Seoul prior to the Japanese formal annexation: “Seoul was the first city in East to East Asia city in first the was “Seoul annexation: formal Japanese the to prior Seoul reached already had Modernization of their capital the up” “cleaning on went they as Japanese by the deployed discourses of the exploration insightful an For During the renewed frenzied activities undertaken by nationalist activists now,activists bynationalist diverging undertaken activities frenzied During renewed the The Japanese occupators, in dramatically The Japanese ofimperial occupators, usedtheir 35years meantime, to the rule 47 muchto change, its with muddy,narrow streets being into turned paved, well-lit minjung (oppressed masses) that were to be masses)were to that (oppressed à la Ky Leningradually ǂ ngs ǂ ng ) was 48 CEU eTD Collection 66 nations it saw itself surrounded by, see Doak 2008. 49 nationhood of vision their into Koreans assimilate forcefully to sought powers-at-be new the time, same by lined by boulevards occupied Japanese officials years. buildings grand-scale inamatter of At the Japanese, and the and Japanese, expatriate toward marred byfavoritism were institutions However, newly created spoken. these be only to language by whereJapanese wasthe ones, Japanese universities weregradually replaced now had to adoptinstance, all citizens For induetime.Koreans of total assimilation would guarantee Japanese thought new Japanese werebeingdeployedthatthe several tactics integrated, being capableof neverthelessbut possibly names and discard their old Korean ones, Korean schools und against Koreanagainst guerrilla (and fighters most amongst them prominently Kim whoSung) hadIl to chosen up themselves see would military imperial the into incorporated Koreans those times, At Forces. Armed of Japanese the aspart experiences fewmilitary first earningtheir those amongst leaders were political and military units of the imperial in colonial newly the state China’serected 1931,they Manchuria after join often corps would police regime to better their lot. toManchukuoemigrated Cumings Driven in (Cp. by 1997:177f). splendid promise opportunities of the Incidentally, some of South theKorea’s time later of the end underwork horrendousoften circumstances. Up to two million Koreans ended upin mainland by Japan of the war in nowsuch either a way,voluntarily while five over million andfinancial surplus, were commodities, Korean Koreans extrapolating resources, of severalby force shipped hundreds outbreakof the Worldto Warlabor II, shortages in industriesthe meant in in Japan that addition to Japan andof otherthousands destinations archipelago. After Japanese the of benefit maximum for the be exploited to were labor human its and Koreans of the empirealso and put to or in the schools gave rise to further contentions amongst the local population (ibid, 2009:200). For an excellent article explaining the intricacies of Japanese ethnic nationalism and the way it sought to incorporate the incorporate to sought way it the and nationalism ethnic Japanese of intricacies the explaining article excellent an For Furthermore, with industrialization being brought under way,under beingbrought industrialization with Furthermore, peninsula’sthe natural resources 49 . Withinferior people, into racialequation figuring Japanese asasomewhat the Koreans de facto continued division of Koreans and Japanese in their living quarters, at work at living quarters, in their andJapanese Koreans of division continued CEU eTD Collection 30,000 Koreanlaborers forcedmilitary 30,000 employed intheindustry (Cp.Tongthere 1991)–Japan’s to 200,000 civilians, also killed up up civilianto of theatrocious – States deaths inaddition to which, onthecities in of Afterattack Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear the August United the of 1945 through in bechapters). of later today the US military movement (as shall explored the into Anti- alltheway in fragments can betraced that a reasoning 2003:72f), duress (Jager constant and as moral biggestthe a small contamination threat– wasunderstood to Korean nation under rule. cultural Withinracial, miscegenation – and consequential the resistance, nationalist logic of this generations seekingnationalist forfind of authors words to sufferingthe foreign of theirnation under rape of a Korean woman by foreign soldiers has gradually become one of the key symbols used by later 67 (1998), Yoshimi(2002). publications include, forinstance,Chai (1993), Hein(1999), Hicks (1995),Soh(1996 2009),and Tanaka(2009), Yang 50 thewar. survive not didwhom majority of a women, these rape of with local facilitating placed task weretrusted that the handsowners of repeated inthe business of the or military bythe run directly either were divisions these Asia, in Japanese-occupied everywhere practically were established stations that comfort inso-called Placed troops. imperial the of benefit from lower class Korean families, were deceitfully recruited or outright forced into prostitution for the 1940s, upto200,000females of differentnational backgrounds, the majority of coming whom were Womenbeing intheso-called Comfort exploited system. As into as1932andcontinuing the early sexualities their with military, the of benefit the for girls and women Korean young of targeting the Japanese (Cp.Han2005). liberatebecomejoinhad side, i.e.toManchuria guerrillas who the other communist the from sought Numerous books articles and have beenpublished over lastthe two decades so-called onthe Comfort Women– English Undoubtedly mostthe perfidious incorporation of labor into the Japanese imperial machine was End ofColonialism, Division of theCountry 50 Because of these events, too, the CEU eTD Collection 68 51 years thenextover (1945-48) three military andrule Soviet U.S. bringing under peninsula respective the into zones, split occupational two be now would country the as one, pre-annexation another yet be to proved soon moment annexation for post- the Korea few But decades. last the totheir for rule who subjugated hadthose been to hope defeat wasquickly announced. With its expansionist having it forgood, dream combusted gave new Population of Japan. 15 August 1945-31 December 1960 book written by French historian Betrand M. Roehner, who is also the author of movements developnationalist failed anumbrellaintegrating organization different capableof to elite “the Korean that blocs” meant into rival ideological integrated and politically faraway sanctuaries, in dispersed many were“geographically factthat the of them ideologies.” Furthermore, incompatable from isolated society organizationally, by from holding ambition,each other and personal separated as andKim Im Byung-Kook individualsHyug-Baeg claim,“were ratherthan organized political forces, time, atthat Korea available of forces nationalist The nation-state. the of imposed division the counter liberation no voice could unified befound the that would amongst available have actors been to able interests. to their own closest they that saw financial,logisticideological and few) of (very support fractions the involvedof politically Koreans in massive engage to warstarted the after immediately rivalry, hostile parties both of newphase antagonistic Republics in1947. a andUnion And enteringwith Unitedthe States Soviet the quickly two the of declaration bythe made official was separation actual the before years implemented Cumings 1997:186f). The division country the was in of such a way haphazardly anddesigned chose the 38 line that would allow splitting Korea into two. Without any Korean or other consultants, they quickly colonels, DeanRusk and CharlesBonesteel, weregiven minutes by 30 theirsuperiors tofind adividing On U.S. military rule, see Japanese imperialism with its devastating effects on the nationalist movement meant that after Six days after the bomb had dropped bomb Hiroshima,on Six had dropped days afteron the August15, th line, aproposal which was then presented toandswiftly by accepted Russians(Cp. the Relations between U.S. Forces and thePopulation of South Korea.1945-2000. 51 . (2007). Relations Relations Between Allied Forces andThe 1945, two young U.S. (Forthcoming), a (Forthcoming), CEU eTD Collection style democracy andcapitalist (Lee 2007:77). development.’” establishment of political stability, and the securing of Korean allies who would promote American of U.S. policy […] At heart the waseliminated. leftists and communists the of while that increase, rightists’ to power in Southinitinvolvement the in canbesummed South, such a be“decisiveup, way proved into helping Koreafew Upcoming:34ff). U.S. Syngman Roehner overthenext years(Cp.Cumings 1997:192, Rhee Early was ‘theinadvertently beingfor continued prepared emerging turmoil the and uprisings leadershipagainst of containment suppressseeking these to left-wing committees and other initiatives.such a In way, was ground the of the andin yearspower its the interim departed most of would spend military government American spread “Peoples’ Japanese the after Grassroots country the all across hadbeen established Committees” of Sovietpopulation. the mobilizing in successful more initially was which nationalists left-wing by founded communism, organization apolitical of Korean Independence”, Preparation in forthe by taken “Committee the the it been peopleseems. Instead, than already hadoften government local with actual the population, émigrésfor struggle againstJapan” (Kimand Im 2001:12). lobbyingnew United home, Congress States for national and independence agitatingKorean South he returned from U.S.the hehadbeenin where exilefor 30yearsand“Washington,made had D.C.his 69 and leader nationalist aristocratic(Cp. Lankov 2003:49ff,Cumings 203:103ff). South, Inthe it was Rhee, son an Syngman the of family who youngthe Kimthenjoined the movement and forguerrilla his areputation gained fiercebattle skills had studied poor familyrather (Presbytarian) had gone toManchuria in 1920sin the search of life,a better where at both Harvard and Princetona power factions into bloc” (2001:12). before becoming a right-wing Therefore, merely half a century after Korea had comearrange to itself with the downfall of one provisional American the with stronger was fact in however, South, in the influence Rhee’s Consequently, in the North, it would be Kim Il Sung who won the bid for power, a man whose man a power, for bid the won who Sung Il Kim be would it North, the in Consequently, persona nongrata under Japanese colonial rule. Following the Japanese defeat, Japanese the Following Japanese colonial rule. under CEU eTD Collection 70 the38 wouldcross Korean troops North by Boosted Communistinthe revolution adjacentChina thathad taken justyearplace a earlier,in 1950 that itbuilt up after World War II. was become that to inits“empire acrucial of bases” piece puzzle 2004:151) everexpanding (Johnson 1950s, the U.S., it soon became victim Japanese imperialism. in of leavealready SovietAnd North the the would soldiers last while the clear, had come to stay, turningwouldnow send directly their acountry troops to was that being divideddespite itsrole undisputed asa South Korea into its newestemanating satellite from Western power centers. Instead, the new global superpowers of the USA and the USSR deeplymore ever itself saw now it (Japan), another yet of drawn rise the and (China) power regional hegemonic into conflicts that were no longer merely the regional ripples of global processes provisional division of the country would now bepermanently cemented, giving risewhat to Paik Nak- Cumings 2004:158ff). million Up to three civilians would war, the throughout perish and originally the which forced practically into entirethe retreat population to tunnel systems toensure their(Cp. survival by bombing 3-year-long States throughout the United carpet completely undertaken the obliterated areas many with 90%, to 40 between been have to is estimated instance, for cities, Korea’s North of rate Thedestruction devastated. utterly however,land hadbeen large of the parts of conflict, the opponents backthe very had to same line dividedthecountry that before course already 1950.Overthe (Cp. Chen 1994, Cumings 1981,1990). This proxy in war endthe resulted in bringinga stale-mate, the supportside, in thewith whileChinaand North the USSRstepped to amillion of troops theirover own tosupporttheSouthern of hundreds ofthousands troops sent the leadershipU.S. of Nations underthe United the as years, three for lasted that bloodbath a lengthy into drawn be now would Korea country. The Korean War anditsAftermath th parallel (i.e. the later DMZ) in an attempt to reunite the reunite to in anattempt DMZ) later the (i.e. parallel CEU eTD Collection 53 “what we have is not a static system, but a historically changing one” (2009). of infringements to their right of ademocratic and autonomous life” been has a major factor contributing to the fact that separation”. However, enforced existence “the of witha populationa millennium long […]experiencesystematically of a national unified life, […]keenly aware betraying intercourse of lack “the with sides”, both on interests vested reinforce “to served has day very this to up apart parties the keeps that antagonism ideological The or regime”. a system by single encompassed are nevertheless that societies divergent of exceedingly pair “a to birth gave that conjunctures political geo- unique to due here emerged world-system capitalist of the sub-system a that instead argues Paik entities, exclusive War: Ratherthan viewing of theCold end peninsula by the about as aninexplicable brought exigencies oddity the outlived that still features division two the because states as unique separate,is case mutually Korean the Jemen), Vietnam, (Cp. Wehrfritz andLee2000) in part remote this of country the military thewhile U.S. consciouslygovernment looked otherthe way werecommitted in crimes 10,000s. the All of these and ranged rape, killings to weresubjected women 70% of middle. Upto island’sthe ensuing the villages weredestroyed many throughout young conflict, inthe stuck leavingpopulation rural the escalate, quickly would other the on themselves had armed that youth local hundred several and hand one the on mainland the from sent thugs young and military, by militarycounter increased intimidation.1947, which to Rhee sought Thestand-off between police, joined the People’slate had of by inhabitants 80% the Committees upto area, that Jeju. In island the of lives. civilian of cost at the power for claim his make to willingness country liberal into after athe model democracy he States, of United the wouldenoughhis soon prove strongman-in-the-makingstate” (2005b:14). In the South, the U.S. had in themeantime also placed itsbet for security on another militarizated state of the globe, or in the words of Bruce Cumings,“the world’swith most complete garrison Syngmanstrong focus on military alertness to the mix thatRhee. North Korea eventually was turned into the most Despitethoroughly and anti-Japanese anti-American, industrializing rapidly communistadding state, such a skin-deepsurviving who guerrilla fighters hadbeen himin with Manchuria) would nowgoabout building a promises of wanting to turn the 71 52 chung has called Korea’s unique division system. The events on the island started, writes Lee Namhee, when “a group of leftists, protesting the U.S. military government’s military U.S. the protesting of leftists, group “a when Namhee, Lee writes started, island the on events The While divided nations have been established in several places around the world during the 20 the during world the around places several in established been have nations divided While Prior totheoutbreakof Koreanthe War already,hehad the ordered quelling of on an uprising KimIn theNorth, hisIl andSung supporters most (primarily trusted out of recruited the 53 . Furthermore, war, after the in particular oppositional politicians who 52 th century (e.g. Germany, (e.g. century CEU eTD Collection 72 In some years during the 1950s, the United States provided a third or more of themaximize total the budget inputs of for Unitedthe States government.”agricultural products underthe aid program.. .’He apparently succeeded inthat effort.from the United States, too: “the Rhee government counseled its ministries to understate Korea's harvests ‘to try to Congressional 1997:20). A certain amount of deceptionwas apparently also of part Rhee’s strategy further gain to money beenestimated that living standards without U.S. economic assistance would havebeen10 to 15 percent lower(Cp. 54 killed during quellingthe of uprisingthe (Cp. Kim Honjoon 2009:406ff). governmentKorean in2000 has collected 14,373 on reports victims, but estimates that upto 25,000 to 30,000 people were (2007:59f) “National The Commission forInvestigation of the Truth Jeju about the Incident”April 3 established bythe related to this eventof deaths remains number indispute, exact VietnamWar.the the various in Although records used tactics indicate that closeanticipated that to tenpercent manner a of in the population villages was killed.”entire and burned insurgents down hunted police Korean South the and military U.S. the of forces combined The groups. paramilitary decisionto uphold anelection onMay 10 toset upseparate governments inKorea,attacked police right-wing and Rhee leadership, this under soon time any improve to bound not was situation economical South’s the security the of 1997:23). apparatus country the (Congressional foreign aid:between 1953 and1960,approximately blowingbillion being were 8.7 Dollars up spent on 1998:29). All the while, forLie woulda certain awhile(Cp. complacency of amount civilian infrastructures guarantee it was U.S. military throughout war.the Building rails, ports, educational roads, upthe facilities and communication assistance that hadbeenobliterated that into theinfrastructure made made andininvestments technical assistance up the most significantin guaranteeing the invested population’smoney wasprimarily Shaw supply, 1990), that food in section of from year,million and Dollars (Cp.Savada 365 America.aid that During peakedat economic U.S. note inthat % of 1956, 58.3 country’sthe was made total budget upbyforeignmost of aid, which came until that point. To givefrom the Unitedan Statesidea of the breadth and depth of assistance received,Rhee in fact actedin his rulings (Lankov 2011). it may be sufficepresidential figuringelections, asthelast reminder populationto the howto authoritarianof Syngman in earlier thevote a third of about who hadwon Party Progressive of the leader the Bong-Am, Rhee’s athreatto could pose potentially with were beingtargeted, Cho 1959execution authority the of The 1950s broughtThe U.S aid that was country’s equalto69%of the 77% and imports of thecountry. saving all has also It Following the murder Cho and of the increasinglywidespread sense among the population that Through distributionthe of foreign aid –ranging in billionsthe of Dollars and mainly coming in 54 –however, Rhee hadmanaged tobuy himself areasonably populacequiescent CEU eTD Collection 73 country from 1961 until his assassination in 1979. 20 in the leaders Korea's South of all of influential most the worse or better for – Chung-hee Park General self-determination. political democracy,at South woulda temporarymilitary Korean endcoup put to a toward strive citizens' andintoexile during the turmoil March of 1960. yearthe of 1960 (Cp. AdesnikKim:when Rhee and forcedhis of was eventually 2008:6), out office high school and university students enrolled inthecountry, theirhad number over 900,000in risen to had in enabled such away backfired atRhee: whilein 1945,there hadbeen 120,000middle, around unrest. The educationaldonations facilities dramatic expansion of U.S. that (Cp.Brazinsky 2007:189ff) eventually saw his leading leadershipchallenged,autocratic toever-growing increasingly student However, the momentfor areal democratic opening had not yet arrived: After a short-lived stint th century century (Cp. KimHyung-A subsequently2005:205) –would the rule CEU eTD Collection southeastern Kyongsang region, he was the youngest of seven children of a poor farmer.decades earlier.hadin in about dreamed nation the Shin Ch’ae-ho 1917 of Born that support the system. world capitalist an from beunprecedented thecenterwouldvery trajectory of propelledmargins onto the toward the madeKorea atthesametime South possible, while unruly was andof potentially populace the control modelling of entire social sectors after military structures. In such a way, amore efficient exploitation a entailed that barracks of the form in a capitalism of resulting of exploitation, practices imperialist with Japanese the collaborator by in compensated becoming thepower economic astrong field. military aformer and Park, justifiedits interference onthe “backwardness”peninsula with of the country the – were nowtobe ironUnder at handsofthethe fist,we shall colonial see,–whichhad humiliations Park's past power reached in heights its from 1970s,andthe slowly abated 1980sonwardsthe (Cp.Moon 2005:42). becoming one of nationsfirst wealthiest the onthe emergedplanet after ParkChung-hee the coup, Cold War” (Cp.2005:7). This path violentwould contradictory and that lead the toward country violence that permeated Korean society in the process of building a modern nation in the context of the and firstutilizedmilitarized thepeculiar capture “to discipline of Seungsook Foucauldian combination South Korea after 1961wouldmodernity” be fullyengulfed by“militarized Moon –anotion that 74 coup] hailed from humble socialbackgrounds” (1998:47). 56 reviled”. “distill Korea’s colonial past into a manageable, lucid story of timeless struggle and redemption inwhich the collaboratorcurrent politics is thanwith anactual coming to terms withthe past. But rather, the aim seems to be, according to Jager, to has obviously centralplayed a role. BothCeuster(2002) and Jager(2005) argue thatsuch contentions have more to do with 55 The class dimension of the [1961] coup”, writes John Lie, “cannotForces Armed beImperial Japanese the in ignored.past Chung-hee’s Park Korea, South in collaborators over debates Many heated recent In military officers [involved in the No special proof is necessary to show that military discipline is the ideal model for the modern capitalist factory (Weber Park Chung-hee in many ways was the very impersonation of the militarized male figure in figure male militarized the of impersonation very the was ways in many Chung-hee Park III. Militarized Modernity andCapitalism of the Barracks (1961-1987) 55 , deliberately forged, deliberately adevelopmentalist by imitating state past 1991:261). 56 First trained CEU eTD Collection and new contradictions. The national question andnew him became socrucial contradictions. The national to question his followers because and successes great both begetting be to proved approach double this and nation, the and state the bolster description of strangely butaccurate –is ambiguous, a rather 1990s early ever since the global sphere political what was to come inthe abuzz that has againbecome word for –amisnomer building state building” “nation The term for South Korea under Park Chung-hee. Park was attempting to 75 genrestalwarts of […]beganthat makingfrequent Seoul” trips to (Cumings 1997:355). and builder’, as a‘nation ideamilitary of wasthe development andeconomic of in studies political administration was delighted with Park’s plan for developing the economy. At this time the cutting edge Kennedy the “Soon hour: the of man new the embrace would they however, enough, Quickly changeinleadership. the momentarily worried authorities about were U.S. 1997:352), Cumings carried with outtogether merely a handful loyalof colonels 3,500soldiers and onhis side (Cp. stoutest anti-communists Washington that would its side. ever on have inAfter coup the 1961, whichhe account of being a leftist;Committees by the U.S.interim government, he got involved in a rebellion in a 1946 and was arrestedrather on ironic allegation when looking(Cumings 1997:355). at his further career which mayservices, have included downKorean tracking who resisted guerrillas Japanese” the as one of the how noted his proud supporters he was geta goldto watchfrom Hirohitoas Emperor a rewardfor his within military Japanese the the“flaw”system of despite his Korean birth:“A biography by subsidized he ladder much hierarchical climbedthe so he that where excelled 2005:281), Army (Cp. Drennan as school Manchukuoa primary teacher,joinin left toward Korea to his 20s hehad Imperial the early “ The process of othering North Korea and the concomitant and systematic violation of human rights carried out under the under out carried rights of human violation systematic and concomitant the and Korea North othering of process The After independence, amidst the agitation created by the slow crushing of the People’s national policy of anticommunism were a part of the nation-building process” (Lee 2002:44). A NationBeing Built CEU eTD Collection 76 Park Chung-hee’s NorthRhee’s and Korea approaches.Syngman between discrepancies these highlighted Germany) Neudietendorf, in conference Korea North 2011, 57 economic bewould question solved. Korean thus state, postponing the apotential question a latterof day to reunification when the “march until hislastNorth” insteadpractically days in butconsolidatePark office, the soughtto South division. Rhee Syngman had amilitary propagated solution to the country’s division with his idea a of South Korea before his succession to power was still a country heavily ailing from the past war and existing conflict with in existing and States evaporated United conflict thus the Korea Koreans’ the longing emulate to Korea was internalized andmany.“A Western-oriented North toward hatred and the worldview wasalignedwith anti-communism intensified”, writes West, byprogressive bean only cured couldthat underdevelopment Americanization of in eyes Yi the Sam-song, and claimsKorea’s the about backwardness compared sentiments to by widespread putative nurtured was also that consequently, “theThe nowanti-communism was propagated paradoxically not only insteeped nationalist sentiments, but pre- of the nation ( nation the of appropriation newhis an regime, stabilize to In order Lee2007:28). day(Cp. of the become order the had reunification large-scale in immediate of support coup, military protests student before yearthe the Under had yearning thatin reunification for such become sucha premises, the crucial factor political changematters had(Cp. Kim to 2007:7). populationAdesnik that indicator and tothe $82, astrong currency high In and unemploymentrates. early the country’s1960s, the percapita GDP was amere at foreign alackof corruption, camewidespread that with stagnation economic bemarred bycontinued steaming of ahead South”(Cumingsthe 1997:352),while South Korea under Syngman Rhee to proved Historian Lee You-Jae, in his lecture “Historische Szenarien für die Zukunft auf der Koreanischen Halbinsel” (April 27 (April Halbinsel” Koreanischen der auf Zukunft die für Szenarien “Historische lecture Lee in his You-Jae, Historian propaganda during post-1945the period, The North of Korea quickly “overcomeandfactin1960 had the wartime was destruction to the appealed he goals, these achieve to order in security,and national and development economic were objectives main late centurynineteenth independence movementsand under Japanesethe rule colonial (1910-1945).Park’s two The term carried a great deal of legitimacy because of its associationwith Korean nationalistic movements of the minjok minjok sentiments of Koreans. As a Korean of result Warthe (1950-1953) strident andthe anti-Communist ) proved to be ) proved crucialfor Chung-hee:to Park 57 minjok gradually acquired an anti-Communist flavor.(Walhain 2007:85) CEU eTD Collection 77 through rapidindustrialization. 58 companies to money of sums large out dole to state the allowed fact in which banks, the nationalize back then,with Syngman soldRhee having them off quickly 1945.However,after would Park now re- hands. Modernbankshad been founded imperialism, under and Japanese-owned were predominantly erected during years largely developmental those itsthe sector state financial would into getthe own here depended on a double strategy of both local foreignand investment. get jumpstarted neededtobesolved,industrial financial to necessary sector the andPark the resources underdevelopment (Kim Ik-ki 2010:114f,First Lie 1998:99). of however, all, the findingquestion of agricultural a strategy through besystematic of hadcreated still factories to newly built strong focus on meant farming,subsistence force which an that tobe labor urbanized employed inthe Furthermore,2002:608, 609).majority the with Korean labor wasstill a of employedsector intherural meageritsof percenta staggeringKrueger very GDP to and had it 33%, 1980s,increased the (by Yoo WhenKorea’s inexports. all, began,after desired increase reforms made the uponly three exports plan The 1960s consequently were markedby unfoldingrapidly economic activity, with a firstfive-year- reach. of out further even positioned symbolically United and States facilitating distinction from afurther andsisterswere brothers the that upNorth to be against North now madenumber the was the onegoal, in a of such way both support securingthe the fight economic2002:47). Inorder putative of to the underdevelopment, dangers competitiveness Unitedthe which States, was shameagain theflipside of our aboutourownhistory” in (quoted Lee UnderPark Chung-hee, four5-year-plans were devised, ofwhich all placed a heavy concentrationon export-led growth 58 being drawn together hastily that laid heavy being hastily bring onindustrializationdrawn together focus a wasto the that which One significant factor that enabled much local investment into the emerging industries was that was industries emerging the into investment local much enabled that factor significant One The EconomicPush Forward CEU eTD Collection Manchukuo, andfurtherManchukuo, bytheStates United encouraged ties Japanese with wing had members right acquaintedwith become he that in during histime a direction from capitalize hewaswell-acquaintedthat with his days.Being younger his ableto old on As for foreign investment intoKorea’s emerging industrial sector, here Park quickly started to gaze into growing atsustained rates previously unheard of in worldhistory” (Krueger 2002:606). began “Korea underway early 1960s, in the werebrought reforms economic the 1950s,after late in the planet the on countries poorest the of one still was Korea While success. economic phenomenal between state and industries was being moulded that would lead country the itson path toward successful alliance sector, andvastly astrategic overthe financial his near-complete control through Cumings 1997:328). Because tobuy 1997:328). Parkwasable Cumings 78 60 (Cp.era Adesnik Kim and 2007:7). capita GDP: From1961, $82in ithad climbed to$318in1972, and $2,588reached 1980, in theyear after end of the Park’s 59 Samsung types of these colonialism), weretypically founded liberationcompanies the country.the after of conglomerates heavily hadbeen (many involvedinof which for the Korea’s grab during assets be country’s of the rise forproved tovital the economy. that Japanese the after Modelled Korea’s South industries were athome” financial Jong 2008:439). resources (LeeSook financed credit industrialisation drive was system by utilised foreign both a state-allocated that and debt In such a stimulateinvest exports. inway, to would factories to promise willing that “the ensuing As early as 1947 the United NothingStates shows Korea’ economic gave successes in a more upstraight-forward on theirmanner than the development initial of the country’s per stance of treating Japan as a political enemy in need of The companies that would profitthe mostfrom Park’s generous credits doled out to the , the biggest of of biggest all , the Foreign Investment: Capitalizing onthe War Machine chaeb chaeb ǂ l , was an exception in that it in inwas founded 1930s(Cp. already the , wasan that exception ǂ l – that is, family-owned –thatis, and industrial -managed conglomerates chaeb 60 , Park soon brought a hugely controversial hugely a brought soon Park , ǂ l compliance with governmental goals 59 keiretsu CEU eTD Collection 79 U.S. of the interests military and political economic, inthe certainly most was Japan and Korea South between relations punishment. Instead, Japanwas increasingly viewed as the crucial economic ally the in region, and animprovement of warzone had tothe by Koreans of whobeen taken soldiersthousands homeadditional workers, and up over one billion Dollarsbetween 1965 and1972–waspartly remittancesthrough generated sent largest source foreignof exchange earnings in mid-1960sthe (Cp.Gregg1999).Directprofit – making East Asia quicklybe to payingproved for off with money Korea, from the Vietnam War becoming the yearsthe following the end of the Vietnam War” (2007:657).Indeed, its military in engagement South in global Korea’scapitalism forceU.S.-dominated securingSouth the within as position a subimperial contingent the largest foreign troop body besides that of the U.S. soldiers were sentin Vietnam, Korea, too,quickly into entered the South Vietnam War. Until over 300,0001973, atotal of to Vietnamcombataction into States United the of involvement after the arose: superpower the with alliance close to fight alongside lucrativedirect tothe from inaid opportunity addition inrelated States, the coming to 1965another the South country’s interests security for all (Cp. Cumings 1997:304ff). In U.S. itwas worth subjugation to Vietnamese troops,continue managed Rheehadalready sufficiently, what quite milk his economicbenefits too: the of making thethe UnitedKorean States. The billionsGregg 1999,Cp. Cumings 1997:358). of U.S. dollars a trademark over his of 18-year-rule forces something (Cp. questioned byinternal become would kept flowing was his rule whenever emergency of state national a declaring law. repeatedly of strategy This into the country impositionby werebeingfrom loansmartial Japan” 2007:30), aid silenced andthe of economic (Lee still, andmove whowerearguing that “the country’s leadership hadexchanged national for promise the pride of Park would $800 millioninKorea.for developmental The ledaid by subsequent protests opposing the students underway,Normalization imperialistpower Treaty with former the secure anadditional whichwould “South Korea’s submilitarism in Vietnam”, writes Lee Namhee, “was a significant factor in factor significant a “was Namhee, Lee writes in Vietnam”, submilitarism Korea’s “South The other source of foreign investment that the regime would seek to capitalize on was that of that was on capitalize to seek would regime the that investment foreign of source The other CEU eTD Collection the Japanese imperial machine hustling Korean women, the Korean state now took over the job with job the over took now state Korean the women, Korean hustling machine imperial Japanese the be it used to While regime. Korean South by the sanctioned waspolitically which bases,U.S. aprocess Vietnam inof days. amatter further totheThis rapid districts contributed of expansion nearby red-light many soldiers flying for Rest and Recreation (R&R) trips to Seoul only to return to the combat zones of muchmeant more traffic militarycoming through U.S. the installations in Korea as South well, with as 25%of Korea’sSouth GDPin Thenumber in1960s (Cp.1997:44). of U.S. troops Vietnam also Katharine Moon, for instance,maintains that US troops in the country may have contributed to as much needed. so desperately foreign was that currency hard of an source ample as increasingly recognized War (after 1948, U.S. soldiers had left thecommodities” 1999).(Cp. Gregg peninsula for a shortleader iniron and steel shipbuilding,production, chemicals, consumer electronics and other while, only to returnworld case to basket decades from economic two next the over transformation country's launch the in 1950) were Taken (Cp.Liesend 1998:63f). troops to Koreans agreed funds helped the together,after “these all War Lie1998:64, 95).Significantly,just aswell (Cp. South had theU.S.Korea doubled aidto its too, incidentally,undertaking, which, Vietnamthe financedthrough acquired byrevenue was also directly biggest South Korean city of Pusan and is up to this day hailed as one of Park’s finest achievements, an was most prominently the building of the Ky the of building the prominently most was commissions for severalintonexttaking Vietnam.step the Eventually, itsfor bygainingthe work company was rewarded the major developmentalconstruction by company military (Lie contracts” gaining U.S. 1998:95),which,quite naturally,to led projects back homemuch inhispride humble social firstbackground), had “managed distinguish to in itself the as 1960s a in Korea as well, amongst which 80 1998:64). inVietnam South hadbeenawarded thatKorean companies Lie (Cp. contracts because of lucrative the Furthermore, U.S. troops who had been permanently stationed in the South since the Korean Hyundai , for instance, a chaeb ǂ l founded in1948by Chung Ju Yung (abusinessman taking ǂ ngbu Highway. This project connected Seoul with the 2 the with Seoul Highway.connected project This nd CEU eTD Collection 81 working in the women sex industry many the to forJapanese business mencoming referred also for short which trips to Korea (Cp. Lee 2010:36). development”, economic for necessary dollars foreign earning are women ‘Korean the political regime at that time, withSouth Korea’s ministerof educationin the early 1970s making a public remark that, and work with pride.” (1997:103). Furthermore, there is indication that such notions were endorsed allthe way increase the exchangeforeign to earnings ofourthe topcountry.’ of They said thatwewere of andservants nation that the we should live districts: “They would say, ‘All of you,who cater to the U.S. soldiers, are patriots. All of you are nationalists working to 61 a warscaresas “will depend writes upon Lasswell in1941, Harold state”, “The garrison of the rulers and preventing prostitution the and rapeof 'respectable' girls andwomen soldiers”by U.S. (1997:39). society Korean the greater influenceson foreign undesirable social functions: containing important two well. Within such a logic, Katharine Moon explains, “the prostitutes [workingin kiji’chon] have served foreign of containment bodies ideasParkand toclearly areas delineated viewedthat just asessential as state endorsementfrom. for such wouldfactor alike Koreans largest profit the wereperhaps benefits economic And while of thecrucial in facilitating both sexthe business andmarket other shadow opportunities foreignersthat and kiji’chon became soon locations these quality their quasi-extraterritorial Due to towns. small entertainment into spaces, Amongst Allies at the same GIs the timecoming through (which has been inexplored detail ingreat Katharine Moon’s book their of out possible as many dollars as U.S. andextract Forces existence of Armed presence continued the guarantee also allowedas possible GIs,praising tothe usas ‘dollar-earning patriots’” 2009). (Cp.Choe for the Korean employedworker sex inthe GI clubs in noted 2009, and“They adds: urgedsell usto as much contribution to Korea’s economy.“Our government was one big pimp for the U.S. military”, a former their for lauding women the sex workers, tothe motivational speeches gave bureaucrats anddistricts, much vigor: English classes and etiquette were provided women for the inworking red-lightthe Katharine Moon interviewed a former sex worker who relayed similar things about bureaucrats coming to the red-light the to coming bureaucrats about things similar who relayed worker sex former a interviewed Moon Katharine As an outcome ofa political strategy that saw red-light districts for U.S. troops as a necessity to , 1997),sparsely rural populated nearbyareas basesU.S. werequicklybeing refashioned Militarization ofDaily Life under Park 61 Sex CEU eTD Collection made difficult for awhile.made difficult today,of additionally Seoul of was the characteristic whichareso local amusement, for larger areas darknessfor lengthy until periods (Cp.Lankov mid-1980s the 2007:337), the vast developmentof (Cumings 1997:356).With introduction the of nightlythe were black-outs that to leave innear Seoul dong district, neon signs ablazemuch andusing almost as precious electricity as Tokyo’s Ginza” “putdampers soughtto directly onSeoul’s on exuberantMy the life dark,centered raucous after in1961,which targeted announced Prevention Prostitution” of (2005:17)]. 82 us arecorruption, mostimportant things for us in confrontation with the communist North. The most harmful things for in defence” (Quoted Walhain solidarity the “National unity”, “are and total heascertained, 2007:87). national strengthen and “build theeconomy to task it mostessential as the he viewed such decadence, from nation the shield to order In luxury”. and vanity corruption, “laziness, widespread to rise given which in (and) Japanesethings”,his view were to blame for thecorrosion of national the andhad spirit “American chronicthings, Western bytheintroduction triggered of by disease”, a “monstrous, things, hee was deeply concerned with the morals of the local population. At times, he saw the country plagued on Japanese male by wasbeing tourists protected of a series special laws, same atthe timeParkChung- later and GIs servicing industry sex the while Contradictorily, regime. Park the with well very resonate structure state (465).These on non-military desires a hypothetical remarks by consumptive of any rise endangered critically themselves see to states such in classes military ruling the of tendency the toward forgo further immediatemaintainingmeans to willingness andpopular consumption”, then points of Park’s obsession with questions of “purity” versus “decadence” worsened after the amendment after the “decadence” worsened versus “purity” Park’s of questions with obsession onthe “Laws few wasthe Park Chung-hee of decrees first of the suchbeliefs,one In linewith impropriety , and the lack of discipline” [emphasis added; quoted in Moon local adult entertainment facilities and ǂ ng- CEU eTD Collection came tobe Tikhonovjoin refusingmilitary in, to those 2009). Through draconian to doledpunishment the out bringa negligibleand managed of in to indown evasion the 1958to rate 16% 1975(Cp. 0,1% egalitarian measure affected that allmalealike. would ParkChung-hee citizens change drastically this, Conscription, wasby therefore, many tobe understood only “poor-men’s-draft”the rather than an connections. and money enough had if one endeavor enough easy an been had duty military of evasion 83 occupation(Cp. Tikhonov 2009). 2001:28). 64 N. (Lee unity’” citizen’s the and security national onthe influence ‘negative their 63 2007:34) (Lee constitutional”. were Assembly National by the passed laws whether determined National Assembly at will; to appoint all judges; to and appoint all members of theconstitutional committee, which country. whole “These the Yushin across Law measures gave Chung-hee] [Park of Martial thepower‘to appointone-third of National the declaration Assembly;the with the to dissolve together came that 1972 in introduced he constitution the 62 underThe beenhadin introduced draft Syngman already Rhee 1948 men seen asathreat to masculinity leadershipmilitarized that embracingthe the ideal. asthe was andmoral core ethical harassmentas well stopping(Cp. Lankov 2007:326).The Korea’s corrosion goal of of theputative everydayemulate Western to to police an beingnow attempt subjected were type countercultures and who artists tolook forhad started inspirations abroad, youngmen had in who grown longtheir hair lifestyle choices: now mainlyTogethermusicians and targetted appearance for their with avant-garde usual the networks were other crackdowns on groups, potentially student andlabor unruly dissident to addition In 2008:656). (Cp.Chang intimate the public Seoul to manylocations throughout placed at were sametimeat the tanks enforced, most werebeing year of curfews for and that remained closed of in constitution the 1972thatmarked the beginning of the draftThe had first beenintroduced peninsulathe on in1943 by Japanese,the butwas suspended during U.S.military “Every cultureof sphere popular became of statecensorship.a target Forty-fivepop Korean songs were banned […]for for name this use to Hechose regime. Meiji Japanese the from borrowed Park term a was “restoration”, Yusin, meaning togetherwith the strengthened popularlegitimacy of the Pak Ch was manliness as now firmly unmanly, identified and with willingunpatriotic service both in the being army. of accused concentrated This scapegoats, flow of national militaristic made were propaganda, Draft-evaders media. the in and culture, mass in education, of levels onall sanai) (chincha man” a“real make way to the as praised Universal MaleConscription played amajor in role this process of citizens.generating soldier 63 boiled down once again to an issue of masculinity, with long-haired Korean masculinity, long-haired an issue of with again to once down boiled Yusin ԁ ngh ԃ era(1972-1979) i regime brought about by tangible economic 64 , but during the earlier regime, earlier the during but , 62 : While universities : While CEU eTD Collection incorporation oflarge garmentmanufacturing into young the numbers of women who industry were minimum. ata artificially The keepwages ways to found Parkregime the take off inthemid-1970s, to started eventually economy the when Even floor. shop the on earned they wages low extraordinarily sweatshops atnearlyevery hour, waking with desiresbeing by consumptive curbed people's the these phrase of catch Park’swas the (Han2005). nation), regime” or state (of the meaning reconstruction Jaegun, asleep. practically still Jaegun gymnastics, practiced following Park’s family military Most coup. members wokeuptothis song-like command and citizen’s “Theday: [ sports of pre-2 with engagement obsessive the resembled eerily that body the of cult This well. as now introduced gymnastics, a routine thatParkhad first experiencedin inJapaneserunManchukuo 1930s,the was part in basis, a military take and exercises on daily style made and students their universities Schools as well. barracks just military of actual the outside population targeting the everyday practices margins of nation-in-arms. the tothe being women relegated while were and pacifists for progress, Korean-style figure leading being sufficiently made use in of such the events, fitphysically soldier wasnow(again) hailed as (Lee 2009:659).With“remasculinize national (ibid:660) the patriarchal community” to opportunity the inclusion intothe Vietnamese war efforts signified Korea’s ascent as a “sovereign,mature country’s adultthe nation” that expressed and world”, the to manhood Korean of bravery “the demonstrating of celebrate Korea’sto as might.military ParkChung-hee his newfound capable himself troops glorified those performed during the 2 Farewell soldiers andwelcome forshippingoff the ceremonies to Vietnam – which came toresemble 84 The in population working was the meantime being country’sexploited in the ubiquitous Such martial vision a increasingly of citizenshipbeing turnedinto wasareality through success, seems to have won “ideological hegemony” of sorts for the conscription state (Tikhonov 2009). (Tikhonov state conscription the for of sorts hegemony” “ideological won have to seems success, nd World War European fascists was incorporated into practically each South Korean Jaegun ] song inwas broadcast morning early the across country the in the 1960s nd Worldbeing utilized War adegree–were quite to Japanese rule under Jaegun the CEU eTD Collection Market, a maze-like collection of several buildings that housed thousands of sweat shops, where sweatshops, thousandshoused of that buildings several of amaze-likecollection Market, atyounghad work manufacturing come man agarment to inlocated Seoul’s unit infamous Peace ignited belaborindeedfor thesinglespark(Cp.Cho2003)that to rights. anew movement proved The for movement change. by factory worker, Chun undertaken newa 20-year-old grassroots An act Tae-il, a atfirstfew same dailylife.But Korean the aspect of beginnings meantthe this of decadealso time, every nearly penetrated and heights new ever reached which communism of threat the against society levels unprecedented along,The of anear-total of mobilization civilian repression 1970s brought the totalizing barrack that South South become. hadin Korea meantime that the barrack the totalizing against posed of resistance acts fewfirst organized sawthe that of Seoul sweatshops the was exactly sectors of intosociety industrial the sector (Lie see 1998:101; alsoJanelli Curiously 1993). enough, it large of integration later the enabled and homogeneity” cultural and integration national to contributed military the and background, regional every from status Koreans South trainingon homogeneous revolution Korean into thatturned peasants urban factory company imposing soldiers:and “By form militarized masculinity, particular of cultural the facilitated the primary became that tool also USmilitarythe hadinto broughtthe country. Anduniversalin male shaping additionconscription, a to 85 forged in being criminalized andheavily (Cp.Liepunished 1998:101). were atunionization any attempts factor, wasthat other the super-exploitationwas one to there subject Sporting some of Sportinglongest some the of working hours on planet,the workers' discipline was deliberately and and people once out of beggary usually wishto live not bybeggar, ofa bread alone. (Paik philosophy 2005) the essence in – represented well-clothed” and well-fed the like once for “Let’s live effect, in signifying – sarabose) (chal well” “Let’s Live slogan Park’s For power. his threatened ultimately success very Park’s powerhold on was inherently and had tobebuttressedunstable by economic success.But ironically, this chaeb ǂ l owned factories through imitating some of the practices and management ideasthat andmanagement of some practices imitating the through factories owned The First Few Cracks intheBarrack’s Wall CEU eTD Collection not Machines 86 66 employing about20,000 workers in all” (Cumings 1997:374). in to squatthroughthis small space, whichin has no properventilation. frontTento twenty young girls, unable to stand upright, wouldevery trundle ofavailable spacethe put a table,whirring a sewing machine,65 and a young woman. Dust,machines. dirt, heat, and cotton particles would blowPut a thousand of these shops together and you have the Peace Market, his inamuch nearby actof self-immolation a protest workplace publicized Growing2005:264). in desperate hisfor fight improved labor rights, eventually Chun killedhimself at (Park workers” squads)all used against the knownthugs, asgusadae(“save-the-company” were brigade), skeleton andspecial company-hired police called the baekgoldan clothes, incivilian (white of units special (KCIA), Agency Intelligence Central Korean army, the the police, The were common. intimidation, faced: union abductions,activists rapeof “Lynching,the torture, executions, trade and activists trade union that therepercussions givensomeof toundertake task adangerous rights, labor predominantly youngfemale labored under workers mostthe horrendous conditions population, they further reacted with a long series of speed upthe thatwould of decrees emergency series withalong furtherreacted population, they walked awayhis regime and ParkChung-hee communistNorth, Vietnamlose the its battle against to was going from South that such clear became it once however, in 1972, statement joint a issued even and buddingtalks several peace Koreanin casereductions along. theSouth Consequently, inhad held and South theearly 1970s, North initiatives. troop severeU.S. brought that statement a forces, armed their own to allies its major of defense Fearingmilitary leavethe increasingly would U.S. the that 1969 stipulated of time: Doctrine of that The Nixon to lose theirunder way.One reason for Park’s vicious canalsoresponse befound inthelarger climate geo-political grip on their own (Cp. Cumingsworkers 2001:69ff). 1997:375f, Koo local was followingsteadily with themovementbut gainingacommitted outcome, the the slowly amongst struggleimproved for labor laws in Chun Tae-il’s name (and at times spearheaded byhis mother) own Fora detailed account of Chun’s life deathand and the social and political circumstances that motivated him, see “Inthree- andfour-story warehousesgarment small manufacturers would create platforms aboutfeet four and high, in Shocked by what he experienced at the Peace Market, Chun increasingly became interested in interested became Chunincreasingly PeaceMarket, the by at experienced Shocked he what However, further crackdowns on those striving for more labor and civil rights were swiftly put swiftly were rights civil and labor more for striving those on crackdowns further However, , an exceptional book penned by his sister, labor activist andscholar Chun Soonok (2003). 66 . A continuation of the 65 . They are CEU eTD Collection democracy of country.this more Nothing nothingless.” (10Surprises 2007) andlater proclaimed athistrial:“I shotheart the of Yusin like Constitution I did abeast.for that 87 1977. Rinser see Spy Incident, Berlin East so-called of the center at the composer Yun left-wing the Yisang, facing fabricated accusations of having founded aspy ring in Berlin (Cp. Kim and Yang 2010).Dae jung 1973,in and the Forabductionof an 17 Korean nationals accountfrom Western ofGerman the soil lifewho wereput of lateronSeoul trial in 67 years the over weapon of terror efficient an had become itself would26, 1979,Park fall victim hisfriendto long-time KimJae-kyu, then of director KCIA the (which Consequently, October on protesters. the with compromise seekinga those and hardliners the between spike within Park’s suddenly tensions repression, heightof regimewould very the time at around, martial law.of down were once more put declaration with the that cities However, this several other outin Masan and againbroke Pusan, female inSeoul, strike protests workers 200 unemployed of pushed further out of even day.reach with every passing Followingcrackdown the violenton a hunger manyfearedwas being for democracy that into anightmare who country turned increasingly the life. of everyday military encroachment of process Amongst countless incidents, particularly noteworthy here are the kidnapping and near-killing of oppositional leader Kim leader of oppositional near-killing and kidnapping the are here noteworthy particularly incidents, countless Amongst With and torture and leaders death, more imprisonment, facing worker student harassment, ever 67 ), whoshothim atadinnerdead party CEU eTD Collection movement, firstandstoodforemost, for a“particular postcolonial history” engagement with 1970s(Cp.Lee the 2007), thought liberalization themomentthat of finally had arrived. This students, workers and whowereshaping the students, workers groups religious mostly politicized from recruited for forces democratisation, After Park’s popular assassination, much to throughout of 20 peoplethe Korean hadbeensubjected inis Kwangju his Tongduch'and on to way backthe tobe seems very by getting nervous now. Hehas bloodbath just escapedamilitary-instigated on,marching down the aisle inspect to the few passengers that day. A youngman with glasses sitting in A bus in Korea isrural inSouth beingmiddle stopped the of and road, the aheavily soldierarmed gets troops wouldtroops quickly be singledas out ordinary Korean citizens in midstthe of a lengthy process of de-militarization, during whichtheforeign for meant in country the military of U.S. presence what the imagination shifting rapidly to the attests in country decadeandmatter inquiry made suchavisual of a a shortened possible. itAndcertainly the United States.experiencing the lastyearsturbulent of a military dictatorship by seemingly unconditionally supported It is also, in inbe shot country, movie thatwoulda the a country in of early 1980s the adreary picture paints way, a document This first scene movie “Oh, of independent 1989 Dream Land!”, perhapsthefirstopenly anti-American of the democraticbeating off.give busdrives him much while further,the bus a sound of to out person the hedragsthe change that wouldhis gaze on a young,long-haired man sittingbefore afewrows him instead, and inquiring without reach the money smuggling PX material from U.S. bases into the black market. But on the bus, the soldier fixates 88 IV. De-Militarizing Garrison the State (1980–) the The Minjung Movement The Minjung contemporary symbol and personification of the violence the violence the of personification and symbol contemporary ǂ n he hidewhere plansto atafriend’smakes house his who minjung th century. movement that had arisen since arisen had that movement CEU eTD Collection that they they that for first the time(Cp. Lee were now 2007:109ff) exposingthemselves to 89 anti-communist ideologies penetrated all sectors of society before that point. becoming more widespread amongstoppositionalforces 1980s,the in whichmay give usanother indicationof how deeply footnote 38),fact in thoroughdiscussions of Democratic the People’s Republic’s ideological underpinnings were only of espionage70 or 1980s wereand bornother 1960s inthe (Cp. Park 2005:267). forms69 of nationalism.”collaboration (2007:24) countermemory, between the state discourse of dominant nationalism and the minjung movement’s oppositional minjung ormovement. Reworking history was a processsympathy of discursive contestationbetween officially sanctioned memory Koreanand history; giving alternative and new meaning to past events was key to developing the notionwithof minjung in the the68 North (e.g. the East Berlin Spy case mentioned in generation ofthisnew 386- mainas participants had goal, the dissidentstudents andworkers their sought reform progressive against intellectuals 2001:18). authoritarian regime” the While (Koo inthe 70s 1960s and “forgewhosought to classa broad peasants, urban workers, alliance amongst poor and dwellers, handsthe of generals.the This intellectual of trend minjung wasled by dissident thinkers andstudents (Abelmann 1996:20) groups withgroups fellowother minjung activists. usually Small-scale protests, involving 50toafew hundred opted to stay on campuses andwhousually organized themselvesin study clandestine and reading would swellinguptoan estimated 10,000by endthe of decadethe (ibid: 275f). andnumbers with factories,their toengagewith jobs wherethey unions, establish workers at the tried up take to leave theircampuses behind studentswould instance,for university severalthousand 1980s, achieve through clandestine mobilizing in actions factories, villages and shantytowns; in the early revolution, they strove tobuildlinks industrial with (Park2005:75). workers” This they sought to workingthe classinparticular. Believing that the working class mainwas the historical of agent over entirethe 1980s’ massesdecade “focusedin onorganizing downtrodden the (minjung) and general with a revolution becoming new, the clearly goal 2005:266). stated (Cp. Park EvenunderthoughPark Chung-hee dissidents hadbeendragged intovarious during show trials whichthey were accused This refers to people who were in their 30s at the time of this term (i.e. in the 1990s), “The rise of the minjung movement”, writes Leewho Namhee, “was intimately linked to hadthe critical reevaluation goneof modern to college in the Influenced by both and Marxist byboth Influenced readings the Furthermore, street agitation would quickly become a daily business for those foragitationstudents who those Furthermore, street quickly becomeadailybusiness would 69 , however, were now radicalizing quickly amidst an atmosphere of harsh state suppression, harshstate , however, of an atmosphere nowquickly amidst radicalizing were 68 that had the goal to wrestle the definitional power over the nation again out of Chuch’e ideology of self-reliance in North Korea 70 , minjung activists minjung , CEU eTD Collection 90 Drennan while2005:285f), continued protesters to challenge their claims onadaily basis. amongst the the military and intelligence elites who saw themselves entitled in the game for power (Cp. military intheimperialexperiences inArmy Chun Manchukuo. was nowquickly tothe rising top background, his from origin North the Kyongsang andprovince, hadalsogathered some firstfew peasant Park’s shared who Doo-hwan, Chun by organized been had It forefront. the to strongman military bringmonths within yet of another staged to Park’swas already two threatening assassination, was tobelifted In meantime,the immediately (Lee 2007:45). however, a“coup within army”, the joined 300,000ordinary byanother citizens in central Seoul, who law all that martial demanded the demanding an acceleration democratic change.of Finally, March 151980,100,000students were on inmasses, streets the to took people assassination), Park’s after year a half almost for down closed hadbeen re-openedcampusesto the (universities returning Chung-heeimprisoned undernow Park gaining insizeandmomentum across country.the With many leadersof studentthe been hadthat In the increasingly turbulent atmosphere caused by Parksubtle: Chung-hee’s plays, werebeingtheater too, for utilized causingpublic contestation, butthehere methods more were death,maximizingimpact same whileatthe their mass Park2005:280f). time avoiding arrest(Cp. Improvised rallies on scene, thereby the police hadevenarrived the before another location move on to quickly were quicklychanting and leaflets slogans handing out tothepassers-by. In a “hit-and-run” fashion, they would blocking protesters parts aregularbasis, traffic,students, wereheldindifferentof the with Seoul on or having saytheir issuesthe on raised by actors.the comments own (Park 2005:284) their making by play the in realized participated soon often crowd audience the the from ones, people Real social actors. were into they that problems personal her turn to tried and monologue her joined workers) became gradually linked to social and political problems of the time. As otheractors (disguised as students and inflation rising about Complaining gas. tear and demonstrations of because wares her sell not could she that complained and housingstreet vendor (adisguised actor) would comeout fromthe crowd andstartcursing student demonstrators. She prices,a music band would singing start songs of the minjung movement, attracting curious onlookers. Suddenly,female a she confessed that she could not make her ends meet. In this way, her life story CEU eTD Collection 91 2006:1). Andfor putatively “public in violating peace and order”, yearsthe following immediately the itssuppress even asthemilitary andNa of murders”triedhundreds (Katsiaficas to awhisper tortured prevent word of being from uprising the spoken publicly,and of arrested, thousands people were unknown number dumped of corpses, others into unmarkedits graves,and ownrecords. destroyed To inlengthsstop order to news subversivethe uprising “Themilitaryof the from spreading. burned an 'People's'in Chinain June1989” forced(Cumings 1997:338), Chunthe go greatest government to to innightmare which students andyoung peoplewereslaughtered on a scale thegreater same or than that month of May 1980,which is 2300deathsmore that monthly the atthe average time” (2002:1557). dead. This Kwangju’sisfigurefrom derived monthly for the whichtotalled 2600 statistics, death However, uprising. people killedinthe unofficially, were as 2000 reported peopleof were upwards may actual number beenas have high as 2,000:“Officially, Korean tothe 190 according government, conservative governments all 1990s.Salliethe into way the Yea, ascertains amongst others, thatthe as regimethe spokeof only 200casualtiesaround – a numberthat wasusedby subsequent muchto is subject debate, tolluptothisinKwangju. numbers day still actual death dead The of people soldiers.the nextwouldin Overthe days, ten the thebloodiest becrushedway, uprising large leaving up meantime against inarms hadtaken by the population who population quickly the driven out were citizens of the town With garrison state. of very the the of existence substantially 700,000 200,000 the threatened up to taking to the streets,andin within May protests 1980, regular of a large-scalea matter days turned into popular uprising that the seasoned intherestof proved more than country, resilient the Kim leader–students Dae Jung time oppositional paratroopers long- of hometown the – Kwangju of town South-Western the In sent strongest. be the to out turned regime in to terrorize theChun’s it periphery, to was atthe resistance enough, however, emerging immediate where Interestingly civilian The murder anevent of Kwangjuprotesters, the has that been described as“Korea's Tiananmen The Kwangju Popular Uprising andSpeculationsover U.S.Complicity CEU eTD Collection 92 Drennan 2005, Katsiaficas 2006, Shorrock 1999, Wickham 2000. 71 uprising,people upto40,000 wereshippedtotheinfamous approach entailed inthat approach term “in for longersupport, short the the political term pressure evolution” Kwangju uprisingCouncil meeting aNational during an Security onMay22,1980 for decided behalf during (Lee uprising” the 2007:51).However,leadership U.S. the verythe height at of the tointervene United the their on States Kwangju expected people of the was such that Korean people asthe of an States ally Park’s“The United the after of imageof people public’sthe historical death: dowithcountry also had expectationsto widespread United would thatthe States intervene onthe side authorization US without Kwangju against movements troop large the initiated never have could Chun time,that they argued, a USgeneralat handsof having been inthe military Korean the command over against the American ally now violently,becameanger their express overUnited the States’ involvementwith regime.the The main accusation that of complicity in theforturning participants pointthe in movement, who minjungthe would now openly,Kwangju andattimes murders: with the supreme inthat yetanother military-led bidforhad power sent against troops its ownpeople tobe proved the the Indeed, USsupport of arsenal”Doo-hwan Chun the dictatorship 1997:338). dissidentthe (Cumings for democracy and labor and civic rights, slowly “the words 'Yankee, gohome' became stock phrases in – workers would continue full with force, and in midstof the these ever expanding social movements Despite measures, such later halfin draconian the of – typically led 1980sprotests the bystudents or supposed leftists were to be turnedback into uprightcitizens (Cp.Cumings 1997:384): On the continuing controversy over the degree of U.S. (military) involvement in the Kwangju massacre, see for instance for see massacre, Kwangju the in involvement (military) U.S. of degree the over controversy continuing the On One reason for the very ferocity with which such anti-American sentiments washed through the through washed sentiments anti-American such which with ferocity very the for reason One visittheir families before being sent away. (Lee 2007:46f) involved instudent activism) werethose sent(i.e. to the camp; they‘conscientized’ or notdid have‘delinquent’ as any rights to rebuttalteachers againstby their the teacher targeted were or students school High a neighbor. school students were included. Some were brought in for having tattoos, aminor trafficStudent activists, violation, laboractivists, or afistfight participants inthe with GwangjuUprising, aswell asdoctors, professors, and high 71 . Samchung re-education facility re-education where CEU eTD Collection Uprising Kwangju after year a than less House White in the Chun hosted 93 74 Kwangju native KimDae Jung executed, but rather “only”sentenced to a life of imprisonment (Cumings 1997:383). 73 (quotedbetter” inany Drennanit 2005:295f). toexplain how know I don’t and judgment, own their to according that, for ready not are Koreans The leaders. elected and press free debate, open and full with democracy acomplete have to We like would we disapprove. which by withdrawing our displeasure forces, extreme which our might destabilize expressing of the whole option region the of got we’ve and Asia, oraccepting limited, is some influence politicalour developmentKorea in of the leaders new Under forward. put he’s policies the of some and Chun about concerned “We deeply are region: the in stability on focus Kwangju, after months clearly just shows Carter’s begrudging 1980, admission that August human in rights democracyand SouthKoreaconference in had to bepress sacrificeda a for at made Carter by statement allies. his on exerted pressure Park Chung-hee and ChunDoo-hwan. However, Carter, too, opted had forbackdoor negotiations rather thanstronger 72 oldnamed university whilehad PakChongch’ol student diedconsequencesthe from of torture police sectors of society outside of the milieu of battle-seasoned campus warriors: Earlier that year, a 23-year- In June 1987, apointwas reached when minjungthe movementfinally succeeded in mobilizing enough actors for democratic change who were for now clearly on their own in their struggle. uprising, certainly Regardlessthe United of Statesthe putative proved or toactual be unwilling involvement to interveneof the U.S. military publicly in theon thequelling side ofof thethe Kwangju off the blood of their own citizens they had spilled,notes William M. Drennan: by the Korean generals just as well, who saw an easy opportunityof betrayal because of the U.S. embrace of the dictator.to In a washsense, the U.S. was made to take theirthe blame hands at least partially Reagan(AdesnikKim the newly instated and Furthermore, administration 2007:18). See and alsoleader oppositional having not for Donaldexchange in Doo-hwan Chun for areward as meant fact in was G.invitation This Sohn’s master thesis on the subject of Reagan’s predecesorJimmy Carter, with hisstrong interest inhuman rights, beenhad muchmore troublesome bothto government appear to be declarations of support for Chun’s actions. (2005:291) context and distorted in such a way as to make calls for restraint and the return of civiliancontrol of the power. Public statements by senior U.S. officials, including the president of Unitedthe States, were taken out of height of Kwangjuthe crisis continuing and throughout the ofsummer 1980 asthey consolidated theirgrip on the impression of strong U.S. backing for their coup. They orchestrated a disinformationThe ground campaign [for the beginningmyth of U.S. at the responsibility] had been well prepared by Chun and his followers, eager to create (1998). Democratization and the Thawing of North-South Relations Chun DooHwan’s Manipulation of the Gwangju Popular 73 , and many Koreans felt a deep sense a deep felt Koreans many and , 74 72 even cordially CEU eTD Collection the formerly united country formerlythe been unitedhad country settled firmly infavorof which eventhe South, the Asian for good. andSouth North between changerelations to meant was Korea, which North Sunshine Policy toward 94 progress” (2003:143). becoming much more allied with the Christian idea of suffering and redemption thanwith social Darwinian notion of argues Sheila75 Jager, with the idea of struggle for Kim taking on “an entirely different meaning than it had in the past, of Kim DaeJung’s peninsula. of the element presidency And one central part Southern the on democracy of consolidation true marked place the and history took Korea's South presidential office, Jung.Kim year byincomingDae president nextAfter already Kim’s the candidacyfor successful thethe firstpardoned were men both but – in prison years many to non-violentsentences was Roh while sentence, death transfer fora of crimes,courtroom mutiny andwould theirreceive past actions. Chun,convicted other treason, of power from theface a to Roh and Chun both forced eventually also ruling who office, thepresidential chargeof take years to the opposition party in elections in 1988 and rule thecountry 1993(Cp. until Adesnik andKim 2007). win would office, presidential Korea’s South into walk to man military last and next the Tae-woo, Roh hishad antagonistic hopeson, put whichChun of campinto two division the oppositional camps of the place. However,to take presidency because for andallowingelections general democratic concessions giving into forced eventually way a such in was Chun Movement”, Democracy “June the be known very violent protests that lasted for several weeks. With millions of people marching in what becameto peopleoutrage that all social in from streets nowtooktothe tojoinranks order massive,attimes the presidency his 2 over to hand to he was that announcement Chun’s over discussions heavy of midst in the later months known imprisoned forininvolvement his for movementthe democratization. Hisdeath would onlybecome Kim Dae Jung, in contrast to the military men before him, was driven by a new sense of nationhood and masculinity, At that time, the previously vicious struggle for economic supremacy between the two halves of Only with the subsequent election of Kim Young Sam would the first non-military ruler in 31 ruler non-military first the would Sam Kim Young of election subsequent the with Only nd -in-command Roh Roh -in-command Tae-woo. Takenmuch so together, caused incidences these 75 would certainly be the CEU eTD Collection 78 likely to be continued any time soongiven the currently hostile climate on the peninsula. stroll on a beachand accidentally crossing a military line, would bring a temporary halt to the tourist program, which11, 2008. is not On that day, the death of a South Korean woman, shot dead by North Korean military Easternpart of Korea,personnelNorth with hundreds of of thousands Koreans South while made having use opportunityof going this July until for a 77 see Kim andIm 2001 and Leem 2001). attributed to “crony capitalist” practices, but country’s the economy recoveredan astonishing at speed (forfurther readings, formerly most prolific Republic of Korea to ask for a$60billion bailout package from theInternational Monetary Fund. Some of South Korea’s augmented by such joint projects as bysuchjointaugmented projects K the toward reconciliation, whichwere of efforts becameinthese cornerstones 2000andtaking 2007 place brink of collapse. The widely publicized meetings of the two South Korean presidents with Kim Jong Il the on seemed them of one now that contestants the between possible perhaps peace was globe that Sunshine policy that developmental other soughtaid With upNorth. becoming aid anintegral of newthe part political pathofthe to resolve the Kim Dae jungconflict andhis presidential successor, Roh hyun Moo sent(2002-2007), donationsfood and with the North, Koreain parts of North saymillions) 1990s,killingthe (some estimates even both 100,000s of people, the message was sent across the of Kim Jung Il. ever new Chinaunder the military and led greatereconomic,dependency on leadership and political to deathof The country’sunexpected the heightened leaderKimIl further Sung in the sense crisis 1994 of further strained country’s the economy,leaving thepopulation needfood.in country the of of desperate mismanagementand into expenditures enormous sustaining pumped military the blown-up apparatus sector, economic andlarge-scale for agricultural the situation the worsened natural disasters of series beneededcountry fuelled to imports with and oil, nolongercoming electricity other that kept in. A intothin its airand economy was consequently shrinkingat dramatic The rates. industriesheavy the of SovietUnion and the Easternbloc, Korea’s North mostimportant trading had partners simply vanished 95 76 currency crisis 1997 of Kaes From 1998onwards,Korean South tourists were allowed K to visitthe 1997 saw a severe crisis brought on by too much ǂ ng, aNorth Korean city that is relatively close to the DMZ, since 2002 has become home to an Industrial Zone that In light of In lightof such turbulences economic andfamine the subsequent many thatravished through chaeb 76 ǂ that hit South Korea rather hard could not reverse. After the collapse of of the reverse. not collapse After the could hard Korea rather hitSouth that l , like Daewoo which was which dismantled in 1999,were collapsing during crisisthe that was ǎ mgangsang mgangsang Tourist Region chaeb ǂ l borrowing coupledwith atrade deficit that eventually led the ǎ mgangsang area, a mountainous in the region 77 , the Kaes , the ǂ ng Industrial Zone Industrial ng 78 , CEU eTD Collection ideology ideology social (Lee was andpost-1945 movements” extinguishing once-vibrant2007:42), the to many millions oflives lost during the Korean War, butalso tohavein ushered “anticommunism as state the well. The United States, whose decisiondivide Koreato wasnow understood not to haveonly led to beprovedchoon 2006), to crucial factorsin at massivere-imaginingthe U.S. the of timethat justas was slowlymovement that from abating earlythe 1990s onwards(Cp. Abelmann 1997, KimDong- “cititzens’ movements”Kwang-Yeong (Cp. Shin many of 2006), whom grew out the of 96 Kim and McNeal 2007, Kim H.R. 2003, Lee H.K. 1996. 80 widely onreported test run (see forinstance Choi S.H. 2007), however,did not lead to servicesregular taken being up. 79 produce workers Korean of North of thousands goods forfractiontens a of wagesthe which South in Korean workers would need to be paid. companies, Korean by South built factories 100 over houses Koreas connect two the to of arailroad re-building or the to-day agitation of a dense network of leftist-nationalist South Korean NGOs Korean South leftist-nationalist of network a dense of to-day agitation 2005:215). during he which “togreater create distance between vowed Washington and Seoul” (Feinerman into the presidential hyun,was inoffice elected who anti-American 2002after adecidedly campaign Moo laywerRoh formerhuman leadership of rights in the under aswell, particular such escalations inof wake the Consequently, deteriorated Korea on 16,2006. October relations conducted U.S.-South itsof Weapons Nuclear a first development nucleartest speedupthe leadingsubsequently to Program, to saber-rattling U.S. the used such from in North the regime military paranoid increasingly “State of infamoushehis his “axisevil” of that brought upduring Union the Address” in2002.The anti-North Korean agenda. The culmination of this was reached in Bush’s inclusion of North Korea into whooffice hadinto highest adecidedly the States United the of apresidentwas elected (2001-2009) renewed relations between North and South and a de-escalation of the conflict, with George W. Bush On the emergence of South Korea’s vibrant NGO scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s, see for instance Isozaki 2002, Isozaki instance for see 1990s, early and 1980s late the in scene NGO vibrant Korea’s South of emergence the On On May 17, 2007, a train crossed the border between North and South Korea for the first time since the Korean War – this Furthermore, besides such world political shifts caused by the “Global by “Global caused Warthe shifts besides political such world Furthermore, on Terror”, day- the While U.S. President Bill Clinton throughout his two terms was an adamant supporter of 79 . 80 and event-based minjung CEU eTD Collection free, which turned the It’aew both going blamingended other the up suspects, throughout investigation and subsequently each trial, It’aew ChoJung-pil,student, they happened whom torandomly inwalk upon publicthe restroom the of death Lee,a Korean college to Edward stabbed member,service military Korean-American and involving U.S. military personnel or their dependents that came to be known. was indeedfor public thestarting would each point that newviolent surround agitation transgression first violentevent involving U.S.soldiers and Korean citizens, anditbewould not thelast. also it But sure, the Yun K women”) Japanese soldiers through during imperial theirrule becoming wasalso widelyknown.To be Comfort local (i.e.” women rapeof systematic the when atatime precisely narratives nationalist within brutallyKorean prostitute murdered by Americanan soldierin 1992 emergedas a central symbol A young andKorea relations United unequal S. the the States. between power as putatively to attesting fire much has under Korea come in South presence Armed Forces United States continuous 2000s, the In the midst of the slow but irreversible transition from dictatorship to democracy in the 1990s and 97 arrived. wasbrutallyKorean sex worker U.S. soldier murderedby in a Tongduch' a 1992 in when And a boil. to emotions these all bring to 1990s early chaotic in the event one needed already well enough linked with local anti-democratic regimes in the minds of many. Soit literally only [The] current backlash of nationalism, anti-Americanism and democratic pride [inSouth Korea] is actually more indicative of an ongoing process of democratic transition or democratization than it is evidence of Korea's completed democratic completed ofKorea's evidence is it than ordemocratization transition democratic of process ongoing an of ǂ In April 1997, for instance, two young men, Arthur Patterson, who was the son of a U.S. n received quitesomeattention,Burger King two asthe Thiscase, too, murder restaurant. ǎ m-i murder – which will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter –wasnotchapter detailinm-i in murder–whichwillbe next the greater discussed the Unabating Anti-AmericanismamidstDemocraticChange ǂ n neighborhoood into a no-go zone to many Koreans for years to come. consolidation. (Cooley 2005:211) ǂ n, one such momentn, such had one CEU eTD Collection a leftist nationalist NGO apparently leaking the photos to further instigate uproar instigate tofurther photos the leaking NGO apparently nationalist a leftist corpsesmutilated online played amajor role enraging infurther the publicagainst USmilitary, the with dead girls with other concerned citizens joining in over the following weeks. thousands of middle and high school students to the city center to hold candle light vigils for the two in military USmilitaryagainstthe bringing quicklyspread,of 2002, protests court November NinoSergeantFernandoand Sergeant Mark Walker in –wereclearednegligent homicide aUS of day”,drivers – sum 2008). later as Korea” would“GI involved up (GI blogger American After two the this to effects ripple causing still is that alliance US-ROK the of moments defining the of one become and instantly by killed a USmilitary vehicle partin taking a training maneuver; incidentan “would that shooting grounds next to their homes eventually led to the closing down of the U.S. military installation closing led their tothe shootinghomes downof U.S. the eventually nextto grounds 170 houses local injury The and the seven residents. continuedof struggle villagersof against the the dropped offa practicing bombs onto the village nearby range of Maehyang-ri,leading of damage tothe shouts of "We national will recover our (Min pride.” 2002) several and flagslacedhugesongs U.S. tobits a before anti-American tore flag to Korean unfurling apologize' and 'Bring Mi-sun and Hyo-son back alive.'” In addition, the protestors “also sang obscenity- Seoul's City Hall hangto 'Yankee gohome' banners, chantslogans like, 'Revise the SOFA,' 'Bush December 14 peaked on Vǂ of predominantly left Koreanmiddle capital,rural area North the dead.Shim school two students Mi- Conservative newspaper Conservative 98 hours just inboxes of taken.” were thousands of photographs hundreds the flooded after which of several incident, 56 Highway the from schoolgirls two the 81 years the Tongduch' after ten Furthermore, CooleyAlexander (2005) writes that“June in 2002, usacrime.org.kr also postedphotographs several of deadthe bodies of n and Shin Hyo-sun, both 13 years old, were on the way to a birthday party a birthday years n the wayto they both 13 were overrun when party and wereon Hyo-sun, Shin old, As in the case of caseof the As in Yunthe K Earlier on, in May 2000, a U.S. Air Force fighter that had experienced engine trouble hadinhad experienced a U.S. trouble Earlier engine fighter that May on, 2000, Air Force th JoongAng Daily 2002, with an estimated 300,000people anestimated 2002,with demonstrating across country.the ǎ m-i murder earlier on, the leak of several pictures of badly of the pictures leak ofseveral the on, m-i murder earlier reported day that “45,000 that people gathered infrontof ǂ n killing of of n killing Yun K ǎ m-i, a tragic accident in accidentm-i, atragic Yangju,a 81 . The finally protests CEU eTD Collection 99 citizens” (2008). timesnumerous before, [with] humiliating the deal hurt[having] last the remaining pride of its a country under he Unitedisthe through States, is argues: exploitation of of anoutcome “[T]his decades quasi-imperial the militaryLee Myung-bak, explains Russia-born Korean scholar Park jaNo (Vladimir Tikhonov). Furthermore,it protection president conservative under neoliberalism” and disease, afusion authoritarianism of Korea chronic of thebecame known hasAmerican to be understood as both a reaction to thenegotiations concluded rapidly the after details of the loose broke that 2008; Mosler 2008).Thestorm general empire,oppressive climate of the “latest one andLee (Cp.Kamppeter viewed by thatwere public US beefimports unsafe general the as market to that has hadAgreement its pride between of Free the largerTradeof deal a beef negotiation framework the again:within the yet sovereignty hurt the US andstate's nation ontheir infringing manyviewed as Koreans issue that an over entailed controversy South Korea, years earlier.twenty of democratization the largestsince beginning the It factsuch demonstrations as well as in place inwere took 2008, which springof the that government LeeMyung-bak currentconservative the subsequent reopening its in people. own was sent against military Korean thatthe Kwangju of time since first the Korean Tae’chu-ri in taste bitter many it leftduetothefacta particularly mouth was the clashes that people's eventually levelledand overrun totheground,with few lastthe havinggive farmers to upby2007. The literally tens of thousands of riot police that the Korean government had sent in to clear thetheirmonth-long struggle overtheirland. space,Tae’chu-ri,most severeclashes after between and protestors was 2006). They subsequently joinedwere byhundreds of peace from activists joinedSeoul inwho them (Cp. Yeo military Humphreys Camp US adjacent the of 2006; Lutz expansion the for make space from small farmingthis nearby community rice city the P'y of villagers of group 2006, a of In Tae’chu-ri. inspired inhabitants the subsequently factthat in 2005,a Indeed, despite thefundamental democratic successesin 1990s underthe and 2000s, president against protests beef the to factor contributing a also certainly was element anti-American An ǂ ngt'aek refused to givengt'aek refusedto uptheirlandto CEU eTD Collection president public event. From small human rights festivals to the commemoration services for a former military mandatory service, wereusually in dispatched stunning numbers atany dangerous putatively youngof groups military practicinginwarfarerecruits urban areas inbroaddowntown daylight. a standstill civilian bringing city the entire of to drills largean asspotting were ascommon experience been more. revokedonce In place, Seoul the 2008 and2009,whenmyfieldresearchof regular took have society of de-militarization progressive tothe had contributed that Roh Moo-hyun Dae-jung and backlash” as a“conservative described the North has again worsened. While endorsing a hardliner policy toward North Korea that has been 100 (2009) control.” crowd for streets the into sent were police 8,000 over altogether Palace; Deoksugung at memorial of the front compelling of buses, cordon their open to thousands of people bringing incense refused and prayers to up line squads through subway riot Nearlystations. and 1,000 police Roh, were deployed in president former for Seoul in site memorial a encircled buses “police government, new the with associated closely committee by a him against brought allegations bribery Katsiaficas notes thatduring emotionalthe days following formerpresident RohMoo-hyun's suicide,who in the midst of 83 26.-28.April 2011). Landschaften?”, blühende oder Zusammenbruch - (“Korea Germany Neudietendorf, in conference Korea North a at held Halbinsel”) koreanischen der auf Lage politischen Zur zurück? und Säbelrasseln zum (“VonSonnenscheinpolitik der speech 82 former of CEO the Lee Myung-bak, youngmen have experiencedin Korea sinceSouth 1939(Cp. Tikhonov 2009). over 15,000 fate that imprisoned objectors a worldwide, having conscientious of most the sad record nation being postponed furtherintoan indefinite future. Therefore, SouthKorea today still holds the with introductionan of an alternative serviceunwilling for those uparms to take inthename of the shorteningthe male of mandatory the proposedunder forin conscripts time Rohwasretracted 2008, power,military country strengthen the bidto in another Furthermore, week. the day any of practically Inascathing critique of current Lee the Myung-bak administration's “rollback recent ondemocracy”, sociologist George keynote his during much as said Frankfurt, in Institute Research Peace the at fellow research Schmidt, Hans-Joachim Additionally, police, who riot in are fact made predominantly youngup of men their doing 83 , their black combat uniforms could be seen scattered across the inner city inner at across space city the scattered beseen uniforms could combat , their black Hyundai 82 by some analysts, many bysomeKim made analysts, concessions under the of Engineering and ongoing Construction, the with conflict CEU eTD Collection 101 andtroops facilities South of in Seoul, which abandonmentwill resultof many installationsthe nearby imagining U.S. troops fromin Furthermore, also decades 28,500. previous large-scalereaction of publicre- to contentions ally into aggressor, theprogressivelyFeinerman number been withabout current (Cp. downsized standing at 2005:216), the USFK has announced plans stationed have since 37,000troops inthecountry its wayfinally 2004,the previously out: on to relocate all of its aswell.Japan Korea and also Guam that is increasingly becoming the center of U.S. military stationing in the Asia-Pacific region, but of island Thisaffects not its only by stationed the region there. re-aligning Armed permanently Forces in the hegemony military its entrench further to needs it where a position into pushed increasingly newlyfinancial found itsstrength. skyrocketing Dueto its spendingson defense theU.S. budget, is as an economic super-power which increasingly seeks to augmentits military force to match up with its security both on the Korean peninsula and the East Asian region as a whole: the recent return of China madebillion to their way Americaand Chanlett-Avery (Cp.Nanto 2006:4f). worth otherthe Korea, hand, $50billion on China, worth by2004sold$46 goods to exports while already $ 29billion during(while goods U.S. the the worth same yearexported $26 billion). South worthproducts $7billion South Korea to (as compared $25 billion to from U.S.),inthe it was 2004, instance,for imported hold in meantime,China firmlythe Chinahas position: 1995, that of taken long indeed, States Korea’s United seem gonewhen the times the was South main in trading partner; on in effects adverse its American’s posture China and rise 2006:3). of Asia” (Chung And regional argue today, international analysts the relations about concerned “is“The States”, United increasingly Fortifying Fortifying Against China’s Rise? Strategic Flexibility and Troop Realignmentsof theU.S. Armed Paradoxically, may is Korea glance impression U.S.military the aquick that in the give South Such numbers are only small indicators of shifta vast with unpredictable ramificationsfor Forces CEU eTD Collection and in Navyparticipation particularthis trainingit exercise, turns out, had been cancelled daysbeforeit Marine The U.S. counterpart. Korean North the intimidate year to a once place taking practice military though they withoccurred of largerframework the massivethe jointandU.S. ROKArmed Forces South Korea that partook in the naval practice near Y beginning of chapter.this forcefullyagenda quite with violentwere escalations two in2010that discussedthe briefly atthevery deemed necessary. largerinanywhere erupts if region the to a is intervention degreethat trouble spot the perceived be deployed thatcan asagile butrather units Korea, North Communist against in defence asset the asan longer Koreaunderstood areno Troops only “Strategicin Flexibility”. new of doctrine South military hub of vast proportions,connections which to bothwill highwaysallow for a andsmooth the railwayimplementation system, theof theP'y US military's P'y to inmilitary region closest theChinese build-up has ina a fact significant resulted that already – weaponry of closer reach U.S. however,Chinainto comes peninsula, western tip Korean of the at the WithSeoul. from central an about andahalfaway hour is located P'y that region fewyears next within aswell.the government Korean which U.S. the Yongsan tothe is bemainis to returned of headquarters located USFK) (the garrison DMZthe – have beenalready given up overthelast decade). The 2.5km2land of in on central Seoul 102 “U.S. Strategic Plan forthe 21 85 Network”. “Peace NGO 84 the Northern cities of Tongduch' For asummary of the US military's changing security plans for the larger Pacific region, see the Stratfor analysis entitled information This was a“Peace givento meduring Talk” on Military the Build-Upoforganized China, by KoreanSouth ǂ ngt'aek To return to those recent conflicts between North and South: Interestingly enough, it was only The new center of activity for the USFK will subsequently be largerOsan/P'y the subsequently USFKwill for the of activity The newcenter 84 . Located close to the Osan Air Base, the ROK Navy base and nearby ports, with excellent 85 North Korea itself, however, during the last year, brought itself back onto the U.S. the onto back itself brought year, last the during however, itself, Korea North st Century: The Pacific” (Nov.15, 2003) whichbe can found at www.stratfor.com ǂ n and Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu (most of the facilities near P’aju – the city closest to ǂ npy ǂ ng island on the 23 ǂ ngt'aek area is perfectly situated for a ǂ rd ngt'aek being situated being ngt'aek of November, even ǂ ngt'aek CEU eTD Collection 103 area. contested this over influence for thinly bid veiled rather their attime continuing still are that new, and old powers, global and regional the between confrontations increased may see in that a time few decades, next the over fare will peninsula Korean the how however, personnel nowadays inevitably means talk about–and with – China as well. Only will future the tell, 2010) –givingindicatorNorth Koreafor usanother talkthat American about politicians andmilitary Koreas andmay Chinashare, have playeda role in just postponementthis aswell (Cp. Jung Sung-ki two the seathat in Yellow the jointmilitary exercises about from China coming complaints repeated the as However, reason. the conflicts” “scheduling citing Forces Armed place, U.S. the took with CEU eTD Collection “Ville Rat”) assault. physical violent to of charm loss individual and disgust mild from ranging reactions produce 104 87 dictionary becan found at http://www.reocities.com/exkorling/ville.htm. usually driven home by making is funitem of ofeach the women’s punchline The pronunciationsthere. employed women or by the by town camp in theirup motivation picked he (i.e. words to elicit“Konglish” and money).Korean The full of (ex-)soldiers reminiscing about their timespent hanging out inKorean camp towns –compiled a mock-glossary of 86 YANG KAL BO “Tone.” as known Also situations. certain in money for be exchanged even Can services. and WON – n. Medium of exchange. Despite its laughable appearance“You overcanGee Eye?”. and over cum be used mumbling offwhile base in place of money to procure goods participant engages in violent physical activity while the female (Nice Girl) maintains a catatonic, almostSEX – comatose,n. Foreplay state leading to Orgasm. When performed with Nice Girls this activity has a uniquesensibilities. aspect in the male of one’s A violation occurrence. or act orincomprehensible unusual, Any disagreeable, – n. CUSTOM KOREAN OLD Gee Eye?” Girl Nice NICE GIRL – n. A female, usually advertised on street corners by toothless,that you octogenarian haven’t brushed MAMA yourSANS teeth as in insix “You months. adj. want Of, or pertaining to, KoreaKIMCHI –n. (i.e.Various Kimchi sundryand taxi).forms of malodorous, fiery,fetid indedibles [sic] which, when consumed,disguise factthe “won.” called paper ofmulticolored quantities DAHLAH [Dollar] – Primaryn. medium of exchange and measure of popularity. May also be exchanged for large twice. customer same the with stayed not has who Girl 2. Any Nice club. EYE GEE CHERRY GIRL – n. 1.(literal) A female life form rarely encountered inKorea; there beenhave confirmed no sightings in a paycheck, and sleep when you have no money. 3. Akin to hell. charm you may have had in the eyes of the inquirer. On a scale of 1 to 10, youBASE are – nown. 1. a zero.A 2. placeA which,place when to usedwork, as collecta destination a where you intend to spendto perform the night, a sexual immediately act; as in“On negates day, any No can do Gee Eye [GI]! Too muchee AH PO Ah Po!” Korean for “Western whore”, slang word for a prostitute servicing U.S. Military personnel. Military U.S. servicing a prostitute for word slang whore”, “Westernfor Korean “Appueda” is the Korean verb for “to hurt”; the anonymous author of this piece – that I found re-posted on several blogs The Imaginative andMaterial Territoriesof Militarized Entertainment on the 86 (Excerpts from the “Guide to Effective Ville Running, Volume 1(Korea)”, by an anonymous author calling himself –v. Literally to hurt, but when used by Nice Girls meant to signal an unwillingness, eitherphysically ormentally, 87 – n. A generally accurate but forbidden native description of Nice Girls. Utterance of this expression can expression ofthis Utterance Girls. ofNice description native forbidden but – accurate n. A generally ‘Vil(l)e’ Encounters: Fringes of Korea 3. CEU eTD Collection of U.S. soldiers!” can be seen written below. “Withdrawal Japan.itin Korean of thesays above image “Ourtoward United”, peninsula, the People kick the to ituses which Americans feet armsis and with equipped that Korea underneath: aunited territory.lays visibility into shreds bring they what to the poster and effort, In a common tear with the entire Southern part coveredform, inits divided peninsula the Korean that shows forefront tothe by a large brings poster protesters Stars and Stripes and the word U.S. Army is songs unification younger of reachedwhenagroup peakof are sung.One slogans repeated, emotion written across the in October display much enthusiasm for the cause nevertheless: several speeches are given, chants and this States, on the day gather but people to the and who years earlier two returned from prison released Kenneth Markle, drawlargelonger streets. Yun’s the into nameno crowds to seems murderer, was events of 1992, I seek to explore in more detail how and why at the beginning of South Korea’s explore beginning and atthe ineventsSouth how to why more of detail of 1992, Iseek history day of a murder but also a critical moment in a social struggle’s history. By briefly revisiting the crucial Tongduch’ .ǎ prominently carry a banner of about five meters in length with them that has the name of a woman, they Yun downtown, of buildings rise high the by surrounded street the on gather they While embassy. U.S. acommemoration for formal appropriate wearingceremony, suits incentral nearby the Seoul assemble On 28 105 http://www.tagstory.com/video/video_post.aspx?media_id=V000250727&feed=DM 88 “For a man, to be conquered is to have his own women turned into fodder for imperialist postcards. Becoming anationalist Becoming postcards. imperialist for fodder into turned women own his have to is conquered be to a man, “For Video footage of this protest can be found online at m’i, it.a 26-year-old written on to Having belonged lived Korean sex whoin worker died and th This annual service has commemoration been heldever since Yun’s death,not markingonly the October 2008, a group 20 30 protesters, of to majority middle-agedthe 2008,agroup about are of October whom men ǂ n, acampabout 30kilometers town upNorth where shewas killedby soldier, a U.S. that I. “thecolonized bodiesof our women…”. requires a man to resist the foreigner’s use and abuse of his women.” ( women.” of his abuse and use foreigner’s the resist to aman requires 88 kiji’chon asimaginative spaces Enloe 1989:44 ) CEU eTD Collection struggles in of shadow the U.S.base.the The progressive devaluation some of (P’ajuand places lives and of their specificities andinvestigating Ihave the there come across (non-)local the actors through through various kiji’chon spaces in Ky the Ville in Korea. spaces South few social remaining tothe the of new ruptures worlds brings of reach city extending the area, butthe in metropolitan the entertainment of and commerce centers the from may be doubly-removed Seoul, mobility of U.S. soldiers: camp town spaces, typically located on the outskirts of satellite towns of increased by a point of isthe near to collapse economy, for sex brought sale, of premise the based on eventually becoming soldier-husbands Ishall Furthermore, instead. explore why camptown the U.S. soldiers who usually come to the clubs as GI johns,but to the women alwayshave the potential of circumstances of camp town life women, current the both well; as old andintroduced be will new, spaces town camp shallsimilar and beneighborhood this discussed, as will be their encounters with and in)willbeinvestigated. living, died The social eachotherin and interacting working, with players 106 Periphery”, therise andfall of Tongduch’ nation. the for appropriation women’s these of differences and commonalities the explore briefly during the early 1990s increasingly cast as symbols of isa nation under why duress,which I shall Women” known as “Comfort commonly laborers both sexual militarized were former of generation Incidentally, women camp town i.e. employed– sex workers the nearby basesthe – and anolder outskirts the on of realms Southmarginalized these of imagination Korea’s collective the to lead now would bases, U.S. near social order as the very mores towns incamp social overthe longer-term contestations nationalist-left of outcome the butalso locations where U.S. domination murder,by of Crucially,the event the amplification, triggered structural of howaprocess show will I touches ground.as aliberal areaswere itkiji’chon into spaces that happened democracy of turned interest. national The chapter,third finally, reader form the guide ethnographic travelogue, will an of the taking In a second largerfollowing sub-chapter this, entitled “Camptowns as Social Spaces on the ǂ ǂ nggi n’s (i.e. kiji’chon particular the that camptown Yun lived province surrounding Seoul, giving room to several of CEU eTD Collection 107 U.S. Armedisto. presence beingnowadays Forces relocated largerinin the P'y increase business with juxtaposed a relative Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu) that is ngbu) in by that reduction of triggered is of number withdrawal the troops or areasbeing these ǂ ngt'aek area where the majority of majority wherethe the ngt'aek area CEU eTD Collection already working in the camp town areas that news of this murder case did not quietly dissipate likequietly the murdernot case diddissipate news of this inareas that camptown the already working horrific tothe herresponse of (1997). details death” in thaterupted massive the and protests due solely to this was inKorean courts, the prosecuted Korean courtKoreans, hadbeen only crimes over tothe against by committed 200 40,000 handed soldiers U.S. system. TheKim inHyun Korea: “Previously, wasthe mountingS. explains, public pressure of estimated the out murder of Ms. Yoon resulted in the first time that a U.S. soldier was on on intrial a South Korean courtroom 2008:7)(Cp. Cho did notcontest local legal authority over Markle, who would become the first U.S. serviceman to be put nightmurder. of her the Yun Ms. during with seen been had he where club same the at arrested was Markle until days more traces. Laterin traces. morning, the Yun K muchaway from bleeding,too hethrewdetergent on herbody in cover anapparentattemptto uphis umbrella. including several bottlean with objects, her a coke and assaulted After sexually shepassed soldieranother shehad beenwith nightbefore.the Enraged,Markle face her bludgeoned andbody with from West a medic originally Kenneth then Markle, 20-year-old Private Virginia, they had into run after leading of clubs area.Onthenight 28 the the upto Yun K for aticket toTongduch’ 108 speculative. highly are author by bloggerRobert Neff also provides a good summary of actualcrime,the eventhough many in of points the raised by the founded was that organization an wakethe of the Yun(http://usacrime.or.kr/), murder andisactively U.S.monitoring Korea” military crimes related up day.to this in Troops U.S. by A 2010 article in English of Crimes Eradication for Campaign 89 Detailed information about the murder (both in Korean and English) can be found on the website of “The National “The of website the on be found can English) and Korean in (both murder the about information Detailed ǎ It was mostly due to the immediate mobilization of a small group of Christian feminist activists feminist Christian of group small a of mobilization immediate the to due mostly was It Due to gravity the allegations, U.S. the of Armed unlikeForces, times eventually other before, m’i young like was woman a who, many her,before others had job leftstrenuous a factory at a II.Our Nation’s Daughter? The Yun aftermath murder its and ǂ n , where she was lookingn ,wheresheforand was employment inmanyGI opportunities the ǎ m’i’slandlady, found her mutilated body was by two and ittook th October 1992, she had gotten into a fight with 89 . The most significant reason foras move, this reason significant. most The CEU eTD Collection collective aspirations, which is no more and no less real than the collective representations of Emile Durkheim, now meansinternet. of the the through national territory across widely be imagine circulated that could graphic the reproducible heavily on indeeddepended here, clear abundantly becomes as andspaces, both actors of re-imagining violent military areas. The U.S. to his shocked 10-year-old students, telling them atthe end of his account of murderthe stayto clear of born inme, Korean whoseteacher relayedall acquaintance 1982 told ghastly of murder the details one as classrooms, some in discussion for basis a as served even and bases, U.S. of infront protests at it displayed was later and newsreports, via theinternet country the across disseminated Rapidly crime investigation staff, the shows naked, corpse in battered full legsexposure, spread wide open. depicting full with force thebrutality of murder.the The apparentlygut-wrenching photo, by taken rally,first movement South quickly Korea. the spread throughout demonstration, women’s other bringing andreligious groups board. Withon 3000 people attending this 109 ( imaginary ofthe idea French the and sense); Anderson’s (in community imagined of the idea the sense); School Frankfurt the (in images produced mechanically especially of images, idea old the in today is characterized by a 91 new roleof this for member a board as the association.”serves Place imagination Sister's of My Director The Korea.’ in Troops U.S. by inof Crime socialEradication life.the for Campaign ‘National the called To created, been has grasporganization country. anational of the Also areas thisdifferent in created were newsoldiers by American role,of crimes reporting the we for of Yoon,centers case need murder the After children. to and their bring prostitutes of lives the for concern together more develop to began public the […]Also America. and Korea of governments between the made problems these handle to how over agreement unfair the and soldiers of American crimes the of seriousness itself allocates for thisevent in its self-introduction on its website (www.durebang.org): “People became aware of the 90 Tongduch' in in of 1990sthey districts red-light country), the early open center the would up asecond other any in and towns camp in the (both kind this of organization first the Being assistance. needed Ǎ Hae-rim and YuCamp aspacein rented to together Stanley adjacent kiji’chon the Pok-nim,(near who times before it. Arjun Appadurai’s usage of “imagination” comes to mind here that tightly links imagination to image: “The world we live group the space much how in be seen can towns camp the in struggle its and Durebang for event ofthis significance The ij ǂ ngbu) wherethewomen in working andliving vicinitythe could now drop by any they time Significant in conjuring up massive outrage was certainly the leakage of one image to the press, leakage imageone to of the wascertainly outrage in upmassive Significant conjuring ǂ n. When Ms. Yun inwas murdered thegroup samequicklythe town, organized a Durebang , an organization Presbyterianwith close wasties, founded in 1986 byMoon 91 90 imaginaire ) as a constructed landscape of landscape constructed a as ) CEU eTD Collection ‘how didyouhere, get K “’[U]nderprostitutes: Starsand the Stripes, colonized the of women bodies our about’; are thrown manyfor Korean fordreamed that of other life asemblematic herAmerica’”, wasremembered nation’s and‘our prostitute’, who ‘poor daughter worker’, ‘a factory female Korean) daughter’, (the family’, forboundary Kim as“‘the of ‘our nation” the described 1998:189). Shedaughter was ( poor ‘victimized’ the ‘suffering’ and … nation. Korean The body of Yun K Korean as wereallegorized bodiesof Thesebodies women. againstthe violence ofimperialistevidence “Yun’s a nationalistwas nowtaking intonarrative place: of that death this body mutilated was material the Murder of Yun K on “Committee of the Thewritings nation. Korean of the adaughter as embraced tightly posthumously which again sparked some accusations of undue U.S. interventionism on behalf itsof citizens. years, imprisonment, 15 eventuallywith lifeof sentence the beingreducedto sentenced quickly to from from authorities” U.S. 2005:261) (Kern publicly. military U.S. bases apology They visited conferences, and demandedapublic organized press forCommission Countermeasures’ themurderinvestigate foundedactivists the ‘Joint case in to order businesses, In a way,such K after such as Korean side. Korean of the favor bein revised wasto U.S. Status of Forces Korea the and between Agreement restaurants todemandstreets be Markle that Kenneth was punished by to and sternly a Korean that the court, and multiplyingfollowed the feminist rallying calls of religious, andnationalist organizations totake to the taxis, boycotted members of the U.S. military. Some 110 fifteenyears.” (2008:73) frequent U.S. military pardons and wrist slaps, US officials were later able to commute Markle’s sentence of life to a mere 92 mediated through the complex prism of modern media” (1996: 49). Sociologist Nadia Y. Kim, forinstance, notes: “Although this [sentence] marked a huge victory forKorea inlight of Ostracized by Korean society as a prostitute while beenalive, shehadstill Yunas aprostitute society byKorean Ostracized K Due to such widespread dissemination of news on the killing, tens of thousands of of thousands tenspeople of on killing, the newssuch of dissemination Due to widespread ǎ m’i by American Military in Korea” is paradigmatic for the kind of incorporation ǎ ǎ m’i's death, it came that “[s]tudent groups staged violent protests while violentgroups staged “[s]tudentprotests m’i'sit death, came that m-i?’” (ibid:190). In imagination In the m-i?’”of (ibid:190). pastor . In the heated atmosphere surrounding the trial, Markle was ǎ Ch m’i became ametaphorical m’i became ǂ n Us ǂ p, Yun .ǎ 92 ǎ m’i even m’i m’i was CEU eTD Collection theirfeelings attendant (2005:6). and emotions” all with in dramas, interpersonal out acted accordingly are (…) and subjects of real-life qualities blood “Collective subjects such nations,”as writes Sahlins, ‘imagined’ as may be, they take on flesh-and-the change. of climate political volatile in a unfold rapidly may America) of hands the at nation Korean the of death potential (the collectives of fate the greater to pertains that a macro-narrative into violence) of in ended act an and that herclient worker between a sex (a fight micro-history of conversion a the how Utilizing notion this for events the of 1992, the Yun K systemic – change hasbeen named “structural amplification’ by Marshal anthropologist Sahlins (2005). sharply. more grievances its formulate now could that movement a new into together Yun’sbe political indeedwould forces bind murderto onepreviously proved eventthat the disparate Tae-woo, Roh man military former of presidency late the of context explosive the within Thus, lives. nature of this partnership and verythe real insecurity itbrought tosome Korean inwomen their daily Roh Tae-woo promotion ontheviolent was tobechallengedanewfocus of – bytheaggressive that now and Doo-hwan, Chun Chung-hee, Park of auspices the under elites conservative of generations understanding about the U.S. military alliance as crucial for South Korea’s security – promoted by itfate hegemonic of wasthe particular, nation. In the the to movement asanissuepertaining the 111 left of the nationalist the with murder overlapped after this full force was toemerge with that movement anti-base thoroughlyleft’s entrenched element of the Korea. Because in significantof the parts South repertoire troops and by subsequentthe re-unification North with (ibid:the 191). of dyingKoreanbody,the inhis andothers’ view,by could beachieved the only driving out American individual. It is the death of national sovereignty; the death of national of Yun(human)K death capital.”“The nation: a Revitalization of demise slow the for symbol a becomes The process through which a putatively isolated event triggers large-scale structural large-scale event even triggers isolated – or which structural The process through a putatively As has been inthelastchapter,discussed by early the had become a 1990s anti-Americanism minjung faction, contentions over the woman’s death were soon constructed by key actors of ǎ m’i murderthuscan be readas an example of ǎ m-i is not the death of an of death the not is m-i CEU eTD Collection of the national community, at times being considered a threat to its integrity and moral superiority. If superiority. moral camp the appraisal posthumous the woman,Ms. Yun, through of town and be included inthe nowto was integrity its to a threat considered being times at community, national the of outside of the realm of good female behavior, she is also understood as positioned on the very margin by such least appropriation. an With “the”typically prostitute envisioned thatwalks asasocial type very in the threatened not were respectability female of notions traditional that see we examination stand-in for violent putatively the relationship between Unitedthe States and upon closer Korea, projects. nationalist and sexual proprietysexual is in purity need of virtuespolicing, with such femaleas respectability, a“good” moral standing typically predominantly larger whose such subjects symbolic make-upof the nation-state as structures as being suchwriters as George Mosse (1988) andSherry (1978)haveOrtner shown, women figureintotend to adamantlyincorporate intoanationalist to neutralizedframework. “the” prostitute attempts bysuch camp town As promoted while the all were from suffering were areas in these laboring and living workers sex the that by those disreputability of stigma heavily weighing the go, to want would woman Korean “decent” nowhere elites seeking to further being asthelong-lostdaughters while type-casted forthecountry’s sacrificed security and prosperity. their a symbol Korea’sof suffering asanation women livingand the in laboring and them were for ashort particularly well-suited for such a process of amplification. Consequently, camp towns were turned into highlightin inequality structural pre-existing 1995), such tobe proved came to conditionsa way of that initsground manifestation. most violent The killing, gruesome single one (Cp. “critical event” Das touches Korea South over domination U.S. where empire, of spaces transnational and shame, of spaces national both them as to affiliated directly not many people by a great were understood spaces that imagined into turned being now were bases) Military U.S. to adjacent areas kiji’chon the (i.e. places 112 Whilemight it subversive seem atfirst asex would glance worker that icon become an and areaswere these that notions colloquial on widespread Building A following place infact protests amplification the took during double Yun’s death: specific de facto non-Korean territory not being CEU eTD Collection 113 economic,social, and cultural rights that importantly shape women’s vulnerabilities”. (Cheng 2010:197). reproduces aversionof the autonomous individual enshrined incivil and political rights, marginalizing discussion of 1998, Kempadoo 1998 2005 and Weitzerand 2000 and 2005) namely a“focusthat powerlessnesson misery and merely social scientists activistsand workingprostitution on worldwide instance (seefor Agustin 2007,Berman 2003,Doezma has consistentlythe notion that prostitutionbeen needs to be eradicated. Sea-lingA critical voice arguing against this Korean anti-prostitution purchasing of countrythe in Cheng, made sex illegal additionalstatehas and funding available perspective to those groups actively promoting who bringsstance has forthbeen further solidified similar since the 2004 governmentalstrong amongstcriticisms the (relatively ban few) onorganizations prostitution that deal with the issue of which sex work today. once that againThis decidedly madeanti-prostitutionperspective, the buyingcan asprostitution as a businessand is to bebe banned in its entirety. found InSouth Korea, the anti-prostitution factionin isvery standpoint,the with the casting ofworks women involved inthe sex business nearbyof U.S. bases severalas victims certainly fitting into their other93 amongst the soldiers about the putative political, economic and social inferiority of the locals, the responsibility. by andBolstered notions legalprovisions, with coupled apparently widespread these provided for GIsby SOFAthe between the countriestwo for– many decades entailed such of absence – legal prosecution from near-immunity of state case,a Korean Inthe occurrences. via real-life (1997:52), violate fodder freedom the and thereby tosuchimaginations attack” to providingof plenty order. hegemonic the invert implies the A often other toward responsibility real“absenceofsocial very or mirror thatimaginations breedingforsexual scenarios of areapotent ground ascertains, further imagery dreams offorbiddenwhich projects pleasureandfears ofimpotency (1997:51). on ‘other’” the the “embodimentand symbolic away sex, insuch through contamination of remindingNira us Yuval-Davis’ insight that dimension duringwriters the1970s andis 80s,filled tothe brim with descriptions thatdeal with physical, cultural of the male leftist disenfranchised, predominantly literature”,amongst apopular“camp genre so-called town racialized This narratives. mostly fictive in theform of there, of employed women the lifeand circumstances the ‘other’ puts sexualityprostitution agendas at the heart by further involvedthe supported another feminist activists’ kindre-appraisal was that of anti- of the racializedonly. Insuch a way, typical the binary opposition of as either prostitute the victim villainor finding was victim and victim, hapless of role the into her casting firmly by be only could it nation, the of realm The leading NGOs and activists involved inthe camp towns were (and still are) endorsing a firm anti-prostitution Unequal power relations between men and women within a quasi-colonial context, men context, within Yuval-Davisrelationsand women between Unequal power a quasi-colonial kiji’chon A lurid about in wasalsothepre-existence of accounts factor process this significant 93 . CEU eTD Collection make depictions of camp town a popular theme that allowed them to criticize the United States in the States United criticize the to allowed them that a popular theme town of camp make depictions insteeped violence. necessarily and always as understood being soldier foreign the and woman local the between encounter as „an institutionalization violencethe of imperial asrape“ of with conquest (Lee 2010:136), sexual the a living in as a prostitute ina GIclub.Military prostitution, is particularthis narrative, onlyenvisioned making is who sister Man-su’s with sleeping been has mother, Man-su’s of rape the for responsible GI revenges hismother’s by violation wifeof Speed. Speed,although notthe previous the Sergeant raping whofor PXgoods, a blackdealer “Long Korea”), market slogan Life of thenationalistallusion to scholar Lee Jin-kyung assesses focuses (2010:134f). The story onHongMan-sumakes (aname that an definitely established the genre of camp town literature at this particular historical moment“, literary sexualized allegory,gendered and say be it an not would‚Land to Excrement’ of exaggeration that opposition U.S.imperialismto and militarism inKorea, and South its equally useunambiguous ofa anticommunism lawsbecause ofhis fictional of account camp town(Cp.Hugh 2005). „For its blunt „Land in be of 1965, wouldprison forviolatingExcrement” puton nationaltrial and goto security and 114 involved:Nam Ch for authors the some of personal cost great itsimaginationnationalist-driven violent center, that hadGIsat initially a anundertaking at came that penningcamp authors the be accounts about the those first of to town disseminators proved a kindof potential rapist. of localsat times –would highly become now disempowered imagined as of source the all by In evil some. such a way, soldiers U.S. –much figuresempowered inthemidst militarized male‘Other’ tangible life bylocal Koreans up could ineveryday that be seen was conjured and the Korea, offenses. States United the Taken provisionsbetween with asymmetrical other together in much engaged inmaleyoung camptowns the graver and strangers occasional crime petty roaming After “Land of Excrement”, several other authors affiliated with the minjung movement would movement minjung the with affiliated authors other several Excrement”, of “Land After Outraged by Outraged stories of putative moral and sexual depravity couldthat kiji’chon, beheard about ǂ ng-hy ǂ n, who wrote his short story his short wrote n, who only in the manifestation of manifestation in the CEU eTD Collection yellow dogs,yellows with yellows’” (Lee 2009:140). of imaginationsof violent into mainstream. spilled the eventually This bealso explained can by fact the 1970sanditthe was only 80s, in and early the the 1990s after Yun K Despite imaginaries such frompowerful bywriters provided minjung spectrum in the democratization her tearfully, protagonist the mansaysto watch process, the ‘ smaller yellow female dog, with the yellow dog finally letting out an eerie scream: “As “As scream: an eerie out letting finally dog yellow the with dog, female yellow smaller journey. At the end of the narrative, the protagonist and the woman watch a large whitemale dog rape a heyoung knows, prostitute experiencing first-handnearby bases the depravation U.S. during his story story by Ch’ duties. national) (and masculine his from running on keeps just he events, by the startled when, character pathetic most bethe proves to again once however, student, The across. comes randomly he American next the kills and hands own his into matters takes smuggler the herself, kills soldier the with love in fell who worker sex one While instead: of Excrement“ „Land 115 Ch of Nam reminiscent much very world a in behind left are characters the reach, of out moves again hopes, and America, of dreams land the as and – lives several ruins that of betrayal act irreparable an commits end the in character, decent seemingly a first at States. A befriends, GI he United by the enchanted deeply seem of whom all workers, sex Korean alone). Now hidingescaped from bloodythe recently suppressionKwangjuwho in (and in suchway a student abandoned college his working class friendsunnamed there an to die is character main The out well: as explored is dimension class a with aspects, racial and sexual to addition a in Here, friend 2007:206). Gateward (Cp. release movie’s their after years fine a to receive ofand well as just court to taken hisbeing nevertheless time, that whoduring occurred that change democratic lives the despite movie, ofthe makers the in a kiji’chon, 94 the student becomes acquainted with several young of Nam Ch putative men, humiliation Korean crucialof already while in playing a narrative revenge-rape the role of Thethis miscegenation. dimension racial ofeveryday practices bykiji’chon gravely endangered nation the seemingly of and symbolic reproduction with maleof cultural biological, Koreans, the totheperceived is emasculation connected with local seenassignificantly sexual women engagement soldiers’ mostU.S. these issueof the explosive of thewritings, of late1980s.In period 1960sto the Perhaps amongst the first visual depictions of camp town isthe aforementioned 1988 movie „Oh, Dream Country!“,with ǂ ǂ ng-hy n S Ravaged Females, Wounded Nation:Comfort Women andCamptown SexWorkers ǎ ǂ ng-se. Here,anothermale protagonist makes his way intocamp look for town to a n, becomes even more blatant in “The Scream of a Yellow Dog” (1974), a short 94 Ǎ n-ju, yellowwith othermustn-ju, dogsgo ǎ m’i murder that the undercurrentm’i the murderthat Ǎ n-ju and the and n-ju ǂ ng-hy ǂ n’s CEU eTD Collection 116 95 others “unmarriagable” inthe eyesof or considered“fallen” for women providedstationed opportunities there soldiers. foreign endimperialism mean of Japanese indeedattimes not these did anend to women’s sexualservicingof WomenComfort inhis book Hicks laconically George writes Forces”, the same role with Occupation American WarPacific in“remained the inand Japan hadstayed on she 2008:156). combat, After (Soh end the of Gi, aKorean woman whohad been taken to Japan to one ofits many “Comfort stations” the during entitled Tetsuomadea documentary herpubliclyKorean plight. In 1979, aJapanesewoman filmmakerspeak about to called Yamatani unattained –goal full of apology and state sponsored restitution from Japanesethe authorities. – still the itself set has that honor and name in their redress for movement feminist transnational crimes hadbeen committed against them. The women’s acts eventually courageous inspired a five these breakingspeak about justafter well, unspeakable the decades forward silence as their to by Mrs. Kim’s Encouraged to. assigned been had station” she “Comfort from the flee before shecould five months of example, duration the for soldiers Japanese of hundreds serveaplatoon had to she Manchuria, her to sent had father who of womenComfort Woman for Japaneseimperial the army. Soldinto prostitution age byherstep- at the 16 of from Koreasignificant and elsewhere steppivotal in momentthe followed assummer well.a Womenreached justhad Comfort –the so-called matter issue– related closely Kim agitation a over that Hak-soon,of 1991suit a Koreanto andgive woman came herwho was testimonythen 76 years old, abouthad taken herthe former life as a so-called Apparently, asignificant numberof female survivors of the Hiroshima bombings were also amongst those who came to 95 This was true not only for Japan where the large post-world war U.S. military Japan not only forthe largepost-worldwar U.S.contingentThis where true was Kim Hak Soon, whose testimony proved to be so influential, however, was in fact not the first the not fact in was however, influential, so be to proved testimony whose Soon, Hak Kim , but also for South forhasbeen South Korea thatonly surviving justaswell. (it, butalso estimated returnees The (1995:159). Here, he points to a crucial – Here, he non-discussed yetstill widely points the matter that (1995:159).to An OldLadyinOkinawa , for PaePong which hehadinterviewed , The CEU eTD Collection 117 an income safeguard to (with order marriage in decision practically this to an impossibility). friends female her of many drove children bear to unable were they that discovery The 6 the on life-story her about talked who survivor A-bomb Hiroshima work in the clubs and bars nearby U.S. militarythe moral basesambiguity in Japan, Comfort Womenthe on whole debate of fringes the very with from the and system, narratives fragmented I additionallearned during stigma a speechassociated given withby Setsuko continued(1999:314). Marita, sex worka after different parts of Japan during warand had‘told the stories’ the staffworkersthe to about Japanese” the war greatly in lived “had shenamed“Bakery Auntie” who aformerworker sex encountered herself time. Moon atthat public general so tothe readily were not available Japan that during wartime detailsmany about hadwith a great known in had contact come they prostitutes several town her camp older the that of to resumedbusiness” the bar (1995:248).Katharine Moon,too,notes staff that at ineffective.had proved have medicaltreatment After herhusband’sto Kim] children; death[…][Mrs. survival. She herself amanmarried firsteventually marriagewhose hadfailed. […]She [was] unable began runningabar. her friends wartime in had means of Some remainedprostitution of as only the of the returning women admitted having been comfortwomen. […] Gradually, her secret came out. She “none home.findthat she There would return eventually yearsbeforefor shecould three there worked Hicks also reports via the story of Kim Pok Tong. make asGeorge living work, drasticallysex through to optionsa chose publicshaming, and reduced for search amalegreatly the providecomplicated Soh 2006). to forin partner Some, (Cp. midstthe of often and them amongst high be exceptionally to proved instance, for infertility, – alone Stations” instead, quietly with dealing long-term the andphysical emotional of repercussions “Comfort the happenedashamedreturn were too tothem.fend totheir families Many for to and to themselves chose silence into 25% of forced them madeof had war)were the itbythesheerwhat weight through The lives of women such as “Bakery Auntie” or Pae Pong Gi, however, are nothing but nothing are however, Gi, Pong Pae or Auntie” “Bakery as such women of lives The Mrs. Kim, who had been taken to a comfort station in Taiwan when she was a teenager, had th of August 2008 at a peace conference in Hiroshima. in conference peace a at 2008 of August Durebang hadexplained CEU eTD Collection policies.” (Choe 2009) ofgovernment victims all were say,they women the coercion, or need choice, by prostitutes Whether […]. women comfort so-called the to themselves compared have apology, an and compensation seeking are who “women, the that reports article the Moreover, Korea.” North from Korea South protected who soldiers American with sex have to them encouraging formerthe enslavementprostitutes of womenJapanese government’s from waffling opening over The Korea how much responsibility bases. it bears military for andoneU.S. of the ugliest chaptersnearby elsewhere in itswartimeparagraph prostitution history: already asserts a enabling was dualism betweentothe twoingovernment workprostitution-systems: Korean the “Southin that Korea has brothelsworkers railedSouth for sex years againstformer by the serving Japan’s Korea imperial army. haveNow, a group of accused some of their country’s former leader of a different kind of abuse: discussionof subject. the Furthermore, in 2009 an articlewas published inthe 97 together. day parents’ Korean tocelebrate workers 118 of Anj town camp however, this hardened positions may beensoftened,have seems, it as I couldpersonally witness onMay 2008 in8, the problems social of currentthe sex with workers engage to because hesitant very they were felt itcontaminatedof them several their that me to own status as victims. confirmed also Overperiod the lastextended fewan for years, there women to nothing had they how about opinions do withcommon prostitutes.strong very Tsukasaexpressed Woman Yajima,Comfort aJapanese former one volunteerwhich of in theHouse of Sharing who documentary liveda togetherwith shown the 96 indeed havebeen victims by structural asserting thatthese women similarities in voluntarily are sexindustry while they the acknowledge military nearby to bases, refusing U.S. firm linebetween sex andthe workers themselves also driven some of the mostand outspokenuntainted survivors victimhood, of complete prove astatus legitimacy” Theof (1999:320). pressureto secondthe their would compromise the Comfort which Stationsentails to forthnot unable “to for step and firstbecause justicethe andcompensation identity demand and existence repeatedly a hint of drawcompliance a very camp towns who had also been so-calledwith comfort women in the past, Katharine Moon argues, wouldtheir be sexual exploitation, of disenfranchisedbetween complicatingwomen.alliance Women groups two apotential the from the has claims toward a public recognition similar to that of the so-called Comfort women make to andwomen activists byboth town themselves attempts camp of anoutcome also repeated slavery. sexual are of victims They “real” than rather “mere” prostitutes women were the that claimed legitimacy formerwomenof survivingthe comfort by some in reactionary forces Japanwho have and the Korean state (especially the Park Chung-hee government) has been causing too much hasbeen disaccord causing too government) (especially theParkChung-hee and state Korean the argument that they were the victims of a prostitution system set up jointly by the U.S. Armed Forces See Katharine Moon’s article “South Korean Movements against Militarized Sexual Labor” (1999) for an academic an for (1999) Labor” Sexual Militarized against Movements Korean “South Moon’s article SeeKatharine My first encounter into this problem was during my visit at the “House of Sharing” in Kwangju, Seoul, where we were Such contestations need to be understood not only in light of ongoing attempts to undermine to inthe notbelight of attempts only understood ongoing needto Such contestations ǂ ng-ri, when three former Comfort women visited a group of about 30 aging former camp town sex town camp former aging 30 of about group a visited women Comfort former three when ng-ri, 96 . New York Times dealing with the claims made claims the with dealing 97 . But their CEU eTD Collection 119 understood as a of Koreans under Park Chung-heenation and Chun Doo-hwan, as we have previously explored, was primarily of soldiers, duress from malevolentforces. outside under of permanent attacks Andimagined community while the now a new campsupportnow camewomen, discursive town the to of to be construction nation,the understood imagination was given more (1999:317). inside Korea.” space amongst sovereignty.leftist- Nationalism serves as instrument mobilization [movements’]the key of and publicity abuse inflicted on Korean women by foreigners is a manifestation of Korea’s weakness or lack of of were linkedleaders groups alsoboth nationalismtheir suffering to the understanding– that of and they tobehelpfulproved in “The up publicconjuring support: feminism and anti-militarism of the women and camp town women movements were actively encouraging these comfort the kinds both of analogies of becauseactivists feminist fact in how explains Moon Katharine 2008). Han (Cp. a whole as nation Korean forof suffering the the allegory usedasanall-too-neat wereoften violation of sexual of women’s human rights (Cp.Moon1999:312)– inKorea theformer South Women’s Comfort stories universality the be to significantly to pertaining issueunderstood on to the – feminist caught audience militarizedlabor. in againstactivists sexual movements the Indeed, at very the a global same time that few a surprisingly, byquite not is, also endorsed leftthat nationalist the narrative of master a kind of imperialism, American and Japanese of victim eternal is the whole a unified as Korea that idea the with Such assistance – be it thatinvolvement provided for ofthe allJapanese toois, movementfe;tSystem also insurrounding the –that theComfort painfully discussions the many authorities local actors or the U.S.in themilitary recruitment – sits uneasily and whoaredeemedwhores for rescue. unfit daily management of corrupted those worthy versus of whoare eitherinnocentvictims attention into be neatly divided these women. can prostitution into women drawn notion that thevery itbecause complicates become to mainstream, In such a way both the plight of the so-called comfort women and to a lesser degree, that of a close gets taboo to occupator aforeign rather than state Korean the implicating Furthermore, CEU eTD Collection being dissectedand re-assembled insuch a way,would find often only increased stigmatization and were andlabor lived experiences sexual bodies, women whose the Furthermore, narrative. dominant makemore this nationalistits crucial project of to seekingvision imaginedcommunity the the history shows us, the more active moment of activemoment more us,the shows history creation of a nation” (2001:166).Butrather than forgetting,willful asthis momentparticularin Korea’s help. Ifelt […] that Yoon Geum-yi was justused as atoolfor anti-American (Lee 2005). protests” Kim Y of that as such well, as .ǎ being used. were narratives And thosewomenwhose with motifsYun of histories and details, personal who died before Yoon Geum-yi [=Yun K experiences her publication the through of auto-biography.“there Sheclaimsthat weredozensofgirls the appropriation of appropriation the of Yun K integrity tothe threat and ‘inner’ itself” nation (Jager 2003:73). (racial)the continuity of a as perceived was marriage) to by extension, (and chastity feminine to threat The […] ‘contamination’. of state the over Korea’s concern of object the “both becoming unwittingly women the with soldier-nation, the of understandingnation in may have beenalmost of asmuch a the patriarchal than rooted worldview racialthat (inner) ‘purity’ and the subject of active resistance to (outside) foreign 120 of and double-standard moral society‘s nationalism.“of [Korean] (2001:99; victims my more translation). fact in are women The victims. national as them co-opt to nationalist agendas: „If one were to take the personal99 decisions madeworld used by intellectualsdissident by in their portrayalofthe of adislocated the divisionof icon womentheir an homeland”as (2003:68f). elicited seriously, repeatedly were violation and ofrape metaphors Sexual […] onedespoiled. woman would Korean no longer be able division continued the to came talk when ofparticular in the prostitution, country. and rape, miscegenation, stressing “Themetaphors, imagessexualized with that most frequently emerged in the context98 of the divided peninsula were those of the nationalists: beinglikened awoman in of that nation the to duress In a similar way, Han Jung-hwa, a German-Korean scholar-activist, notes about appropriation of camp town womenAnthropologist Sheila Jager has explicated for indetail how the nationalist left of the 1980s started to deploy a rhetoric ripe m’i no longer nom’i being speakfor able herself,to contradictory be other just had voices shunnedto out ”Forgetfulness”, French historian Ernest Renan once wrote, “form[s] an essential factor in the factor essential an “form[s] wrote, once Renan Ernest historian French ”Forgetfulness”, The “transformation individualof biography intosocial (Das 1995:10) thattext” occurred via ǎ m’i subsequently allowed for very m’iallowed subsequently little spacefor attention tothe paid ǂ n-ja, the first former kiji’chon sex worker to openly talk about her about talk openly to worker sex kiji’chon former first the n-ja, ǎ m’i] died. But no one ever tried to help us when we called for co-optation ofmarginalized voiceshas beproven to even 98 . However, ultimately such an such ultimately However, . 99 CEU eTD Collection 121 come inhabit to now becoming endangered on top of already being endangering. had they spaces very the with chapter, next the in explored be shall as road, the down marginalization CEU eTD Collection enterprise: prior to military large-scale fuel to their colonialists by Japanese been used the had first DMZ. The area World War II, a smallantagonistic halves thistown region was relegated to the status of a border zone nearbyhad the death space of the emerged nearbypeninsula, approximately North of 30 kilometers Seoul, butafter divisionthe two country intothe of the roads and railsisprove him What right. seems indeed today's Tongduch'to built in this (2007:20). KimKorean modernization’, Byoung-sub writes A history town this atthe of look closer In away, tothe phasesof the of iseachsegment corresponds which likeamosaic piece, Dongducheon again and again getand again,to wasted,laid. ruined, (Field diary entry, June 2009) daytimenurse is the only to hangover,used repair to fix damage, the to whatcanbefixed; nighttime, made upin littlea skimpy dress.Slowly, from its town needed the badly awakens because sleep, to one of the clubs, to targetwith the former Korean sex worker that theruns the place. Other boys head furtheryoung down the street, straight Filipina woman talk or eachother with chitchat energy. food, aggressive a abeer at some café for and down Theysit of their choice that isjust place, one most of shape,them in tall, good muscled, healthy, waiting confidence they radiate and at than more the in tattooed them of Many bar, hair. shaven is their GIs as all discernible immediately them makes that thing one the – American Asian occasional the Latinos, Whites, Blacks, base. military their of walls the to clings ‘Ville’ that the enter they how that’s tow, in kid occasional the with wives, Filipina down mainthe laughing, street, pointing,Some gazing. hold the hands of their American, Russian or themselves, their hungryfor eyes some action. Others in walk three,four,groups of two, they wander by all emerge Some come guys to gate. start from boys the the falls incamptown, night When 122 III. Camp Towns asMaterial Spaces Peripheryon the A Piece ofthePuzzle: Tongduch' ǂ n is located at the very heart of heartKorean very atthe of the n is located ǂ n CEU eTD Collection 123 numerous family members” (3). familiespoor inKorea's countryside, with one parent or both parents missing or unable to provide for (1950s-70s),came from especiallygenerations of amongprostitutes such women. earlier Most, the barely junior elementary graduates high completed were consideredschool; among highly educated in out fact girls or very young womenin them were –manyof escape from starvation naked to by wish war, the who driven the were often they had lost following their directly years in the Initially, parentsforeigners. young the to services during emotional and sexual offered the war, as Katharine Moon points ibid). come from different partsin ruins after three ofyears of bloody civil thewar. Consequently, soon country enough poverty-struck Koreans would to make a intoprosperity the regionwas transplanted livinginat aparticular point when time itlay country the around in the shadow of of Also,the pocket andtraders. farmers the small-time housed hadonly previously rural area that bases built here (Cp. in U.S. the under of apredominantly wealth meant auspices ahugeconcentration the Armedof Forces a military in total km². region this amounting to of This land,40,53 of assemblage property and people Nimble) builtin vincinity, andagun areawerealso the training land by appropriated with the U.S. the Garrison Japanese of the well).YongsanArmy as headquarters the once was foundationsinstance,by is(forbehind left Japaneseimperial troops the what today‘sU.S. Army the Korea, intoo, areasof over other in Kim2007:21)–the simply took American 1953(Cp. troops War Korean endof the the bases after military anetof for erecting location this particular chose Forces reason why importantmostwar efforts.U.S. the ThisArmed was infrastructure the possibly existing region that would enable the exploitation of the woodland and minerals that helped to fuel their Pacific Sex amongAllies A large segment of those who came were young women who followed the troops around and With U.S. developmental aid pouring into the country, however, life circumstances for Korea‘s for circumstances life however, country, the into pouring aid developmental U.S. With In addition to the large Camp Casey, four other bases (Camp Hovey, Castle, Mobile and (1997): „The(1997): vastmajority prostitutes the of of 1950s to the 1970shad the CEU eTD Collection entertainment districts fordomesticentertainment (Cp.Han 2001:98f). customers rapidly now ingrowing found the be instead whichcouldeasily a local cater to to clientel American ones). Consequently, many kiji‘chon African- sex workersparticularly (and now chosesoldiers toU.S. move with out of involved camptown areassexually getting to attached stigma the with soldiers as ameans making of aliving, adding evenmore pressue tothe women already who had tolive Korea gainSouth started that to marginalizespeed in further would for 1980s the US prostitution kiji‘chon the affected deeply region under inlarger Nixon the1970s)and political, economic social and in changes and country the the 124 1988. Spencer also see workers, month,per these womenconstituted agold forexporters” (1997:373). mine the Onlife circumstances offemale factory junior high or agrade schooleducation, with nearly half living in company dormitories on company food with one day off “were foot truly the export-led of soldiers ‘take-off’ the 1960s.the Bulking thein into 18-22age group, either having a 100 signs of decline to the Tongduch' in 60,000 troops needs workers total the country,the about tended to of first 1980salreadybrought the GIclub.factory to the from the migration one day marriedget of toone them behindleaveand Korea for United the States – fuelled manya inbe richmuch moneyof the company made the of to perhaps Americans potential and alsothe to – inwas 7,200 1950sandreachedthe 60,000only latethe 1960s(Cp.Kimtoward 2007:22). Thedream 1997:28) –anincreadiblyCasey Moon high number population the that (Cp. considering town the of would prostitutes about making become home have 7,000 to aliving off in Camp nearby soldiersthe of sweatshops country the 1998:104ff)(Cp. Lie away from badly paid informal-sector jobs, or the super-exploitation taking place in the many In 2010:86f). 1960sandthe many 70s,then, womenof the whoentered camptowns now wererunning incorporate female the into the work-force process just industrialization of rapid Lee aswell (Cp. population improved,slowly andin1961,new afterto the military economiccoup planssought Young womencoming fromthe seekingrural areas and employmentSeoul’sin sweatshops, Bruce writes Cumings, After theheyday lifekiji'chon of the 1960sandduring 70s,whenmore than Korean 20,000 sex ǂ n kiji‘chonarea andother reductions spacesaswell: troop (especially - areas (Cp. Moon of Moon 1997:30f).economic ascent Thedramaticareas (Cp. 100 . Consequently,by mid-1960s,the Tongduch' ǂ n CEU eTD Collection become an destination attractive become an itself within the widerregion,from andextracting surpluslabor formigrants whom Korea has South economy today, with the country increasingly opening up its own frontiers of capitalist exploitation for – a phenomenon that is symptomatic of the dramatic shift in thefound hanging nearby out basesthe (Cp. Moon 1997; Han 2001). role South still Korea they women of handful same the playsharassing up ended often women intown camp Korean theof plight world employed inGIclubs had already sunk, and thedrastically many journalists whowritecame to on the price be paidto ifvoiced the inapublicforum.early 1990s, however, In numberof the women States, or nearby prostitution mere camementioning the of US bases with a high rampant potentially when under militaryjust sense: one boomingmilitary the U.S. had of camp towns inthe already peaked 1960s and 1970s, dictator Park Chung-heethemselves into the world of kiji'chon after the death of Yunany K criticism insert sought to temporarily protesters that student and activists, researchers Thenewsgood. reporters, of the security for in them residing population of make-up the and demographic the of contact change these zones alliance with thekiji'chon those when moment United public (or Korean of state) absence the in largely maintained are that interventions. areas transnational into turned been long have they In in reality a shame, rather national of spaces violent as Koreans many of ironicimagination the into figure still twist, the interest in camp towns peaked at the very 125 101 population ascompared host the anddevaluation spending power ever symbolic their to decreasing their with mingle incamptown Dueto various backgrounds. and social ethnic soldiersAmerican of marginalized femalemigrantworkers from Philippinesthe and other countries in widerregion the For an introduction into the matter of labor migration to South Korea, see Seol and Han 2004. Han and Seol see Korea, South to migration of labor matter the into introduction an For Foreign sex workers have in the meantime taken the places of Korean women (Cp. Cheng 2010) Today, years Yun after nearly 20 K spaces were already spaces werealready undergoing crucial thatwould transformations 101 . Consequently,nowadays economically hyper-and socially ǎ m’i's murder, while camp town areas such Tongduch' as areas such murder,m’i'swhile camptown ǎ m’i were chasing ghosts in more than ǂ n CEU eTD Collection 126 soldiers. peoplewith making negative assumptions ontheir moralstanding based factthe onmarginalization, they married that to are (former) U.S.great experienced again women these communities, Korean-American the amongst that found has She Furthermore, Yuh Ji-Yeon(2002) has also writtena very insightful book the onlives of military brides in theUnited States. fascinating book powerfulthe on taboo subject ofthe Yanggongju in bookher Korean the “Haunting Diaspora” (2008). the country (2008:292). Cho Grace M.,estimated the one million daughter women employed nearby of camp townsa U.S. since the soldier beginning of the permanent and stationingKorean immigrationa to UnitedKoreanthe Statesof all since 1965”, of argues Kim Jodi,who US percent ofgives number the 100,000 émigrésout fifty troopsof an woman,to in forty estimated an for reports responsible indirectly and the directly same are brides figures military Indeed, in her migrations, they enabled the have majority of migrationKorean to the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s. 102 husbandsfuture had been employed as sex workers in GI brides’ clubs as ‘military U.S. so-called the War Korean since the it has beenspeculated, whom, of (many near U.S. military bases, where theymarginalized womentowns today while sense 100,000 are to migrated inthetruest word: the of upto got to know their margins the kept on livingin Korean The remaining (2010:50). nation”,women of camp writes she the best are Koreans gijichon and borderland, a socially and culturally, politically, is gijichon Korea, South “Geographically Korea: a partof “internal olderare bynowmiddle-agedSouth within –as exiles” or Anthropologist Sea-ling Chenghasdescribed Korean living the women incamptown – many of whom counterparts. in as equally modernKorea the of ostracized “3as theirtoday themselves understand often soldiers these 1990s, the of process democratization since theever Korean only only for go,with them Korean friends place to having theirand families often withthem cut any ties women,from myexperience in usually campinlive town, and work because this itarea isliterally the in afterKorea failed andtime marriages to States. orhavetheir spent the These dreams, returned “Because military brides sponsored multiple and extended family members and became the first link in long chain inlong link first the became and members family extended and multiple sponsored brides military “Because their envytheir because iswithinshe arm’s ofreach the American dream. (Cho 2008:4) simultaneously provokes compatriots’ her hatred because ofhercomplicity withKorea’s subordination andinspires and the tragic victim of U.S. imperialism who fans the flames of anti-American politics. She is the womanwho dollars to the Koreanby boththe Korean and U.S. governments but economy.inofficially praised forproviding R&R to the Americansoldiers and She is the WesternizedShe womanworking is in the bars aroundboth U.S. military camptowns who is officiallythe condemned patriot who serves her country by keeping U.S. interests engaged 102 ), the women left behind in kiji’chon today have either never reached the land of land the reached never either have today kiji’chon in behind left women the ), Camp Town Women,and New Old rd country national” entertainer national” country CEU eTD Collection co-occurrence of several components (labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss and discrimination). (12). A more recent and also very useful discussionof one stigma isthe by andPhelanLink (2001) who define stigma as the deeplythat is discrediting” (13)and that bearerreduces the "fromwhole a and usual personto a tainted, discounted one" 104 struggles in everydaytheir Furthermore,lives. in his movie “Address Unknown”(Such'wiin pulmy to them for impossible nearly is it tainted: irreversibly are they life, kiji’chon the experience they Once view themselves and society larger the into and towns camp of out venture not to tend as“They Moon: ‘abnormal’,Katharine explains while repeatedlyof their co-ethnics has led to much self-separation referring of the women from “normal” Korean society, to the non-camp town world reductionthe in numberstroop in 1970s the (Cp. Lankov 2007: 252f). as ‘normal’. and Korean formedwomen the majority of these children, with theirnumbers only dueto decreasing adopted by new families, and initially, Eurasian children that were the outcome of liaisons between GIs tobe of sent abroad wedlock, born were 2000, approximately of most them out 140,000 children, many children camp town are sex of wereadopted notworkers readily between available. But 1955 and hyper-exclusionof by for adoption. overseas theirsending children away Accuratehow numbers of 127 directorKim Ki-d Ky by Park made is”), (“there “itta” called 103 raised in, or at the workplaces were they neighborhoods in the to, they went they would schools Korean the in later basis adaily on labordiscrimination in. reasons abandonedmothers would themand inKorea, consequently their massive experience if for The whatever their children, with soldiers. fathers the American encounters their “tainting” of living proof children are the mixed-blood Korea and the US,andtheir between space in-between the come tobe the very embodiment of that threat. Theirlife-narrations tell of the hybridity that emergesin in fact havewomen camp the town in giants, midst of located nation littlethe to the threat greatest ago. even yearsdecades or Forthe classical text onstigma inthe social sciences see Goffman 1990, where Goffmandefines stigma as“anattribute Onthesome of the histories of “mixed-race”children Korea, inSouthsee Mary Lee (2009). A forcefuldocumentary The stigma The With miscegenation in– both literalthe and symbolic sense of word– the seen bymany as the ǂ k make the son of a black GI and his formerprostitute wife the main characters as well. 104 that the women’s involvement with foreign troops has brought along in the eyes the in along brought has troops foreign with involvement women’s the that ǂ ng-tae, depicts the life of three grown-up Eurasian men, detailing the mundane the detailing men, Eurasian grown-up three of life the depicts ng-tae, 103 Many women sought topreventsuch a fate ǂ ng), famous Korean famous CEU eTD Collection she seems to have no contact with either one of them nowadays – she went back to the only space she space only the to back went she – nowadays them of one either with contact no have to seems she her husband havingwould start affairs, and theirmarriage finally in ended divorce. two children moveand to Statesthe with him. With notI. being pick able to upEnglishenough, fast to birth give a club, in working while met she that soldier a African-American marry eventually would workers for a while. A Stanley,war where she occasionally can be seen moppingorphan up the floor or dropping by chatto with the social and illiterate, I. was sold to a GI club at a very young age. She 128 to next located office Durebang the at is called, 60s her in woman the as sister’), their chances to make a living becomehave the actual home of quite a fewrapidly elderly women, who are living in great poverty in these areas,diminished as with haveway a in such U.S., to the adesired migration or prosperity either economic toward points starting progressing age. transient be the to meant were I meetwhich spaces, town Camp I.marginal. permanently the into liminal United States, the older camp town women are individuals who have crossed over from the temporarily public repercussions. If we think of camp towns liminal as zones betwixt South Korea and betweenthe happening. We should not be despised for whatwearedoing.” in (Quoted Cheng 2010:68) We from stops increase? bases things military these that of (bangpajae) surroundings breakwater arethe bewould likeif no Wouldn’t it were there prostitution? rape country’s the of our in women the What prostitution. no is there when even rape GIs] the [i.e. “They that argues instance for woman opponents, they importance of forwould assertthe country’s the their role economy andsecurity. One its by and military the regime both to subjected been they had repeatedly concepts nationalist very the stressing theirkey in role keeping boundary between the Korean nationals and GIsintact. Tapping into occasionally counter sought to widespreadthe negative stereotyping havebeenby they subjected to “Yanggongju” (Western “Yangkalbo” or princesses) have (Western women camptown the whore), reintegrate themselves into ‘normal’ Korean society.” labeled (1997:3)Derogatorily as by others Afterher in return stayedto Korea 1980s–herin herhusband children with andthe the States, Regretfully,for most the partsuch atattempts asserting their value own did havevery little Ǎ ij ǂ ǂ ngbu’s Camp ngbu’s nni (I. ‘older CEU eTD Collection obviously notenough to cause much outrage these women’s sexuallabor tosiphon much off of theirhard-earned money into is their own pockets makeof nation.isKorean who Korean use in itmembership club The factthat owners the primarily by aredefined of which imagined boundaries the moral circle, of standthe unambiguously outside “Yanggongju”, to the oldercontrast In longer Korean paying attention. all, strangers female after these used begroups by that outraged to conditions social the intheseareas during Yun K nationalist the of most even with again, space a forgotten into turned being increasingly nowadays is and inkiji’chon lot. theirTheir are nevervoices Korean beinghearddiscourses public effectively as furtheralien status complicating marginalized, residents theirthemselves equally as with precarious find who nowadays towns in camp working and living women migrant the for different very the conversation about kiji’chon being mainly held mainly being kiji’chon about conversation the with infind limiteddiscourse, spacepublic very by only documented others, andstories, actual their the camp town women are akin to the Gy by Park was made figure of the subaltern that does not speak (Cp. Spivak 1988), 129 of ofkind the exploitative thatreporting was done onthe topic ofmigrant sex workers. By mid-2000s,the Russian then, was generally speaking rather scandalous; withone article entitled “Sex Slaves” (McMichael 2002) giving a good indication kiji’chon 105 and NGOpeopleby whatever her. state Korean church or end upgiving the base,to the military small atiny dependingin ville adjacentunder 200Dollars of pension on the room a in poverty in dire lives and alcoholism her overcome has she Nowadays, job. the for old too became make aliving by tricks 10-Dollar doing manwith any she could possibly solicit sheliterally until to try still would she ville, the nearby field a small in vegetables growing to in addition Durebang, separation from her finally sunk children in, disarray and muchtothe workers of of social the truly knew: camp town. Her alcoholism became more severe as time passed and the permanent A number of articles published in Americanoutlets media about putativethe sex trafficking of Russian womeninto I.’s story is accessible because of a documentary I.’s of because called a documentary is story accessible were published in the early 2000s, with the subject then being taken up by the Korean press. The news reporting news The press. Korean bythe up taken being then subject the with 2000s, early the in published were ǂ ng-Tae who worked as a volunteer at Durebang for a while. Generally speaking, Generally for awhile. Durebang at ng-Tae asavolunteer whoworked 105 . about them rather than rather them Na-wa pu ǂ ngi with (“Me and the Owl”), that Owl”), (“Me andthe them. Matters are not ǎ m’i’sno time CEU eTD Collection 107 love are the primary discursive tool deployedby migrant women in rural Japan as well(2006). their clients. with Anthropologist relationships romantic Liebathe in Faier,energies working onFilipinatheir entertainer investing by migrants inJapan, circumstances shownhas precarious that notions of under romanticlives their shape to 106 meantime trouble becauseshehadcontinuous with allhersalary,receiving suffered from stressful the afewknow each learn, Angie, other earlier, Igotto months in from her club shehad and the away run people I ever get to hangwith are people other in out Ievergetto DTC FilippinasAmericans upthere or only the that just later, „it's hours of acouple when hearrived brought Angie to we hospital at the onduty doctor andthe Durebangworker the to apologized immediately Bill speak anyKorean“, don't solely depended on Bill for money, whotreatment because right away she was living inKorea withoutwas papers,had insurance nohealth and short-strapped for cash this closeGI friendfiancee of herwildly. hadswirled too heraround medical from Shehad out refrained seeking to payday. „I'm sorry I a leg because her broken earlier, had pain she in – aweek great and wits her of scared out both she was that clear was it time, first the for met Angie I When mid-40s. his in is who Bill, fiancee, her on bets they meetget to during theirin working hours clubs.the migrant workers only, and andother theirmilitary personnel areU.S. contacts all. social at Their Koreans meet any ever they rarely visions and clubs, the in them hopesmanaging women elderly the and for owners club the a besides betterand country, the of rest the life are often focus entirelywork regimes on of 6 to the7 days a weekGIs of labor in the clubs barely gives them the time to venture outWhat is into more, the migrant women barely ever leave the camp town spaces that they live in – their harsh 2,300 women into thecountry came with helpof the (E6)-visas entertainment (Cp. Rabiroff 2009). sex employedworkers in camp townsnowadays hasdrastically decreased: in 2009, for instance, around 130 H Korean, have received much less media attention right inSouth Korea –a lengthy article in the careful inhanding E6-visas toRussiancitizens after outragethe caused by similar these and news reports. The Filipinas women had more or less disappeared from camp town areas, as the South Korean government had become much more DTCis the abbreviation thatGIs and entertainersthe in kiji'chon like to use when they talking about Tongduch' Sea-ling Both Cheng (2010) andSallie Yea (2005) have ethnographically explored theways these migrant workers seek Admittedly,inheydays comparisonold tothe kiji’chon of inthe 1960s and70s, the numberof Angie, a 34-year-old Filipina, is a good example of a migrant worker who has placed all her ǂ 2009) was rather the exception to the rule of silence. rule the to exception the rather was 2009) 106 Hankyoreh online newspaper (in newspaper online 107 .“ Bill and ǂ n. CEU eTD Collection 131 promised and apartment an her he got – there employment of months three after did she which insteadbut they got only often one, sothey regularly tobuy out went themselves food. meals –the feedfood her were andforneeded perday,to club themthree owners supposed work on she clothes sexy the buying on made she money little the of most spent often She broke: and hungry club owners from the very get-go, but Angie could notmake herself do that, so she frequently ended up finished. Many to prostitution women resorted to augmenttheir salaries orwere talkeditintoby their money was getthat hercontract shewouldhadbeenarguing when only week that promised, she with less up than ended typically she – days these badly a very hundredgoing business with reached ever rarely she a goal – dollars per week, while of DollarsDollar.which perdrink, she usually 1 received was to sell As herquota perweek 100 drinks the club owner withheldbuyinghermore drinks which would entitle themto20minutes herof time. The guys would pay10 the other 100 barelydollars anyper singing to found was there butshe soon that payment, 800Dollarsof imagined,she hadbeenpromised though: be done, just drinking job. for chancethe the Work applied she took and be much out tohave turned hardershe could than every nights with hermoney was neverwhen enough. she So heard work of opportunity the asa to Karaoke singerin Korea, GI clients and coaxingas for main the her care-giver children, and eventhough hershe helped mother out with selling fish, them into intounemployment. Angie's Filipinoboyfriend andfatherofher childrenhadleaving diedin 2000, her for thefamilytogether byselling fish market ever at the since Angie'sfarming gave father andup went motherscrape aliving –whosons were herher tries livingwith to still of two where Philippines, the justto seeher. club owner working conditions at the club and felt bad that her boyfriend had to pay large sums of money to the When she met Bill, things changed for the better: he advised her to run away from the club, the from away run to her advised he better: the for changed things Bill, met she When family,of eightThe a peasant of sibling oldest Korea from province hadcomea remote to she CEU eTD Collection 132 109 other. the on circumstances precarious in living workers ofundocumented legions of workplace as hardpossible,change a resulted having inlot make a ofhuman to violationsrights one onthe seeking hand,and inthe creationstate of Korean South the with well, as just ofKorea sectors labor other in workers migrant affecting that their employees will try endureto bad working conditions to stay documented. Similar regulations, by way,the are leave the particular club they108 signed a contract with. It has given room to much abuse by the local club owners who know letoff man steam”, you one aplace to asitgave “Love area the everyday: of hardships the the for the a treat considered being there available women the with basis, adaily on up built tensions the of some release themto allows that valve asa pressure works that space figuresasanerotic often their eyes, in kiji‘chon, vicinity. base in the employed women local) and (foreign the and population local the for meanssomething it entirely else than does necessarily kiji‘chon businesses, entertainment camptown of clientel main the up make that ranks lower of soldiers male and single young, predominantly the For Army.the in secret kept best the as Korea able tounderstand.If you be stay around the never Army will a while,for you they will understand that what soldiers Youmean when convinced home. they about are talk return you when others with shared seldom is that experiences Korean the You will never forget the vill [sic] and your close encounters of the Korean kind. If you are the average GI, it will be one of themselves in tobe together.order complicate things further, for Bill buthe isconfidentthey be somethingwill able work forto out inmarriage amilitary Koreatheir comeswhich andherresidencepermit as dependent will through, wherevermilitaryor upsendinghim. elsethe ends be reunited herAngie with children, wantsto once intentions of returning to the States anytime soon, butinstead just wants to continue his career in Korea somehow got stuck with themilitary, he told me during several conversations at the hospital. He has no the be with was now ateacher, Army, but to memberwho former wanted Navy a Bill, originally militaryitdifferent togothrough. agesfor involved, embassies all U.S. and took paperwork the the two butwith me, Bill papersformarriage, told theirnecessary signed have the meantime,already they hergone as reported club momentthe the expire would her, visastatus her to as marriage Ending to an anonymous account of a “Night in Changpa-Ri, 1969”, URL http://www.imjinscout.com/The_Vill.html This particularstipulation that is part of the E6-visa regulates that the women’s visas expire immediately in case they Of GIJohnsand Soldier Husbands 109 108 . In the In . CEU eTD Collection minority sectors and other social strata where easy access to higher education and better-paying jobs is higher andbetter-payingjobs whereaccessto education and social strata easy other sectors minority conditions of clubsthe they at.Often work recruited from in United the States empoverished ethnic circumstances find they in that themselves as entertainers the are inhibited by working tough the by labor the asmuchcurbed with power agentive their (Lee 2009:656), necropolitical power“ lives). everyday typically cast in the role of are (while women prostitution militarized in the gameof the perpetrators the arenaturally military people victim, which, necessarily,exploitation denies them– is highly sexual anyfemale and militaries agencybetween relevant, nexus the on writers feminst by inmade insights but managing similar and I am troubled their by some of these authors‘act assoldiers?“ identitiestheir This ofthemselves– asmanlyenough (1992:23). own observation to implicit assumptionsustain to able be thatmen American many would sexuality compliant women’s Asian of myths Without maneuvers? ground and voyages sea tedious often long, on off men young send to able be command Military:„WithoutU.S. a sexualized andrecreation’ ‚rest military would U.S. the (R&R) period, works well 2010b).out“ that (GI by a curfew do? Oh yea, have sex with their fellow Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. Let me know how 133 repercussions. such circumvent to name a new under again it open and club the down close to resort times who at owners, club affected the to inrevenue cuts great means be can Soldiers openly. too prostitution in engage that subject venues to punishment if found punish to ataclub oran areaorder that in has beendone put off-limits. often is Being that blacklisted insuch away black-listing usually– a location 110 for sale] off-limits provide sex places [that these seeks to counter the commotion soldierssurrounding or sailors who just want to have a goodthe time [or]red blow offlight a little steam“, districtsanother any forinternet you [sic] thing and as greedy they not were as now” (GI2009a).„Why beat uponhard working user nearby US bases. „But hey,formerly stationed nearby a DMZreminiscesthe about Villefrequent, heused to “The girlsdo would put all Putting aclub off-limits means that the USFK authorities issue a warning to theiremployees not tofrequent a particular Instead, Iwouldunderstand wantto soldiers asboth agents and victims „of state‘s the Access to foreign women, writes Cynthia Enloe, is one of the unspoken perks of joining the 110 -then what will youngexcitable guys chained down CEU eTD Collection common friend, many men stationed in one of a the of remoter baseintroduction the areas surroundingthrough Seoul Seoulin downtown form wife relationsfuture his met first who Ben to contrast In them: for bring will States in the back future the what worries and wife Korean newly-wed his with relationship his maintaining with is struggling he me that tells He that. to exception 134 wasakey environment, preoccupation. Ben, a21-year-oldsoldier stationed in Tongduch’ women outside military of the they that usually,by means but noknow in always,to got a camptown with bonds sexual and emotional their maintaining met, I whom orbit military U.S. in the employed men young the of most For money. for exchange in and fleetingly encounter to encouraged only are they that entertainers the with relationships invested emotionally form often fact in do soldiers where Dollars. for services sexual of exchange encourages only that a system of in spite alliances their acknowledgement of Some(2009:672). moments in agentic encounterbetweenthe then,soldiers andin sexworkers, emerge each other‘s similiarities,militarized environmentthey live andlabor in because of their sharedsocial and economic background and in their attemptsi.e. laborer prostitute. the – goes Lee‘sgroups, so The two are argument, thrown together within the to shape romantic or other sexualized“ (2009:656).The counterpart of soldier,the in is this logic, proletarian femalesexual the sexuality is deployed as a range of tasks,including those that are not only gendered but also sexual and masculine where labor proletarian sexual of kind „aparticular are labor, military or soldiers, analysis, labor,as military military and industrial sexualized her and other prostitition, service In work.“ mobilizingprocess various working-classof such into gendered sexualities respectively labors, service be described as sexual proletarian laborers. „Sexual proletarization,“ writes Lee Jin-kyung, „defines the in those the (andsoldiers best canperhaps particularly lowerArmy) readily ranking U.S. available, not don’t understand athing abouther. to Korea, to her. But it’s hard. I’m are marriedmuch to Koreans. better They treat their than wives the like shit. I’mothers, really trying hard because to be different.my wifewith I’m being trying Asian… Itwillat be difficult.to […] least be openYou know,I’m a good I’m trying. guy, tothe others.compared Those that But often it feelskind like of I town I’m from. MyWe all eatfamily, breakfast together at the kitchen table.they Grandma cooksare the food. Onsimple Sundays we go to church. That’sfolks. the So am I, I guess. They are not racists or something, but Some of these theoretical considerations I did find mirrored in what I witnessed in I witnessed in camptowns, mirrored findwhat Idid considerations Some of theoretical these ǂ n, was no n, was CEU eTD Collection approach toward the women employed in women clubs. employed the the toward approach money, can beboughtfor accurate many for the entertainers isconsidered soldiers the by disrespect integrities and bodies these women‘s that and anyways, money hard-earned their after areonly women 2010a). With back“ checks(GI hewaswriting came that the from many get-go the assuming soldiers bad the all when ended It home. at kids several and a wife had He hotel. his in and bar the of out her 135 evening. menpurchase forthem usually containmainly juice to make sure the womendo not get too inebriated too early onin the 112 of the woman (Cp. Cheng 2010). on a night out is usually exerted both far she how wants by to go herself withfor the her decide customers. to club has In putatively reality,who manager entertainer, however, ofthe shoulders or “soft”on the and thesometimesweight whole the outright soldierleaving pressure to performaccusations, who sexual serviceshas paid a lot of money to be in theequivalent company of a sex fee – but the term itself is still left vague enough to absolve the club owners from any prostitution owners to make betterclub fees. their of As knowledge prostitutionthe without is officiallymeetings own their forbidden arrange by to law Korea, in seeking the barfine consequently womenis understood ofthe many money,with to be the club owners in order to 111 take the entertainer outside of the bar – the entertainer herself usually only sees a fraction of that them to „never trust a Juicyyoungmen by are usuallyindoctrinated their older, more experienced soldier who companions advise The well. as just clubs in the meet they men the with relationships their complicating often from suffer young entertainers the stigma that „whore“ with the more difficult, relationships of emergence romantic purchased herin company sucha way. fine“ club,in one of the small „VIP rooms“ that some theof clubs provide, orafter paying the notorious „bar pay money in exchange for time to with them willingness – time soldiers’ the either on founded spent bent necessarily are over encounters a drinkinitial inthese the that means dim lighthowever, in, of the embedded find that theentertainers themselves The meetonaregular basis. structure women club they with women in the clubs. They are, after all, besides their few female co-workers on base the only death spiral. Atone guysmartial court itwas foundhe that was paying over $300 “Juicy” or“Juicy Girl” is the term most soldiers use forthe entertainers – it refers to the fact that the 10-Dollar drinks the The barfine is a fixed amount of money (usually at least 100 Dollars, oftensubstantially more) that needs to paid to the 111 The imaginative range and the common tropes that GIs often deploy about the entertainers gives the deploy about GIs often that tropes common andthe imaginative range The The fact that direct monetary incentives are part of the game most certainly makes the makes certainly most game of the part are incentives monetary direct that The fact which allows the entertainer to leave the club for the length of an evening with the man who man the with evening an of length the for club the leave to entertainer the allows which 112 “: As one soldier warns others on a blog, „Some guys go on the juicy every nightto keep CEU eTD Collection sex workers with a space bar filled with aliens that he had seen in an old Science Fiction movie: 136 Tongduch’ described of post the his author Toko-ri, in the article, section of acamptown the particularly revealing about „the „RokDrop“, with many formerreminisce section soldiers inthecomment taking the opportunity to good ol‘ times“ wishes.an entry logicon Tongduch’ This pervailsthroughout of kind in the Oriental sexualized andracialized Other, be perform made whocanandshouldone‘s to to according Ville whenmeetin the clubs – whether they be Korean or Filipina – are often subsumedmoney by the men as the ultimate was splendidmoney or generous display of wealth. and the womenwhere young soldiers soon learn that most women will only pay attentioncheap. to them in exchange for in life the by daily Ville,of reality the iscontradicted engagenotin completely prostitution to superiors In a National“Country „Third the to comes it when Additionally, here“. insane absolutely go people comes, entertainersnight beginning,the everyone seems friendly, everyone isin nice fancy suits during the day, butonce the employed„At districts: entertainment in night-time behavior people’s on bases he observation an times, at him to in the clubs,thoroughly isunacquainted with, symptomatic here.Heexpressed me to how„dark“ country the seems the repeatedhere having year lived still of one is after about he Korea, acountry on parochial perspective talks meansno enoughtoadequately forprepare them highly often encounters with contentious locals. Ben’s and warnings„cultural istraining“,a few too, limited to lectures at mandatory beginningthe of their stay,by whichis givenofficial in. Their stationed are they country the of visions complex ondeveloping for left time and energy baselittle have by soldiers the of many jobs, demanding physically their working base on spent time their further insights into the soldiers‘ perspectives on these fleeting or longer-term encounters. With most of Obi-wan movie rememberand Kenobithe barwith the space aliens init, in the Warscity of Stars Mos first Eisley, the watched ever that iswhat youhave Toko-riIf crazy place. was dirty,sleazy,and like. one be to used ago years a few Toko-ri once described Mos Eisley as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy”, Toko-ri wasn’t much It isnotsurprising within such aframework, then,that the women that the young soldiers get to ǂ n area thatwaswell-knownits for hard-core stripshows, by equating the GIclubs and their ǂ n‘s Villeblogin called a CEU eTD Collection current place they find themselves in, their ability to maneuver in, find successfully current placethe themselves through themselves to they ability their the of out aticket as function potentially can that men very the by integrity moral and availability away from their home country, and faced with vastly diverging imaginations about their sexual with both by suspicion and client-soldiers. Workingpity their their difficultfar jobs and stigmatized Filipinaby find themselvesenvied entertainers both despised olderthe and and people intown, treated a livingsqueezelives, diminishing out present options of themselves the that intheir daily rapidly the out of each night. While the olderKorean women inhabiting kiji’chon seekmiscellaneous ways to varied social, andeconomic ethnic background,all of whom are unitedby maketheir desireto thebest means, right? She’s basically being held like a slave there. Many are. It’s sickening.” but she told him that the on hera date, out Heasked in clubs.” the one of lady clubthere nice very met Filipina a “I time inawhile. owner would probably beautiful “Ilovehejustwomen”, them”. says,not Recently, he re-visited Tongduch’ allow her to do that. “You of South thereweremany U.S., the “they Mexican andbeautiful,women Philippine around, are know what that inhis hometown hein the as In putsit. forspecific purposes”, in“brought present thevilleswhoare explains to me that much oflousy ones”(GIKorea2010b). Tony, an the Army has soldierfour who Korea been forstationed years, in bad reputation of theand weight for money!’-of courseU.S. not. They itdo because itis the best or militaryonly option out of some really in Korea upsaying,Filipinas grow up ‘When I wantI grow towork instems bara andmen sleep with twice myage from the women woman in distress, Another common whotrope that diverges from that of the cunning exotichas Other depicted above is that of the fallen prey to sex trafficking. One soldier writes on a newsboard: “Do 137 would want to “stick it to the midget”, but hey to each theirown. (GI 2007) that is how well known shethe Midget ofis Toko-riin fromthe old crusty USNCOs about howmilitary. they used to “stick to the midget”bottles, especially onNew After beer Years; and cigars with andseeing things defying to anatomy did who Lady top Dragon the theas known woman itKorean midgetby a led offOlympics therefor myselfwas even I can’ta midget.coveredchocolate in wax, and imagine aretardedstrippers barmaid, that used tohold what was knownas theP***y Before why I anyonehad evendifferent. However,ever of orbeady instead green, horned, eyed aliens, Toko-ri Filipino had Russian juicy and girls stepped foot in Korea I had heard about Villesum is inhabited up, assemblage space,to byawild actors differentof of differentage and ǂ n’s villefor the first CEU eTD Collection 138 in explored more detail. be shall destitution, economic levels of different to subjected areas, town camp other several in which mission of the night. Such and other themes shall be explored in more detail in the next section as well, Ville attimesdepend seems solely to luck:on their Running intoa decentguy becomesoften their CEU eTD Collection involved in projectthe „bought land the from government, which hadit the set in aside preparation for an create „to them modernexperimental building for place andunique design.“ The group of artists Heyri village –an m²art has usedtheapproximately to artistic community space that 500,000 allocated isvisitorsattract in the negotiated increasingly 1953. seeks to forces was P‘ajuAnother areawithin that venturing right into the heart of the DMZ to see to DMZ the of heart the into right venturing by or South, the of invasion an of in preparation dug troops Korean North that Tower Infiltration 3 the visiting by Observatory, Unification Dorosan the of heights the off glancing by Korea under acity label, which even today comprises a mere341,000inhabitants. in large settlements this scattered areakm², thesize which (672 exceeds of weresubsumed Seoul) early underJapanesecolonial fabrication: in1997,thevarious recent P'aju isavery on urban rule, only emanating from the North. the from emanating Ǎ stationed here. P'aju, perhaps with Korean great bases military region pride dotted once initsthat numberofU.S.soldiers took even more so than the names of Moon 1997:29)– a visitorbut to area the othertoday will findonly bases abandoned in a thinly populated cities close to the DMZ (suchP‘aju, as due to its high concentration of troops in its area, was once known as the „GI kingdom“ (Cp. 139 114 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CZfD-3hCQ0. at be found can film, opening the as screened was movie her where Rotterdam in Festival Film mist is there because ofthe casualties that fell during the Korean War.“ A video of thisinterview,filmed into atthe International it: „Paju is a city (2010),situated explaining her choice by saying thatbetween the city name sounds familiar to viewers, North yet most people have andnever set afoot South113 Korea and is often wrapped in thick mist. The people told me the ij Information taken from P’aju’s website that can be found at http://en.paju.go.kr/index.do. at be found can that website P’aju’s from taken Information movie recent most her for title film the as name city's the picked Chan-ok Park director expectation, this on Feeding ǂ ngbu and Tongduch’ The city‘s economy nowadays depends heavily on tourists that want to catch a taste of North of taste a catch to want that tourists on heavily depends nowadays economy city‘s The ǂ n conjures ), upimagesof an lifeaustere border permanentunder the threat 113 IV. A Tour throughthe Villes Gyeonggi-Province in But in contrast to nearbyin to But contrast Tongduch’ P‘aju P'anmunj ǂ m, where the cease fire between enemy the between firem, cease the where ǂ n, which achieved town status rather n,status whichachievedtown 114 rd CEU eTD Collection small pension. We are here bills her hermedical with all paying feedherselfafter month to each scrape enoughmoney to together today to buy manages barely she that her is now more am with I member a staff 20 Durebang the kiloconcerns what but health, sack of rice, which shouldMrs. Song,aformerisyearslives clubemployee who 70 now old around in byherselfis poor and help her last for a the village, all the way to the house of Mrs. Song, whois eagerly awaiting us in her dark one-room flat. well-tended. seem to be fieldsvegetable that can just fence,make out I next tothe Inside old the basearea, gate. of yearlater, a government Cp.Weavernextto the in ahut isa nap 2005). takingAn Korean guard aging andCamp Howze Camp Stanton were all inclosed down South Korean 2004 andgivenbacktothe installation of severalmilitary U.S. abandoned to one next right The Villelocated kiji'chon. the is at inbefore wearrive the area (Camp Edwards, facilities, several military Korean past onsmallerhighway, roads, minutes fifteen another drive for we Camp Garry Owen, Camp Giant,are headed forfilled theKaes that vans with goods Camp Greaves, any traffic in this area at all, only occasionallyto P'anmunj I watch a tourist bus pass leads that by road bases, wefollow the defunct now of chain isof in middle a whole located the area that us, driving next kiji'chon toformer a largest fewP'aju's to visit my of day the On is. Heyri than P‘aju of part hopeful less much exhibitions here.‘“ (Fifield 2006) and concerts have can Koreans North maybe day, ‚One says. founders] community the of one ho, Eoun- Kim [i.e. Kim culture,‘ through tensions the of some resolve help can village ‚This war. Korean which in„hosted an 2005 exhibition entitled 140 Kaes city of peninsula.“ long-awaitedthe Withof Korean reunification the North tothe closer being actually Heyri We way of caropposite maze-like fence of andmakeour the the parkour backalleys through The former Ville located next to several now abandoned U.S. military bases is necessarily a necessarily is bases military U.S. abandoned now several to next located Ville former The ǂ ǂ m until we nearly reach the first few checkpoints leading into the DMZ.is the leadinginto There barely few first checkpoints the m nearly until we reach ng than to central Seoul, the proximity to the DMZ is a distinct trademark of village, of the trademark DMZisadistinct the to proximity the central Seoul, ngto than DMZ-2005 ǂ ng industrialng complex. Aftermain gettingoff the to mark the 55th anniversary of the start of mark of to anniversaryofthe start the 55th the CEU eTD Collection 141 to the with Forces further negotiate Armed to is seeking still Korean government South area. The base former the of clean-up hasty military‘s US the after is still actually soil the contaminated how known it became have quickly after evaporated big plans seemedto But the arrivingthis area. students to on spacethe freedby military‘s up U.S. the relocation, andeveryone prospect wasexcited aboutthe of yet.area of justP’aju A in campus ininterested learn, another located building was university Seoul, I Seoul as well but– this newit connection,seems, is not enough to attractinvestmentinto this run-down central with P‘aju of part this connects that and nearby located is that stop subway opened recently her tonoisily coffeestirring “Thebefore ask aboutthe soldiers returning should back!” come I again. by yelling atall.”tablenowthe can find intervenes in sitting women the One agitation, of at work wild is gone,shelaughs atme bitterly and says,doyou “What think? very hard,It's very hard, andnoone many years ago, with their son staying behind in Korea and starting a family of his own. soldier, family leftKorean a Korean his an to and husband, aU.S. next Her flag. uniform American Yongsan high school for military hasdependents and snapshot another him inhiscaught school taped intohas she that son eye-height her of photos the us show to counter the behind us takes owner the then but – past there: one picture showsthe items still visiblejust as well. The rest of the room at firsthim sight does not give away any clues theof while taking thatofferedboard of dishes meat all andgrilled burgers kinds partin back day,the with Dollarthe price of in a Taekwondo contest Koreanhandwritten of loose sheets menumenuof ontop intheform of several oldthe paper English at the years her isvisibleboard placed agostill on menuprominently shea over the counter: simply glued afew toU.S.soldiers cater sheused factthat her to for herandThe awhile guests. with totalk stay mannerandwe us in afriendly greets The restaurantowner cigarettes. overcoffee andchatting and former GI clubs and bars, with their English names now slowly fading in the sun. while way On the again. localour –theleft supermarket in to thisonly byseveral one area –wepass Later on, we stop by a little restaurant where we meet a group of aging Korean women sitting of women Korean aging a group where wemeet by restaurant little on,westop a Later When I ask the old woman how everyone is doing these days in the Ville now that the military the that now Ville in the days these is doing everyone how woman old the ask I When CEU eTD Collection continue their employment in the clubs nearby clubs in the employment their continue for venereal get on a regularto iftheywanted forceddiseases basis tested to themselves recently in until in working area were club wherethewomen STDclinic the located a former office,Durebang Just afew steps down the street from here, opposite of the wall that separates the Ville from base, is the in midstspaceships of the darkandthe quietof this rural scenery. extraterrestrial like glisten will wall the of inside buildings the and land, of patch hilly elevated in– from the area, that onto youisevenings look awonderful basethe have located that on a slightly buildings. A running small dirta fishery road little leads through this community farming all to way the street here and walk straight ahead, I would soon end up in the midst of rice paddies and one-story farm if the cross and a zebraI would crossing, to close nextto thebase, right is located wire. stop bus The this property, U.S.military the base emerges, which is equally encircled by a large wall with barbed gray wall comes intosight, aprominent correctional facility for Korean criminals. And now, adjacent to landscape. right, farmers alargethe canbeseenthe houses on only across of small Then, the sprinkled from 142 115 times. for wait better to continue bases abandoned the nearby left residents few the meantime, in the –and again projects new for get additional funding for the expensive procedures benecessary will that the before land canbe used Seoul to Ppaetp central from get to bus the onto subways from transfers several and hours half a and one good a takes It mandatoryThis wastesting introducedof so-called aspart “Campthe TownClean-Up Campaign” describedgreat in Ǎ ij But I am not interested in the Korean village today, but rather in the Ville that lays to my right. to lays that Ville in the rather but today, village Korean in the interested not am I But ǂ ngbu, the bus takes youto the outskirts of the satellite city and then intothe rural area, where ǂ l, the small ville located next to Camp Casey outside of the city of Ǎ ij 115 ǂ ngbu . Next to Durebang, a small Korean restaurant is restaurant Korean a small Durebang, to Next . Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu. Coming CEU eTD Collection neighborhood live under dire circumstances all by themselves, Mrs. Lee married just a few years ago. married a just Lee Mrs. bythemselves, all live circumstances dire under neighborhood above the mirror placed atlook picture wedding onher the few InoticeI scars old arm, then belly adeep of her dog. instead hairy the strokes mechanically visither today, – Lee to Mrs. come have who of us two the to responding while many of itin uphalf frontof already muted gazingtakes thespace. Half atthe TV program,the and listening half former camp town sex workers littlepeople’s he town. streets camp canfindof run-down garbagethatin the narrow the of her agewoman speaks to us. Today, her husband is inout working again, collecting any resalable trash thisfrom other perhaps achild’s former toy,Lee’s Mrs. which sits on drawer,its facing us projectile aging the while tank, a miniature onto fixes soon my gaze room, the entering After households. their in electricity thoroughly way antiquated heatinginof the eyesofmost Koreans havewho gas long changedto and The apartment,lapdog. half-blind her and husband her with shares she which of space small like the apartment, basement most houses in this Ville,its adjacent military basefrom in theU.S. herher find one-room separates we wall the that Ville, can only be heated with the Itried theones there. lotis tastier than a help of a coal oven base strangely butfrom military hereinviewof oneserved my the the experience, pudae tchigae, own – a 143 detail by Katharine Moon(1997). Nowadays, insoup. nearby the left-overs coming out of the U.S. bases addto the remainders of sausages and spam matinto through a spicy went they that poor so were locals the when 1950s, in the area very in this invented supposedly mealwas a that is “basestew”), (literally tchigae in pudae restaurant order to up. Thebestthis dish shipped hereprotect morning every to base the and from terroristsitprotesters that end the never show are here.police They riot as men working young Korean the to meat dishes sells cheap that located Mrs. Lee invites us to join her on Mrs. Leeinvites her ustojoin her on with bed,apiece together furniture of the that TV placed Today, visitscheduled Iam Mrs. Lee to with together a Durebangworker. Pressed upagainst Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu, an entire street is dedicated to restaurants that all specialize in thatallspecialize restaurants is to street ngbu, an dedicated entire CEU eTD Collection says she still KoreansKoreans, GIcostumersover prefers – “the they arethe they think andking, they sheyears running upuntil is placeiskeeping ago;not the that three that upnow doing better.much She 500 has hit remaining the villagers very hard. why That's closeshe had downthe to little club she was itadmits,used tobe around2,000soldiers at stationed so basethe long not but ago, downsizing the to readily she days, these well going not It’s Ville. the of street main the on business small this runs she least10 years all due older heavyto herformer job that the drinking inthe involved. Nowadays clubs friends, she invites us to sit down and have a coffee with them, too. Mary is in her mid-30s, but looks at made with these women, only those understood to be capable of making the least money are sent here. Ppaetp lookinggood onesare sent that over by –in their agencies hierarchy the of still existing camptowns, Camp Stanley. The Filipinas whohave instead taken spots their not areoften youngestthe andmost at stationed numbers troop the of downsizing most recent the becomevictim haveto not that of clubs this Ville in patch a living together a similar way, with only leftin a few Koreans working handful the in people Most her. than less even have who those of jealousy the attract to want not does she because notneighborhoodproblems.mention anyonein income She urges heradditional usto the else to 144 with atashoppingcleaning work mallin continue working. Nowadays,her home, serving American soldiers drinks, snacks andshe her body until she grew too old and tootiredreceives to a small pension from the state andspending the rest of augmentshis life doing menial work such as the one he is busy with today. that income to and write relegated was learned howto henever gone hishand school, with and elementary entered even he before invalid an him left and exploded them of One money. of bit little a for them resell they that fieldsbase could about so the the nearby found scattered they time ammunition collecting his spent neighborhood, the in children other many with together husband, her achild, was he When ǂ Emerging from Mrs. Lee's flat, I see Mary sitting in front of her diner together with two of her Mrs. Lee herself spent most of her adult years working in the GI clubs a few steps away from away afewsteps in GI clubs the years working mostadult of her spent Lee herself Mrs. l is certainly on the lowest end of businesslowestl ruthless the endof ladder, calculations the is and to on the certainly according Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu thefactis despite she that having severe hip CEU eTD Collection 145 whole bunch of that girl’s hair and scratched her all across her cheek. So Miss Yu says, whenever Katya she does not like. One the with girls and abusive getting everyone inRussian at much, aggressive,swearing very too she gets day, she drinks wasshe whenever and problem, cat-fightingdrinking a has Katya then but – years 22 of woman a Russian me, with a Mongoliantells Katya, she is there least sametime. the At at her, obnoxiously giggling and with a conversation girl so badly that sheher, girlsother aregossiping about back constantly to switching Tagalog when inthey midst are of the tore out a they do itin such a mocking way that she feelsinsulted by them. She seems tohave the feeling that the her, greet they when even – irritating very with work to has she that women Filipina younger much about the continuous fighting now that they inare experiencingher workplacethese She days. findsthe for his son.” Just recently, her son said to her, “I basically have no father, right?” money“Asshole”, him,much says more she about “he has but so he still I do, anythingthan doesn’t do barely has any contact –he doesn’t send any gifts to the son, not even a card on birthdays or Christmas.she son, her of father the With change. will things time, some boy the give kids, be will kids that her tells just he occasionally, phone the on States the in grandfather boy's the with speak to gets she least mom,she andher wasn’tright. own heras she did to badly behaveAt as childwouldtoward one day mother, who passed away a few yearsgirls ago, keepwasthe says, sayingshe days, asking these trouble of lot a her tocauses He her university. Korean himwhenattending to comes it when sheout wason stilldates young and that his her hisagecohort with ownhe isatadisadvantage Korean, guy andspeak hecan write read, although his life,and friends want to hangbusiness, she is very concernedout about his future. He has been withgoing U.S.to military schools formost of him all the hell out of time.here, go to the States herself. Alsofor the sake of her son – heHer is 16 now and with her failing no bullshit.” wishes, fuss,extra no no bigmeal, one come, they justwant they GIs, while the like you treat aslave, If baseclosesthe for good,she says,maybe sheshould finally the take opportunity and getthe Miss Yu, another woman in her early 30s who still works in a club as an entertainer, tells us CEU eTD Collection 146 corner.for aburgerjoins upher 17-year-old Sherings later there as sitting daughter, who us well, I’m gonna swear, goddammit.” course That’sswear? shouldn’t life,of me,that’s I my “What, that. about nervous gets staff Durebang the and sentence, every practically after swearword a puts She loved.” be to want and now, husband a go with all the guys”, she says,“and boy, did they treat me badly. Iam done with all that now. Just want now, Sally explains, she used to be a “juicy girl” she says, and then laughs loudly.“Yeah, sure, Iused to “Youtoday – the She’s foryears Japanese.” Ifuckinghaaaaate 12 arehalfJapanese? inthis been town is ready to start a fistfight. Sheher early 30s, herblondis hair in disarray. Whether drunk not, or Sally always likesomehow looks starts she to harass Lina now, a filmmaker from the States thatbut he’s in Iraq now”,is the Mama yells inwith our direction, when we ask aboutus him. pose. Next to it, a series of snapshots of an African-American GI: “Funny guy. Came here all framed wall of blacka curvy are two and white photographs the in of American 1950s the actress a racy time, makeon the out down. The Ican coolingonly decorations placethe than swirlingdust rather upthe fan shaky one and day, the last not might they like look that tables and chairs 1970s, the to back burgers. Mama’s place issmall very and run-down –darkbrown furniture takes that visitorthe straight me now, all fat andold”, backmake she behind andlaughs,returning thecounter says to some more she beauty,look at it, usedtobea me nowtop “but that of on tells place, actress andan runs the that mama “Ville inthe already, asshesits Korean too, café,the The of belligerent, this owner café”. and worse by the day. be getting to seems moreno andthesituation coming, customers are –there trouble constantly causing is owner the as club at the out stressed very is everyone says, she Nowadays, again. work to enough drunk, shegets too makes just surethat the girl a bit of gets sleep at one of tablesthe until she isfit Mrs. Kimjoins usnow, as awoman inher40swhoworks ina waitress a around the club Sally, her half-finished beer in front of her, is very interested in us today. A Korean woman in A Sally,find another location, that in isvery later I at regular area, few hours drunk the another CEU eTD Collection 147 performances andimprovised stripis emptytonight. tease, The girls areallyoung, none of them over music occasional used for Lina’s stage, hesees after The camera. interest friendly he asksuswith herefour is Filipinasthatwork him company.keeping “Aremakingyou of documentary?” kind some disturbance – just one tall African-American GI playing pool at one of the two tables, while oneand leaves then again.of There’sthe nobusiness tospeakofjustyetanyways, we arenot so causing a would kickusoutasweare clientsobviously not here, old butthe woman just gazesatusfor asecond – agedformer –yet prostitute that another the mama-san Mrs. Kimwasinitially place.a bitworried he looks at us, and he says, ‘mama, you’re a gangster, too, no?’” movies, they see that the gangstersalways smoke andin spitand sit around clubsthe all day, then and the in And then that. like things boy the telling hekept brother, husband’s my “It’s explains: She gangsters”. weareall they everyone, hate think they afraid, it, they just“Not hate no, GIs?”the Iask. of afraid they “Are says. she evenings, the in house the leave even to hate daughter her and he both and their college, Ican’thelp them out at all, and Iwant tolivebit a myself still, you know.” Her son is 16, “I they future, after them,20, there’s keeptellingturn forfor can’t pay them,nothingmorecan do I I their about worried very is She here.” much so it hate my children that it’sjust future, in the base the with happens what matter no go, to else nowhere have “I town, this in stay to wants she and says, she went with her two kids. For five years now, she has been working in this one club, it’s ok work, she understand…” don’t just “I in English, adds she swear”, they “Whenever what the guy said, her mama just smiles at us and then says in Korean, “No idea what he said, noidea”. street at someone else:club. “Hey, “Ok baby”, bitch! the mama Hey!says, perhaps years whichsome intoorder 20 old, comes hedeliver food themamaa nearby wants to to andYou when fucking the guy leaves bitch!” the restaurant,quietly Mrs. Kim’s andwe hear all himdaughterashamed yell down until asksthe her her mom mother says she can leave again. While the girl is still around, a GI, An hour later, wesitin Mrs. Kim’s club and listen to loudthe hip-hop beatsin darkened the She came tothis town 10 years go, she tells us, she ran away from her husband, so this is where CEU eTD Collection attack by a group of locals from localsnearby by of attack a group from Anj demonstratorsthe along thewall of military US the base, eventually, and procession the came under activists marches yet one andanother wouldfarmerswould hadstarted of take that erupt: their regular police riot activists the onehand,and Korean other,the on on linethe unexpected another of conflict Seoul. central to had come scene who from activist peace the supporters many andtheir farmers rice agingthe battle in to sent were eventually police riot Korean 10,000 to up until attention, of center the became ri Tae’chu- small months, several For years. coming the over government Korean South the to returned be leave soldiers additional the thatwereto thousands of Yongsan to in central was Seoul, which garrison the accomodate the basenearby,meantforbe theextension of to used was to a way such which was actively resist their from eviction houses theirtheir farmingand land. This landin additional gained to started CampHumphrey to adjacent directly community from Tae’chu-ri,farmers rice-farming a Korean in States 2006: new inthesecurity with causedmuchcontroversy alliance United the role key for U.S. the P'y Armed inKorea. of Forces gravity center new the becoming increasingly sticks. A good three hours on the subway away from from away subway the on hours three A good 148 116 music. I see how Mrs. Kim laughs with them, shaking her heavy hips together with the girls to the sound of the 25, they are cheerful tonight, heavily made inup their short skirts and ready joketo with everyone, and Informationprovided to me by several activists who took part in the march. One dayin 2006, when tensions were already betweenlocalpeaking farmers andmilitary anti-US 116 Every day of protest in Tae’chu-ri to the bar owners, waitresses, and entertainers in in entertainers Anj and waitresses, of day Tae’chu-riprotest Every owners, tothebar The P'y ǂ ngt'aek area: Anj ǂ ng-ri, who were assaulting the participants with rocks and with ng-ri, assaultingrocks participants whowere the Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu is ngbu ǂ ng-ri and Songt’an P'y ǂ ngt'aek, a small harbor city is city harbor that small ngt'aek, a ǂ ngt'aek‘s ǂ ng-ri CEU eTD Collection leading away from leading away from base isthe entrance lined with usual the sellingnumber stores of X-largeclothes facility. entire the mainstreet the The eye observer: of tothe Villethe however, exposed isfully area, together form the microcosm of themilitary base are kept from my vision by the big wall that encircles facilities, running and tracks the golf thatis course beingincurrently built, all thatshort, structures the comes into view – however, houses, the vehicles, shoppingmalls chains, food and fast the sports P'y more I travel on, the more dilapitated the housing areas around me look, with the shine and glory of the Korean customers to make customersKorean to purchase. their in heavily made-up broad daylight Koreanwomen can be seen sitting inwindowsills, waiting for instance, the hapless visitor finds herself soon engulfed by a run-down Korean red-light district where ahead, though – if one takes a short stroll to the left from the plaza in front of the trainstation, for subwaysfrom depart central P'y Seoul to Much work Much to work P'y turn dimensions. unknown previously of hub military and economic an into city the turn to plans own their USFK’s forP'y the at same that plans the time government, Korean The peninsula. Korean the on activities military their for center become the to thisarea out has befallen relativelyharbor thispriorly US the now that town unimportant Armed hadForces singled with its fancy stores and American-style coffee shops is symptomatic of a sudden economic change that a brand in station newtrain P'y 149 Tae’chu-ri caused nothingbut big one ruckusin everydaythe life of Anj “Yankee andthe loud of income, source practically only the emergingfrom nearby Home” calls Go of Anj majority the to Indeed, occasions. such on bases meant another day without revenue, as US military personnel was usually not allowed to leave their ǂ ngt'aek train station rapidly receding back into my memory. Finally the giant US military base military US giant the Finally my memory. into back receding rapidly station train ngt'aek Getting on a bus nearby, from here it takes another fifteen minutes to reach Anj Most visitorscomeMost that to Anj ǂ ngt'aek into the neat futuristic city plannersits make itout tobe is laying still ǂ ngt'aek hasjustrecentlythat beenfinished. Thehyper-modern building ǂ ng-ri get there by taking the bus from ng-ri bytakingthere bus from P'y get the ǂ ngt'aek in fiveminute intervals nowadays, and one at arrives ǂ ng-ri residents, the military base nearby is nearby base military the residents, ng-ri ǂ ngt'aek became known, also announced also known, became ngt'aek ǂ ng-ri. ǂ ngt'aek: trainsand ǂ ng-ri, and the CEU eTD Collection other women, Liza, who is old,years and Liza, who women, 29 other Audrey, the is“Ihad about rumors heardsome 21. who performance in front included aportfolio putting together perform, songs to interview several of stages and evenafinal of South Korean embassySouth Korea herself, Joy staff.and several other women went through a meticulous Inrecruiting processthe that end,Philippines thatwas run by a young andbeautiful woman, whoJoyin had worked in previously a club was chosen, together with two Anj the Villerougher aswell.Joy, get going instance,foris a came mother 31-year-old of to who three, struggling for their survival, own themethods keep deployed toinfluxthe ofyoungfemalebodies into the Ville, Koreans sexuallabor the on livingin whose areadepend.Withthis residents local the 150 in. looking instrolling neighborhood that arm street the arm they thesmall resideandwork around down spaces are motels and love innestled away predominantly with young sidestreets, Filipinawomen the Theclub little coffeeshops. dinersand style parlours, American and pizza restaurants sizes, Philippine bring for long-termforbring residents of Anj young Philipinas working next them. doing all of from kinds bartenderingtasks cleaning simply to to keeping an eye onbusiness the and them, despite their advanced streets of Anj age and often failingindividuals health, are the former prostitutes who have grown too oldstill deprived to continue economically their most originalthe work.elsewhere, In work as thehere doubt, a without And in displacement. theimminent clubs to make ends meet,developmentfor majority the empoverished of people residingin areathis hasbecome a synonym for be as nearer area,whichisfuture.developeda “newtown” This inthe to state-driven kind of rapid some degree threatening to overrun Anj overrun to threatening degree some ǂ ng-ri ng-ri from ina small town Philippinesthe towork as a singer. Recruitedbyan agency in the The changes that have landedhavein The changesthat P'y The paradoxical insecurities that increased wealth emanating from may base from insecurities increased emanating expanding that the The wealth paradoxical ǂ ng-ri, manyng-ri, aging camptown women can beseen on an ordinary day afew– quite of ǂ ng-ri ng-ri mean often very little shorter-term tothe female of residents ǂ ng-ri these days. Recently, the entire Ville had been designated been had Ville entire the Recently, days. these ng-ri ǂ ngt'aek in the shape of its grand trainstation its to in arealso of grandtrainstation ngt'aek shape the CEU eTD Collection Durebang. Withinhalf a day, some Durebangstaff workersshowed upwith police,the whodemanded herabout ordeal passed onhername and that of her club a friendto inKorea, whowould then call up of clubthe had– decidedshe stay could not and for helpvia called email. A Filipina friend she to wrote in acorner crying night first her spent had who – Liza Songt’an, nearby in because though, tomorrow, no be to was There fuck!” we then and you, for back come will I ‘tomorrow me, to he said “’Honey’, sitting with her all night buying her drinks and trying to coax her intositting on his lab, but she refused. the Philippines. The second one, he’s the window. And so it goes, until the whole house is finished.” guy”, explained one of them to her, “now I just think of workthe door asto thesoon new house as I willpossible have built in if she sex fearget her over hertoof here,and encouraged they really makemoney around only the to way wanted to do well for herself inspentmost of the thisevening filling her in about the job. Goingtown: on bar fine, they would explain her,to was “When I think of my laughedfirst in retrospect,opening –within notime,shefound herself performing stage, on a“sexy pole. atthe “Me!”dance” she “a mother of three! location,Look and Liza and Joy wouldnotmeet her again. Joy described her first eveningat at the club as eye- my hips!” The womenthe (Liza andJoy claimed thatother Audrey even hadnever aboyfriendbefore),was a taken to third women working at the club town nearby town P'y 151 Anj to promoter Korean her by taken was Joy and assured them, soLiza and finally made uphermind go.to woman “We the your careof more time. one daughter”, agency running the good extremely take will woman the speak with to her departure before few days a agency the cameto her relatives some of so and work, sex entail might job the that well as doubt in was family her that says Liza there. her for hoped for the best –her sister had gone to Singapore as a maid after all, and things had worked out well nevertheless she but me, told Joy singing”, about only not was job the that online stuff some read job, On her second night in the club, she had her first client – an African American GI – who kept who – GI American an – African client first her had she club, in the night second her On The three women would then be separated at the airport in Inch' airport the at separated be then would women three The ǂ ngt'aek that mainly services ngt'aek that personnel.AirForce Audrey,inexperiencedmost of the ǂ ng-ri, while Liza went to Songt’an, another camp another Songt’an, to went Liza while ng-ri, ǂ n after their arrival in Korea, in arrival their n after CEU eTD Collection see a bit of the world. Before thataway from him for toget know through an acquaintance, awhiledrugs, soshe was and doing wanted she had worked to got she man a British Manila, in in then back Japanboyfriend her – anagency through in sent ago, years a five club twice, a totally differentShe gotline the ofday explains. offshe hearing”, from court the to rush workingto had we then and breakfast for in coffee had theonly “I – clubmorning to get all the official meetings done. She came to Korea order coming from Korea. acknowledge court and States the tothe to refused hadinreturned young question man the already because hopeless waspractically hercase byDurebang that lawyerbeen provided told byher she had their child. She is currently in the process of suing him for that money in a Koreanfor court, but alimonies justpay today, to starts serviceman, US a boyfriend, former her until least very the at nevertheless, her flat at night togo to work at the club she is employed at. But she has decided tostay in this country fordocumentsKorea years inSouth all. three nowafter Tryingavoid deportation, onlyleaves to she Filipina told me.Herfear immigration of is big too – she and herlittle son have been living without in shelives Tongduch’Whereexactly a rural fishing community in the Philippines. maid in Singapore in a job that her sister has procured for her, while Liza works in a women’s center in Joy,home. a ticket back as Durebang offerflight a free of upemployment has intaken meantime, the Joy that day, who was extremely happy to see her friend again – and they decided to both take the 152 Anj opened shelter infacility Songt’an, the andnext joinedmorning aDurebang worker on through a walk a to recently taken wasthen go.She wasfree Liza to ownersothat backLiza’s club from the passport ǂ ng-ri, where they were to hand out flyers to other Filipinas they met in the streets. They ran into ran They streets. in the met they Filipinas other to flyers out hand to were they where ng-ri, Angelina is a very pretty woman, and she gives off a certain nervous, yet determined energy this … And Back toTongduch’… And ǂ n she would not be able to disclose,be ableto not a30-year-old Angelina, n she would ǂ n CEU eTD Collection take ashower take Noshampoo,there. nonothing. Then until we stayed on post 11.around Then my club could we and clothes their borrow us let just they post, on got we When everything. you buy can we owners threatens him with the police: “My friend, boyfriend, I think, he said, just come with us on post, couple of times. One time negotiatea withGI the bar owner, the customerGIs, and the other girls for better working conditions, she runs away a hides her on post for a night, but freaks with in Korea. out after the club neither the police nor the priest could provide them what they really wanted: a new job to make a living because later days few a club the to returned jointly but now, custody into taken all were women The police the involved. got herhadhelped escape that priest the and club, atthe conditions because of the up in company the of a Philippinepriest –agirl from clubthe hadjust runaway alittle while earlier ifthem. thegirls But workwant like don’t to pushing!” that –no Within weeks, thepolice two showed “No pushing. If some of the girls want to work that kind of job,make the extra money, then I can’t stop if anotherquite justthey you, tell upstairs are rooms,the you gowith have to this andthis guy tonight: 153 I told them.” if thedothis, Philippines, Iwon’t you send mebackto want, So I signedpapers that inthePhilippines. in the not was this that them told I And fine. bar know, you customers, the with out go to us wanted medo. […] what kind job They I foundto wanted of here, that they out after “Whensex work: I got issueof the owner over club the with quickly escalated matters clubs, the at arrived Onceshe hands. for GIs, of course, she tellsat the ones that serve GIs only, orabar where regularus, Asian men can go toas well.and She picked the ones within three weeks, she held her 6 monthsand she didn’t feel comfortablevisa with it, that’s why she changed employersfor manyso times. Korea in heras well, just sexthere sell her to wanted they sure, yeah, later concedes, but – us tells first she work, The next fewThe next turnedinto struggle months aconstant for Angelina. midstof the In to trying It is one thing, she tells me, if a girl The agency asked her before she even went to Korea what kind of clubs she wanted to work at – decides to go with a guy to make that extra money, and CEU eTD Collection 154 changes jobs, she is in a constant panic, until the day he leaves. goes intohiding, a couple of times he tries to set her up, calls immigration on her, she changes flats, she kidjust aswell, from yet another GI, they want tobring both of kidsthe uptogether in States.the She should give him the baby so he can take it to the States, he wants to marry the other Filipinaanother whoFilipina has now,a he talks badly about her in front of her friends, he keeps telling her that she from the girl and not to takesupervisor a DNA test. speaks He doesn’t to him, his acomplaint, files base,she on her goes She again. contact not then does passport, American payand forall anythat of comesher additional out of because of Shegives birth, stress. the hepaysfor hospital the bills,makesbaby sure he an it the gets is costs,that baby histhe lose might he’s she fears she authorities and fights horrible dating have they occasionally, ex-boyfriend her into runs advice him to stay away friends help sheher out, in works a restaurantfor nopay, justfor the enough food, to notstarve, she inmany, between occasional call phone pregnant work, too to many isbroke, She ones. unreturned tells me,and shefelt once baby’sthe she madeuphermind heartbeat, keep child. tothe will pay for the abortion, but then she changes her mind,workshe leaves.findsshe in goesbackto she She she is out tells clubs, him,hethe pregnant, he says she is a Filipina after all, she is Catholic,leavehim, to shethreatens she place, all the over on her, around hecheats sleeps realizes and soon there, her it’s all nothing butasham so he can live off base, he tells hertocome live with himnow. She goes remembers her from her club days, they start dating. He is already married to a Russian woman, he tells as a civilian working inside the base, she works the telephone, she works counters, there’s this guy that they found an apartment for us.” they said, ‘Youscared.blabla,so they So got run away,have to in So we’regonnatrouble’. get cause police, Korean call he’d the hesaid, Because scared. got and call soldiers the them, to owner tried Somehow she hears about Durebang, some girl tells her that there is herDurebang, of there that this people girl she about that group tells hears Somehow some the again, silence long then her, support he will he says now, then her to talk to refuses He She changes clubs, she changes jobs, she changes boyfriends –she gets ajob “on post”, that is, CEU eTD Collection Stanley and its many buildings, vehicles, military comestructures clearly into view.look!” “Mama, the excited tobe on the bus, he puts his little fingers onto the window screen – as we depart, we pass Camp 155 her. for day long very a been now, inhereyes there’s it’s she and there’stears says, “No, noone,” Iask. niceyet?” met anyone you and then pick the right one, make sure I can go tothe States with him and filemy law suit there. “Have laughsbitterly.Angelina I ask future, her. Whataboutthe “Marry a nice GI”,she andsee, wait says, herself”, inside from aclub seen never she’s if as speaks “she – Korea?” in life night “How’s with out it her. herhe have totell nerve wrote starting happened”later hadthe an not email, wife His Filipina goto hospital to facingwithout deportation – “If you had megiven thebaby, kind that ofstuff would her her childwas6months ago, ill,very was son and made Durebangpeoplethe surehe beable would months,“With money,what how are they supposed todo that?” The last time she spoke to the father 3 of every country the leave to have will they boy,so little her citizen, American an is he Philippines, the money, she wants afuture for her boy – she can’t give up, not justyet, and how are they going to live in necessarily mean that she would be allowed into the country, too. gether hard rights, to she that andthefactthinks, is boy herlittle an American citizen does not letter from the Korean court, so she would need to fileofficials a lawsuit in thewho States, all toldbut in herabsence they it willare notbe monthsin of work, all charge,the lobbying, all the court meetings, all the phone callsall with embassies and military those of all now, And it States. the for for left nothing, already has ex-boyfriend her that now itbe done can seemslittle what – he never accepted the meet her,make they understands sureshe lawyer, comeherher to aninterpreter, they a get they get during the day, work, just and work, taking careof herlittle son. Shecalls Durebang finally, they out go doesn’t she town, camp leaves never she deportation, of bones the to is scared she rounds, the makes that number phone a there’s more, much know doesn’t she towns, camp the in women helps Two hours later, we sit on the bus that is bound to take us back to Tongduch’ Going back to the Philippines? Maybe, one day – but she wants this beto solved,she wants this ǂ n. Her son is CEU eTD Collection 156 military base and all that is inside of it rapidly disappears out of view. U.S. the as mom, his him and look, both they so and base, the inside he sees something at points child CEU eTD Collection mock-glossary on how to effectively run the ville and deal with the cunning women of the night to be to night the of women cunning the with deal and ville the run effectively to how on mock-glossary scheming andlive, everydaystrategizing bythosewho and work playin them. A soldier a comprising difficulties of finding oneself in a dire spot far away from home. suspension inbetween different countries andlegal systemsis, made byfinancial and worse emotional fearful but for women there, the employed ina dailybusiness kiji’chon is not Murder andrape end in thisnormalized note. not livesstory should on people‘s here,butthe and experiences can are escalations violent that doubt No domination. outright of arespaces they areas than entertainment in employed the andforeign andlocal women between GIs encounters a-symmetrical spaces for Ville: camptowns, as they present themselvesin their 21 when imagination andbe madelived experience out can studying between and discourse practice, the between a crucial difference that show to Ihavetried foreign) women, to degree, a lesser (and to Whereas the usual focus on kiji‘chon is primarily directed at how these realms are endangering localto marginalization. into driven further even ironically were attention of center atthe neighborhoods the again, over and over inKorea from visibility be erased to tends aspacethat over out broke repositioning of South Korea in agreat violentimagination thisdebates, kindof actors tool allowed nationalistgave for that adrastic relation to its ally, the United When spacescamptown were first castintoview asviolentspaces from 1992 onwards in Korean public States. With the symbolic struggle that 157 2009b. bashing the U.S. Armedto taskforis taken apparent inaccurancies and biasesForces putatively thathe displayed article, inhis andaccused ofwillfully in Korea by focusingdiscussing aprominent article onkiji‘chon written merelyby Kevin Heldman, „On the town with onthe U.S. Military“.the Heldman hereworst aspect117 of ville life. See the full discussion at GI This statement was left behind in the comment section of the Rokdrop blog by posteran calling himself „Retired GI“, some good. But you have to look for it. You didn’t. So you found what you were looking for. What you wanted to wanted you for. What find. Not looking muchof were a challengeyou what if youfound you So ask me. You it. didn’t. for look to have you But good. some If the only place you go to is the Ghetto. The only thing you will see is the Ghetto. But even in the Ghetto there is Camptowns are both endangering spaces and endangered much requirethat maneuvering, V. Ville Spaceas Endangering andEndangered 117 st century forms, aremuchmore century reconfigurated CEU eTD Collection 158 Korea back to returning without spaceof kiji’chon lost inthe in-between whoget butthose stage, a better inboards into future,it. butrathergotstuck Liminality,bemeantis all,a to after temporary manage use thosewhodidof spaces –whichdramatically these affects notthe to Villes asspring grappledshed with. Ihave some to onto this tried light history small-scale progressiveof devaluation spaces and major transformations of others over the newhas spiral into trajectories. potential the them very to that the space next few years being a veryseemingly on a holdput inthein-between of failure and success,hope and is abondonment,camptown real prospectlives their With nowadays. women Filipina the of many drive to to seem that be stories success similar is their moneylives earned with inthe Villefounding families transnational or It soldierwith lovers. their actors who are here stay.to To be sure, some of their friends have done well for themselvesby building kiji‘chon‘s all of amongst ones only the are often who lovers, their and American their co-ethnics – butoverlooked itis exactly women,having olderthese Korean by experienced double-abandonment the older ones, cleaning the counter, filling the it.share of glasses anew or mopping soldiers‘up moneythe seems to befloor, constantly slipping throughmay the fingers easily of those who air,the thin into seekevaporate and to threaten always future better a to for hopes get ease, great with collapse theirbe own often commitments stable seemingly space, transient in this but basis, daily a on made are – kind those of other camptown actors. Alliances shapedin yetthrough night another in ville,visions the maythat very bewell runningin opposition to direct get how to visions andon tools own particular intheircomecommon thatupwith they – all have three client GI another yet faces she whenever build will she that home back house the of dreaming Filipina ways andmeans toextract monetary or emotional value out of the young soldiers stationednearby; a encountered there; an aging Korean woman who after years of work in the club is still looking for new In the midst of all the young bodies encountering each other in the dark spaces of the GI clubs, GI the of spaces dark in the other each encountering bodies young the all of midst the In At the same time, this liminal zone is endangered just as well, with the collapse of some Ville some of collapse the with well, as just is endangered zone liminal this time, same the At kiji‘chon – of a merely sexual or also a romantic CEU eTD Collection 159 for their sole entertainment are left behind. much oldurbanthe across conflictof space ofthe capital. in And once again,brought women the a rightdistricts instead,withentertainmentto downtown dis-placing and dispersing to their claims entertainment city inner out seek often they freetime, their in Ville: the of out themselves get to strategy on It’aew dissertation devaluation with progressive the Faced monetary compensation. where beattained without can sex often of kiji‘chonin easyspaces, accessfound be can Ville the of prosperity the to threat to silent more public another nowadays past, thein the camptowns transportation,soldiers, and Korea.South Beyondreductions impacts and the usual troop on relocations thathavehadgreat asglitzier will entertainment be explored districts in a merethein game GIclubs. nightthe at the the of hour next or two awaytwo sections(both across Korea, the region and the globe) is very much dependent on how well they play theirmobility cards their that see ones younger the go, to else nowhere of have they that find may ones my older the marginalization – and immoblility social the and geographical it comes that with – isvery real: while used by members of mostthe powerful military in world. the Butfor many its inhabitantsof (sub)urban talkin of a ghetto a Wacquantianinstance (seefor these sense Wacquant spaces describing for 1997) to counterintuitive is rather it as terms, analytical in with think to useful that be all not may Ville the areasfrom these proper.Korea labelThe „ghetto“ deployed by afewquite GIswhen they speak about of foreign sex labor toserve the proletarian military labor of the United States further disconnecting itseems. systems, ormakingproper the U.S.,areturnedtheir to permanent outsiders way both into ostracized from U.S. soldiers, however, can and do move relatively easily across the (sub)urban landscapes of landscapes (sub)urban the across easily relatively move do and can however, soldiers, U.S. Camp are towns usually doubly from removed of center the gravity, Seoul, with introductionthe ǂ n and Hongdae (two entertainment districts in Seoul) increasingly deploy a deploy increasingly inSeoul) districts entertainment (two n and Hongdae CEU eTD Collection 160 lens. ” […] Thatwhole areawarped is someKorea like version of seen through somedemented global “Itaewon istheghetto. Notcallingittheghetto is notgoingtostop it from beingtheghetto. they commitsomanycrimes.– owners,were they trying tolure usintotheir didn't like it.Idon'tlikeshops. I soldiers, because wentI with fivefriends. We went clothesshopping. Still, somehowwe were scared. The store high school, aKoreanwas killed man byanAmericansoldier inIt'aew No, Idon'tgotoIt'aew one findsinsomeparts ofHong Kong orNew York. it’sSeoul, and theoneplaceincitywherecockroaches seen thesameprofusion of Ihave as The localrestaurantswith oftenseema lower standard tooperate dingy tatoftheInternationalMarket,everything appears greaseto havealayerof and dust. not because Itaewon hasany Fromintrinsic merits. thegrim environs of“HookerHill”tothe crowds ofexpatsseem tobedrawn there lack imaginationor adventure, because they asense of has become.is oftenpacked, there’sAlthough it notmuchabouttheplacethat’s attractive. The the sweetKorean purityhas littlein of common with pears[...] theunpleasantghetto Itaewon Itaewon isso namedbecause itonce hadaprofusion ofpear trees. I this ironic,find giventhat - (Koehler,online user“KrZ” 2008) Of Violent Nightmares and American Dreams and American Nightmares Of Violent ǂ n, I was theren, I I don'tgothere onlyonce. was because whenI still in Dong-ha, 23-year-old Korean student It'aew ǂ 4. n’s Freedom: (Jeffreys 2007) of hygiene thantherestof of ǂ n. Theone timeIwent, CEU eTD Collection the spacethe that American in inhabittroops in“downSeoul primarily their hasalsobeen turnedtime” associated with formation the hegemonic of masculinity is 2007:192),it(Cp. Shefer surprising not that closely more military the than institution other no with And aggression. and virility with ripe area an into neighborhood this turned has garrison Yongsan nearby the at living and working men American military. U.S.the Theinflux several of generations young of predominantly unaccompanied and 161 is usually not exactly a heavy task. and in any other bar that afemale person sets her foot into, obtaining a free drink from one of the men already present there 118 Honey, where are you going?” a group of GIs yells after me as I make my way up I. Militarized Masculinities: Between Imagined Ghettoand AdultPlayground It'aew up. goes (Field-diary, 30 entertaining themselves by fights withpicking each other, which should keep them busy till sun the consumed, theand numberlook either of femalesroom veryjust hang outdepressed in the darkerwill corners of of thewhomcertainly orclub arebybored. themselves, very scantily watch I the know womenfloor, a redsome on dance the women the notT-shirt– arebusywith away”it, put dressed.says “Lickit, stick that that arethingsgo present Butup, mostly will butthe womenGIs, who have found theirchangea way into this club tonight.Englishfew A few men – one of them prominently sporting ofteachersover the time:andplace is withmen youngpacked guys whovastly theassortmentoutnumber of white, black andKorean migrant willwith workers more justin the night”alcohol start in It'aew time first their It's me: of front in drinks their for line in Korean girls waiting two conversation with a cheer. ashort my bar up get andstrike atthe free drink I me with andwelcome they men tonight Colombian of largeMy a congregation iswith friend American Many clubs in Itaewon have “ladies' night” events several times a week which allows women to party and drink for free, for drink and party to women allows which week a times several events night” “ladies' have Itaewon in clubs Many ǂ 118 n , butdoseem by a bitsketched a out menintheroom.the good look around Itake now: the is the one entertainment space in central Seoul that is most heavily marked by the presence of presence the by marked heavily most is that Seoul in central space entertainment one is the th May, 2008) ǂ n, I learn, and they love “ladies’ love they and learn, I n, Club H. to meet J. CEU eTD Collection way to undocumented migrants. Therefore, the It’aew backgrounds, andtheinhabitants of area the nowadays from foreignrange embassy employees the all by now itfigures as a cultural and social center tolargerimmigrant populations with social diverse nearby military at stationed mainly function to while itused to personnel as aresidential area Yongsan, for drinking, and dancing playing. Additionally,out foreignersgo andother lesserwomen, GIs degree nearby the Yongsan military base, It’aew ordinary. the of out night a cheap of byexpectations attracted district cometothe or barsand clubs, in the staffother employed attracts crowds every night because of its very reputation of illicitness, foreign hedonism and itsracialized illicitness, crowds every very night because of attracts of reputation district that entertainment asan itself few established lastdecades the – buthasover establishments eventown or an district it –although urban red-light still houses avariety sex industry of related 162 It’aew in over. majority the be certainly fought Menmost to are as theprize very merely equation the into figuring often women with here, around reigns competition male of atmosphere an space: transnational andthis urbanareaisbutdensely-populated small, of indeedthat diverse a hyper-masculine most notorious entertainmentdistricts, impressionthe be gainedto from visiting the clubs and barsof potential sexual partners beto met within the limits of the area. On a regular night out in one of Seoul's territorial struggles over the limited physical space of the neighborhood, and contestations over andKorea. zonebetween U.S. in the border the encounters acts of non-conformity, this entertainment district adjacent tothe base leaves plenty of room for playful have been assigned tothem leave– maynot much space forcontestations, deviantperformances and However,identities. while masculine of maintenance and creation the for the incubator an as functions that actual area an into areas inhabited by the military proper – i.e. the military installations that ǂ Two bein It’aew kinds witnessed can of regularly competitions Formerly more or less exclusively a kiji'chon area catering primarily to U.S. soldiers located at n and the women who do find themselves in the neighborhood are often either sex workers or workers sex either often are neighborhood in the themselves find ǂ n today has become a space where Korean men and to a n has menandto whereKorean aspace today become ǂ n of today is nolonger simply a military camp ǂ n that are inextricably linked: n are that CEU eTD Collection warned me repeatedly against going there: “Too many “toothere: goingweird many against or Iwas told, warned me repeatedly GIs”, contribute imageto the contribute of It’aew further news, Korean the in on reported broadly usually incidences, violent Recurrent from. away Koreans the neighborhood is known as a ghetto for foreigners that decent people should rather stay 163 It’aew neighborhood, this in obtained be easily can drugs as well as sex that notion the and area, the in military highnumbersof heavycoupledthe with presence, migrants U.S. African Eastern and Middle bind common Due male they that are saidtobeforeign, them together: andpotentially dangerous. withactors ever shifting sets internalof and unspoken often rules. less navigate themselves more successfully highlyloaded this or spacethatdifferentthrough presents only take frequently military U.S. the or place state Korean the of representatives by intervention in violent that theunclear event of a real escalation.jurisdiction – who This is to exertleavescomes with all kinds of armorypower to guard themselvesmuch againstover potential offenders. whichroom However, the lines of offor theheavy presence in the area,the anddistrict's most of the clubs employ their own privatepresent security personnel a thathave often police military U.S. and many police Korean both partiers zone: visitors ungoverned an means no by time same the – oftento seem to be so in area.WhileIt’aew weapons the other and alsoheightened by guns individuals,of are struggles groupsand ubiquity the that between tensions atmosphere thelonger but addsfurther atypical on, evening layersgoes toterritorial and other sexual in represented orientations leadan small doesnot this space, alleviation to of usually the tense populating the streets, their nationalities, their social and class backgrounds, the range of ethnicities and eroticism. ǂ Many of my Korean friends and acquaintances indeed had never set a foot into this district, and district, this into a foot set never had indeed acquaintances and friends Korean my of Many In the eyes of many Koreans, those who frequent the It’aew the frequent who those manyKoreans, of In theeyes Significantly, male predominantly the crowds of amongst breathtaking range diversity the n has a rather bad reputation amongst many Seoulites – even to the degree that to many ǂ n areaforas adangerous foreigners sketchy and shady only.Koreans ǂ n may be a space that seems to invite rowdy behavior,seemsinviteitn mayis torowdy a spacethat be at ǂ n area have several features in features several n have area CEU eTD Collection 2010). In 2009, this murder case served as the basis for a movie, “It’aew movie, murder for a In2009, basis as the 2010). this caseserved (Cain hurry in a States the for left and free went both they end in the them, to unknown priorly man prime but as suspects, both of them blamed other for random the each and attack murder of youngthe the became soon affiliations military U.S. without American Korean 18-year-old another as well as King fast-food restaurant in It’aew restaurant fast-food King indeath was stabbed Burger bathroom to Chung-p’il, the Chothe of year-old Korean student, college was the It’aew considereddangerous so that was on several occasions told to me when I probed more into why exactly this neighborhood was military in area.The as story presence the one a direct outcome U.S. the usually being of understood High crime rates were mentioned meto repeatedly in other conversations, too, with those crime figures of fear for him: for fear of crimes” had in fact fundamentally shaped his perception of neighborhoodthis and turninginto it a site toIt’aew his issuesrelated explained inarea. be my out me careful nights that andon repeatedly to told Anotherman 22-year-oldyoung sofar, of neighborhood the hadout kept she thereason why was which many menthere”, “too black offshe smelled herjacket. onceshetook A find mejust26 years female thatIwould old, toldstudent, bar,had upin picked a call buthadto by her havingbecausesex he wassorepulsed off way the with he a love woman to about an how his wentaRussian motel with of acquaintance an related anecdote 164 inIt’aew years people mehowstrange the old, 23 malefriend, told One foreigners”. But again, it's illogical fear - just like that of racism. that beats me up and rapes my girlfriend, and I feel like I wouldn’t be able to do anything about itif that happened.these all crimesof that because I but have heardthem, about, for I just feelsorry don't me want itmakes to dealand with GIs veterans, personally. military class Just imagine lower that of there images of is lot this a GI were there reminds me a lot of the scary reports toon Iraq.Middle In those Eastern American TV placesshowsthese ordays, movies,because – theythe GIs – Idon't know after if that'swear right, the but maybe Iraqbecausethe they warare samestationed and here9/11, beforeI'mmilitary they infly total fear. I uniformthink this thatkind of youfear of seeGIs ison almost TV reports like the fears about of racists. the AndIraq I experience war. It it even more so there's lots of GIs in It’aew Mi-s the after reports, crime military this is really a psychological thing that I went through when I was still really young, because of all these US I have to go to It’aew ǂ n quite often because of my work, and my fear of GIs is the highest when I'm there. I think ǂ n, and when I walk around the small streets of It’aew ǂ n. A a U.S. of son Korean-American,Army employee, 17-year-old ǂ n in greater detail to me, narrating how earlier stories about “GI me, earlierabout n inhow narrating stories detail to greater ǂ n and Hyo-sun accident, and the US military crimes in Okinawa. Because Okinawa. in crimes USmilitary the and accident, Hyo-sun and n ǂ n murder case that took place on took casethatn murder a22- when April 3, 1997, ǂ ǂ n, even during bright day time, n Sarinsak ǂ n and smelled, ǂ n” (It’aew ǂ n CEU eTD Collection misfits may find a place for themselves. rather simple: In an area of is such this illbehind fame,logic The any others. kind of eyes of in the deviant behaviorneighborhood the of can attraction bethe to tolerated contributed only and all sorts of –has country partof the in be any other found cannot vilesthat social particular contains space that delineatein It’aew to foreigners alike order and“decent” Koreans deployed by female, straight or gay, soldier or civilian, Korean or or foreigner. male be they Thevisitors, “ghetto” and stigmainhabitants its – of whichmany is for usually agency of moments and openings creative many provided has that area an as itself proven has it time same the at enough, interestingly events, jurisdictions over the area because of the proximity of the military base, which is legally U.S. territory. its overIt’aew power to assert state Korean for the difficulties practical lack due toa of (Cp.Bailey of evidence highlight casesinthese once2007). Both more the away making of cleared in into charges FBI Shewaseventually the confession. afalse a Korean courtroom herlater retracted Snider statement, claiming she that byboth military was pressured US andagents the having student. the killed had instead, asshe to Kenziconfessed on trial student, Snider, put waslater having bloodied leave a seen motel, from white manwith pants another the American exchange partying with a group of met.soldiers hadjust Even she though ownerof the Inninitiallythe attested to 165 in death a seedy toIt’aew stomped naked and found Jamie was 18, 2001, Penich, a21-year-old student, studies Americanand religious anthropology this day is more commonly circulated in the Seoul expat scene as the victim was aforeigner: On March very bleak depiction of picture, it is significant to note, hasimaginations. violent to rise given also had a casethat to also directed “Oh, Dream Country”, a minjung images the Lies”), whichbelatedly “Where provided title:Truth the release Murder Case;International movie featuring a Even though It’aew Another well-known murderinvolvedmilitary case that US personnel and remains unsolved to Tongduch' ǂ n has become infamous many because to of these andviolent similar ǂ n’s Ville that we have come across earlier already.we have across come that Ville ǂ n motel room at the end of a night that she endspent the night that of a n motel room at Hong Gi-S ǂ ǂ n, the director of this motion n, which result from from resultn,unclear which ǂ n as a geographical CEU eTD Collection parts parts of neighborhoodthe and introducingsome usto of be actors the metto in spaces. those It’aew of essence specific the distill historical/explanatory will bepart followed by a purely ethnographic one, in second which I seek to makes upIt’aew that space imaginative and social territorial, of the particularities realities. everyday difficult from time-out some take to actors civilian and military both allows which Korea andthe U.S., between space in interstitial the consumption realm of quasi-carnevalesque narrationsneighborhood; and peoplethe of frequenting actions thisand 3)It’aew emergence ofviolentimaginations has partly given and be rise inwhich to spotted can fragments in the the that attraction and of repulsion double-bind afore-mentioned Korean 2)the Dream; the labeled increasingly nowadays search the giving marginalized of way to for whatcan migrants be perhaps is which members,and with military themselves American associate seekingto Koreans impoverished distinct:1) neighborhood slowthe decline of the American Dream,usually entailed which that pulls people into this neighborhood. to be found amongst the young Americans slowly receding into the second row as a motivational factor 166 a much greater factor in It’aew however,visited, in of prospect haveinstantgratification hereandnow the the seems quick, become to just kiji’chon spacesmen wehave tothe in andthinks In contrast looks white style. that aresuperior gaywho company, Korean the female some to for is desperate who entrepreneur time small Nigerian seeking a clientfor the night, to the Korean college student who wants to improve his English, to the leave for opportunity still to Russianentertainer the an America,Korean of dreaming to prostitute andbarsIt’aew of streets room of Korea in proper.their own And dreams, the visions of anddesires whofrequentthe those Via twoapproaches I shall exploring these three themes, while also providing other insights into the In what is to come, then, I shall explore in more detail three central themes that make this that themes detail in more central isshall three come, I In what then, explore to Accordingly, It’aew ǂ n are as numerous as the faces that one can see in the streets: from from aging the in can streets: one see that the asthefaces n numerous are as ǂ n indeed is popular with a great number of people that seem to have no ǂ n, with the older desire of economic prosperity and anew life trajectory ǂ n nights in the shape of three narrations taking us into different into us taking narrations three of shape the in n nights ǂ n’sa functioning as ǂ n: a first, more first, n: a CEU eTD Collection for good. It’aew of significance symbolic and economic social, the change well very may which be projected shall be impending the discussing of the closure Yongsanin can garrison, changes wakeof the which Changes” “Coming which after base, U.S. the of shadow in the homosexuals American and Korean since the 1990s,thesmall area of It’aew descent of the neighborhood again. Then, a separate section will deal with the emergence “Gayof Hill” shopping,livemusic and prostitution area, before both global local inauguratedand factors slow the during Militarized Fall “Thesection, and It’aew Rise of entitled Modernity,foreign militaries. intoa space forThe third have thisneighborhood that turned historicaljunctures the as Followingneighborhood. explore this, Iwillbriefly It’aew we shall see, territorial laying crowded vastly divergentthe groups and claims compact of claimsthis on It’aew 167 geographical space of It’aew However, before delving into ethnographic sequences, it will prove necessary to explore the itto sequences, will necessary However,ethnographic intoprove before delving ǂ n, thereby anintroduction intoproviding the various overlapping ǂ n that is providing recreational n spaceto and consumptive is that recreational providing ǂ n”, takes us to the period from the 1960s till from today: 1960still the period us tothe n”, takes ǂ n briefly rose to some fame as a popular ǂ n’s pre-ParkChung-hee investigating past, ǂ n CEU eTD Collection 168 It’aew the emerged from Ifavisitor stop. a certain at exitthe when is train the approachingIt’aew on senses.the considered easy one asanalien totell it takesthe subwayis attack line When usually 6, neighborhood on a busy night, comingSaturday from more a “Korean” partof city,the best can be on other:itthe many foreign comprises so into such a smallgroups area impression first the that of this history on the one hand (to be discussed in the following section), and becauseKorea. of its extreme density social are blocks streets greater of tothe nature or disruptive of make-up a genuinely neighborhoods, these that sense no is generally there but sounds, and sights cuisines, in different indulge to opportunity areas for the they present mayvaluethese of of – Koreans capital diverselandscape the the existence aspart inconspicuous is What incommon theirall have rather Kang spaces these 2007:63f). FilipinoCommunity have become popular areasformigrant communities gatherin to (Cp. Kim and neighborhood that is home to Seoul's French community), Little Tokyo or the Sunday Market of the 2007, suchareasas“Yanbian (frequentedmainly S byChinese-Koreans), Street” numbers the merely people in1996toover foreigners from in sky-rocketing 163,664 million one of urban was the inhabitedmigrantof Koreansenclaves only. thatbreakinto priorly space that by With to agrowing number home become has –Seoul as aneconomic player in position region the stronger Korea’s South of outcome –adirect Korea inSouth residents born foreign of increase rapid Since the I'taewon, however, is certainly a different kind of space – most likely because of its particular of likely because most space – kind a of different however,is certainly I'taewon, embassies clustered. are (Kim 2004:37) space Hannam-dong includes Itaewonand 2-dong, foreign where the residential district andanumberof foreign recreational facilities, trade firms, agencies, tourist bureaus, hotels, and hospitals. But Itaewonas aforeigners' Yongsan-gu,Seoul. are around There 2,000storesItaewon, inincluding shopping centers,lodgings, restaurants, materialThe space called Itaewon usually refers 1.4 to km areafromthe Itaewon1-dong to Hannam 2-dong in ǂ II. n if all,– most, not move willinevitably of toward foreigners the The Spatial The Arrangements ǂ n subway station (a station that first that station (a station n subway ǂ rae Village (an CEU eTD Collection displayed on displayedsome on of buildings.the Weinevitably arenow approaching thecenterof gravity the of slightly more upscale now, look and brand namessuch as andLevi's Reebok can be found prominently a here, have buildings of butthe arestill houses mainoccupants the stores everso slightly the – clothes you already find yourself in lost a quiet residential area. smallness of the actual commercial area becomes apparent soon – walk straight for afew moments, and Butthe looks. shopswhereverone shoe and tailorsstores, fake antique is and clothes picture similar: here, the side streets downinto of one If maze-like the a restaurant. takes one detour fast-food or pedestrian by the many theirarea with items fanciercoffee ondisplay occasional the punctuated shop into eat their way that stores small arethese occasionally Only well. as Korea South over all kiji'chon other in any found be can that sizes in X-large shoes and clothes cheap hustling usually stores retail has a chance to experience the Western end of the main street that is dedicated to various run-down into the Villethe into area. lead basedirectly of the gates side the of one or main the either usually where areas kiji'chon to other It’aew Consequently, stroll. apleasant exactly not is this barrier, any agood located gates of walk walkten-minute base, nearestthe the the away, toward of to parallel that runs heavy the because of withtraffic road barbed wire,and behind alargetopped wall hidden is location this in Yongsan Yongsan. installation military U.S. the to adjacent is also that stop she would find herself eventually at abigwhereintersection Noksap'y minutes, for aboutten mainstreet walked this If visitor down our right. andarea onthe street, aparty the neighborhood and effectively divides it into two halves – a restaurant area on the left side of the 169 landmarks in people's mental maps that allow them to orient themselves inand navigate through the city.would usually have trouble remembering it anyways. For the most part, subway stops famousand buildings figure as the 119 opened in 2001), sheherself already find would without on aname mainstreet the Very rarely do any streets in Seoul have names, and if a street indeed had an official name for whatever reasons, people reasons, whatever for name official an had indeed street a if and names, have Seoul in streets any do Very rarely Back on the main street, the visitor sees that after a few hundred meters, the scenehaschanged the meters, hundred few a after seesthat visitor the main street, Back on the Turning atNoksap'y around ǂ ng station and walking back toward It’aew ng andwalkingback toward station ǂ n is strangely closed off from the base in contrast in base the from off closed strangely n is ǂ ng is Station –a located subway ǂ n station, visitor the 119 that runs that through CEU eTD Collection transgender and Curiously enough, gay clubs. atwominute stroll away from here, It’aew middle-agedyoung men on average hill,with its or an hasarrived weekend she on evening: gay hillhooker –packedwith toquiet is –incontrast here that perpendicular small alley running another by frequented and migrants African GIs. African-American known someto as the “black street”, it features a few stores, restaurants and shops that are either now: run or visitor the of eye the catches alley small this of end lower the again, street the onto hill hooker hasbeen stop, tourist office erasedaltogether. inside this located street subway the Steppingfrom back most of the clubs in this area, and interestingly enough, on the free map given out to visitors at the little visitors: asign in Korean tells persons under 18to stay away; soldiersU.S. areprohibited from entering this is so-called hooker hill. This spacealley cutting– theacross the streetactual that is dimly litred only by thelight fluorescentlights zone of the clubs of located It’aew here – of and each other. nexton top to bars located and clubs A faced adark now with up,weare few steps It’aew and theneighborhood: infamous mostthe contested of corners to block,At endthe next this of withtogether tables is cheapwhere jewelry beingsold. it tonightgets time, little and foodstands sellingchicken, dumplings and kebabline here, street the taken up space as well. The subway exits here spurt more andmore people outinto the street the closer and andseveral located, afewbars restaurants coffeestreet, have shops are GI fast-food American main the of side right the on Hamilton, the from Across cuisine. Asian South and East South East, Greek, Italian, and Bulgarian restaurants can be seen next to a wide assortment of places atany night.French, linedwelcome of day guests time or their the foreign the upthat restaurants specialized in Cafe inits shadow. Behind thesebuildings, along acouple of smaller back alleys, one can findmost of 170 It’aew ǂ ǂ After a few more steps taken back on the actual street, the visitor gets a chance to peek into a chance to gets visitor the street, actual the takenbackon few moreAfter steps a If the visitor keeps walking on the right side of the main street now, she will quickly approach n's fire station, a smaller street leads up a hill that is lined with a seemingly endless number of number endless is a seemingly leads linedwith upahill that street n's asmaller station, fire n neighborhood – the rotary located next to the imposing Hamilton Hotel and the Hard Rock ǂ n – is off-limits to many ǂ n's Catholic CEU eTD Collection 171 space of area. narrow in the institutions the sideby holy with side practically canbe such a way, it. found In spaceunderneath sexestablishments contested racy the overlooking mosque, Muslim hilly sitting SouthKorea'sbiggest of that leadsStreet areaand on top this toward is corner, the later, located. moments Church willfindtheso-called justaround one And several CEU eTD Collection as a full-scale military for foreignpost forces: Japanese appropriated troops this land during the Russo- It’aew kiji'chon has told us. some crucial defenders amongst 20 of spreading those wherever they walk –werebest tobe keptin one closed off territory certainly found place.supposedly took foreignAnd influences the notion that – seen and the bodies ascapable are that pursued by Chos the of foreign influences in –most oneregion certainly in would sync be hermit with the politics kingdom isolation territorial a strategy of extreme – hinting at of narrative somethe features out that be pointed Itaewon 2009) Itaewon land”, while others from a foreign means “people claim “i-tae-won” Hanjabehind the argue that some narrative, then, with this it simply refersmake who could itforeignersnot this surrenderingback home.Inaccordance to area sending those to this region as oncemade giveto birthhaving and raise their children in the vicinity of the temple, with the Korean authorities been also rich in were women again, the Korea many left them. Afterinvaders pearof the andimpregnated nuns local the trees (Cp. invaded the peninsula, they came upon a temple in the area that is that today’s in area the cameupon It’aew a temple they peninsula, invaded the story story It’aew foundrepeatedly about 172 120 It’aew See also the It'aew the Seealso ǂ ǂ (Kim 2004:55) while at the same time isolating and controlling it inorder to minimize its influence on the rest of Koreansociety. illegality devianceand for the purpose of providing comfort space for Americansoldiers as well asearning dollars, The attitude of the Koreangovernment toward Itaewonas the alienzone for Americansoldiers, was tolerate its Regardless of whether the story about the nuns is founded on facts or entirely fabricated, it can it entirely fabricated, facts or nuns on the story isfounded about the of whether Regardless In 1904, when the actual city of Seoul was still miles away from the area that is from areathat today's the milesaway was still theIn actual city Seoul of 1904, when n, the Yongsan land where the U.S. Army Garrison is located today was for the first time used first the for was n, today located the is Yongsan Garrison U.S. Army the landwhere n’s intensely foreign quality within Korea has a long tradition. One rather mythical sounding mythical rather One tradition. long a has Korea within quality foreign n’sintensely 120 . ǂ n wiki site at http://wiki.galbijim.com/Itaewon. ǂ n dynasty (1392-1910) (Cp. Cumings 1997:87ff), during which this incident Cumings (1392-1910)(Cp. which 1997:87ff), duringdynasty this th ǂ III. Beginnings TheEarly century Korean leaders just as well, as the recent history of as well, leaders recenthistory just asthe Korean century n isduring that the 16 th century, first Japanese when troops ǂ n, where they n,raped they where CEU eTD Collection masculine militarized space with a distinctly extraterritorial quality in Korea's social urban make-up. urban social Korea's in quality extraterritorial a distinctly with space militarized masculine an foreignarea housing troops which inevitably shaped and imprinted emergingthe neighborhood asa paradise (Kim2004:42).To bynight” 20 sumthroughoutthe up then, by paradise day,'shopping name itthe of earning businesses, large number prostitution of recreational It’aew it 1980s thatBut morewas onlyduring1970sand the brought neighborhood. the prosperity that to events some being in the1960s area residential foreign collective asa apartments of army American establishmentof foreign diplomatic institutions innearby areasduring the 1960s,andthe construction After ParkChung-hee’sin slowly coup the neighborhood modernized, early the 1960s, with the general of areaatthattime:the 1960s remember the poverty cater to the in to hastily order Soldiers needs. in stationed Americans' Yongsanand duringthe 1950s built ramshackle-houses with time, that at installations U.S. nearby other to similar shantytown typical 173 24 American Japanese War and continued to occupy areathroughoutthe colonial times until 1945, whenthe Yongsan garrison for thejointsecurity between Korea andarrangement theUS (Cp. Kim 2004:41). herein / USCombinedimportance Command ofthe the crucial headquarters Forces 1978, cementing itsArmy at headquarters would subsequently set up Yongsan in1957,andlateronestablished ROK the is highlyin comprised nowcentral valuedland what Seoul 2,5 km2 of – upuntil of today. U.S. The War of outbreak Korean the in year, same the area–currently have Forces heldthis American behind. With exception the a brief of withdrawal during early1950thatwas quickly the with reversed ǂ more cars.more also (Rowland were 2009) There shopping. loved children teenage his where stores other and hotels store, department four-story a new was there and cleaner, much were streets the later, years 10 returned he when But streets. the on animals the demilitarized zone, little had changedItaewon, in there although were buildings,new sidewalks brick andfewer at Bell Liberty the Army’s Camp commanded Keller when 1970s, late By the said. he wheels,' with around running things only the were cabs and 'Bikes carts. animal-drawn and streets filthy paths, mud He remembers soldier. Roland Keller lived in South Korea three times, first as a child in the late 1950s and early 1960s and later as a Located nearby base,It’aew Located the n developed into a densely populated, highly urbanized commercial area that also “a highlyn housed area that commercial a densely developedintourbanized populated, th Army marched into Seoul and took over the Japanese headquarters and the barracks leftbarracks and the headquarters Japanese the over Seoul intoand took Army marched ǂ n in 20 humble first its th century manifestations was arather was manifestations century th century, It’aew ǂ n has served as n served has CEU eTD Collection left both It’aew which destinations, toother factories moved currency,Korean their increasingly companies overseas (Rowland the mid-1980s,however, 2009).In and higherlabor costs dueto of the risingvalue the Richard Trupiano,worth a fortune back then, or at least it seemed, and the places we shoppedwho had some great deals,’ customers,were indeed goods. good “’The spending on and other textiles their paychecks dollar was saidwas nearby stationed 18 soldiers U.S. the and prize, whenoverseas their of fraction a at bought be could brands of he was stationed pouring out of Korea'sSouth factories tobepeddled in streets the of It’aew at a radar outpost part of economy. in the shadow located the were all firmly at the DMZin ofincome several It’aew major it revenues look way cameto other when the to enough reason in 1983” The strong Dollarsforeign currency they so desperately keepneeded fueling to their emerging economy ibid(Cp. 48f). spent and madeof the capital,military in dictator Park Chung-hee and his governmentthe were looking for ways to amass the camp town in overseas brands havingclothes produced in their ubiquitous the sweatshops Ch' the areas, as has beenindustry,emergein textile to world's the many a famous player started Korea while as key with South explored earlier on, were other regions of Korea relocate to the It’aew to the Korea relocate of regions other employees10,000 GIsand of the merchantsother and from many camp ArmedForces, made town Hospital from was Pup'y relocated 174 It’aew early 1970s, In the IV. The Riseand Fall of aNeighborhood –TheIt’aew Bonded goods, that is, surplus stock items of expensive clothes to bewere shipped overseas, to itemsclothes expensive is, of that stock surplus Bonded goods, ǂ n cravingtraders for new products, and Ch' The Long Shadow of the Base: Shadow The Long A of Booming Black Market ǂ n started its ascent as a commercial area after the U.S. 121 Evacuation U.S. the areaafter as acommercial its ascent n started ǂ ng the to Yongsan base,army inthemigration of which resulted ǂ n area as well (Cp. Kim 2004:48). 2004:48). n areaaswell(Cp.Kim At same time, the ǂ n District from the1960still today ǂ nggyech' ǂ n factory inneedowners new of ǂ n. High imitations quality ǂ nggyech' ǂ ǂ n area n that CEU eTD Collection For a brief time, PX privileges were then revoked for Korean wives, but the women but women the wives, for Korean pressured the then abrief For PXprivileges revoked time, were military community: the amongst tensions victimsracial they of were the bitterly that replied wives Korean of smuggling,the accusations some of Facedwith facilities. on-baseaccess to shopping US hadunrestricted the Forces, Armed tomembersof marriage becausetheir of who, of US soldiers culprits Koreanpoint article leakage:the fingers behindthis atthesupposed wives alsobeingready to market of Seoul on a monthly basis, where these rare goods were sold in no time, with the author of the Time country, whichopened doorto the widespreadthe smuggling material of intoPX Korean the markets. A society as valuable products could that be otherwisepurchased not in developingthe economy of the after inKorean weresought the war, goods after few PX first decades the during However, in particular by bought membersbe retailstoresthe on post military aspecial for at theirdependents. and prize –thatis, Exchange) Western goods smuggling involving PX(Post operations thatcan consumer goods 175 consumers for It’aew before (Cp.Kim 2004:50f). imprisonment of many bigger clothes dealers in It’aew led whichalso thereby worldwideeven trademark regulations, bankruptcy the to or obeying thesetransactions, on restrictions greater andput pressure tointernational bow had to government and bonded Korean inthe1990s,when business camecrashing fakesonly down with goods be enough, Soon produced. goods to brands fake then, placethe took bondedthe of The goods. Magazine complaint: “ have seen a Korean wife walk out laden with packages—and be back within an hour to buy more.” buy to an hour within be back packages—and with laden out walk wife Korean a seen “ have complaint: ofher part up backed A place.” official PX first the in partnership a black-market just was marriage The Korea. leave they when them follow wives their have to attempt never girls Korean G.I.sMany marry who arrangements. commercial sordid just are marriages Korean those of “Some heatedly: one Said retort. to quick were wives Those. . counters PX at service for us alongside who stand to have they complain and are race-conscious, are They much. very married to highwife voicedwhatKorean most of Another them believedeverybody?” officers was doesn't really “But behind one. it all: “Theadmitted truth is thatmarket,” the black the Americanon wivesgoods PX sell dislike us we sometimes “Sure, nagged away at their husbands to have something done about us.” U.S. In addition to the military base'sIn ofrevenue the military functioningaspotential inhabitants addition asasource to article from article thatsome from ininto disappeared1959 estimates black the 90,000$ products ǂ n’s shops, the Yongsan installation itself also became the very center of ǂ n who hadmade a in small fortune decadesthe CEU eTD Collection deprived partied. lived, foreign The communities shoppedand establishedforeign already communities 176 theirand self-respect – is debased. American money thererules; exists for other now no arbiter.” (1969:165) Korean economy at no loss of hard money resources to the government treasury.household ofwoman, and furniture But appliances native to a successor. Inthisway, currency cars, T.V.,– the will of gadgets, luxurythe peoplefoods the etc.,enter forthe various services abeautiful but poorpopulation can offer. Americansoldiers may sell acomplete, functioningones busily selling their PX goods121 to locals: “Black market goods are sold on the open market by American G.I.s in return It’aew promote to hard worked authorities, city Olympics inand Seoul during the World Cupin2002,It’aew 1990s, with depreciationthe areagainingthe inof further speedinduring the 2000s. Both the 1988 inIt’aew structure business changed reductions fake entire with that criminalization the brand troop to the along selling, of markets. Taken expanding Korea's inin market withof It’aew clothes the collapse the together 1959). (South as masters.” but andpartners, as friends not here the were Americans that again, once believed, his (…) have naivecountry, order revoked the not the would Magruder “Had General comment: in US troops to opposed means no by Rhee, Syngman president Korean made even which afterward, briefly reinstalled were rights their that degree a such to officials Army Eighth and embassy American area that area that youngtargeted increasing andmiddle-aged Koreans with ever spending power. Seoul Seoul Kangnam, of districts My suchasthe Korean inmuch areas shopping ritzier and stores erected important wereactually malls the particularlyinner-city into Seoul starting from late1980s the and early1990s (Kim and Kang 2007:68), restructuring the city now. With multinational corporations making their intoKorea and way thelargercounter trends global littleleverageHowever, had to attempts 2004:48f). too these should beincludeditinerary incoming into certainly sightseeingand the tourists' Kim shopping (Cp. Interestingly enough, writerSamuel Eisenstein who visited Seoul in1969 actually claimed that U.S. soldiers were the 121 But PX smuggling eventually dwindled with the ever increasing availability of ever increasing availability equal products But PXsmugglingeventually the of dwindled with It’aew ǂ n at the same time was increasingly turned into an area where members of economically of members where area an into turned increasingly was time same the n at ǂ n, the slow demise of the neighborhood as a GI shopping area set in in the in set area shopping a GI as neighborhood the of demise slow the n, ǂ ng-dong Apkuj and ǂ n as an international, foreigner-friendly area that area foreigner-friendly international, an n as ԁ ng Sinch'on broader aswellthe and Hongdae ǂ n business owners, with inconjunction ǂ n due CEU eTD Collection fashion, they often follow the route of some friends or relatives who have already gone to Korea, and have to gone already who relatives or friends of some route follow the often they fashion, In migration a and chain typical resources. networks social their own of assistance merely the with temporarily inKorea,work butrather they came entirely from independent recruitment, any state trainee system in 2003:163;166).Interestingly industrial enough, werenot these the African takingpart workers comingmigrants from Ghana and mostEgypt, of whom young,are single andmale (Cp.Han by followed amongstmadelargest nowadays. upof Nigerians, group is The inAfricans area the 177 123 whohand, livingare working and in country the today (Cp. Lankov 2007:265ff). spent as migrant workers in theMiddleEast during the1960s) thatof and Muslimabout 100,000 migrants otherthe on soldiers who weremosques attending tothe needs of aboutsent 45,000Korean Muslims on theone (who hand were either converted by Turkishas UN soldiers during122 the Korean War in the 1950s, or who changed their faith during their time means16percentwhich theymake upabout of foreignersthe 2,388 asresidents in 2004, only 385 wereregistered It’aew freetheir time. Muslim migrants frequenting the area do not live around here, but merely come to shop and socialize in of the the weekends,asmost booming hereisparticularly on women's andmen'sattire. Business typical with andstores restaurants, various Middle Eastern shops, –featuring Halal “Islamic street” in It’aew erected Global In 1976already,the South. first mosque in Seoul the Korea, was the Central South Masjid, growingthe locals, buyingpowerof arrange had and also incoming to themselves from with migrants branches foreignor language saw institutes, their salaries increasingly shrink invalue in to comparison of the neighborhood, most of whom were employed in the military orbit orworked in overseas business (2004:45). low-skilled, menial jobs in the small- and medium-size business sector”, write Seol Dong-hoon andHan Geon-Soo Han 124 are undocumented area wouldand the in not show up in statistics. the migrants African of the section significant a as care great with be treated should figures these Also, area. obviously exclude U.S. Military personnel stationed at the Yongsangarrison within their numberof foreigners living inthe These numbers – taken from a 2010 Theconstructionwas possible made by grant a large fromSaudi Arabia; today,Korea South houses sixpermanent “Although termed 'trainees', these foreign migrants receive no genuine training and are instead immediately thrust into thrust immediately instead are and training genuine no receive migrants foreign these 'trainees', termed “Although Also, the number of African migrants has sharply increased over the last five to six years: in sixyears:fivelast to the over increased of number has the sharply Also, migrants African 124 ǂ that typically allowed unskilled workers from South East and South Asia to Asia South and East South from workers unskilled allowed typically that n 122 , with the street leading, with buildingnowadays uptothe street the – commonly known as Korea Times article ǂ entitled “Africanpopulation inSeoul's Itaewonrises” – n, whilein number2009 their wasalready 706, 123 residing in the It’aew ǂ n area CEU eTD Collection remittance services. Big business has given way to smaller-scale trading, with many of with Middle trading,the smaller-scale given has to way business Big services. remittance and tickets cheap flight and food clothes, ethnic cards, calling international that advertise stores shops can be spotted onethat canfindin any lower-rankother migrant inneighborhood worldthe – selling T-shirts X-large increasingly, base,closestcan still befound the to GIs but lining thestreets to African American soldiers: “the fact that Germany has a history of black U.S. GI clubs also opens up regularized space for other blackspace subjects toenter theclubs” (2008:681). regularized up opens also clubs GI U.S. black of ahistory has Germany that fact “the soldiers: American African be to used it past the in where migrants by African frequented primarily nowadays are clubs “black” where Germany, for migrants and African GIs between usages overlapping similar notes Partridge Damani night. at clubs the in out were they It'aew 126 many migrants from South andSoutheast Asia working in nearby factories (Cp.Lee Hyo-sik 2010). Tongduch' crackdowns, it seems that many of them have relocated to one area that is againwell-known for their high numbers of GIs – accent. their discern to be able not would people that hope inthe from are they where asked whenever being as recognized introduceimmediately; justAfrican themselvessome of as instead, them American enjoy too, seem proximity of the to African avoid it to American themthechance gives GIsbecause taxi, but then realized that they were black they realizedthat butAmericantaxi, then soldiers”(2003:166) Hesee wasgladto in street. hanging of blackmany the out the brothers around and people African got him an area whereto similar people looked him to – and “when taxi the arrived atsome place, hesaw he arrived first atInch' suggests. Han black asanthropologist Geon-Soo people, A when toldhim that migrantworker Nigerian expected a friendlier atmosphere upon their arrival in a neighborhood of Seoul that already hosted may have newcomers the area– inthe soldiers larger of numbers African-American of presence the 178 125 164f). shop aroundto for business and in opportunities trading areas Seoul and of other ibid: country the (Cp. inorder overstay frequently they which travel, or trade for visas short-term on country the enter usually Hanmentionspassing this (2003:169). in Whatstruck memost Nigerian aboutI encountered men the whenI frequented Interestingly when inenough, mid-2010 large numbers of It'aewNigerians have left the ǂ n 126 As a consequence of all these demographic and socio-economic changes, today stores clothes today changes, and socio-economic demographic all these As a of consequence It’aew was how much they sought to emulate the clothing style and language of African-American GIs, especially when especially GIs, of African-American language and style clothing the emulate to sought they much how was ǂ n. The other town that has seen an increase of migrants from Africa is that of Ansan, an area already hosting already area an of that Ansan, is from Africa migrants of increase an seen has that town other The n. ǂ n became a first focal point for their social and commercial activity possibly because of because possibly activity commercial and social for their focal point n a first became ǂ n airport alln by airport intohimself, hesimply a got taxi and asked the totake driver 125 . A few of the migrants, ǂ n area due to police due to area CEU eTD Collection auditionedlocal for agencies,if and join music then, was well-liked,their to wereallowed the musiciansbases flocked jobs” to for precious the (Pil first and Shin Musicians 2010:203f). usually hired Korean musicians tofill void,the amid and, destitutionthe Korea,manyof postwar hungry hugefrom more demandcoming the than andbases150 camps country. the around The U.S. Army thus expansion: Even though American flown entertainers were infor “could shows, those notsatisfy the Corps, the business with music in It’aew (Pil and Shin2010:200). was instantly fascinated by jazz 'n' and rock which broughtroll,me tomy passion true and innerself’” first for”’The time:music,’ the forname Shin my of Jackie thirstAFKN quenched ‘I Shin hasrecalled. 1957 he foundhimself in performing frontof American servicemen in under camptowns the stage the guitar-legendmusic Shin, played the on USmilitary muchradio builtin so gradually that allure up For listen sounds. new radiosthe to to small transistor around gathered who teenagers many Korean attracted that (AFKN) Network Korea of Forces the American Westernbroadcasts the music through legend Sin Chunghy while even only the for– location livemusic of youngthe experimental Korean music kind. rock Immediately after the end of the Pacific War, It’aew 179 are further soldfor aprofit. shipping clothes, shoesand cheap usedtechnology of out It’aew with living making a area the inhabit increasingly Latin that and Eastern, American migrants African nationalism, challenging the authorities on their ownideological turf of national culture. (Kim and Shinelite 2010:203) and repressionby the Koreanmilitary regime, this counterculture movement boldly staked aclaim in fledgling Korean counterculture movement. Despite the accusation of cultural imperialism from theestablished The U.S. military base, apowerful symbol of American hegemony, turned into an impossible incubatorof a After the Korean War, Korean After the 24 of the expansion the with ǂ n, with together importantother figures his of generation, werefirstintroduced to Rocking theCampTown ǂ n (and to a lesser degree in other camp towns too) saw a rapid ǂ n also established itself as the prime – and for a th Army Division that was turned into the 8 ǂ n to their home where countries they ssyodan th CEU eTD Collection 180 thoroughly “Thisoff-limits: kindofcultural and emotional was backdrop againstcapital it the which be Koreans walka neighborhood time most to that at that into beable considered confidence to to ordinary from them however, distinguished afew that 70s, in and characteristics with wereequipped the 1960s Koreans, It’aew way madeto their who partiers Korean the music,Admiringits and counter-culture American says Kim Eun-Shil. At least some level1960s: of English was a necessity, and the entertainment scene openingConsequently,(ibid: 205,213). therethe during 1960s musical in in late1960sthe when the It’aew My of area downtown in the cafes music daytime the as such audiences, Korean emerging from found towns camp the also tothefew its locationsway entertainment to catering solely musiccamp Korean musiclate 1950smusic scene butby andkiji'chon town the of outside areas, the they could” (ibid: 204),alsoleaving the Korean artists with much forroom experimentation. Consequently,“rather than sticking toone stylemost or genre, musicians tried tomaster asmany as musicfor the old whiteNCOs, and soul music of the Temptations or James Brown at the black clubs.’” country white GIs, for Boys the Beach the or ‘the Beatles of – the tastes personnel military American final Thesebands call. inmusical hadtypically tocater “tothediverse awide musical repertoire order military that of (show troupe) then officialsmaking U.S. auditioned infront were incharge the of who Mr.followingfirst Kuhis anthropologist KimUen-Shil the told with about experiences It’aew It’aew excursions to (ibid:In addition, afew 212). quite Korean studentsandcollege young other make people started to few Nixon, had foundinsteadunder a into groups president already Korean the asolidmarket entry rock, marijuana, To and Itaewon me, time. all signified same the liberation. (2004:45f)at introduced were marijuana and Rock (…) tastes. cultural different acquired I Itaewon, in people other meeting While it: into I got and Cohen, Leonard was heard I music first The elsewhere. get to Itaewon goodhad music,went so that me I to hear that. told At the countries time, there were foreign to original been had records who Itaewon in friends and that were hard seniors college army,my the from back I came When During the first few years after the Korean War, Korean fewfirst the years the after During between virtually cross-overs no were there ǂ n as theyhad musicbeheard good about the heardin to there. clubs the A certain ǂ n and other locations was dealt a heavy blow by the troop reductions ǂ ng-dong that were that ng-dong ǂ n in the ǂ n CEU eTD Collection West was seenas an example to emulate, and an increasing numberof youngsters began toweartheir hair long”(2007:326). middleWestern classes of individualistic the 1960s.and Their affluent lifestyles the of wouldproducts be impossibleessentially were anin impoverished society', Confucian 'consumer Western society. the of rejection vocal Nonetheless, their the 181 themselves, for name own their had they 127 It’aew recalls One partier all on citizens. Korean in experiments sexual night, thereby and breakingimposed stayingupall deliberately nightcurfew the firstmarijuana forthe time, engaging consuming there, lifestyle hedonistic wholeheartedly the embrace this cultural purge in back and musicians Korean fans early It’aew the into their retreated 1970s, hapless passersby” (Pil and Shin 2010:216). absurd, wherepolice officers, measuring armedimposed with the'discipline sticks, of body' on the the cover hadtobelongskirts their enough to of knees. atheaterThe into of Seoul streets the turned changbal tansok August 1970 policethe beganstopping young people forasnap in street the inspection as known hippiesKorean integrity, musicfrom and country. national the “decadent” “vulgar” and toeradicate vowed who The and Seoul,later throughout found self-proclaimed an themselves upagainst astute defenderof decency It’aew of out emerged musicians who ParkChung-hee, the military feared.dictator In time atthat authorities what Korean supposed the rancidness lifestyleand running-wild with thatwasassociated it, soon became exactly conservatism militarythe that that ruledregime country the 1961hadafter along. brought unfamiliarpreviously were they andstyles tastes new acquire to them Westernallowed the to that of world gate with. It alsoaverage (Kim In Korean” such 2004:46). a wayIt’aew to some levelenjoy was longpossible to hair,marijuana, all rock, and consideredwhich of were deviantby the allowed the expression of one's opposition to the rampant Historian Andrei Lankov calls into question whetherthese young mencan indeed be called hippies,and explains that With rock shows disappearing completely from non-camp town venues again as an outcome of surprisingly,Not spread the of experimental emergingmusical tastes from It’aew 127 […]. Men got a free haircut on the spot if their hair was deemed too long. if Women's was deemedtoo haira free haircuton thetheir spot Men got […]. that had emerged in the streets of Seoul now became open targets of the police: “In of police: the opentargets became now Seoul of streets in that hademerged the ǂ n, and the young Koreans who had followed them first into the neighborhood the into first them followed had who Koreans young the and n, changbaljok ( jangbaljok ǂ n nights in the following way: in n nights following the ǂ n someto young not became only people a kind ) or“long haired tribe”: “The classical hippies, despite ǂ n clubs, and ǂ n to CEU eTD Collection 182 mostmusic of such asHongdaewhere independentthe sceneof is located Korea today.South campareas behindfor town which good, led slowly tothe emergence of districts Seoul entertainment meantime,moved onfindto newtalents and Korean venuesnearby university campuses, leaving the to It’aew Sin today, moreretreated once all realover wayto the music“(Russell 2008:143). peopleto aredeaf so stuff. […] It was completely physical, with no spirit,as no mentality,according no humanity. to himThat trend the has carriedmusic at that point “was all, was that only undone in 1979 when wasPark Chung-hee assassinated. ‘Let's work hard,’ and When wasfinally Sin from hereleased prison, found ‘Let's himself from banned a performances, regulation be happy’ kind (ibid ofindicted” 222). be would eighty people nearly that predicting overboard, newspaper One went a psychiatriccheck they hospital that 'chemicalbe to would their of dependency.'to transferred degree that,musicianstimes “the investigated, majority of and to prior group-sound circulated were rumors and 1970s”(Pil and Shin including individuals, 2010:222). Seven Sin, jail were given sentences, butat another beingleveled againstthem, “finally movement which undid the counterculture of 1960s the accusation wholeafter with then, outrageous mudslingingone campaign unfolded against the scene 1975 Sin 1975 Sin Chunghy youngsters, backfiredcontinuouslyso thoroughly Governmental grew,(ibid). pressure however, in and governmental againstWesternthe war waged influence on supposedly musicandits style decadent It is purge music so-calledpopulardeeply ironic the campaign that ( and Shinand 2010:219) but there used tobe small clubs bothon hillsides playing live music every night, competing with one another.” (Pil of coffee. We were likewas overa family. and the club closed, It'aewon the band Clubsmembers wereat popular that hangoutsand foryoungthe timehipsterpartygoers boys andgirlswas in Seoul. Every went a morning paradiseout (at 4 a.m.) whentogether the curfew to forgrab a bitehippies. or have a cup I don't know what it's like now, His unconventional style,however, wasno longersought after in 1980s,the he would find out, ǂ n, where he a for would run club several years. liveThe Korean business, music in the ǂ n, together with four other musicians, four with forn, other druguse. wasarrested together A public kayo ch ǂ nghwa undong ), that is, CEU eTD Collection 183 around the sameduring commercial the and1960s 70s,another heydaysin itsenterprise experienced theneighborhood time: the businessAlongside the flourishing businesses andof retail bars clubs and associated with live music in It’aew with sex. Similar to other camp town areas, too, the It’aew 1997). While for many women this certainly may have been the case, It’aew case, the been have may certainly this women many for While 1997). options (Cp. better of asalack well as areas, kiji’chon the entered even before they abuse of histories in lowerfirmly long-time theirby Katherine theirbeen classstatus, as rooted often summed up Moon 2009) ‘Miss Kim,black hair, slim build, streetwalker,’ said whohelpedFord, check VD cards.” (Rowland just, were ‘contacts’ the of many and with, been had he who know even not might soldier the times, ‘Many with. been had he woman what and to been had he club what police military told he disease, remembers the policing of the women in the following way: “If a soldier caught a sexually transmitted aretiredFord, first sergeant whowas stationedKorea fourtimes inSouth between 1976 and 1995, cooperated in controllingMilitaryU.S. incommitment Korea (Cp.Moon1997),Korean police andMPs increasingly U.S. women who were thought to be the spreaders the a substantial (M.P.),degree to Military Police American flourished. sexindustry the of venereal diseases. by jurisdiction was created gray with base, of zone that policingto nearby the areabeingleftthe the of involved in the business and districts much Korea's people the red-light on under Chung-heepressure put introduced Park – in the camp town areas, however, money forKorea's recenthistory.most during of South The 1961 Anti-Sexual Law Corruption clearly a differentkiji’chon beingwas silently from exempted laws anti-prostitution the prohibitedsexthat in exchange game was on. In the camptowns.” (Kim 2004:52) of Koreanprostitutes. bodies the Whilethrough out prostitution carried were isofficiallyItaewon) (in culture prohibited inKorea, recreational of that itwas unrestricted eroticism and in Americanhedonism, army pleasure, The During the “Base Clean-Up campaign” that was the Korean response to the threat of lower of a threat the to response Korean was the that campaign” “Base Clean-Up the During The motivations of the women who became engaged in sex work in the neighborhood have neighborhood the in work in sex engaged became who women the of motivations The The Slow The Slow Dimming ofthe Red Lights ǂ n (and some of the other the of some n (and Randy ǂ ǂ n n CEU eTD Collection successfully successfully did.” As Kim sums upthisfascination:“ToUen-Shil many Koreans,was the Itaewon claimed:“all marryingof them dreamtof an American andmoving U.S., which tothe many of them All of the women working in her restaurant had similar motivations to the ones that drove her, Mrs. Yi meantime: US soldier, with both of her children in the meantime having become doctors in the United States in the strong desiresend herchildrento sheeventually which succeededin there, through doing a help the of motivation liveHer into and work It’aew story. similar a tell to seem Yi – Mrs. – interviewed Eun-Shil Kim that owner a restaurant of words The have seen at Durebang as well. as Durebang at seen have “ term the use usually activists “sarangbang” The to. kin, but is a term deployed byfemale speakers toward any other female speaker of older age that they are emotionally close 184 128 later did they tosex turn work to support lifetheir styles: their agency,word in theimportantit's It’aew an Ithink, It's American Dream. desire, their It’aew “In following me way: in the to attraction described this (“Lovehouse”) easy money tokiji’chon be earned. Ms. Kim, an activist from the sex worker drop-in center between 18 and 70 – came to It’aew Korean the employedindustry in of women sex the It’aew toenterthe industry, sex for the workers belief main force abuse of arethe driving stories that of most American Dream. It still is today.” Furthermore, Ms. Kim tells me, that contrary to the widespread “ ǂ nni” – older sister – is a term in Korean that expresses both familiarity and respect, it is not only used toward actual money withhere me. (2004:42f) conditions of thelooking man rather for an than Americango love.to school toAnd marry.there,I foundWhenI went to America, but someone IfoundSince that it was reallyI a paradise.couldn't So I wantedit to send my whowaskids to America and let thema hadfindsecond a kid, a way marriagewho to wasdo that. olderand (…)I andonly Sowho asthought sooncould as ofearnI openedthe kids, a store I looked in Itaewon, at the I started neighborhood. the in friends Some successful women, even when they married GIs, they usually still come back to It’aew women were born in It’aew in born were women impossible. Because it's It’aew spaces, as we have seen) alsohad an allure to women that went beyond that of the promiseof ǂ n is n not only theirworkplace, but theirentertainment place also. So leaving It’aew their ǂ n, so it's their hometown. They are the “people of the neighborhood” ( neighborhood” the of “people the are They hometown. their it's so n, place for earning money and having a good time with their boyfriend or GIs. Some ǂ n in the first place because they enjoyed partying in the area. Only ǂ ǂ n is lodged thoroughly inherlove for America andher nni” when they speak of their female sex-worker clients, a practice I practice a clients, sex-worker female their of speak they when nni” ǂ n nowadays being their– with agerange ǂ n, older sisters the ǂ n (forn them) is actually ǂ n, to meet their tongne saram Sarangbang ǂ n – the 128 ). , CEU eTD Collection military police areabyUS the of patrolling heavy is stress: the one liketo women themselves the that ones are the that has ruined businessbusinessmanEnglish or teacher whofind their upHooker way Hill. foreign tourist, for occasional the to addition in nearby, live who men them African and Eastern Middle lonely by driving arepredominantly nowadays their customers meantime: in however, the work, drastically havechanged away potentialkiji'chon insist which main much theirthat areGIs, and in. facts clients take pride they actual of The customers. In one of These women, manager. as male a of I learnedassistance the require not do intypically and an interview premises the for fee rental the pay only with the Sarangbang staff, often stillsex workers (sometimes up tofour), theserefer little establishments are run by tothe women themselvesIt’aew – they only for Korean features businesses with sale,still today.women Usuallyemploying ortwo only one clubs. It’aew 185 Ǎ women taking upmany positionsthe of in barsandthe clubs. mid-1990s saw theintroduction internationalof sex inworkers area,withthe Russian and Filipina marrying Americans lost a great deal of growththeir of the Korean economy, appeal” as well as general change in social (ibid).consciousness, the dreams of Similar to other and rapid the overseas marry of travel an With than rather liberalization (…) U.S. the the American. kiji'chon areas, then, the restaurantsworking and parttime“preferredbusinesses, inthe to neighborhood entertainmenttotravel was 1980s again thelate and increasingly, early 1990s: many femalethe of studentswhowere college American men were kind towomen and children andliberal compared toKorean men.” (2004:43) that impression the country,were under wasawealthy women U.S. andKorean the that assumption general mid-1980s. wasthe place the It into of 1970sand the the Dreamthroughout American ij ǂ ngbu and P'y the The decline in US military customers in this area has many reasons but– two of them, it seems, However, the break was not as drastic as it presents itself today in satellite towns such as such towns insatellite itself today presents it as as drastic not break was However, the The turning point that brought an end toan influx of women dreaming about America, it seems, ǂ n's infamous Hooker Hill, is ofclubswheren's featuring sex andsteep street infamous arow Hooker a small ǂ ngt'aek area, where barelyKorean any foundcan still bewoman working inthe ǂ n as a CEU eTD Collection 186 sex where clubs 50 to 40 the of out that then, a surprise, as come not may It meantime. the in them for primary work is that of serving U.S. soldiers, while the everyday reality of their labor has long changed working nowadays there strugglemuchmake living. to a At same the time they maintain their that women the Hill,and Hooker alsoreached has nearby.base deprivation the economical depend on The Tosum business up, the with sex in It’aew me: even GIsthemselves. for pay the drinks the concerns to As aactivist women the of Sarangbang related charging them,but that in addition to that, they often insiston buying their own drinks or, on occasions, wrap her college girlscannot these without notonly in head that soldiers sleep with around: Hongdae One Iwas frequentlya factneighborhoods. oftold, workers, shejust that sex the complains about frequentstudents that hip the area entertainmentof Hongdae andother nearby inner-city competition of individuals: is (and unexpected) clients directsoldier the by dreaded the college some inprotect to their order from customers being I.D.ed. approaching, they lockswiftly the doors of andtheir establishments pretendtobe closed for thenight womenThe I.D.s. their them have show to street the on find they individual male every triedharassing night, every times to battle several area the patrol followed, MPs isbeing decree off-limits possibility.the ensure that to this order In by installingas these CCTVsclubs areatmembers awhile ago. Inaddition totheirtheirso anti-prostitution policy, security small risks were given as a reason, clubthat doors,theyoff-limits to has beenput ArmedForces area entire USFK’scombat the prostitution, to attempts typically so if theyonly havesee theone door,MPs which makes terrorist attacks a around with GIs!' with around much for their educationGIs for free, everyis it possible?' month,sexwork, it's prostitution, it's just about enjoying. Can Theyand are angryyou about thesituation.all 'They imagine, are having sex withthey[They onedo ofsaywith themthat] toldthis GIs us, shouldis 'thesedress buy girls theup dodrinksin itshort for or free! payskirts, someTheir sex parents gofee, to theypayclubs shouldso and frequent sleep the club women, because it's Another factor that accordingAnother that factor hill thewomen hooker working to thedisappearance hasled on to ǂ n ismuch as in decline as businesses other the that directly CEU eTD Collection transgender women working there are busily attending to their mainly Korean clientele every night. every mainly clientele Korean totheir therearebusily attending women working transgender not located on Hooker Hill, but are to be found on or nearby the next alley: on Gay Hill, where the 187 in It’aew sale for still is ǂ n today, the only venues that make much money every night even today are today even night every money much make that venues only the n today, CEU eTD Collection 188 century century only,“which began from bulletin boards,telephone small andgatherings 153 call numbers” emerged assuch Queercommunities inthe 20 in shamanistic many practices). for centuries (e.g. that homosexuality and even transvestism has had an – albeitmarginal – role in the Korea's social life into country, the imported was recently a foreignbut that disease evidence historical ignoring thereby Korea” (Kim and Hahn 2006:60), for along time manyKoreans have viewed homosexuality nothingas liberalization. With Confucianism in “heterosexuality social constitutingas akey norm and ethical democratic since homosexuals for has that markerchange greatsocial occurred of the spatial a is scene, gay Korea's South of commentators some to Hill”, “Gay now. by 20 around hovering area ingates mid-1990s,the with numberthe of friendly gay explicitly or nearbygay establishments that around them and generally display their bodies and spirits in a cheerful and flamboyant way. with everyone dance, party, touchy a little to just aswell: get for here has come else what everyone do to willing are as they long justas welcomed are warmly do that ones the but clubs, those intoit make Few women foreigners. freely with mingle locals andthe currency asasecond accepted Dollars are barsAs inmost of It’aew other fluent English with the occasional tourists and have their pictures taken with whoever comes their way. queens frequent. sideclubs andbars on Drag the hangin chat they inbunnycostumes out road, of the young men, both foreign andKorean, who come here to drink, dance, play and make outin front of the section of It’aew bustling with light andeerily empty, with an occasionalsounds. lonesome figure making his way up the dimly lithill, Gay Hill is often A street that crowdsareascouldsites, the notbeany these occupying WhileHill”different. is “Hooker usually houses about half“Gay that hill”is runs “Hooker street the parallel hill”,to butdespite theclose proximity two those of a dozen of bars and clubs, this small “Gay Hill” is a relatively recent development in It’aew ǂ n on your average Saturday night is many n yourof andnight laughter filled with on averagechatter loud the Saturday ǂ n, the waiters, too, speak both English and Korean perfectly Korean well, both and perfectly English speak n, waiters, too, the V. Gay Hill ǂ n – the first few clubs opened their th CEU eTD Collection 2007:629). particular alley: wasbornfor –thequintessential Gay Hill “deviantconsumption”space (Cp.Kim homosexuals same time, “off-line favorite the hang of out” newthis generation moreyoung,of self-confident male lives fear without theirfreely of social andexchangethemselvesrepercussions. about mingle At the could lesbians and In gays cyberspace, in form internet. reachKoreaof the to was revolution coming marked out that the beginningof a smallmovementinGay Rights Korea, the biggest whowould then open several clubs and in restaurants It’aew onhomosexuality debates broader andalsonearlyKorea, in ended Mr. actingfor good, Hong's career few first the created in certainly Korea His out coming movement later there. queer the he encountered Dutch man,inDutch a gay-friendly It’aew too rowdy for them. for rowdy too 6ǂ cautious “comingin out” it 1990s,the was essentially publicthe Hong declaration actor prominentof 189 to told that they me do goingnot mind to It’aew of militarized menwas only an attractive factorto homosexual men, but not to women. Several lesbianwomen I have talked 129 only slightly improved in 1970s the and 80s: matters for sale. sex As herecollects, for only leftroom Jeon Bongho, to which, according theaters, an airillicitness of and shame, with onlygatheringsthe available inthe 1960s havingbeen dark (Kim 2007:629). The old geographical center of this gay first inscene Seoul, wasmarked Chongno, by Interestingly enough, the lesbianscene to degreea large located Hongdaeis in nowadays, that suggesting proximity the kch' ǂ nothing more than(2005) this. locality which saw its first customers late at midnight. Only yearsten in the past, the gay-scene in Seoul was pick-up locations. It has not been long since I used to secretly ring the bell of a shut door, the only hollowvisible sign ofemptiness a of an abandoned downtown, were just gay-bars,Also the frequented like 70s in 80s, the and spread surroundingtheir these theaters. These direct bars, seated in the neighbors, nothing more than anonymous Alongside with these firstfewAlongside organizations with campuses these andsuchpublicasHong's on events With homosexual a fewopenly student organizationsmaking a thefew first steps toward n in 2000 that first introducedboyfriend,a firsta broader public.metfirst subject the n in Hehadhis to that 2000 129 gained more in ground It’aew ǂ n bar,years where andliving hadsubsequently in spent Europe, ǂ n onoccasions,n but usually Hongdae,prefer because It’aew ǂ n, with moreever barsand clubs opening inone ǂ n instead (Onishi 2003). ǂ n is decidedly n CEU eTD Collection 190 It’aew ownerschose young gaybusiness exactly existin (2004:45). are able to Itaewon” outside there, evenactivities thenorm, happens whatever whichiswhygaybarsand bars transgender accept to Koreans image allows “Itaewon's that sheascertains when matters similar on writes Uen-shil opennessthe with which establish in(2005).Kim gaycommunity the could itself neighborhood” the hadmajorfor isminds always theexotic flairwhich this reason of probably the pseudo-overseas, place Korean many In (...) location. the of characteristic geographic the on mostly “depends additionally, my gay friends still decided to stay day,stay home that at decided to my friends still gay however, me, they most assuring that would many of –butnevertheless, visitors Korean the much valuedanonymity guarantee of the pressto the organizers were also giving out ribbons to participants who didnot want to have their picture taken by while the fewer local attendants often had opted to cover their faces with masks or hats. In addition, the Attendingin the event 2008 and Iwas 2009 myself, by struck largethe numberofforeign participants, particularly imminentonce ayear during Seoul’s PrideParade(whichtakesplace annually since 2000). she writes might that – aquestion (2007:629), be possible” subjects pleasures' of queer portal sites and mindsaunas bring gay steam question to the how the work of of politicizing 'private the by Internet provided services chatting every weekend, overflowing inItaewon, agenda. “The clubs public the onto rights gay put would that movement political viable a lacking still is time same the at Korea – while of beingmostthat symptomatic Gay –with Hill abundance ofaqueerconsumer culture highly highly valued.” (2004:57) to American or European looked Koreanin men Itaewon gays todatethem. 1980s (...), many KoreanIn the men hoped andsuperior as an attractive social option. Jobs that involved living overseas were “The reason why Itaewon could become such an open gay town”, Jeon Bongho writes Bongho Jeon town”, gay open an such become could Itaewon why reason “The It’aew ǂ n's gay scene certainly has its critics, though. Kim Jeongmin, for instance, laments the for instance, Kim hasJeongmin, n's though. itscritics, gayscenecertainly She is also more outspoken about another potential reason why reason potential another about outspoken more is also She ǂ n as their location: “White gays were regarded as regarded “Whiten location:were gays as their becomes CEU eTD Collection parade. GIs several whointo we ran seemed however, parade, same very tothe story. At the me actually told he when smirked friend this be gay activities”, becauseweekend they were rather afraid of attendancehaving to superiorhis whotheir asked him what he had facesdone that weekend. “It'sphotographed the last time willhe ever ask me about my or filmed during132 the revision. for a notion. such 131 with associates one that room claustrophobic space (also a territorialin sense) forthemselves thattheirproverbial “closets” attimes might no longer resemble the where they hide theirsexual orientation from theirfriends and family,but atthe same time have managed to attain enough US a said 25-year-old ahead,” straight eyes their keep and past “They walk area: the to Police Military of visits hasty rather usually and infrequent very in the be seen best can this of implication practical 191 It’aew to flocking weekend-partiers man answered him, “No, my closet isactually a nicely furnished studio.” This little joke points to the fact that many of the mine had with aKorean manonGay Hill: Asking him whether he, too, likemost other Koreangays was inthe closet, the city.the in Thistension isperhaps best summed up in thislittle interaction thata homosexualKorean-American friend of 130 issue the on holding been has military go back States, tothe who knows?”he added(Rowland 2010a). militarythe newspaper and Stars Stripes in interview: “You’rea 2010 in a foreign country. When you an before, gay at medic Yongsanbeen stationed if Army [half-openly] neverplace, you’ve perfect told the corner,around party “This opportunity manyGayHill. stillseekthe to isthe servicemen out on footminute walk and bars away clubs that by frequented straightandliterally their comrades just are fifteen- a only is base Yongsan the that fact the despite However, orientation. sexual their displaying often cautioushave arather air, be discharged from asthey for openly theoretically could military the Hill Gay of visits their Forces, Armed U.S. in the homosexuals on ban be repealed) to about (currently after foreign teachers. However,largest duetothe English group arethe second members military together. come backgrounds gay where of of diverse U.S. area, visitors foreign the people Amongst the year tobethe bestparty the considered of nightin that It’aew later place after-party taking the attend certainly A straight servicemanwho summeraccompanied Seoulpride parade meto in 2009 endedup mentioningthe his Rowland Cp. 2010a. Also, 17-year-old this policy currently is review,under President with Obama very pressing much The great reluctance of Korean men and women to come out to their friends and family often puzzles homosexual expats homosexual puzzles often family and friends their to out come to women and men Korean of reluctance great The A contributing factor is certainly the lax, although determinately discriminating policy the U.S. the policy discriminating determinately although lax, the iscertainly factor A contributing But It’aew ǂ n's Gay isHill not onlyfrequented by isKoreans, but infact atransnational space ǂ n on an average weekend have indeed settled into a somewhat comfortable existence comfortable somewhat a into settled indeed have weekend average an on n 131 , subsumed under the slogan of subsumedunder, slogan “Don't the of Ask, Don't Tell.” 130 . ǂ n, which they generally they n, which 132 The CEU eTD Collection Armed areaare and Forces hang-out favorite their all about. U.S. the what of notions complicate privately atleast or Korea, South of Republic in the presence that brings them to the neighborhood. It’aew neighborhood. the to them brings that attraction of the sexual freedoms associated with the West, as well as their attraction to foreign men It’aew in encounters very these consumption, very is this it bodies, and alcohol of consumption the about Gay Hill just as well, but it seems that for many Korean gays frequenting It’aew much as they shape any other part of partof It’aew they much shape anyother as cooperation between locals andforeigners, between civilians and army shape Gay as personnel Hill as as forwell often uneasy spaceandbodies territory, over asmall negotiations competition everyday their livesfor everyday mostthe that partinvolve covering upthis of aspect theirlives. Daily confined before express sexuality area–ahalf-publicto back them spacethattheir allows to returning usuallyout” means being open about one's forsexuality length the of a Saturday nightwithin a 192 Bong-hee, a 25-year old Korean student, tells me, “yeah, I can picture it, ‘hands up,of partthis all ofyou the neighborhood, gays”, he itseemsadds, – “imagineand laughs. that, these guys infull uniforms withguns storming into this place”, 133 gay (Rowlandtroops” 2010). military member:“'It’s kindlike of he asking,' said – something forbidden under military’s on policy Many of the men frequenting gay hill in their free time are rather happy about the fact that the official military stays out ǂ To sum up, the lure of the West or the American Dream, may haveinitially played biga role for n that then may feed back into the greater debates over the highly contested U.S. military U.S. contested highly over the debates greater into the backn mayfeed then that 133 ǂ n. And while thenightly It’aew ǂ n, for many of them, is a playground in which “coming which in a playground is them, of many for n, ǂ n at firstn glance just isall at ǂ n it is simply the CEU eTD Collection called “New Town” – an area that was slanted for rapid urban development, with three of Korea's most Korea's with of three “New calledTown” development, urban forwas slanted rapid – an area that become aso- to been haddesignated previously casualties. neighborhood those The clashes, leading to violent in of adeadlyfire midst the people the erupted force in out, to moved When thefinally police little compensation money offered tothem and putupaseveral fightmonth-longagainst their eviction. the take to hadrefused house of The tenants one and protestors. between inpolice aclash people died a base landspeculation move by – fierce ledto in upcoming caused tragedy the early 2009, whensix military the and river Han the between sandwiched neighborhood a – station Yongsan nearby located area In the speculationhasproportions. already being freedreached terrifying suddenly up,property in It’aew the both announcementhas fears wildhopes given to andrise residentsand great amongst business people time neverlosing combat our capability” (Rowland 2010b). be proven coordinate difficult and to construction,movingto same theirthe “and atfamilies, troops ithas inKorea, Forces U.S. Walter of of General commander in the words the andSharp, anticipated, are muchsome longer Humphreystakingtroops, bethehome will eventually than that 17,000U.S. to Camp of expansion Dollar billion 13 the Also, peninsula. the of half Southern the of system security Kimpredecessors in remainstrong Dae-jung,wantsthefactor Roh Moo-hyun USFK the and to a hisleft-wing to more Lee Myung-bak,contrary president South Korean forcurrent this isthat reason isin pushed being timeagain back andagain –currently,likely most be2019.One the seemsdate to Humphreys in the greater P'y Humphreys inthe greater relatively near with future, stationed majority the troops of the Camp therebeing relocated to Korea –the South with Yongsan in alliance U.S. security beclosed the the the will Garrison of As partoftheU.S.changing plans the role –reflecting global Armed greater restructuration Forces' 193 Regardless of when exactly the move and closure are about to take place, the mere place, the take to about are closure and move the when exactly of Regardless ǂ n andbroader Yongsan area. With 2.5km2 valuablein land of heart very of the Seoul VI. ComingChanges.TheClosure of Yongsan Garrison ǂ ngt'aek area. However, once scheduled for 2008, the closure of ngt'aekforbase closure of area.However, 2008,the the scheduled once CEU eTD Collection document their histories while we still have time to do so.” up, “and when redevelopmentstories in togiveorder them a strongerpeople voice: “Poor don'thave ahistory”, activist one it sums starts they are the first who will be made to leave. So it is crucial to projects -“WritingIt’aew projects empowerand more bymaking the women try to of conscious one them histories: their unique theirof issue the of aware very are “Sarangbang” at activists The first. targeted be likely most will businesses protection be havefound these that revoked,and baseisdueto the women intheshadowof their sex industry workers owning Hill. smallbusinesses the on Hooker Withincreasing pressure ever the entire the on that cameOne group that may be the most vulnerable tothe upcoming withchanges,it seems,is that of the Korean sex the new anti-prostitution legislation of 2003,area are not quite sure which way things will go for them: the certainthe expected rise in rent prices that will go along with the risein land value, and business owners in the amount of and It’aew the area freed up by the Yongsan closure will be turned intoa public park, the adjacent neighborhoods – of It’aew the streets may befall similar occurrences 194 134 powerful For aKoreansummary of the project, see Kim Chu H here becausehere stationed itisbetter tome and remain my business," he they said. (Rowlandhope I and Hwang "Personally, 2009) dropped. has soldiers of American number the as decreased has business of Americanand South Koreansoldiers. But most South Koreans were afraid of the foreigners, he said. He said hisAmericans. Cheo, who has lived in Itaewonfor 30years, said he has always felt safe there becauseof most the ofpresence the people who buy his eel-skin purses and slippers are Koreans, foreign tourists, and diplomatsyears ago, most Bok-soo’s ofCheo — but not customers were soldiers who or civilians worked forU.S. the Army. Today, owners say will draw more South Koreans to the area. Other business owners, however, aren’twill so sure. Twenty-five help businessEventhough thousands of Americans will leave Seoul inthe transition, some merchants say the move ultimatelyin Itaewon, not hurt it. The city plans to turn the garrison into a massive park that business It’aew chaeb ǂ n in –will particular most great certainly undergo changes next the fewover decades dueto ǂ n, too, has been appointed as “New Town” area a while ago, and fears are high that as“NewTown” arehigh fears appointed hasandn, been too, ago, areaawhile ǂ l (Samsung, Posco, and Daelim) receiving the rights to start reconstructing the area. ǂ n” 134 - seeks to encourage the women to creatively engage with their life ǎ i 2009. ǂ n over the coming years just as well.justyearsn most of thecoming While over CEU eTD Collection ones that get tattoos, I was told on occasions when addressing the subject with my non-tattooed Korean mynon-tattooed with thesubject whenaddressing Iwas occasions told tattoos, on thatget ones indeed,are the soldiers, andU.S. gangsters Korean Only mightbe grave. rather search) job partner and people are willing to get themselves few very in Korean stigma tattooing– tothe great society likely to bemostattached This attributed can inked as the social ramifications for them (i.e. when it comes to It’aew as space exceptional an length, insuch even great them at of one each of significance the about my attention. While manytheir significance as emblemsU.S. of hyper-masculinity and – – came tosoldiers the tattoos forefront how by struck in was a littleI me, mock-fightand soldier over an American man, Korean a between I moment metbrief were sporting quite a few tattoos and enjoyedwinking at me: “I could show you afew tattoos, too. Real ones, baby. Wannatalking see?” American soldier,incidentally walking nextto us, overhears Joo-Hwang,andstarts laughto now, to. An went already he clubs various the from skin his on stamps the meall shows who Hwang little tipsy – shows meforeigners hisand locals that occupy thearm. nightly area of this entertainment “Look, district, Joo-Hwang – already a I’ve of closer. through crowd the aclub,pressingourselves toward main road While along the walking got plenty of tattoos a23-year-oldplayground”, Joo-Hwang, man Korean forwaits me who nowashe there says steps tonight, don’t I?” BurgerI King saysglance meto in English the moment Iexitfrom the subway intothe street. “Welcome my atto Joo- 195 “WelcomeIt’aew to ǂ In a way a ratherencounter typical short on a Saturday nightin neighborhood,duringthis this n it is rare to meet young Koreans who had actually undergone this bodily modification as well. modification bodily this undergone young hadactually who Koreans n itis meet to rare ǂ n. Welcometo next paintings manselling to Asia’s old Korean the paradise”, VII. Three Nights Out in Foreign Town. “Asia's paradise” CEU eTD Collection hwang, inhis appearance striving for the flower-boy look me:matters explainingto “They justdon't arereal think we likemen they are”, heit summed up. Joo- found, himhe with Hefranklymasculinity only bringstreated contempt. a itdown issueto when them, he formed friendships while partying with them after work in It’aew of some with of: alongside he worked the with Americans mixed experiences he had there, stationed in Westernat recruits his time Korean a collegeYongsan,During to few Korea. returning the of one as before months more a few for neighborhood inthe on stay to decided had he over, was time military in the past –he was stationed at Yongsan garrison himself over the lastyear of his life, and now that his Hwanghada footinto toofarGI perhapsset turf. was owner proud the “realof Joo-Hwang the thatthing” justpossess, pretending was Joo- to andthat fakebecause he,the strangerin aposerbypointingsoldier, sentence and outthat hima called this one for Joo-Hwang, embarrassing soldier with wasparticularly U.S. encounter the random the light of this, In moment. the with along went Joo-Hwang “bad”, as known commonly neighborhood in a time, this versions himself of that noroom in have Korea hislife proper. in Him being a foreign at with woman other his life–wherehecanact out of ordinary parameters andtemporal social,the geographical uses particularthis spaceashis lies personal –aquasi-carnevalsqueplayground of territory that outside 196 136 the way it shapes their relationship with each other,Hongdae, in the section where on the Hongdae tattooing neighborhood.of his money by tattooing GIs whois came to his littlevery studio. He himself was part of popular. the small punk and hardcore scene in I will discuss135 the specific meanings of tattooing for GIs and Korean punks, and his hand very fitsmuch therole hewantsplay wheneverto heis outin It’aew friends military dictatorship represent, often causing great rifts between them and the new generation of beauty-obsessed young men. of beauty-obsessed At times mistakenly generation new the understood and as them a result of exposure between to rifts Westerngreat metrosexualcausing often men, the flower represent, boy type becomehas dictatorship military contrast to the stark comparatively in crude, hyper-masculinestands thattypeof middle-aged man Koreanof man menwho upduring the type grew particular This women. with successful very is who man young handsome exceedingly and dark Flower boy / flower man ( section large a – made gangster Korean of a son the incidentally – know to got I whom area Hongdae the in artist A tattoo 135 Joo-hwang, he told me over dinner, has had many rather awkward moments with U.S. soldiers Joo-Hwang, too, wouldJoo-Hwang,never too, andhis getting one, witharound the consider stampson goofing . kkot-minam ) refers to a heterosexual manof exceptional beauty which– usually means atall, 136 sopopular in Seoul these visibly days, ǂ n, while other U.S. soldiers, ǂ n. The college student CEU eTD Collection enjoy the proximity of It’aew of proximity the enjoy to came much very he Also, recruits. their for store in have installations military Korean ones the than that facilities Yongsan recreational better plentiful much – and usethe are market thathethinks offers heimprove could hisEnglish skills– invaluablean resource in today’shighly competitive job Korean way,this base; in U.S. serve the actually chosen been to he had that fact the meabout he tells lucky”, way, with girlthe and hisfriends cheering after every single successful maneuver. herinto breasts, grabbing rim the of glassthe with his anddowngoes teeth, another shot of tequila this face his rubs then is with, he woman blonde the of cleavage in the glass shot a placing carefully with our table with beseem to the only in ones wholethe barhaving ablast One tonight. of them is busy Weit night. is aSaturday bored considering that join; half-empty weshare the GIsthat table to find a between the age of 20 40,to and a handful youngof women in mini-skirts; everyone seems excessively men mostly tonight; empty relatively is “Friends” on. move we and shoulders his shrugs he Then club. man that I am with tonight pauses for asecond at the sight of the old guy bringing a woman into the sex white man just enters a divvy little place, his big hands on an Asian woman half his age. The young a balding “F.”, at, at meet entrances. some from the to Across hang people supposed out barweare the minors to stay out of the area, past the dimly lit establishments where young, understand.”certainly most don't scantily dressed women 197 in thewake of IMF-crisis the (Cp. 2009). man of type new,softer ofthis popularity the instigating in role crucial most a who played particular in women Korean aged fourbeautiful young men, the term made its way into almost every Korean household. Turnbull argues that itwas middle- greater heights of 2008 when popularity the in hugely successful TV-drama “BoysBefore Flowers” aired, whichfeatures extremely Koreanpopular in society the since World Cuptime (2002),sociologist James Turnbull argues. Climbing to ever conscious young men in Seoul. his Pointing to bag, he laughs now: “You see, expensive looking man-purse along, anitem hadincreasinglythat gotten popular with fashion- spends much money haircuts,on good nice clothes and and accessories, today, hehas alsobrought an In the meantime, I amback talking to with Joo-hwang about his experiences at Yongsan:“I was warn signsinKorean that After hill”,pastthe dinner, walknow and I Joo-hwang up“hooker ǂ n, where he and his American friends could party in their free time with time free their in party could friends American his and he where n, this kind of thing GIs CEU eTD Collection American friend –they liveall inIt’aew with the large group of Colombian men I got to know only a week earlier inlargewith to know It’aew only aweekearlier ofColombian the menIgot group money. is onlyansweryouThe will ever getinbusiness” “I’m anyways, havedo. Like andthat will to asked – the only answer you will ever get anywaysis that people are intoretail, and that’s that, that will Columbia.back to Whatand kind through of goods means?which notAnother question better tobe manage todo pretty well for themselves figuring through out all of kinds ways meansand toship goods 198 fastin whenhanging out It’aew learns one that lesson you?”about isacrucial me,This what “and he saysto time, dear”, a good have questions whatexactly brought how here he as to hismoney “I’m him and earns with a smile. hereto now –he doesn’tanythingdo inKorea other than inpartying It’aew from them watch afar. Russian feet women crowd,while menget upon andjointheir themselves thetheir seatedand keep blond the even Now tunes. a few popular to sync in along moves everyone when songs of couple me figurewhat out herpurpose for beingin placethis be. might The dance floor only fills a up during employee sits on a barstoolKorean A slightly. female so ever hips his nearby, moves only who boyfriend Korean stiff her to next she dances wears sunglasses30s her in andwoman A faces. black their does on boredom of looks not greatest move the with scene the – overlooking I cannot for the life of to theirbald-headed boyfriends, pimp-type in black blonde sitting next ones short Russian women Korean ingirl dress shortestthe keeps dancing on and on all by herself, there and areseveral young, another, with guy another casually pickingrap orsing mike upthe to recorded along tothe One tunes. Koreans and foreigners to the dance floor. A huge, bald Korean DJ plays one hiphop track after aswestumblefreezing past put tonear full temperature point, the speed to at is conditioning running district. are drawntothis entertainment locals that of foreigners and random the crowds Jason, a 21-year-old black British guy with a thick Nigerian accent, gets drinks gets Jason, for accent, athickNigerian everyone black guywith a21-year-old British air- The Hill. Hooker and Hill Gay between right located C., Club to over head we Eventually, ǂ n manyhow exactly– never asktoo about questions people earntheir ǂ n, speak no Korean and only a few wordsof English,butstill ǂ n, hesays,my alwayswarding off ǂ n through an n through CEU eTD Collection anonymous poster onaweb poster anonymous inforum following described terms: diminutive the pretty good idea of what kind of place the Russian Club must be. The compromise is U., a club Club now,thatJoo-hwang but immediately anwhileprotests, glancingnervously in my direction, soIgeta Jay,we shouldhasin that Russian us joined English meantime,teacher who gotothe the suggests an 199 while his time in It’aew backin inwith his he tomake while,parents a little wanted use his freedom of as muchhe could bringhisdrunk and foreign upgirls pick –preferably women – to place. to to moveAs hewasabout duringkeep his the daytime to body fitwithand his goout friends foreign in It’aew room in walking from distance It’aewthe few months off,in hislifeso she sponsor agreed to for a time the Seoul being.Having cheap rented need –thathe a would heconvincedhismotherinstead –amedical doctor himself for there, college the Army,getmove himself not could to backhome his immediately parents' to town prepare to butparty, have and large seemed to ofmoneyamounts burn. being Joo-hwang,to after discharged from do to nothing have both they aspects: important two share they because friends be to seemed mainly employed at the base, an American soldier friend had to sign him in as a guest to begin with. his I.D. at the door anyways,nearby Yongsanmilitary U.S. basedo otherday the someto gambling They there. ended upchecking so he was not allowedthe intoat casinosneak the tried to gamble,so Joo-hwang by law to areprohibited Koreans incasino; at the end of it all. Now rathermiserable Joo-hwanglooks that. tells while Jason usabout good the times hehas had the at that he is no longer to andwecheer us tells then, gleefully matter he booze on money spent alittlemore does what casino, have todo. A moment later we are out on the street again, and the company discusses where to go next. Joo-hwang and Jason, who only knew each other for a couple of months, I came to thinknow, Jason tells us now that he has already gambled away over a thousand dollars today in a nearby ǂ n lasted. still ǂ n party n mile,party all hehe didnowadays, told me,was out work ǂ n at night, get CEU eTD Collection pickers and insists that we have to move on now, and so the night continues. “Shit, all this fighting really spoils my mood, every time it’s the same in this fucking place here”, Jason – isby Hwanghisonto street feet. Jason,GregandJoo the and draggedout getupnow, being arms primethe offender upa –ablackputs fight GIwho until very beforelast momentthe they him out put jumpinto The the fight. bouncers, however, dance reach the with floor dazzling speed andinno time shrieking lungs,of much on everymanfloortop be whiletheir pretty on seems dance the to eagerto well: a fist fight starts amongst the dancers, and some further kickingfor he before isfree run to again. a minute or two the music for street the onto out peace fragile party the of adisturber dragging violence, unexpected and often is off, the girls start inso often bouncers this club, asother andpartiers the breakthem well makesure up with to swift ever fights break hold of levels out a intoxication taking of people, increasing with presence, and ever and carries a gun just as well. With the scarcity of females who are not in fact being vest man wearsabullet-proof – this Korean establishment atthe of theentrance has theclub paidthat posted for their very U.S. militarywatch two havingpolicemen with aquickexchange ofwords privatethe security person few minutesa spend can they that so drinks talking overpriced them buy to clients male for around wait who toentertainers them, and Russian and Filipina young perhapsseveral employs U. Club visitors, female few) (relatively its to get addition In a little more physical action if they pay some extra. I 200 volunteer atorphanages and culturaltake trips to Koreanfolk villages. (Koehler 2006) disrespect towards authority reeks from thebowels and of this ofviolence place.A culture Notor Nigerian). exactly the types of USFKyou’re African-American members unless who ofday time youthe give won’t and is what Imean), orK-Lo’s (Korean chicks who dress with lots ofbling-bling, cornrowhave hairstyles, bigbooty, Army,you exactly talking know what I’m about), bangersgang (no, not thesexual type…gang-related affiliations about 80% of the clientele of [U.] are up to no good, be they barracks hoes (if you’ve ever been enlisted in the US And sure enough, after just about twenty minutes in the club all hell breaks loose tonight as tonight loose breaks hell all club in the minutes twenty about just after enough, sure And CEU eTD Collection It’aew facebook. findnameso hecouldin and “Itwas myfirst instead inKorea, weekend heron I was on subwaythe platform and asked for her number, which she refused togivebut him, toldhim her know gotten to Eric awhile agoattheend of a night of inpartying It’aew school, but they sent me to Korea anyways, so you wanna be my friends?'” everyone:myself to ‘Hey,introducing and Iam Ihaven’t from States, Eric the high even finished the door and everyone “Youtrouble. knows know,” “it’sfrustrated tone, me Ericfor in summedit – wewalka up through likethat what we are. Our in air. the “their”intoGIs walkingavoid barwastangible two to left quickbeer one after again They haircut immediately the toward going hostility day the and as well, that thefloor on seated were outspoken one, American gives it away... And them to hide I that day.felt It turned out thata group of Korean peace activists, amongstlikethem also one rather them. Easily as discernible by haircutUS soldiers andtheir general physique, therewas nofor place in,they andthemomenthad entire heardabout, they stepped the and barwentquiet all eyes restedon 201 problemGIs with in Korea,” she said after Iaskedwhat her she thinks about the Americansoldiers in hercountry. teacher in the language school I attended, once explained to us. “It’s just that they don’t have any education; that’s the main 137 It’aew in out a Ville justhanging in or than rather area first time for baran inner-city the he to how come had about was punchline bloody a such involve not did that however, story, One bones. broken or bruises and pimps over money and services, or fightsbreakingin out bars, random make-out sessions Korean with girls, disputes with prostitutes strippers, between the soldiers themselvesa 25-year-old thatArmy member,marking astatement endthe of of a series rowdy involvingstories brawls usually resulted me, to said Eric is what This good.” as innot just are They violence. involve don't that stories have do “I Here he refers to the widespread notion of the putative un-educatedness of US soldiers. For instance, Mrs. Pak, aKorean ǂ ǂ I meet Paulo and Eric on a rainy night inPaulo andI meet a rainy on Eric night It’aew n with some friends”, Marianne would later explain this to me. “And that was my first n. He and abuddy hisof had walked into alittlebar hipshisha in Kangnam the ritzy area that “A really violent bunch” ǂ n. A had acquaintance, Marianne, Norwegian 137 ǂ n, whereheher addressed CEU eTD Collection has grown up way too fast, Eric has the face and build that somehow reminds me of a tough streetargue dog with that. Eric on the other hand is smaller, but while Paulo’s face is still that of a young boy who to wouldn’twant surely me, I and to declareonce he would around”, am I while on picked gets one of them – Pauloisvery tall, perhaps 190 centimeters, with the broadest, most muscular shoulders –“no here.” news G.I. those of one justwanna create in Korea.don’t I all left the over year plaster they can that incidents understand”, Paulohave says. “Icould deployed more in force abduction,this but onlyhalf a Ihave grinningback atme “she from seat, frontthe look surprised didn’t too atall.”“Well, you gotta car,the into Marianne with we get moment the Paulo teases skills”, Eric onyour abduction work to have really you “Now, avehicle. me toward pushes lightly so he ever while me”, with “Come says It’aew 202 It’aew to come had asthey main street, recently. todate hadstarted Marianne whom We in fronton of the tomeet shop a coffee supposed were about her reluctance to meet up: “You were incredibly rude to me, in fact”, he said to her. night of the for parts her tease would all.after Eric guy adecent Eric was learn that coffee, only to hesitationmany weeksmeet she andsome of emailsexchanged, himfor finally to me,she told decided her strongly, too hima little concernedaboutactually herphone andwasnumber. though, giving After to heon felt came She himself. ago aweek in Korea arrived hadjust he her that to her explain and to what this place is all about.” On the subway a while later, yet another U.S. soldier wouldwas an English teacher,sit down and the guy was nexta soldier. And I think that was the first time it really struck me girl like,the wereall they and along, friends some brought had And she foreigners. seeallthe crazy to Koreans.only […] And upinIt’aew then I ended experience of … this whole separation of peoplein Korea. Cause I stayed in this area where there were ǂ While we walk toward the club we are headed for, I get the chance to have a good look at both So tonightMarianne had asked metocomewith tohang along out Eric andhisfriend Paulo, n – when a huge very guy hairwith short comes now up me,to grabs meby shoulderthe and ǂ n with a car – their base was located about an hour South of an South hour about located was base n car –their with a ǂ n that night, me and a Swedish friend,n itwas me night, and that aSwedish and CEU eTD Collection African-Americans hanging out in his back yard, with the relative ending up shooting one of inyard,African-Americans back his hanging with ending guys out the oneof relative the up shooting world haseverseen”himself dayhe and how one got intowith aprolonged of fight a group several the bitch kind trash worst the of white is “married to his who a relative of involved story about long, family and his life growing up in a small town in the South of the States. For instance, he told us a very his relatingshy about an stories too about of –Eric owner becameand the not American was passport he exactly how his country hadleft about –and in hisnative Colombia particularly early years teenage places – the usual GI bars in It’aew you sort then,morestreets go know”. of thing, quiet that to likedAndnowadays, to said, he Paulo when drunk stand haveabit hedid –“heloves inthemiddlea god-complex to heavy-trafficked of of no.” tonight, This one guy,was friendheJim,he explained,he when wassober, adecent enough but manner.“Ifigureyou don'twantus tohang with out divvy Western stylemade bar GIs,butPaulo usher popular with sure uspastfriends inhasty to his a of their buddies on the way andatanicestairs seated by bar wewereeventually some attentive table staff. Weseveral hadruninto to this club who were just about to climb the stairs to H., a much more 203 It’aew of section” “restaurant decent differentways. we wentour hisneverfirst place, lastnoticed, minute watchful but eyes stopobserving, I that would until very the unwind bita and give up some ofhis alertness. Paulo on the other hand never seemed asnervous in the constantly seeming to watch everyone extremelyaround edgy,first at making sure sitto him; ataspot where he would be ableit to overlook the entirewas room, seemed Eric only evening the of half afterfirst the During Korea. a to fewbe deployed he would beers that heard he when that he would slowly many years, he would Taekwondohas for practiced He moment. any given at for combat ready seems tell person entire – the me, which was also one of the reasons why he was initially very excited While firstmeeting Pauloat our wasratherhesitantto muchtalk his and too about childhood The club they chose to take us to was a fancy looking place with a Latino theme in the more ǂ n he preferred to stay away from if he had a choice. ǂ n – fake palm trees lined our way up the creatively decorated creatively way up the lined our trees faken palm – them ”, Isaid, his andPauloshook “not head, CEU eTD Collection 204 come his needed disciplineperson to some corrective way. this that consent just violenceof during emerged of showertime. outagroup Andboth times theseacts one time, a guy ended up thrown down the stairs, another time, a guy had his head banged intothe wall way. That’s how it’s always been.” To prove his point, now Paulo goes ahead to tell us two stories – other the look will it andthe superiors themselves, careof Peopletake will be will there punishment. slacks. Then who people, mess with make trouble, to wants who there’sin awhile, aguy every once But is. really it it’sbrotherhood, a in, fit to try you if weight, own your pull if you right, behave you “Wow, we have ourselves a real pitcher here”, and that was that. superior wasin thatmorning,eyesight he just lookedatwhat hadhappened, andthen said loudly, The shot. one just with shoulder guy’s the injuring severely him, in player baseball old the of precision and force full the with guy the at back it threw and stone the took just who brother, Eric's of direction problem yourself, the official told him, and so he went right ahead one day: The guy threw a rock in the it. Take about his superior careofthat speak to to he went understand”), meis to beyond my brother his pickfight with on bigas thehellanyonehim during wantto a timeas (“Why would aguy training picked continuously who soldier another with a problem had once brother Eric's When instead. Army to become a professional player. Not seeing any other way getto an education for himself, hejoined the ahead of him, his brother had received a critical injury just before he was actually recruited by a college kind of guy he is, I guess”. A giant of over ‘Ican’tlater do this becauseIwasunderinfluence’, he the justwentwith it. through That’s justthe two meters who had a brilliant career they hadbeen lots butsmoking of heinstead weed before signed of contract, the of them course telling as a baseball player is a sentence from Eric’s story that would somehow stick in my memory. in theleg.“He has been waiting toshoot someone for all his life. finally Now he had the opportunity” – Paulo steps inPaulo now, steps “thistelling isone understand us, the military. youthing about haveto If Physical injuries resulting from such incidents and from random fights breaking out, it seems, it out, breaking fights random from and incidents such from resulting injuries Physical Eric's brother,older too,joinedfinished hehad school,high “actually military after the right CEU eTD Collection 205 hasbeen officially district entertainment this entire fact that of the because Hongdae of clear stay GI Joe placesnon- the and inKangnam in It’aewhangouts alternative the love also Paulo and He friends. his with drinking out youflulastyear hadbird that thanbitching about rather American beef? justdon’t thing I That get.” about protesting American beef. Well, Isay,fuck you, why don’tyou first take care of all those cases of too, and sell us all typicalthe stuff, havenotrouble taking all money,our afew and dayslater they go have a rather skewed vision of why we are here, I guess. On the 4th of July,they – for instance,story they celebrate,different a often that’s ones, young the But here. being us for grateful very often are they and why much country in very understand are the they Americans still areok, Koreans you. Theold friendly. to cold arefind actually quite people off,to wore that really Istarted and After awhilethat there, I was so amazed bycame WhenIfirst “Korea? basis. afrequent here on he experiences thethat anti-Americanism outspoken country, it was so beautiful rather and theattimes country the toward intense reactions hesome pretty he has and isinKorea, that and interesting, and people all seemed so snap.” Koreans?” – “No, more amongst ourselves. snaps of out blue. the And “With whenthefightingstarts.” youfight?” whom “Withdo Iask. When I hear people talktime, but then at the same time, there’sshit always thismoment, andit comesabout unexpectedly, when someone America, yeah, when that Korea,understood I came I to think. We’rethen peaceand fun-loving good, mostof people the I “Americans”, Ericcareer asaTaekwondofighter. way.”military, inAnd kindjust the that continued things of course, of would then addgrader,” in a pensivea 2nd as fight knife Ericmy first into “I got earlier: much lives their into wouldtone,crept violence of normalization say“we to areme, “anda really I can’t lifebecame adaily for in part of them while Ericfrom army but the – all us,the andPaulotold that violent even recount bunch. all I onlythe injuries really I received throughout my While Paulo has actually grown outside of the U.S., for Eric it is his very first time abroad now He is dating a Korean-American girl at the moment; he spends much of his free time with her or ǂ n; sometimes they go to Sin’chon, the student district, too – but Eric tries to CEU eTD Collection adds with a bittersmirk. “Yeah,herhand street. for foreignerholding inthe female up stopped the Ericgo”, it's time for usto gettingone cabfor the them, letting intohis driversoldiers with the grumpily vehicle he after when I was out with him.” No taxi would ever stop for them, either, Marianne adds, she usually was the “It's true”, Marianne tositeveryou wants next to subway?”the on me. you heasks “When for out cuss noreason?” people jumps in,one no when like “I feels it how “You know go. wouldn't to is ready he says he but Korea, in spent have will he have believed it, but I've seen it too manyrandom stops to see whattimes this country was all about. myself out, get away from everythingfinally relocated, stationed closer toSeoul. Every single minute of his free time he would then try to get relatedelse. bodybuildingstarted Then instead. I Thatmymind.”better for saved him he got when Things was to military matters,people would routinely drunkandprostitutes.get “Firstgotto I go liketrashed everynight everyone simply get on themilitary, very skinny, had histall for only and awkward,and atiny where kiji’chon entertainment subway and get off at 206 Polytechnic Institute in April 2007, before committing suicide. 138 away from Seoul, near far five firststationed Korea me,he hetells inWhen heyearsago, was came past. nights to the first somehe great spent area,where venues in andpunkthe hardcore the of some likes particularly can. He U.S., but do Ihold that against Koreans in general? Ridiculous.” in the people of dozens shot just guy Hey,a Korean that… on based us all of about assumptions make here time. Yeah,the media all know, guy.one I just shitty,itwas awful and was itbut then, And they Korean woman and an American soldier. bring“Itithappenedyears Butstill ago. up inthe 1½ they involving there in a60-year-oldGIs agruesomeoccurred after 2007, declared to rapethat off-limits He is referring to the Virginia Tech massacre whenhere, aKoreanstudent randomly killed 32people atthe Virginia Like Eric, too, Paulo is bound toleave Korea over the next half year. Almost six years of his life Paulo, on the other hand, loves Hongdae, and readily admits to hanging out there whenever he whenever there out hanging to admits readily and Hongdae, loves hand, other the on Paulo, Ǎ ij ǂ ngbu – the most horrible time for him, he claims. He was new to the 138 CEU eTD Collection go immediately momentthe they would find out, so he goes greatto lengths coverto up this part of his women. As for the company he that isemployed at–he thinks hisboss wouldfind areason letto him reason for their only son's continued singlehood is in rooted him having toohigh in expectations believe the marriage, marriedthat asthey suggestingan him get arranged pestering soon, started to is pretty sure they wouldn’tshould understand somehow, she’s rather liberal”, but with his parents itevenis simply hopeless, he adds, he understand“Isays,just cannot…”. Heplans totell his sister some in fine day future –“I distant the think she what it is that he is remains “intalking the closet”: “Not a single one of my Korean friends, acquaintances and relatives know”, he about. They havemost Korean gayslesbians and I havein front met, of his relatives andand co-workers friends he recently whenever he has the opportunity – because he does nothave the opportunity all that often after all. Like more time with Bong-hee, however, Istarted to understand how important itis to him to tell it topeople his sexual me takingorientation, by withsurprise his come eagerness to out tome. After spending some heto gocheckit giggled. out”, “'Inhim he school while wasstill student: It’aew a high too, whowouldn’tintoset afoot me neighborhood.” this Onefriend,he now, explainedto used to tell It’aew speak while, freelybeinghislanguage”. ableto mindin “A “secretour lotof old areafraid people of chitchatting inof lived that part intown, German a for away hadabout Bong-hee, whoGermany with before, and now we were waiting for the subway that would take us to It’aew usto take would that subway the for wewerewaiting now and before, starts to be fun to itbe that gaymidnight after is only in“it me, tells this Bong-hee midnight”, city.” before Hill Gay to going use no “It’s I had met Bong-hee, a 25-year-old office worker, just the week 207 Just a week earlier, ten minutes into our first conversation, Bong-hee had already told me about hadalready told Just aweekearlier, firstconversation,our minutesBong-hee into ten ǂ n, just so you know”, Bong-hee laughs, and I said, “Well, I have met plenty of young people, “thegays in fuck the street” ǂ n, gaysfuckNaturally,the inthestreet.' had I ǂ n. Webusily were CEU eTD Collection wherever you look, and many people paying for their drinks in insteadDollars of Won. Only a few midare in late 30sandyoung to their likeKoreans inKorean conversations Bong-hee, and English they are with playfully taking each others'Very attractive bartenders –young Koreans and one white guy – areequally as busypouring as drinks shirts off. A mixed clientele of meethis.later with of up a friend we aresupposedto warm charge club upforwhere the foreign ourselves to men is presentcover no has that bar one whointo We walk days.” these club hottest the one’s That waiters. transgender differenthewhilepast establishments, “This wewalk explains: one’s has Thisdisco. oneonly a now,runs andturninto nextit: the street that “Soparallel hereis hill”, this to gay says, Bong-hee and meets at one ofthebars. one meets at insteadhe all a viable stays placesof hejust crashingrandom atthe guys out weekend, so option, often the pressure in his life. Coming home drunk tothe apartment from a night out in It’aew cohabitating ina intiny two-room apartment a suburb hisof living Seoul, hugelycircumstances to add shares his with a flat sister, his sister’s husband little andtheirtwo children. And five with them all of know?” now, For however, hislife is entirely on hisin weekendscentered out It’aew “This is why to liveI want abroad”,Bong-hee tellsme,“It’s only the meforway to really…you live, manymaneuveringdegree of prepared get that not aresimply everyday to themselvespeople into. in sucha city requires actuallylivenorm the encounters, the of Seoul of outside butto a relationship It’aew establish. to hard extremely is stand one-night a beyond goes that relationship 208 conceal. lieand to pressure even more and responsibilities familial of web anew creating time same the at bay, atwhile families their keep to meant are that 139 women in front of his intoxicated co-workers. within interest on fake his these company-paid workers evenings sexual out and hadto colleagues, sex in Onhefoundin space occasions of life the his work. even thesocial of several himself presence On some of these difficulties, see JohnCho (2009) who describes contract marriages between gays and lesbians in Korea Once inIt’aew He does not have a boyfriend at the moment, he tells me – sex is easy to get in It’aew get to is easy sex me – he tells moment, the at boyfriend a have not does He ǂ n, wequickly make ourway our destination.toward We hill walkpast hooker ǂ n allows for brief for n allows ǂ ǂ n is notexactly n: hecurrently ǂ n, but a but n, 139 CEU eTD Collection 209 light show blindingloud, laser aggressive with isplacean charge packed,dark, next club. won – the (13$) cover 15,000 us occasionally, and there’she was so afraid of when he was a child. reallyin It’aew area hang-out weekend his – space beloved most his only a share handfulbegrudgingly to has now he that him escape to seem not does irony the and me, tells he akid, as of womenthere witnessed he that debauchery and left drinking the of all from away get to wanted just He nowkiji’chon. that are marginofa very the on stood DMZ, to the in located town close his because parents’ a small house, protect ourselves on our own. It’s tricky…”. He says he learned to fear American soldiers as a kid, course, people alwayssay it’s not that easy, right. With the tight security situation. They argue wecan’t base oncenearby a of front in aftera protest to went even –they years the university his during group 2002military Anti-U.S. traffic in an accidentinvolvement his of aresult mainly is which me, tells he soldiers, American against toresentments demand the withdrawal here,loud and they drink, they aggressive,they get the place”.think rule Hehasvery strong of U.S. troops, he told me. “Of might be searching for something more than music and a cocktail. brought their see girlfriends along; onlysometimes you soldiera lonely hooker hill stumbling up who small of soldiersgroups hanging in around alley the as well,today enjoying theirdrinks,manyhave clubs here usually play technosome drunks walking the wrong way, butmost of GIs the actually come music, for the as bars the and rather than the R&B of because Hesays sometrouble there’s that people. tomesswith occasionally comingand here soldiers Hip Hop dominating other clubs. There are hedate, says, andhe likes tokeepall hisof options open during his precious Saturday nights. along he byhimself here, he when comes or –ifhe goes with a goes guy,gay itbecomes more a like women are here tonight, most of them foreigners just like me. Bong-hee usually takes foreign girls I ask him whether the proximity of hooker hill does not bring not hill hooker straight with problems Americandoes I askhimwhethertheproximity of Bong-hee is at times extremely irritated by the soldiers in “his” clubs, he tells me – “they come “they – me he tells clubs, “his” in soldiers by the irritated extremely times at is Bong-hee After wehadtwodrinks and alittledid warm bitof dancing to up, weheadourselves the overto ǂ n – with men very similar to those that those to similar very men n –with CEU eTD Collection and Bong-hee have both done their military service already, and in retrospect, Bong-hee says he was he says Bong-hee in retrospect, and already, service military their done both have Bong-hee and understandpsychological they evaluations, could thatthey infact prove Jin-su aswomen. themselves even though some of them were still at a pre-operation weekend.” the madnesson andthis weekdays, stage at that point, “the office on for Bong-hee says, me shock culture sometimes”, “It's atrue throughhis sexualpreferences. the help of some himinterrogate Englishmixed easyKorean and fashion in with phraseswords –to theabout toughest gay American friendhis of their run away: theyemployed “It’aew a made literally they Once, swear!” they do God, my and only, sex and sex, about talk to love “They – though sometimes handle to hard too other each with talking of way their finds he says He anyways.” Korea in get really can they job only the it's fact in And a job. just “It's now: them about mind his changed much has he says he but admits, readily Bong-hee them”, met I before girls these about with flatmates weekends: “Frankly,occasionally Jin-suon hangout his the and haveso badly I thought Europeantripwhile, outtobe hissupposed turned aconvenientenough lie. would Bong-hee Seoul and wouldnever come tothis partof anyways,intown so get order to them off hisfor a back parents believeactually thattheirson is working currently for ayear live in they Europe; in asuburbof from Jin-su's here. thestreet in across employed club the workers sex transgender male-to-female three 210 night. the throughout us with stay would who – Jin-su – now friend Bong-hee's into We run interactions. soneighborhood, from it’sa certain onwards, point only anddrinkingdancing andphysical notgivemuch do really themselveswant toin of about particular anywaysthis too away the part evening atGay Hill, longer the less the nightgoes, verbal iscommunication desired.Manypeople earlier of the clearly,loud. apart is conversation, only any too At rate, is simply from everywhere is Talking blasting hugeplace. that the throughout here, techno scattered longer the option is no an None of his transgender acquaintances, Bong-hee related to me, had to do tome, military his Bong-heehadto related theirservice: of None transgender acquaintances, Jin-su, I will learn a few days later, is a waiter who also lives in It’aew lives also who isawaiter later, days few a learn will I Jin-su, ǂ n English” – a rough n brokenmixEnglish” –arough of ǂ n, sharing his flat with flat his sharing n, CEU eTD Collection their facestheir stumbling exhausted, litteredthe through streetsof It’aew partiersexhausted for waiting metro,the young with Koreans make-upand foreigners, their smeared, evening. Atsix in morning,the Ifinally say mygoodbye to friends,two andjoin of crowds the the throughout sentences five wetalked surprised, alittle me–Iam fun ithas been with metells that before heheads together withhis out Bong-hee to place, Jin-suand Iexchange phonenumbers he and muchpretty uninterruptedly is muchmore tiring than I could haveimagined. At end the of night,the 211 hourafford away a home, ashelives ataxi from ride It’aew good am for Ihad relieved, metrorather Bong-hee thatstick promised wewould last itthe –heout cannot askany not ifyou here.” wannasucceedquestions around really like the military anyways. You havequickly to learn respectyourhow to superiors,and how to is gomilitary. to me,“youthe to he have society entire the man inKorea,” saidto wanna bea Because a Korean pursuing asuccessful career at company, or for inKorean functioning large: society at “If you literally “straightenjoin military would the that hadbackhopes years army,to excitedthe then he still afew ago because him up”. Also, he knew that going to the military was simply a prerequisite for At about half past five in the morning, the waiters in the clubs finally kick all the customers out. I ǂ n dance for five,six hours – butto ǂ n, nowthat sunisthe coming up. CEU eTD Collection Korean singers, leather-clad fake canbe Afros, andequippedwith Korean in seen singers, dancing a bigcity type persiflagecountry. popsong Intheirgood-natured “Harlemfrom of aEuro Desire”, 1980s,the three the foundbut itselfthe allacross the songhadto, neighborhood enthusiastic audiences the dedicated singer Park J.Y., landed a big hit: their song “It’aew she is. over Korean ones, and that her It’aew born outof stigmathe Nowadays, of herskin shecolor. proudly sheannounces black that prefers men was that style life a of expression an is entirely GIs with engagement Yumi’s clubs, the in employed that she saw style anAfrican-American imitate seeks to who woman Korean a call a“Kay-Lo”, liketo soldiers U.S. vividly displayed in the “black” clubs of It’aew It’aew military, Yumigo to as ateenager U.S. to the sneakall with out to at relations started no has fact in she and Korean both are parents her though Even creative.” rather is it with dealt she way the “But me about conversation. their he back told then”, her wedid to teasing that all remembered painfully ran into years heronedaymany afternoon and life. later hertalkingspent an current about to “She classmates former her of One GIs. African-American and women kiji’chon of offspring the to reserved ofherchild because she “Darky”, dark skin. was unusually by term called them,usually aderogatory a as much very classmates her by ridiculed was age, of years 22 now woman, Korean Yumi,young a Saero-un saesang k T’a aly Sin’chon- Hongdae saram man-na Kangnam n 212 ǂ ǂ jukaess n, hoping to meet and pick up black men there, preferably GIs. Soon, she would become what become she would GIs.Soon, black preferably there, men meetand up pick n, hopingto ǎ n m ǂ mu saram man-na In early spring of 2010, the Korean comedy duo U.V., in collaboration with prominent with U.V.,in collaboration duo comedy Korean the 2010, of spring early In ǂ nga pujokhae ǂ , t’a malhae jugkaess ǎ -gos ǎ l malhae pwa ǂ VIII. LivingthatFreedom? ǂ n friends indeed make up her entire life, the very essence of who / tell me where the new world is. ( / I’m gonna tell it all, I’m gonna tell it all / Sinchon is lacking something, too something, lacking is Sinchon / / In/ Hongdae there’s too many people / In Kangnam, there’s way too many people ǂ n Freedom” was played not only in the clubs of ǂ n. In contrast to the sex workers U.V., It’aew ǂ n Freedom) CEU eTD Collection expressed in adventure”, writesE. Parkin Robert in expressed adventure”, and ormobility,America. foreign “Changefuture the movement, landscape isof of characteristically unknown an into desire of relegation a than rather now and here in the fulfillment and consumption the realm realm the It’aew of make bestoutof the increasingly rather, she options,hernarrowing in but place haschosen herself to of kiji’chon. that place from different It’aew desires, whichmakes come heart as liberty one’s andleave all,to very the consumednecessarily (without having be to purchased), anditinvolvesmost for the participants, above be indeed can foreign the that idea an by be driven to come has meantime, in the neighborhood, neighborhood’s with 21 the being recycled here, but at the same time, despiteits retro feel,it also updates its symbolism catchto up enough to set a foot outside whoaredaring be by those Other can and exotic enjoyed racialized whereand eroticized, the desire, of Korea proper. It is an image of It’aew 213 cheerful intoxicated, of foreigners. engageinmany characters where with of a crowd partiers, all dance-offs of madeup are again whom It’aew of streets the into directly moves then video music the of scenes few last The male. foreign time they are seemingly frightenedcontinuously outof their by wits his sheer physical presence of the same atthe to acttough, try singers Korean While the masculinity. their seen assubtly undermining is increasingly black character men,whilethe of local advances three the the rejecting continuously and Americanmade up young Korean woman and ablack man who alternatingly exoticplays African migrant, tourist GI.heavily- a features also Muchvideo the protagonists, main three the Besides one. just of exception the ofwith the humor and uninteresting, are overcrowded singing districts howall Seoul set, the studioentertainment about of the video is derived from the fact that the woman is Yumi, in contrast to the women of kiji’chon, is not stuck in a certain location, trying to It’aew ǂ n, in such a way,is being stylized asSeoul’s Harlem 1980s,the of aplace liberty of ǂ n toenjoy.in It’aew order st century manifestation. The freedom that is attached to the name of the of name the to is attached that freedom The manifestation. century ǂ The City n’s freedom, in its very essence, entails erotic in itsn’s very freedom, essence, (1925). “The (1925). city,great its with ‘bright ǂ n with much tradition that is ǂ n a fundamentally ǂ n, CEU eTD Collection 214 indeed,desire, arecertainly humming in neighborhood close lifeassociates this longing. with and dangerand of Imaginations (58) andthrill.” excitement anddanger, adventure of intense degree most crime, its risk of life and property from accident, robbery,itslights’, emporiums of novelties and palaces bargains,its its underworldamusement, of of vice and and homicide, has become the region of the CEU eTD Collection 215 (Koehler 2007b) are making even out onthe street.Outrageous behaviorsuch as this continues straighttill dawn. others while sidewalk, the on urinate Drunken,some street. the on set they’veby fires drinking bad people. American are really them of Hongdae]–some many [in foreigners so There are (Koehler 2005) netizen Korean – Anonymous please. they as women with sex have can they and go is do to U.S. soldiers refer to Hongdae’s ‘Club Day’ as ‘Fucking Day.’ This is because all they need It’sfind commonforeigners anywhere[in drinking Hongdae]. to You can findforeigners even everyone. (Hyo-jin, 25-year-old student). to go heresoldiers, at younight know. They – there’sjust misbehave. also It’s notdecent safe for women foreigners, here at night. I don’t but like the bad ones really spoil it for Demilitarizing the Urban Entertainment Zone: Hongdae. 5. CEU eTD Collection 216 kind of mock commentary on placean incident took that months after outdoor the fornication had headlines outside of the close-knit Hongdae punk scene itself – is used by the writers of the fanzine as a This of kind onthe reporting incidentalleged “sexscandal” – annever that actually made any any be not guy at returning wouldrate: punkmusician J. announced,with U.S.soldieranother frequenting regularly the clubdeclaringthe that stairs.’ the ” neighbors. “’Is asexclub?’ Skunk ‘Eraseitthey wondered. or we’ll sue you. haveAndnot do on sex wall his sex”of club in said“group that Koreanthat had been apparently leftbehind bysome angry ina graffitoget ridparticular: building on of the one thing angerthe wasurgedto owners and the of owner of the club, J., who the was days, few a at Within that inside.” been have timemay also residents the worse, theWhat’s home. singersomeone’s to door of a punk band called RUX, was faced with about getting toknow each other more intimately: “Little did they know, they were propped against the last together.” bandsnuck off club,they went of outsideof stairs the the top spot on Findinga quiet serviceman met– up for first the time night, atalive incredibly that “got show anddrunk, during the close its gates named“Skunk in“incident”a punkclub taking Hell” of placeinspring 2008would 2005 at(which for good). by magazineundergroundforeign members produced of Hongdaethe punk scene.Itrefers an to Two foreigners“Group Sexin Skunk Hell”,reads headlinethe of page twoof issue secondthe of“Broke”,an – a female Canadian English teacher and a U.S. Army days, reduction and in “Basically,rank. [it’s] beinglike grounded forbigpeople,” explains Atskunk. whichwill15), totally Korea.” suck assin An Article 15carries up afine to 45days’ pay, duty extra up to45 for of the nothing know who military.you of wasn’t those ifthat for enoughAnd poorthe guy, for news he’s bad underage.45/45 they I think (an with slapped him is Article which incident,’ Atskunk. ‘alcohol-related an announced in anyway,” involved anymore was “He [him] seeing about worry to have “You don’t Hongdae. in elsewhere fight separate a for arrested later was he acolleague, to According night]. [that foreigners other by away chased was [He] The particular offenders would not beThe particularinto offenderswouldallowednot his club infuriated back club,the / owner nationalists and morons. So I just quickly get back toHongdae instead.” – Jae-bong, Hongdae punk kid “Whenever I leave Hongdae, I always get that feeling that the rest of the country is inhabited only by I. Hongdae Sex Scandal, (Un-)disclosed. CEU eTD Collection 217 “Accounts of businesses in South Korea. inentertainment theof rise sleep”, playedhome acrucial which role white-collarmen onlyto tocome She connects this trend with the rise of a moneyhard-earned into the booming industry entertainment expanded that atspeed. legionsgrowing who of workers foundoffice in employment Korea’s companies and pumped their to the nowcatered intourban which the landscapeof wereinserted Seoul, districts entertainment number in of 1979,anincreasing adult moreassassination After areasof city.the ParkChung-hee’s sought tolargely contain within boundaries the ofkijich’on consumption, had themilitarized political of elites modernity periodduring of which country the the and entertainment erotic 1970s andfrom adult Starting late the every 1980s, corner. second joints,night massage karaoke clubs, and bea seemingly parlors numberofbars at endless spotted can from one adventure to the nextin the neon-litstreets of its many entertainment districts. Clusters of gone andhas madean room urban to spacesleep, thatnever to seems of where crowds partiers move site into avibrant of daily contestation. Hongdae have turned who of people the trajectories political and social focusthan on the a sellingbe point better amuch to nightstands only, has deviantsexualpractices inhabiting the of those andagain the streets time proven for into adistrict many hadone minds timethat good Hongdae, alreadydeteriorated whichin of at the teachers, unruly punk kids, andahefty of intosex theportion mixthrown measure.for good In English indecent GIs, Rowdy Hongdae: on attention their rest they when for looking comes usually country, across the media Korean scandal makingheadlines this the that actual hasall ingredients the youth corrupted assemblingin Hongdae. Andindeed, piecethe on“Groupsex at Skunkhell”,inlight of utterly the over consternation live and nation was televisedwidespread the across caused that exposure happened: Koreanindecent J.andtwoother arrest of anactof for musicians the club owner punk Laura Kendall (1999) writes of “[a] distinctive style of work-related play that encouraged many play encouraged work-related that of “[a] style of Laura Kendall(1999)writes distinctive a sense get Seoul will nowadays Whoever visits immediately thatthecity islong dark nights of chaebol life describe the critical importance of group carousing, sometimes combined sometimes carousing, group of importance critical the describe life neighborhoods, have now spread to many chaeb ǂ l- style business culture: style CEU eTD Collection Hongdae, emerging as a new, hip area since the 1990s, rapidly became the source of contention much of source new, became the rapidly emergingHongdae, as a 1990s, hipsince the area themselves within confinesofthis area. Firstit the how shall beentertainment of investigated all, civilian visitors in more detail,militarizedwider capitalism struggle against namely,of a aspart contestations their understand often time same the at who of participants group dedicated discourses on such commodification youth of culturesex isbeingin against resisted an active by fashion, a small,but and where spaces few the of one practicessignificantly also is however, Hongdae, choices. life-style various their of dissent in with accordance gadgets fashions, and tools latest the intobuy to are encouraged consumers who as theyavid into turned express being rapidly is youth Korea’s way, a such In recently. quite until exchange monetary forgrounds emerging of markets commodifydesire have that valueswhich been not to subjected the core of the world into generation nation peasantone within a poor hascatapulted system, modernity militarized After adeeply city spaces suchcrucial spaceas very the new in which economic global developments touch South Korean ground. as Hongdae are nowadays becoming the very testing 218 of Hongdae. entertainment district isundoubtedly student the themselves the powers-that-be, in of that to opposition who see physical traditionally important for groups, toemerge these city. zone the most The society—mainlybeen actively studentsand in alsoartists—have creating their own spaces oppositional in democracy 1990smost the havingof been certainly company sections of the other that workers, grewneighborhoods, exponentially, With the period that of hasensuedsince too. consolidation the leading a spaces commodification thorough to enjoyment, inof sex of and enjoyment such 1999:7). And while thebusiness sectors of increasinglysociety ininfluencegained in 1980s,the their will levels,furtheringforbusiness deals the good officials” gaining and governmentof (Kendall with varying degrees of sex play, as a means of building solidarity among co-workers, and at the higher In followingchapter,the very aspects Iwill GIand exploreconcerning andits two district this Hongdae is the avant-garde space of reasons: Firstly,is today’s for Seoul two is it avant-garde an areathat à la Korea. CEU eTD Collection 219 as highly sexualized a frivolous foreigners forplayground young and foolish same Koreans,atthe time their everyday existence. In such a way, while Hondae to the larger public in in Korea may problem only be key known the as them around militarism rampant the out singling in, itself finds society Korean U.S. the impact of the 21 Theyarealsocondemning inKorea. Armed Forces country. in the position conflictuous increasingly their upon ponder to driven thus were debate amongst their frequenting GIacquaintances the same clubsand whomusic, enjoying similar punks base in anti-U.S. the strugglein village of the Tae’chu-ri ininstance, 2006,for opened upmuch some of participation space.Theactive in the entertainment liminal encounter imagination and actual framed politically between clash the from arising conflicts and complexities everyday the of some engagement with U.S.militarythe in presence inKorea general, and in Hongdae in particular,lay bare small scene of foreigners andin locals interested musicpunk andhardcore inin Hongdae), their a of (part friends foreign their and kids punk Korean particular These well. as scandal sex nation-wide in brief beinghangingforwhile targetofayet afewof area,with them a the Hongdae the out another presence foreignof soldiers and alienother citizens (Cp.Kim Chi-man 2005). by the “contaminated” an Korean beingin area as the portrayed press districtrepeatedly student with the neighbhorhood, particular over this debate the in muchof be see,can discerned we shall as foreigners, and locals between mix up the over panic sex of kind out A rule. drawn the to exception from its kiji’chon nearbymilitary Korean sex princess) be –asthe workers calledused to U.S. –wasnow transplanted originspublic scorn into just thisas media,involved with women the got foreign who with becomingthese and men other targets much of well. new In the inner wake bytheKorean as of maindebauchery source the out singled quickly see, were asweshall soldiers, of onecity scandal, environment, theover the putative corrosion of oldKorean youth tainted by the presence of foreignersimage visiting this area. U.S. of the where“Yanggongju” sex (Westernfor sale is rather the However, these young, disenfranchised Koreans, as we shall see, did not stop However,as we stop notatdidKoreans,criticizingshall see, thesethe young,disenfranchised Secondly, I shall follow some local young men and women, who spend most of their time st century condition that condition century CEU eTD Collection 220 as emergence neighborhood’s spatial introduce the a walk to Hongdae readeron take the Iwill through first dissent, versus political panic arrangements sex of issues the into more deeply before delving But lives. their of militarization the against resistance offor everyday ground andtestingzone acomfort become has participants actual someits of areato the the district, which shall be followed by a brief history of the actual attracted ever growing numbers of U.S. soldiers over the years. over the soldiers U.S. evergrowing numbersof attracted the spacefor counter-hegemonic Korean youth, whichincidentally also CEU eTD Collection people moving forwardpeople andis moving alongarow of vendorspushed street past whoare busy jewelry, selling people canreadthem across. while stepping hand small flyers, out bigger advertising posters may events also onto befound taped the sidewalk so newly-opened clubs. Space on walls for advertising is often so scarce thatin addition to having people who are waiting,young or men baseball with handinggo through crowd the caps leaflets out promoting to arrive. On some occasions, groups of Christian performers use this space singto about Jesus to those make your hundreds past the way youngof people whoarewaiting infrontfor of their exitthe friends end is not with one’s time to does it hereinstead, usually open overcrowding the – into air emergence separates from that meters outside. fewthevisitor of forthe Theexperience the minutes hundred thisquite an toward exitmaycan intoit weekends –onoccasions, agood ordeal turn on take 15 number six is mostthe that crowdedin evenings.the Following the large numbers ofyoung people in. see them areallowed to theirthat parents clothes the into back change will they happy and drunk, Exhausted, arrives. subway last the before later hours restroom the to return to only stairs, the up way their make they end, the in transformed Fully occasionsmany – too young women are busyfinishing upthelast touches on theirmake-up and hair. nearby to change into their Hongdae outfits. A space close to the mirror is hard to get ahold of on those located conveniently restroom public to the go and clothes these grab gates, subway the emerge from inwomen. Fridays –dressedinjeans evening,the and women the early Saturdays and On T-shirts – typically filled with shortcolorful skirtstights, and high heels by femaleowned teenagers and young Hongdae The lockers subwaystation at are usually very the to occupied one,last thelittle containers 221 “People get off the subway at the Hongik University stop along the Line 2 and make their way to exit No. 6. As they reach Instead of furtherlingering of Instead in front of exit nowchooses visitor six, the to follow stream the of Hongdae’slead haseight into the areanearby, station that subway exits itisbut indeedexit the top of the stairway, their faces beam with elation, as if some kind of paradise lay ahead. “ (Lee 2005) II. A Walk throughNeighborhoodthe CEU eTD Collection Some of Some of hiphopanddance most popular the clubs here, nearby arelocated andatoneprominent more up-scale boutiques next to neat little coffee shops where a coffee will cost you you 5 next inboundary invisible you willfind If to this lot, the Dollars theroad packedareaof Hongdae. follow or more. in the corner. back located the ally stairs around screechy becan through reached only that of floors buildings the artsy, top bars the occupying derelict 222 “free-spirited” clothing that isunderstood tobe distinct of the kind of people the neighborhood isgenerally associated with. 140 fashion another,“Hongdae-style” where nextto store clothes one featuring buildings run-down more smaller, with intact, largely be to seems neighborhood of older the remnants architectural Here,the sidestreet. busy now, next intostreet the strolls visitor the main the Crossing in youngto lure crowds. are meant the which entrances totheir attached neon-signs higher mid-price-range andfilled rise, with shops, restaurants,clubs havebeamingand bars all that the shape of a giganticup alittle hill the mainto of entrance Hongik University. imposing rather main The in building,school gate, comes into view now. The buildings ata rate. fastyou drunk rather abottle and gets Dollars three close by the gate are– usually, is is ofhardliquor) meat bottles with that the upto downed several for sold (Korean Soju usually of a weekends of meatwith preparingcheappork groups kids built-inhave its attables that at center a grill the are popular on that places barbecue these are of here.Most liningroad are the that buildings many restaurants inwalking is hitit, and soon streetrunningby whichperpendicular to benches, features trees a broader left and right, their Lattes, andas little stores that sell make-up, cellphones,well and fancy sun-glasses, the alley the visitor is as stacked sipping people by young seat last very the to are occupied that outlets corporation coffee American on top of each hatsother and little electronic gimmicks to those who stop to gazein at their display. the Walking past several 2- to 3-storey high Hongdae style”, a name that is instantly recognized by mostyoung fashion-conscious Seoulites, denotes a certain type of At the end of this fashion-conscious street, a big parking lotcan be seen that demarcates another If we follow this street to the left, we end up on the section of Hongdae thatleads us all the way 140 can bebought ata reasonable price, with a few CEU eTD Collection Hongdae club of them all. diverse most and cheapest – the venue outdoor in this enjoyed be to both personality, outgoing and entertainingKoreans both and foreignersalike free with samples of a wine and his dose of groups filledthe home-made winethrough vendor dragging cheaprice his with cart middle-aged street store across convenience the at bought thecheaply be can that friends street. their amongst food and drinks share they where A couple offloor, the on sit timessimply or children for meant swings the each on comfortable themselves make night,sidewalks, the famous “Makolli amusementof and backgroundsloiter Kids subcultural people. the on of all national curbsof the the man” makes his rounds, for the arestaged a fights evenprice performances are put onandsometimes theater make-shiftsession, are cheered on by those watching them perform their skills, groups of hippies assemble for adrumming quieter. Street musicians by gather large crowds freeplaying hereuntil gigs policearrive,the B-boys (Johnson 2011). stuff” creative and of eclectic isawealth there so women), (middle-aged ajummahs are artistic jewelry. other and others necklaces, earrings areclearly university students, of Whilemost vendors the vendors who sell a handmade, wide range women, of original gearedprimarily objects toward suchas circulating is “up 800 here. market to This madeupof place takes freemarket daytime, so-called the 223 that is known as the costumes, handcuffed to their most recent boyfriends for the length of the night. wearingfashion, the latest punkswith gangsMohawks, of kids, girlsEmo dressed inup sexy cop isthis, the same visitor by at the time beingpushedaround numbers endless of partiers – hipsterboys at laser tothe showof in Whilestill life-size bearcostumes, choice. their gazing occasions dressed up performing behindthe glass-covered young front: people singing and inlittle dancing cubicles, on Karaoke bar that rises several storey high into the sky, you may catch a glimpse at the people Once thesun down andgoes street the vendors disappear, theplayground bynomeans grows Follow sidealley, another centerthe little and endatof yougravity of Hongdae –the will park Hongdae Norit’ ǂ (Hongdae playground). On warmer weekends during the On warmerweekendsduring playground). (Hongdae CEU eTD Collection 224 141 promoteand the to music homegrown sought alternativelocal bandsof “Drug”(Cp. Cho 2007:47). and location,in 1994, which laterwas copied bymany venuesother thatstarted mushroom to in area the inimportance for live this renewed interestwas music ofClub“Drug”, opening the apunk-rock in regainedand that this concept particularly againin some Of Korea. Hongdae, ground crucial South infrontof a liveaudience had gone thoroughly of out style bythe andit in1980s, was only the 1990s, Lee 2004:70). After live heydaythe musicof in It’aew youngthe whowouldfrequent artists their after their establishments classes 2007, were done (Cp.Cho movedandinto stores areajust the as well 2002). (Cp. Chun business opportunity and opened uptheir branches in own areain the shops mid-1980s,andother the university, inhigher they where would cluster now. density institutes Several caughtart on to the seekforcing tohigher the artists fornew grounds their and studios bringing tothe them closer millennial flood that brought graduates university as increasinglystudents or space. bya studiocampus was In1984, art used the nearby Han River of Seoul’s Map’o In district. 1970s the propertyinand 1980s, nearbyto the neighborhoods Hong-dae an overflow destroyed starting from 1980s,the many of those ateliers,facilities as aswell programs its other expansion of see asignificant would university the departments, also known by its abbreviation Hong-dae) which was founded in 1946. Well-known forits fine arts that of the university that has also given the area its name – Hongik University (Hongik Daehakyo - U.S. base nearby, history the of Hongdaethe is entertainment district fundamentally most to connected While It’aew III. the Limits: Expanding The Emergence as ofHongdae AlternativeParty Space See information provided on the website of the Hongik University, at www.hongik.ac.kr at University, Hongik ofthe website the on provided information See In earlythe 1990s, ahandful liveof clubswould join fewthe bars and coffee catering shops to ǂ n’s emergence as entertainmentisan district inextricably linked with history the of the 141 which fundamentally the changed originally residential is quiet area that part ǂ n in 1960sandthe bands 70s,rock performing CEU eTD Collection 225 year-oldlays graffiti his artist, cards he table.Even liveson though the in with Hongdae together at times would not keep their reasons forit asecret either. “It’s easy enough to score”, Myung-jin, a 22- and nevertheless, theclubs out occasions on scene –sought music homegrown the with pledge alliance scene. Many of the young men and women whom I met in Hongdae – who would otherwise thoroughly freeadventures charge of easilybe clubs inthe can in is its attained linked with Hongdae club crucially short-lived sexual notion that aracy create Thewidespread atmosphere. to themselves visitors it leftto the andgenerally working, hadnofemale little charge, cover for “entertainers” relatively asked had to be paid more or less generouslyenjoy for wealthierestablishment businessmen young types who other and to women of company the for their time and attention,decidedly sexierin eyesmany:the of while thetraditional “night meant club” usually an expensive these new types of clubs usually just neighborhood the importantly, aswell.But most new opening the these of clubsmade Hongdae advertisement, andinternet (Lee development” 2004:70),who would leave necessarily imprintan on clustering only of engagednot people andinfine music, arts in butalso film, publication, design, areajustas well.Suddenly, the anincreased of to newtypes “therepeople was rather attracting would Hop, dance clubafterTechno another Hip open, playing formsmusic,and and dance of other one contempt: viewed with inthearea thelivemusicscene loyal many to those of that in Hongdae face today.frequenting Hongdaeneighborhood the itsmusic friends for inthe some ina scene way foreshadow of thatpeople dilemmas would the 2010). This commercial success littleof a subversive had punk band that originally play sought to only stylemusic which of barely had anyfan base in all country the at totheirprior (Cp.Song appearance theirafter band’s introduced name,soldfor success over100,000copies, aphenomenal a aband that band,formed which was in 1993 andhas produced six albums upuntil now. Their debutalbum, entitled play a regular on there arguably basis–“Crying South Nut”, Korea’s andmost first successful punk noisythe livemusic it becamepromoted primarily famous due to successesthe of one bandthatused to The late1990sandalso saw early emergence andrise the 2000s a newtypeof of establishment CEU eTD Collection turn Hongdae intoa “special cultural district” in 2003, plans that were, however, after much debate and City officials certainly played a inspeedingrole upthis process when they announced their to plans go. to thefirst nowbeing fashionable area made the had that here cheaply, artists the of some with many afford neighborhoodliving drove been that out in ableto whothose prices hadpreviously the of importantly,mostand run-chain shops, in coffee hike eateries, a rental corporate fast-food outlets, speedy gentrification of the neighborhood bars theareaeachflockingstores, new and weekend, to openingona with shops, basis. clubs daily The more ofyoung city the crowds increasedmeantand ever fame throughout partiers neighborhood for the The 2000s –and thesuddeninflux of wealthier clientele by attracted ever-expandingthe – club scene 226 crowds.” (Park 2007) forced out were when Many the ago. area’syears five rentsor soared four rents afterthe cheap area’s city the of government designated tookadvantage who it‘a pleasant musicians and walking district’ artists ofthem many to tenants, attract more ‘intellectualof the idea “The nomad,’ meantime: whichthe in many occurred shops had in the alleysthat changes aretryingthe to exploit, marking is descended newspaper, same the in from the bohemian published was spiritarticle ofanother previous later, years Three 2004) production.’”(Park creative our guarantees that atmosphere the us provide can nobody for higher rents, leave we to us ask have to. landowners If The only alternativecapitalism. for against us is toourselves defend raise can weit way as no is a social ‘There issue,’ says. he powerless,’ are he says.“’Artists ‘And if that doesn’t work out, 143 142 succinctly: turf. As one journalistin an article written for slow demise saw livemusicpushedthe thateventually of marginsthe itself toward scene ontheir own the in rung has visitors well-off more its and scene club the of emergence the all, After neighborhood. “their” into scene’s club expansion electronic at the sneer like to venues music live the prefer typically he picks them up – after all, there’s always a staircase, empty washroom or roof where top clubs to bethe found at nearby. right acquaintances new random his with sex have just to he prefers friend, another An installation artist named Mr. Kim expressed his concern over such developments in a Joongang Daily article: Daily Joongang a in developments such over concern his expressed Kim Mr. named artist installation An For anintroduction into phenomenonthe of gentrification, see Smith 1983 and 2003. dance club. (Cho2008:49) people.But,we quite many had today.” Yet,his voicewasburied undera blaring soundhip-hop from10 anear-by of just front in music few. very We played are once Audiences performance. our continue can we whether Hwang Ee Guy (33), a member of modern rock band called EQ Maniac, told me in a street pub, “I’m afraid of music, currently they have become places for ‘one night stand[s]’... While the Hong-dae clubs genres in the 1990s were places variousof experiment providing young people with Besides such sexual benefits thatcan be gainedfrequenting from themany clubs, whothose of 142 soon led soon toadramatic increasein fashion brand-name Kyeonghyang Daily Rock pushed awayDance by and Money in (Nov.rather out 162006)points . … 143 CEU eTD Collection 227 have I witnessedoccasions Christianon several missionariesFurthermore, seek outpresence. the areadisturbing to their talk to from thefree present bekept to was groups area the that about moraldemanding park, behavior.little to 30 protesters, all of whom seemingly members of a policemenunion, showed up to protest the youthful crowds in this 145 system to get them swiftly to any place they want. dormitories nearby theiruniversities instead, rely heavily on Seoul’s fast, inexpensive and efficientresources public transportationall that much. Students, who tend to live with theirparents until marriage ormove into cheap, privately runthe place on aregularbasis, so the price in rent in the neighborhood would not affectyoung people with little financial 144 so. do to if them permits theweather neighborhood of the in thestreets simply loiter or clubs), bars or cafes, alternative particular (i.e.in areas Hongdae commercialized thoroughly otherwise the within fragments indie the to cling either they Nowadays, speak of let be to havethemselvesusually havenomonetary of out to driven space. power refused their who life-styles alternative to adherents and musicians artists, young very the Especially audiences. people into the neighborhood has not led to a complete displacement of its original, more alternative ofmanysubjects hangingpeople outthere.However,interestingly enough, push the newof capital and favorite of the one deadwascertainly wasnowflat-out or for good” hadbeen“ruinedHongdae many myself.people’show fact, talkto the neighborhood first went about In mindsin2007,when I all. after implemented not reviewing, neighborhood neighborhood on weekendsas well, just much thedispleasure to of area’sthe original inhabitants and foreign residents living in the larger Seoul Metropolitan area would start to seek out the streets of the more both trouble Koreanthe than clubbers and in theloitering youth the spaces park taken together: would,ininfluence, many, anewspecimen ontheHongdaeemerged stage that eyesof the even cause casually public the district. over spaces of taking entertainment the visitors couldfelt be attimes seenwho by disturbed behavior perceivedthe a-social youth of this charges and drinking prices bars the of nearby,and clubs much consternation amongst older casual playground nowadays functioning as refugethe all for willing not those able or pay to coverthe One time in 2006, I was told by a male friend of mine who frequents the playground area on adaily basis, agroup of 20 frequenting those for necessity vital a considered been never has Hongdae near or in living that is factor crucial Another The “old Hongdae” (i.e. in its pre-gentrification state) was imaginecertainly occupying still an state) in (i.e. pre-gentrification its The “old Hongdae” Around the same time that the clubbing scene inAround clubbingscene insize thatthe Hongdaegrewdramatically thesametime and 144 WithHongdae spaceof the outdoor the 145 CEU eTD Collection had been killed by a U.S. military vehicle in the summer of that year, soldiers U.S. of summer that atmosphere inthe vehicle by military that the a U.S. been had killed 228 Mi-s Shim of death accidental the after months Several from wouldentry bebarred to their establishments: they that them notifying signs with met were neighborhood the to coming soldiers U.S. and action take to decided some club owners of October 2002, In late 2002). (Chun ‘Hong-itaewon’” calling it started Koreans in that sight Hongdae such a common becoming were and“GIs Hongdae, areas to base from remoter get to buses chartering have started to rumored were soldiers the – clientele Korean The high out. singled being now were numberthey area, the of bars and clubs the in foreigners know to getting ofabout GIs caused concernin also alllikelihood theavailability a largeof numberyoung of Korean women whowere curious amongst local and facilities, large entertainment the of concentration well. by free-spirited atmosphere, the Attracted club owners, military,in tocome theareaas of the lives the Ville to theirhad daily started escape temporarily andto who were afraid forto the demise ofalternative Hongdae.lose U.S. soldiers, seeking a way leaveto behind the confining space their in one neighborhood, as fundamentallygroup wouldparticular soon besingled being out responsible andrestaurants.” shops corporate to comein.instead itjustculture, clubbing independent It becameabouttotally and ruined the started foreigners those all sorry… those… all “then But action. and thought dissident for a place also She told me that Hongdae ten years ago was still not only the center for the alternative music scene, but notis alonein certainly herviews onwho in realculprit be: the of Hongdae thedemise possibly could visitors. Su-j including Korean-Americans (Chun2002). "previous bad experiences" may drugs, beenhave fightsand sexual harassment. Clearly, signs target the foreigners, red signthat warns, againin English: "Things not to do at Hong-dae clubs." The list provides hints at what the no longerpermitted to enterHongdae clubs." The letters in "GIs" arebright red. Right next to the signis usually a English. In bold, black capitals it says: "We sincerely apologize, but due to many firstThe thing youprevious now see atthe threshold of 10 [Hongdae] bad clubsthe experiences, isayellow, 60-by-45centimetersign GIs in are Amongst the – predominantly Western – foreigners who would start to frequent the frequent to start would who foreigners – Western predominantly – the Amongst ǂ ng, for instance, a30-year-old peaceactivist whousedtospendher early in 20s Hongdae, ǂ n and Shin Hyu-sun, the two teenagers who teenagers two the Hyu-sun, Shin n and CEU eTD Collection 229 across afewhave quite very them in myfield of during grown act cautious theway research – they decree. own their enforce actually to U.S. the Armed authorities Forces for way no is practically there bases, U.S. from distance geographical the and neighborhood the of size entertainment districts of Seoul. This ban on Hongdae is in place up to this day, but because of the large outrage and reinforce once again the notion of all U.S. soldiers as potential criminals on the loose in the old Korean woman at the end of a night of partying at Hongdae, an occurrence that would lead tomuch a 67-year- raped repeatedly Ramirez when reviseposition, Geronimo Private Army their to authorities assessment, officials said”(Flack2007).However, seven monthsabrutal later forcedincident the threat acombined conducted [had] officials force-protection military and police U.S. National Police, 5a.m.out of wouldfrom 9.p.m. in“Korean lifted to area the ban May be This 1, 2006,after only military affiliated civilians, such as family members, civilian employees and contractors, were to stay neighborhood off-limits from starting2, 2002.This December andall meant action U.S. that troops within reacted a months’ soldiers, entire “force-protection putthe due to concerns” time and, Koreans should be grateful that the U.S. Army is there to protect the country.” (ibid). that attitude an ‘have soldiers the that And GIs’. of ‘arrogance the of enough seen have they say from activists University,Hongik and the matter “Thediscussed decidedona eventually ban: students ifheand Club with nobody (Chun knows studentowners,2002). together waspunished” concerned According to the rumor, the woman died immediately, and the GI was handed over to the U.S. Army had stabbed ayoung Korean woman while was she dancing ataclub, was NB,that popular with GIs. US soldiers):“an imaginations as about ofviolent GI key the American out earliercomponents singled (strikingly displaying all the typical ingredients of soldier, local girl, and entertainmentthe area thathysterical. I have A wild,into wheneverstepped Hongdae they indeedentered very was onto tense, occasions and bordered on unconfirmed rumor was making the rounds at the clubs and bars at that time U.S. soldiers that still frequent the area despite the “Off-Limits”-Decree – and I have come I –and “Off-Limits”-Decree the despite area the frequent still that soldiers U.S. their of presence the over Hongdae in by thecommotion all alerted The U.S. Forces, Armed CEU eTD Collection 230 key in protagonists a prolonged sex hadpanic that the neighborhood at its center. because dangerous of inimmoral theirbehavior supposedly of becoming district the thereby Hongdae, labeled asputatively are malesthat foreign category of yetanother into been turned increasingly have Korea, in South labor and live currently whom of thousands of tens themselves, teachers English foreign section, in next the weshall However, as their profession. about if asked teachers as English pose occasions on and hair cropped shortly their up cover to caps baseball use often they trouble, into while in Hongdae: generally, they tend tostay away from certain clubs where they know they could run CEU eTD Collection everso slightly, meaning to say, well nevermind then, and continues in hisclimb up.” silently weakly and my shake notenergy evenhead, enough my in body give adecent reply.to He shoulders just his shrugs lady?” I am so stunned atby him.his It takesquestion a few seconds and until the he turns actuallyproposal around addressesto look hidden at meme infor a loud a moment, intone itby stoppingthatsaying, “Hey,I inhave his walk. young come I lady,can feelto are easily his youcurious a Russian deciphergaze but I don’t by reactnow by lookingthat I backjust field diary after a trip to It’aew to a trip after diary field often proved to be merely aimed at feeling out whether I was a sex worker. On May 3, for instance, I jotted down in my 231 146 beautiful on earth, then he insists on buying me a drink. me buying on insists he then earth, on beautiful most the are women Russian that adding Russian, am I whether English excellent in me asks He of infedoras bestriped days. by Hongdae these dozen thatcan the streets black-and-white spotted the worker in his early 30s, aKorean office with withinMin-ho, Ifindmyself in a few minutes crowd, conversation into the a who is sporting a stylishcome like likeluck to atypical Suzie, While heretoototry on night. Saturday their Suziedisappears leather jacket,know, washed but Korean out jeans men and and women,themselves narrowthe alleythrough in abigmotion. circular The placeis very popular with I GIs, one togetherof those with civilian agigantic club features Hongdae topressthat baraspiece, whichindeedforcesa center guests its foreigners, most ofright?” Suzieis referring to predominantlythe young, male lined crowd upagainst wallin the this them English teachers exclaims joy. with “We girls justkeeprunning ina circle, and gettopick from goodies the on display, “Wow, thisplace like works some kind of mytwisted runningsushi”, American acquaintance Suzie Hongdae, though, because “this is where the real parties are happening”. parties arehappening”. “this real because the during iswhere Atthis our though, Hongdae, moment foreigners, heknows about practically gathered headds everything a smirk.Nowadays heprefers with inyearsbarswith of foreignersago It’aew afew the tohangout English how and Ihear,Min-ho, speak few learnedof to a his nationalities of lists the ex-girlfriends. women, and “[O]ld images of victimized native womendo not exhaust all the possibilities of contemporary Asian female-Western male During my excursions into nightthe life of It’aew The Moral Panic over Western Influences in Hongdae. ǂ n: “[The middle-aged Korean businessman] is about to pass by me on the escalator and then and escalator the on by me pass to about is businessman] Korean middle-aged “[The n: IV. Protecting the Innocent from Corruption: sexualencounters.” (Kelsky 1996:174f) ǂ n, Ihad n, become weary of questionwhetherthe I was Russian, asit 146 He tells me how much he adores foreign ǂ n, that’s wherehe CEU eTD Collection 232 one’s family). to acceptable entirely are that of people group amongst marriages oftoday’s Koreansmany with seekingother, each to with integrate relationship elementsdialectic a of entered both forms rather (i.e. have marry spectrum the of for love, ends two but look for apartner within to the narrow theirpossible undermining effect stillonthe widespread and tradition of love arranged marriage and comes forromantic toconclusionthe that the of marriage notion investigated He has least. very say the to skewed, is practices new and old between 147 ways of managing one’s sexuality By putatively discarding traditional hierarchical notions of society and disrespecting the customary never sleeps has given rise tomany anxieties over the moral conduct of this new generation of Koreans. Korean girls, they just come here with one thing in mind, tohave sex with a foreign guy”. couple. “Look other atthis at glance uneasily both andwe interrupted is conversation our of flow the that acquaintance that”, Kang-heewhite, says toa with heavily me flirting been has who us, nowfrom muscular bar the across 20s early her in without woman a Korean chat, a hint guy of irony,with “sovery shameful. shortly All these cropped hair, laughs out so loudly at a comment of her shall see, nationalist gut-reactions are triggered that come attached to a worldview in foreign to which thatcome are attached gut-reactions nationalist triggered shall see, imagessome familiar arebeingin conjured up eroticthe to opposition liberalism of Hongdae. As we within the boundaries of one district comes much up against andresentment, interestingly enough, foreignthe is] left[that consume”to (Kelsky Necessarily, 1996:177). small-scale this sexual revolution in It’aew fragments in views non-Korean strangers as potential sexual commodities (a notion which we have also come across Such a newlogic that Seoul of district. confines afamiliar within the beyond alas Korean the world, inexperience andasa hyper-capitalistKorea, layspredatory consumption chance more to of what female);and male (both bodies foreign to access erotic demand self-confidently and apparently today them of Many thesedistricts. entertainment Seoul’s of spaces liminal the in sexual liberties sexual Western-style persuing eagerly practices, it seems, they both frame as a right within a framework of Ethnographic research by Jean-Paul Baldacchino, for instance, seems to indicate that such apicture of a clear-cut rupture The rapid change from a night-time Seoul in pitch-darkness in the 1980s to the boomtown that boomtown the to 1980s in the inpitch-darkness Seoul night-time a from change rapid The ǂ n), ultimately also turns the exotic erotic experience into the “final frontier of frontier “final the into experience erotic exotic the turns also ultimately n), 147 , in the eyes of their elders, these young Koreans seem to be too to seem Koreans young these elders, their of eyes in the , CEU eTD Collection locals foreigners –andand no other neighborhood than Hongdae has come into the spotlightas much sphere couldbeissues witnessed pertaining overto jovial fraternizing and sexual relations between corruptionnation’s of the values. Consequently,core much in consternation andin the media the public perennialspaces like deployed fears Hondgae,brings out toward and of infiltration clandestine with issues ofimperialism and self-determination. Themotif central “nationof under siege”, when left both occupationduring of 20 andpractically right entire the frontiers irrespective of local histories. new ever conquer urban that global for processes broader capitalist becomehave symptomatic desire, as function increasingly which Hongdae, as such consumption itsof population”multiethnicization spaces (ibid), of Korean consequent and the economy ethnic homogeneity theirof country. Within a“contextintensifyingof globalization South the of extreme in the pride active taken long have citizens many Japan) country neighboring its to (similar in where acountry is rise the on also Koreanness of essence losing fearof the the (Lee Jk. 2010:19), Koreanness, Korean identity as isbroadened toinclude being plural andcultures multiple ethnicities” of stage theWhile of “witnessing incipient very of a process we are gradual de-ethnicization psychological benchmark onemillion many in2007,to signify rapid unraveling of the National. the country, inthe foreigners numbers of having increasing the reached life. The areas of ever be contained inthe kiji’chon of Koreaareas South –are by now understood many as all swamping political parameters. and economic social, different drastically under emerged have spaces two these though even Ville, the its is andexperimentation sexualpractices being violentspace actively with compared putatively the of Korea by of Westernexploitation imperialist forces. logic, and a Hongdae And in of such extension an 233 can Korean soil males on This change,rapid unsurprisingly, theflags raises of many in acountry where themain influences Foreign many come onlyimagined –for shape in decades towho wereto of GIs the only be understood withinbeas malevolent quasi- actors understood the continuous transnational th century has been to come to terms realms of hedonism and hedonism of realms CEU eTD Collection 234 contact. ofbody a lot suggests, 148 Korean women and halfnaked white men excessively,partying the“bubi doing bubi dance indeedhad the party heldeverything“the playboy” had promised. The of pictures partially exposed As a follow-up to this post, a series of pictures were uploaded onto the same website, showing that isspectrum” thatpopular foreign with teachersworkingEnglish inKorea: South in “English 2004. late in called forum Hongdae was an “advertisement” online posted time,Atthat an alonggoes processes. beitthese with that means Korean to what over increased circulation both bodiesof globalization,and ideasdueto and aheightenedsense of insecurity fundamental change in both the socio-cultural understandings of sex and moral behavior as a result of Korean society: aslow, in transformation South yeta drastic of companions seemingly the unavoidable morality” inmayconflict sexuality case,beas Moral over our andpanics, sexual (2008:5). understood Irvine Janice promotes action. political into values moral of transformation the is, – that sex” of moment a political use “the of “the term sex a full-blown panic. Sex sex panic, aterm coined byanthropologist Carole panicVance in 1984, describes as a form of moralbreak loose involving English teachersand young several Korean women wouldthat develop soon into panic to designate sites of publiclast over for the providingfor these decade encounters, asweshall spaceputatively see. poisonous The word “bubi” means to grind, rub. The “bubi bubi dance” means a form of dancing that involves, as the name The The Playboy relationships. interesting some develop and people new meet to time be agood will 15th The fun. the Both nights will be fun, but a little bit different.hop join and otherwise)If intermissions.you can and make one or comethe other or both,oriented,guy-girl-guy-girl games,foreach small prizes. please This will with bemixed inafair amount of (hip dancing price from 9-12 to get everyone hammered prior to the games. From 12 to about 4 am, we’ll play buncha of team- On the 15th, we willclothes-allergic professionalsbe who shouldholding be making a guest appearance that night. an MC’edfemale bathroom, some late night dance floor grinding Sexy and partial nudity, mixed inwiththe Gameadditionof some EachNight. party will be slightly different. On theWe 14th, it will be muchwill the same as the last two; meaningbeHongdae onsomeBOTH the 14thsex (Fridayselling in the night) and the 15th (Saturday night). drinks Partyat humpers,an exceptionally Just so there’s no confusion…English low Spectrum and I will be hosting two parties at MaryJane’s in in place taking event an over commotion inthe work at be seen indeed can issues these of All After the afore-mentioned targeting of US soldiersin late 2002, two years later, a scandal would 148 ” or CEU eTD Collection 235 151 2010). Rauhala (Cp. testing forced such from exempted were enough, interestingly descent, ofKorean foreigners - deported immediately being possibly HIV positive be 2007, the introductionof a mandatory HIV-testing forforeignall English teachers caused muchoutrage, with those found to in 2005, a group that has made it its goal to help investigate150 and propagate the crimes of English149 teachers. Furthermore, in them “Foreigners whore! as Why youdon’t shut your club?”“Why down like or justdon't whores you is treatment.” a person psychiatric receiving and mental anguish incredible wearesuffering madness collective netizen's the and reporting selective gongju their deviantbehavior:“Some online articles [...] said western wewereprostitutes, princesses [ known, and they received countless emails or threatening phone calls by strangers singling thempublicly out for became addresses and names Their months. few next the over shaming public and harassment suddenly found themselves exposedall over Korean the andweb sphere much would gothrough costs sexually corrupted the imageof new central become the to were now teachers English soldiers, night. Afterthe U.S. and wherecorrupting the corruption of young Korean minds and the seduction of their bodies was the usual game of Westerner,sex delinquentwhose favorite playground –Hongdae –had bynowinto turned a pit hole of amorality teacher asapotential English male users typical internet the to depict andother bloggers media, Korean who should beforfew weeks the nextkeep scandalafloat tothe finding enough kept certainly were they awaymoney” make and women the with score to it’s easy where Kimchiland from “the Korea local womenit’s exceptKorea that anotherusercalling about sleepmoney”, or women make with and easy to the at all Korean consideredwomen. assexually degrading to nothing is like“There good And with comments could be for that content netizens byKorean wassearched Spectrum” website “English entire withmaking out wouldeach leakother then into the news Korean blogger-sphere, and which after the See Park Sang-kyu 2005. Translation takenfrom http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-classic.html. Spectrum” “Anti-English themselves calling organization ofan foundation the was panic this of outcome very real One scandal. the on information more for 2005b Koehler and 2005a Koehler See 150 ], and brothel keepers.” Furthermore, the women were quoted assaying:and media's women of the ], brothel “Because were quoted the keepers.” Furthermore, The young Korean females, too, who were depicted so unfavorably in the leaked photos, . 151 Comments directed at the women involved labeling involved women the at directed Comments 149 . Suchstatements were usedby the yang CEU eTD Collection 236 with sexual agency experience women’s choiceand and ignores unwittingly increases the oppression sexual terror and and despair inwhichviolence women live” sexual (1984:1). of only speak yet to act, women which in structure patriarchal 152 newintroduce This and slot. soughtto afternoon Camp” taking inits usual aweek, place once event, On neighborhood. July 30,2005,MBC aired network television its hugely “Musiclivesuccessful show innocentyouth had in of farthe putativehow the already streets corrosion the of progressed Korean young men. This incident would once and for all prove to those already suspicious of Hongdae same year scandal broughtHongdae another backinto the glaring– this spotlight time involving in such a way. youngof bodiesof double-victimization andinto women whose werespotlightsexualities the dragged problematicin they be alreadywithin setting, theirenforcing original too, a kind seen as Hongdae, can incentives entertainmentplaying districtan into carried and context original where its of out istaken of sense themade a been have vast women largekiji’chon majority of actors engagerole. in sexual been way only encountersthe has frequently that victim misguideddichotomy whore vs. emerges. The treacherous And without while monetary we mereforeigners,hands into of thereby victims aratherchillingpicture dupes, women the and turning have explored whofocusedjournalists mainly aspectof on the reporters, and “female of atthe degradation” sexual how suchkiji’chon in prostitution country.the Taken with together morethe and regulated downdiscourses toned dichotomies of century a half over of recollections collective of endurance the show graphically only not nation, were highly betray the whores that as treacherous women involved label to the and attempt the web forum sphere, blogfrom largely the emanatingand attacks Suchanonymous uncensored partiers incentral Hongdae. between the sex workers10,000 hits on employed in the GI clubs in the remote kiji’chondie quietly,” asked whileothers them, are “Whores, Western good?”bastards that (Shin 2005). areas and young female Itdoes vividly bring to mind Carole Vance’s statement that to “focus only onpleasure and gratification ignores the The debate over the English Spectrum party hadThe party in overtheEnglishdebate barelydied the summer Spectrum down, when the of In such a way, the notion of the “Hongdae Yanggongju” was born – a term that brings up almost 152 google alone (in an internet search conducted in May 2011) – and that establishes a link CEU eTD Collection private parts on live parts private decriedthe TV during Others on family time Saturday”viewing (2005). members of banda punkrock lived uptotheirmusic’s history of whensubversion theirthey exposed two mores, conservative Korea’s to affront unprecedented an “In history: long in Korea’s incident 237 a say “Punk these Rockers’ had much about in to Privates Affrontto Korea’s of ‘Bourgeois’”, title asthe 2005). had they been requested), walked away monthwith ten suspended sentencesin end(Cp.Rude the prosecutors had initially demanded hefty sentences for the two of them (up to two years of prison members faced Couch afeweventually misdeed,courtroom laterfor months their andafter time for invitedand having ofCouch, the show”(Kim aged20the members 27,on Tae-jung 2005).The two show. Although Won Chong-hi, the lead vocalist of RUX, did not expose himself, the after immediately almost he were arrested musicians [...] was Thetwo four seconds. for about broadcast also arrested way, down theirand pulled “exposed their pants do it.” their pants on stage, and we all laughed at the idea. Frankly speaking,no one thought they would really TV guys whatbig those they show to ways of think to reallystarted and immediately excited very think got “They RUX. of invitation of them and the shit music they the accepted members“Couch” gladly Playground. Hongdae punkband the promote. of two others, Amongst They said they would dropcome togetherwith onstage them, Iwastold by Jil-Sung, apunk acquaintance ofmine from the fame bars in the gritty and in clubs generously invited had Hongdae, its many punk street friendsto of live country. show the the across beingbroadcast local significant ithad RUX,abandbrought to that had been invitedperform to a song inastudio setting infront of a largely female teen with audience, its band, predominantly promising audience. to livebands teenage Hongdae punkRUX, time, a This Chosun Ilbo The media, in the storm that broke loose immediately following the incident, unsurprisingly, incident, the following immediately loose broke that storm in the media, The But indeed, when the moment came, the two musicians, having painted their faces in a clownish article read. The first sentence of the same article points out the uniqueness of article outsentence theuniquenessfirst the of read.The of samearticlethe points genitalia while continuing to dance. The scene was continuing to genitalia while CEU eTD Collection had famously held vendettas had heldagainst famously vendettas themusic scene emerging from It’aew back “disciple the of Yushin” –an openreference to dictatorialthe underParkChung-heetimes who bring to trying of Lee accused Party Uri leftist the from Hyun-mee Kim politician reply, aprompt In it: to related institutions or city finding themselves on listthe being permanently barredfrom performing atevents organized by Seoul with those betogether, drawn should bands “indecent” of blacklists was that proposal scene. His actionindie presidential take in entire Hongdae the andvowedto had chirpedagainst office, already venues andrelated businesses near Hongik University” (Indie2005). promised tothattheirinvestigation be was expanded to going “intounhealthyperformance and corrupt said” (Jin 2005). As a consequence, a policeman interviewedby said” (Jin2005). the a policeman As aconsequence, Won beer’, of bottles or a guitar break we Sometimes there. ‘Weperform to free district. clubbing are kind of seenperformance during the MBCbroadcast is common clubsat inHongdae region, ahot deviantbehavior.Hongdae as breeding attention unwanted a place to aninterview, In he the “said that 2005) Performance (Punk viewers.” all against violence sexual committed “it's asif they've that admonished 238 newspaper Conservative girls”. teenage of mostly composed harassmentnationalof proportions. Live filmed, they or performed infrontan ofhundreds, audience bands’independent rock behavioris inexcusable by standard,any asitnothing was butakind sexual of a as violation, sexual asaform of occurrence Seoulthe metropolitan of government. (Jin 2005) members executive with meeting a in said Lee authorities,” the by regulated been not has accepted, generally not is which performance, the area, Hongdae the in clubs at night every happen performances indecent that said accused the that “Given them. do who acts of the blacklist a make and performances Seoul Mayor, Lee Myung-bak,weighed inon issue,the saying eachward should supervise obscene the into voted been then since has who Myung-bak, Lee mayor Seoul earlier, A days few Inadvertently adding oil to the fire, an off-hand remark by RUX singer J. brought further brought J. singer RUX by remark off-hand an fire, the to oil adding Inadvertently Korea Times Joong-Ang Ilbo editorial on August 1 stated: “The on editorial 1stated: August Chosun Ilbo ǂ in another editorial even n in 1970s.“I'mthe not (August 4, 2005) 4, (August CEU eTD Collection hinting at. of my vignette has alsobeen with Min-ho encounter purported theearlierbeauty sexiness as and – making, female foreigners from the West, on the other hand, are put into the spotlight as interestideal types of just public has raised that issue is an women’s sexualities asforeign To be sure, scandals. these after followed well, but while from very female this were foreigners debate: broadly from Westernexempted kindofstereotypingthe that foreign note isitself,it essential absence to butone in crucial is of youth noteworthy on Korea the influence men are typically hyper-sexual(ized) dangersof Western the The debateover corrosive male and their foreigners portrayed as sex-offenders in the that tothe conclusion comes finally The article abroad.” performances by bandsforeign inordertogive theplace aforeign having without atmosphere togo flockstudiedHongiknumberforeignersincreasing… to area,the abroad of isalsoWe started who women and foreigners marrying of thinking women Korean as that appears “It says: who official longa club welcome days werenow quotes gone, and werenot inHongdae whenforeigners good the that states author article’s the clubs, in the GIs on ban the Recalling women.” hunting for “paradise a foreigners’ into changing quickly are claims, article the University, Hongdae nearby clubs The men. could befound thelimits within thesexual fraternizinglocalof Hongdae: between andforeign women besides raunchypunkperformances greatsocial vile –that moreremindits – of other the readersonce 239 2005) culture subversiveitrestrictis andtry to somethingof ghosts the the Yushin erawould (Seoul do.” it'sbut really andan anachronistic absurd order,” “ToKim said. [...] cry forlabel ablacklist, ‘indie’ sure if deciding whocan beand invited cannot performances to under Seoul isCity uptothemayor, eyed men.”(Koehler 2005c) of “blue- search in clubs the to coming women many are booking there in increases, music interest in the of an than stands more with night one and foreigners of number the As found. be to nowhere is University of Hongik front the recent act of indecent exposure by a punk band onlive TV showed, the diversity and Hongdae individualityis now area withan youthfulhot passion has that degenerated frombeing mixed of upwithforeigners. the area As in Ten days after the indecent exposure, a Herald Business News Business Herald article took up the opportunity opportunity upthe to took article CEU eTD Collection “favorite girl” on the show is an Uzbek woman with the name ofJamilya who has in themeantime quit maleold of mine Korean noted, “Istart acquaintance consider once His marriage.” international to an the young, male population of the country glued to the TV set. “Whenever I watch TVset. “WheneverI the to glued country the of young,malepopulation the of imagination the inspiring much very thereby stars, film or pop Korean male to attraction their and boyfriends Korean their men, Korean with dates past their as topics such include about questioned get withoutsteppingstreets puddlesinto ofvomit(Cp. MondelloOther 2007). popular subjects girls the muchdrink too andthere upall throw over place the which literally makesit hardwalk to the through Bronwyn, dutifully explained thatshe neverto Hongdae goes anymore,foreign men because tend to manner. On andhold make-up,oneback sexy donot discuss –albeitKoreanto in –manifold broken frank issuesin a occasion, talk camelaunch even careers. to acting were dealsable or record commercials, to for Hongdae,contracts well-paid with up ended have whom of some show, the of women half-white or white the and one panelwomen from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin, the “stars” of the show are clearly member,lives While inKorea. thatusually questions foreignrevolve their around of (love) panelconsists the South “beauties” foreign the ask who men Korean young of set changing ever Africanan of consisting panel another student all midst languagelearningKorean facedin students are who with of attractive foreign theare the successes of the KSB 2 TV channel. The format of the show is simple: a panel consisting of young and beauties), ashow has that been airing sinceNovember 2006andis oneof biggestthe commercial 240 Bong-won.” (KoehlerLee 2006b) comedian by famous made routine black-face a to a reference sikameos,” “sikameos, chanting began and wig rasta rendition of a Korean song. It was thenamongst that expatriates: “Allone was as ofit should be—maybe—untilthe panel—singer lovely African-AmericanLeslie Benfield Cheon was performingstudent Myeong-hun was a being mockeda blatantly way in danceracist performance, a during that astunt caused muchindignation —jumped up on stage wearing a 153 inwomen aKorean calledTV show “Misuda The underlying racial preference of the show became particularly visible in December 2006, when an African American an African when 2006, December in visible particularly became show the of preference racial underlying The The lure particular is of show the young in women, dressedthat often very revealing clothes Particularly incrucial shaping this hasbeen perception (over-)exposurethe ofyoung foreign ” (short for miny ǂGǎ 153 l- ǎ i suda – the chatter of the Misuda ”, a23-year CEU eTD Collection 241 sex objects for Korea’s male population.as available made simultaneously are and Seoul, of districts entertainment the polluting as is seen that male Western the of purge symbolic in the complicit made is woman Western the of image the a way, in “sexy controversy the picturestaken surrounding party” a Hongdae club a few yearsearlier. In such very tothe reference aclear scandal”, sexy party in caughtup “English teachers headlineof the about Kimchi and Korean girls”. At the end of the episode, we see the girlsbent over a newspaper with know just“I admits, say, one easy”. aresoanother teachers And “they the of wehearone are good”, “Koreaninneighborhood. Korean of Hongdae the clubsceneof girls anddrugged women drunk advantage regularly taking as areportrayed who of teachers a group English huntingfriends her down first very episode of thinlyveiledthis porn soft (firstairedin the spring of featuresJamilya2008) and she thatlollipop is while seen continuously badguys. goingthe suckingon after To top off,things the in Seoul. Chasing sex after offenders in very skirts andshort high heels, Jamilya’smark trade is the criminals featureddown hunt who her,young Returns” that Korean asatrio with women, two together showthe topursuea career in andmodeling. acting Jamilya incidentally came to more TV fame when she stared in a series called “Sexy Mong “Sexy called in aseries stared she when fame TV more to came incidentally Jamilya CEU eTD Collection 242 very very impressed. militarythe hispaid for language –butmytraining Ican friend,see that is an anarchist activist, not sharesuch a – Korean to degree today.influenther longerto seem to out parties no lays that of He all big moderately conservative even theU.S.military that the toward attitude benign of extremely their and his daughter, Park Eun-ae (currently a high-up politician in the Grand National Party), also because supports mostthe conservative inKorea and politicians isabigfan ParkChung-heeof military dictator himself apunk, butof a ratherleaning right designation – he’s very conservative, he tells hernow, he nearby keep glancing athim hisand friend uneasily. peoplefitin innot in andherewe does hanging sitting right Korea, the Hongdaeparkwhere out, are certainly He there. crowd the in with blend if he’d and him, like similarly built are there men whether otherwise;Central we as talkthen about he meEurope, tells hehas Hungarian ancestry and asksme get himselfKorean a girlfriend thesedays, hewould just be as learn never ableto language the to hard really is trying he me tells He face. his into liar a call to guy of type the not go; it let just I then tonight heis that in Iamsizing education. for asecond, himup the shaved hugebuild, head,the and no.” oh though, guys those Not bad… that not is actually person this oh see, they when a bit go verywell,conversationhe says,“You didnot know, revise usually to people juststart their opinions say them forbit overbut heto hello the looks throughout a and theirmeal.eventually talk– to went So nearby, and Mike loudly complains to me now how the waiters had continuously given them dirty Mike that same skinhead look here. issporting around from Theyjust a Pakistani returned restaurant while hanging out at the Hongdae playground, is with another big guy tonight, who is also going for the soldier,Mike’smostcovers of meet arm. U.S. hismuscular Thebear-sized tattoo I occasionally whom Meanwhile, I overhear Mike explaining to a Korean friend of mine that yes, he considers While chatty Mike readily admits to anyone who asks that he is a soldier, his friend tells me V. The Chaos Class Kids CEU eTD Collection restaurants inrestaurants Hongdae during daytime. the Theyusually lessearn than 5,000 Won (4 Dollars) an hour is for food thatmoney most point byediting ofthemhave doneatsome work deliver the but porn, jobs.random Some haveheld nearbyjobs in inconveniencestores one past, the of his makes them theyoungdrop-outs, men – group this allof between ageof the 18 to24–keep themselveswith afloat While the girls hangingthoroughly ground littered floor apartment, where their teenage girlfriends juststay often aswell. out withand moist a run-down, – the Sin’chon in nearby flat shared in a chaos live guys the of few a Quite with. friends class guys are mostly same name years would agothat pressthe albumsof high punkvarious bands they play to) (used in were or school studentsknown or as theuniversity “Chaos are Class”they scene, the In kids stigmatized. – a utterly nameso is tattooing that where derivesa country in trouble in fromthem get often their failed attempt to start a label of the talked – to their skin manycovered with anarchistanti-militarist, andDIY andslogans signs thatquite a shared bottle, and so we stroll over there. Most of them are as heavily tattooed as the GIs we just 243 Jae-s increasingly nervouswith the guys, sowemove awayfrom Mike andhisfriend eventually. see Ican Mike’s dog tag in the midst of the argument and ran off cheerfully with this trophy in his hand. with hangingfight out the Rastakid time, aColombian up aCarlos, when snatched atthat Australians incommensurability itof all. Mike, twice the size of Jane, just quietly took it all in, and even did not put seeming of because hour the for agood Mike female yelling at Jane, the Australian, readily himself tobe declared both military and punk,a into they got heated argumentwith him, with who playground, the at Mike with run-in first their had they When punks. other meet could they so Hongdae to them directed we where from station, subway Sin’chon the at I and Jil-sung encountering accidentally wayhome, toKorea the on detour little a made inJapan and G8-protests to the Australianinfor weeks– crust punkhad had duration the theoftwo scenethey kids shown up traveled ǂ k, Jil-sung, Jae-bong,guys some and other andnearby, girls hanging out winefrom drinking rice I can sense that the people that I am with – mainly foreign and Korean women – get Mike’s self-designation as punk has caused him trouble very recently, I hear, when two CEU eTD Collection 244 scarce. extremely are scholarships and nowadays, 154 way: following housean empty for alengthy His of period villageneartime. old the borderhe indescribed the imposed curfew every hisfamilynight, one day upallpacked their stuff moved andsquat toSeoul in to closemilitary- to DMZ inasmallvillageso asfarmers the they that living were under Originally familyfind a substitute in scene, whilethe guy, yetanother Jae-s One aknife-fight wrong. from gone kidafter punk homes emerged andfoster to of orphanages a series is a former gangster who owned a large night club in the past before he was forced intoearly retirement financial resources. person’sAnother little parentswith father separated or of divorced children are the Their own families, it seems, mainly come into the picture as sources of conflict universities Korean and struggle expensive – many exceedingly in the enrollment makes which in most the of 1970s, peoplethe involved here come from economically backgrounds, disadvantaged and U.S. the inEurope similartothe early however: strictly speakingnotpunks isachoice, education gives themmuch maintaintime to relationship their close with each other. This circumvention of – school of kind in any enrolled is currently one no person, one of exception the with and education, gettingof have auniversity attempted them even outofhigh afew school,have only dropped convenience stores of Hongdae to be shared amongst everyone else. bit of money at any given time, so goes the ethic, is responsible for buying the beer and rice wine in the earned from kindofmenialthis within work at theirgroup end the day.the of Andis whoever making a like delivering, they just pass usually another jobthe punkfriend,on to which keeps money the to be feel longer no they If friends. their with out hang to nearby pub a cheap or park the to straight money in butthey forpaid endof day, work, cashatthe aworking this get their allows themtotake which Several thousand Dollars per semester are standard tuition fees at many of Seoul’s more prestigious universities prestigious more Seoul’s of many fees at tuition standard are semester per Dollars thousand Several So half of the villagers would come from the North, they hated the North Korean government so they escaped from escaped they so government Korean there, North and theythe are still living hated there,they not going back North, to the their hometowns.from My come uncle was would one of them. My uncle came villagers the of half So Their disentanglementfrom thorough ambitious – most andhard-working Korea-proper of them ǂ k, comes from a family squatters. of 154 difficult to say the least. CEU eTD Collection learning andresearch spacessuch Suyu-Nomoas classes,lectures and gotoorganized subsequently teach-ins inenroll byradical alternative Esperanto them. to important matters on Yakkol), eachother self-educate they would park, orby blogsreading radical andforums (such as“Anarclan”, awebsite byKorean run activist Cho activistsin a in leftist scene such way. the foreign By at the intogetting conversations with anarchists Appalledby startof the IraqWar,the of joined some and anti-warthem protests wouldto know get made from early together effortthe theyears2000s, over astrong politicize punkfriends. to theirother 245 2008) (Ina neighborhood. the in doors its opened network ofthe part is that a “Café even 2010, late in and area, the in founded been have houses and flats jip” “Bin other several meantime, the In experiments...” other and community, building little (ornone). This provides more time to be devotedto things that they feel are important: eating, playing, drinking, resources, conserving costs, and making things from scratch(DIY), this intentional community allows members to work community” that seeks to provide its visitors with an alternative way of living: “By living together, sharingHouse’):February In laborgroup2008, a of and people founded the “Emptyfirst House”,conceptualized asan “intentional minded radically few a quite attracted has groups to ratherimpoverishedthis of part The mostSeoul. noteworthy Suyu-Nomo of these isperhaps thatprojects ofjip”(‘Empty “bin of Seoul, district Haebangchon the in Located (suyunomo.net). with “Migrant Worker Television” (MWTV), an initiative of migrant worker activists and their Korean supporters radical thinkers who seek spaces learning outside of putatively conservative universities. Suyu-nomo also itsshares space 156 Tae’chu-ri,with another piece giving background information on then recently founded “Indymedia Korea”. Books Nr. 2features an interview with U.S. anarchist activist “Chance” discussing both conscientious objectionrisks large-scale and environmental damage for the sake of doling out big contracts to constructioncompanies). Also, Disquietstraightening and connecting of country’s the fourbiggest rivers, whichcritics argue threatens Korea’s watersecurity and and Lee his government and introducing against some of controversial protests more his beef plans the such asthe about “Four-Rivers-Project” readers its (i.e. the informing be found, can bak Lee Myung president conservative current the ridiculing ofarticles series a instance, – for well as zines these in tackled are subjects political of variety awide abroad, attention to orare emotionally involvedIn in. addition to the usual reports onboth punk bands in the Koreanscene and shortly before155 its author had to report to the military as a conscript, give a good idea of the issues that their groupTae’chu-ri that was maketo room forpay the expansion of U.S. military Camp Humphrey in 2006. Jae-s Starbucks coffee in shop Hongdae, andeventually getinvolved in strugglethe overthe small village of Jae-s punks, explainshis motivations for becoming involved politically by harking back tohis family poor for other the model functions asarole in age seniority of their because Jae-bong, with who together Founded inthe late 1990s by KMi-sukphilosophers Leeand Jin-gyeong, Suyu-Nomo functions asa commune space for twoThe volumes of “Disquiet Books”,a punkfanzine made by a Chaos Class member thatwere published 2009in ǂ home towns, and half of them just came for the free land. All of them poor people. poor them of All land. free the for came just ofthem half and towns, home was everyone then back But free. scared for of land the warthe breaking out again. offering So were the only they So ones willing to farming. move there start – half of them couldn’t could they go that so back to poor, their the to Korea. After the war, this whole village was in ruins. Yeah, it was all ruins.down to So the Souththe government to meet with my fathertried and aunt.to open theThe otherspace half (of the people) were just poorpeople from South k, Jil-sung and Jae-bong, who got to know each other because they started to play inaband got toknoweach theystarted because andk, Jil-sung who Jae-bong, other 156 , stage little protests against a newly opened 155 Several of the kids would ǂ k, CEU eTD Collection as Jil-sung tells me: tells as Jil-sung holdingKorean skinheadforup bya“Withdraw Troopsa our nearby from club, picket a punk Iraq” beaten forscore instance,wasonceseverely toomany with manage activism. Jae-bong, their to points North. Amongst military,the so avidlysupporting those necessarily, not Class kids Chaos did the gives that birth the neededto kind manhood tough toward of off coming communistthe threat from the glorifiesreturn), nevermilitary labor (withas aplace the of thousands reeducation to andhardthem notorious labor camp of the 1980s, where tens of thousands of leftist dissidents were sent to for punk band called a controversial fansof were often who skinheads, Korean some with trouble into ran particularly they punk scene.With many peopleholdingother very divergingissues labor and viewson military, of the Theirincreasedin engagement social issuesand political by was meansnoin undisputed Hongdae the 246 background: had always been mistreated and angry. That was very, very impressive. very,very was angry. and That mistreated been always had who one the was I Because angry. were they that and mistreated were they that sense Yeah,could I anyways. saying then it was still pretty Back vocabularyhard forus to yelling. understand, but were wethey felt we like what were understanding hear whatcould I they were program news the of middle the in then And television. watching there, sitting just were I and Jae-bong and off, pissed were they angry, were people these I that see could shocking. freaking peoplewere inthe gathering middle of Seoul, they wouldtheir withiron fight of pipes bamboo and Itwas spears. ofthousands thousands that reported news The people. by labor a protest was there that said it and TV we watched we don't say that the but schoolthat’, ‘fuck say we or goschool, to want we don't that say wewould school in example, for Cause my life. in time with my family? When Igot to know Jae-bong, I took part in these kinds of (political) conversations for first the doesn't seem like we are really hard-working person.But asshe continuesgetting tolive a hard life,and as she works 365 days outyear, ofthe it any closer to get out of this poverty. So first I thought – is there something wrong life. Of course I was a lazy fuck, butWhenI see ( capitalism I find that it is really despicable. My family was poor; we have beengoing through a tough out realized and thatJae-bong hadgotten beatenup, and we whoheard did it,and so I called guythis from Jae-bong was trying to argue with him, alley,the ‘What thisskinhead showed and beatup.him started Ithink upand he kickingthepickets something, orare and you doing’, and then he justvenue]. beat him up. AndAnd then we we wereall came allthere either was listeningsomething aboutto criticizing those machoskinheads,this theYakuza of kind they relationship thebands themselves). (amongst were have Ithink And pickets Some Iraq crowd. the to back orhis with war. He played had audience. the gone face not would And he Samchung, towith afterthe parkthe show,to drink. Jae-s we that I remember placedAndstage. Jae-bong all the pickets was alone in details. thein Cause therealley was a lot of bands playingin frontthat day. Idon’t of even know[the whoseI think we were supposedidea itwas tobe playing on the same stageto withbring Samchung or thesomething, pickets Idon’t remember the on Samchung system . This group, named. This group, after ǂ k was saying that as a protest against having to play on the same evening together evening same the on play to having against protest a as that saying was k is not right or fucked up. So we were eager to talk about these things, and one day one and things, these about talk to eager were Sowe up. fucked or right not is laughs )... but I see this poverty continuing in the generations. Our mother is a Samchung Gyoyukdae , South Korea’s most CEU eTD Collection ponder over ponder over multipletheir alliances complexity and the belonging same the of and sharingscene to the very the boundaries of justaswell,Hongdae forced Korean punks and which service membersto U.S. within issue controversial a heavily into way,turning a in such was, issue Tae’chu-ri The playground. at or the punkshows military atHongdae members few of U.S. a presence the quite – also becauseof in andacquaintance friends the amongst Tae’chu-ri Hongdae their caused themost debate that struggle involvement ityears, was their the over undertook Classkids Chaos the actions all Out of political the people do is drink and fight.” And another punk, Ki, relayed that his own ofindividuality, ethic, lack “retaliation the slave-like the work lackagainst real culture. of any the All A girl called Rosa, fucking nationalists. Weup arealltohate. brought Eighty Korean men of fascists.”percent are stupid on the other hand, inisinstance, this say quoted assaying“I havejust to article is Korean this: of abunch society just argues in the for writing an article same piece that most acommon forin of denominator seemsthem, to matter wasalsothat upbyajournalist a picked Punk is her escape live they society and militarist nationalist attimes highly the against of dissatisfaction sense a general from and that stand outside of the Chaos Class circle would notframe their contentions in terms ofleft and right, expressed asense amongstdissatisfaction of over political punks. rows the many Butwhile punks other merely but kids Class Chaos the with confrontational directly less much were scene in the Others 247 157 Honorific term for older brother, also frequently used for male older friends. older male for used frequently also brother, older for term Honorific was Isupposed to do? (Hoban2009) them. I may not have wantedthere to, wasbut ifa bigI didn’t riotavoid do it you loseatmy your Koreanthemandatory citizenship altogether.US EmbassyWe’re duty a nation of[m]ilitary potentialto murderers.my serviceandnation Whenwas I was protestersinfucking the service awful.I’d […] be They thrownteach you were howinto to kill it– if jail,youburninga try man.to Youso whatcan’t Americanget out of flags. I was sent in there to repress something like one of his friends is serving in Iraq, that’s why he did that, causethen he was pissed off. theywho baddid a thing... (laughs) And afterwards, somehow him[the skinhead] andJae-bong hadalong talk, and somehowtoo,skinhead up, and showedhe a bluewith eye, just up He likeJae-bong. the just skinhead dragged inlikeakid withunderstood the guybeatup Jae-bong, we and would totalk need set to him thisstraight. And then,10 minuteshe later, Because showed he is. up he where knew – he whether him apparently asking up, him called I and guy [skinhead] this knew he that knew each otherthey had orbeen something, together, drinking and thatin a group, was so that.he [the CouchI remember singer] just that beat hethe was saying “Couch”, the one who got naked [on live television], because he’s kind of a “hy Vice Magazine about about Hongdaepunks:the The singer“Things of Wefor Say”, ǂ ngnim” 157 in the scene. And I CEU eTD Collection 248 time. aprolonged action over ultimatelythat failed at achievingits main hasgoal, but galvanized a generation of younginto leftists movement a social of time-line historical the out sketch briefly to point starting a as journey this take alittleto Tae’chu-rihowever, take detour I wantto andraised, itself, activism of contention kind this base issue.matters in expansion Before discussing these of engagement Tae’chu-ri versus the the to came it when sides different on themselves finding time same the at while space, small same CEU eTD Collection military base. A chopper flies over our heads with unbelievable noise; otherwise it is quiet where we where is quiet it otherwise noise; unbelievable with heads our over flies A base. chopper military US of the area thecurrent demarcates awaythat meters hundred few a second, biggerwall that andat of us, gazing space infront greenempty the for open gate, that a while at Sowestand at be expected. fields communitythe supported havethat nomore vanished, disruption is construction the of to work regulation. have Protesters coming stopped here since now 2007, andhalf that villagethe of andthe would that intoguards areinsightto trespass this that enforce or actually area,butnosoldiers allowed ownsecurity, located. fornot our offA hadbeen are lived that us we villagers the big sign tells that paddies rice the and school elementary the houses, the once where land empty large, the encircled years ago. A of vanishedacouple bulldozers the now new, beenbuiltthat hadwall already temporary broadenedheavy allow nowadays roll military to vehicles to through what wasleft village the of after rubble afew yearsago,and then to make spacefor quickly theexpansion removed of Camp Humphrey. just fencemilitary line at had behind located afewminutes stood the earlier,we it been into turned had housethe hemany hadvisited so himself when he times likewas a butchild, all buildings other the strollsaid hehis wantedto sobadly now,to grandmother's house the place wherehis fathergrewup, in whom metfirstfewbar earlier, months a a artist I had a Hongdae Ka-ru, performance now”. right some sortWhen of rest. little hefinally back looked hejust atour somuchhurts said, group, “Myheart to hehadcome surface, Tae’chu-riitslake, quiet he over tothe next staring satdown that again. Now to way his on was he that them telling friends, to calls phone made continuously had and nonstop, longKa-rubeen journey up swearing had by aclearly taxi our worked the 15-minute ride, cab. During previous In trips. morningthe inSeoul, wehad a bus taken P'y to nextto lake in the convenience store Tae’chu-rihis from recognizes Ka-ru, whom she addresses Tae’chu-ri. 07.07.2009. 249 Walkingit wesaw was being had that the road that dirttaxi halted at, driver down “You are back, hm?much?” Missedus so The oldruns woman who a small VI. From HongdaetoTae’chu-ri andBack. ǂ ngt'aek, andfrom continued there CEU eTD Collection money being compensation some with as well, bein duetime seized wereto theirTae’chu-ri plots declare that to offered toin land owners contacted enough quickly Defense of National Ministry base. The Korean military the locals. make for necessary be the landthat camp wouldto the expropriated soon space surrounding the In July 2003,would be expanded fit to the needs of its growingpopulation of U.S. soldiers and their dependents, andthe farmers made up their minds to resist the 250 P'y the in Camp stationedat Yongsan Humphreys to troops the Seoul relocate incentral to decision Garrison many of rounds negotiations: In AprilKorean South 2003, the and announced USgovernments their to end an bring would that agreement an to came government Korean South the and Forces Armed mindin such a way eventually was stopforced to refilling the hole byhis own co-workers. tofilldug – backitstarted thehole renegade hadhadjust the upagainthat driver changedhis who finishing theirwas Onebulldozer that maneuvering work. in a halt fieldthe suddenly came to and then from bodies own their with them prevent to machines the of front in jumped simply people some moving,sticks werewielded, stop them from to out beingripped themachines, cables were attack busily destructing the fields thathad their supported livelihoods for solong. Eventually to people start hadprotect workers ingear the come that up young dressed to riot “sons andswearingdogs” atthe of confrontations outbetween broke people, with theold and farmers incessantly activists crying, wailing, springaimlessly awarm space day. inpeople on about thiswide-open running Again andagain, of largenumber a with scene a chaotic them – amongst scattered activists and farmers police, and fields preventto farmers the from continuingwork; the theirfield was swarming with of thousands riot liesthat inus now. of front Thebulldozers todigarrived in hadthe andstarted therice paddies up field very inthis severeconfrontations years themost he three place earlier, witnessed when took about stand. ǂ The conflict that has brought us into this field today started in U.S. when this the early us intobroughtthe started 2000s, fieldtoday has The that conflict Then Chance – an American activist friend who joined us today as well – talks about a day that ngt'aek region. Together with this announcement, it was also declared that Campngt'aekHumphreys Togetherit region. declared that was also with this announcement, CEU eTD Collection three waterways were covered with cement by the government workers who drove heavy who duty drove workers government by the cement with covered were waterways three 200 farmers and human rights activistsgrow rice. to About using farmers were which waterways, pouron cement village the enter to to tried tried to block the entrance of the village. construction workers when750government-hired “The collision occurred village inthethousands. By the afternoon, all hundredsfarmers engaged and of their supporters activist police with the inclashes riot the to deployed in taking place physical OnMarch Tae’chu-ri15, 2006, confrontations 2006:7). Moon itselfand (Kim into escalate quickly would matters constitution, country’s the of violation in move a was land their constitutional acomplaint rejected filedcourt by over claiming 1,000residents expropriationthe of that legalthe options and engagingin negotiations with ministry.the February After 2006, when Korean the those resisting the annexation of Tae’chu-ri’s land. The coalition initially hadfocused on exploring all May when4, 2006, school the was finally in destructed midstthe of violentclashes (Cp.ibid 48). involvedin struggle,the anightly was repeated action that over 600times andonly a haltcame to on now, with musical performances, poetry keep up readings and delivered speeches spiritsthe to of those Tae’chu-ri of building school elementary in the held was vigil light a candle night, Every activism. anti-military of bastion big one into turned soon base U.S. the to next village small the time, the make in their and struggle, with of hundreds people joining them for daysorafternoons whenever they could Tae’chu-ri move to temporarily now support the villagers would activists to Dozens of Seoul ibid:44f). brought ahundred over NGOs,civicandindividuals groups withinframework one temporary (Cp. residents. KimJitae other and A chief village talksthe wasfounded with that national campaign Mun Jeong Hyeon, a Catholic priest and founder of “P'y of NGO founderthe and priest Catholic a Mun JeongHyeon, (Cp. Yeo2006:43). with the distinct goal of preventing the Ministry of National Defense from expropriating their farmland 251 government’s form “P’aengs the to move andorganized themselves By that day, tensions had thoroughly escalated between the Korean ministry and of ministry Korean Defense the day,By between that escalated hadthoroughly tensions Within less than a year, the local conflict turned into a national one when Seoul activist Father activist Seoul when one a national into turned conflict local the year, a than less Within ǂ ǂ nghwa Param” (PeaceWind),nghwa Param” held ng Residents’ ng Residents’ Committee”, Action CEU eTD Collection 252 country.the was “It2005, winter, and Iwas livingin San Francisco. [A]nd my friend Harmony was in leftist movements social more about andlearn teach English into already Korea 2001 had to gone 30s now, first arrived in South Korea in 2006, when he followed a close friend of his – Harmony – who whowere heavily involved inthestruggle surrounding Tae’chu-ri. an Chance, inAnarchist his early Hongdae. 21.06.2009. village in April of 2007. support themselves and dueto their increasingly desperate financial situation, abandoned eventually the (I Willwire.” 2007) After barbed leftfree of hadfields been that off few fence the to returned police the 2006], [of in November to them.But left few fields farm collectively the to lasttime] [one had together come villagers 2006 the interests of a foreign one. life in this area wasto bow downtothe pressuresexertedlocal by the Armed Forces thatwasprotecting the stationed nearby had become the ordinary sight, making increasingly clear to the farmersleft that civilian farming community barbed –checkpoints, of youngand hordeswire in military full recruits riot gear The vicinity of Tae’chu-ri at this pointwasalready closely ratherresembling theDMZ than anordinary early May of sameyear: the vehicles.” (ibid) The clashes in March, however, were paling in comparison to what was to come in soldiers were injured, and 524 protesters were taken into custody. (Yeo 2006:34f) and Washington’s US base consolidation and relocation plans to Pyeongtaek. Some 120 activists, police, and (KCPT). Activists andlocalresidents, refusing toleave (…)were stand farmland their makingalast toblock Seoul makeshift headquarters of the Pan-SouthKorean Solution Committee Against Base Extension inPyeongtaek Camp Humphreys, two thousand activists battled riot police who stormed Daechuri Elementary School, the 2,800 SouthKorean infantry engineeringand troops erected barbedwire the around base expansionland outside MayOn 4, 2006, some twelve thousand riot police entered Daechuri village inPyeongtaek, South Korea. While Basically flashing them. They drove off... ( doesn’tfeel being watched,good right. And allofJae-bong asudden ranintheir direction, taking hispants off. And US soldiers wouldWhile we were income Tae’chu-ri, and I thinkcheck it was at nightus orout, something, with the gate ofthe the villagetelescope is right next to the fence.and stuff. They stopped there and of course it Chancepeople aretwo Harmony small and of of a out group American citizens that, thelast few villagers remaining, having been unable to find other waysto And after “most of their fields were occupied by the Korean army in May Remembering “the Dilemma of that Summer” ofRemembering “theDilemma laughs ). (Jil-sung) ). CEU eTD Collection 253 ahm.make The activists adeal, gonna farmers werethe like when planning, strategic concerned],and and [were planning. negotiations the real As farmers thinking and faras weredoing core dark whatthe in the somewhat were in Tae’chu-ri, living activists, the Even on. going really what’s of awareness of movement. “The problem I guess with doing this kind of work was again participation or asort of level strugglethe was that unfolding, given languagethe constraints and their general unfamiliarity with the doing?” happening, and wewerethinking, weshould stop cars if comethey to here.try in What hell the are we grateful Jil-sung that spokeEnglish. Andin evenhadlived year.California for a There was littlevery each andstaring punks.Just Iwasso shivering, at and andsomeother other entrance, Jil-sung the with firstmemory clear haveI of Tae’chu-ri is … staying upallnightin coldthe around the fire, guarding nightthe guard that day, foundhimself in and soon of company the “Theof a group Hongdae punks: hebe in permanently tosome told he would partof village, the staying activists introduced was of the in up Tae’chu-ri (Osan he Installation time. ended Forces Air first Base) – being forAfter the in Songt’an where hewastoteach English –atown incidentallywhich also housesalarge U.S. Armed involved, herof and chance” now. thatgot proximity says she SoChance, his within a weekof arrival out at the park or at shows, she had learned about the up-coming land-grab for the USFK: “It was a mix because herof affiliations with the punk kids in Hongdae, whom she had gotten to know while hanging ithappening,pushed […] me over theedge Ithink.” was in Tae’chu-ri movement the Tae’chu-ri, that said Harmony that fact the yeah, But children. of the US, interestedin out getting interested I was basically […] base.So formilitary Tae’chu-ri, U.S. the against fighting in coming to Korea, pay,good diving, dumpster aDIY punkscene,Hongdae and yeah… a farmers’ movementautonomous but not to work in stories living and Korea curriculum, meall schools, anarchist telling of of exaggerated sorts forgreat a year in a school, oppressing small Together with Harmony, hewould discuss what their role as newly arrived outsiders could bein Korea inwork asan herself,learn, hadgoneto Harmony English teacher,2001 to and Iwould CEU eTD Collection the world, while I was sleeping, helped create mirrors and other technical ways to keep link the ways to technical and other mirrors create helped sleeping, I was world,the while and peopleinmy friend around other theit States, and andso nohas crashed, bandwidth website that It’s website,crashed. website the and a toour links made people andimmediately Andit accepted was larger happened events that in 2006 –and wepublished anarticle, it submitted to global indymedia. event. I think it was andsite, basic stuff. information with photos and constructing the And started article… about an then after the [Tae’chu-riwhich is a pre-website you can do. Andjustmade I ayahoo email ‘Save PT farmers’ and createdthis elementary]in was makegeocitiesdo website, Tae’chu-ri. ayahoo to we decided firstthing Ithink “And so the school was destroyed.buildhatch plan the English-language awebsitewouldto goings-on information the that provide about Which was oneis Korea he concerned),international a blackhole and certainly inthesoon scene”, would Harmony of the (is politics radical more as far “as that given And in Mexico. movement a in involved gotten (American), they would call him mistaken for aGIby many oldof villagers:“The the women, they wouldn’tcall him guy, helpingand out cooking,in reading his bookhow say to friendlived J.,who of theirs, in Tae’chu-ri weeks,for two over andin “worked kitchen the with this 254 comprehendour own people/government/tribe”we would why oppose we weredoing. hugged Thenwe and all cried. A lot of people still didn’t us.They trust couldn’t what explained we home’ until ‘Yankee go said “they that was locals the with experience Harmony’s looked funny,people kindof no side.” they are with they our are on us, andsomeone then explained, when moments some were actually went there there first When atonce. evenyelled we looks or strange got she think I and friend, American African an with came we time one “I remember village: their into there.” activists speaking [the very few] English on dependent lives. totally their better And sheandIwere to there farmers were the end, fightthe till to were there Chance had already collected some experiences with media-activism in the past when in when he had past media-activism the with some experiences collected hadalready Chance In particular some of the elderly farmers had initial prejudices about U.S. Americans coming Americans U.S. about prejudices initial had farmers elderly the of some particular In Migun (American soldier).” anny ǂ nghaseyo . Another anarchist Another American (hello)” was generally Migugsaram CEU eTD Collection some more reflection on their positionality in the village, especially in regards to the NGO activists, Jil- that some theof old people might be getting aheart attack or somethinglike that if we played…” After “We for of gatherings. musictheir daily evening them at one Jae-s refused… 255 the village with a bottle of rice wine in their hands ( young guard dressed people see funnily these it to was impressive that wrote leftist newspapers.[T]hey nationalist- those of one on us about written article “an even was there says, Jil-sung before. punks tosupport there movement,the causeda bitruckus amongstof theelderly villagers whohadnever seen Their instead. firstHongdae appearance inthe had village,they show after mind madeuptheir up to inknow Tae’chu-ri first hisnight wouldthere, on theirjourney usuallystart to Tae’chu-ri from Tae’chu-ri was like, the war.“ His friends Jil-sung (22) and Jae-s Hongdae, Iwaspretty isoverwhelmed. ‘What this place?’ IthoughtHongdaeNo, was fun, but first: “The first six months I him at far from hardly away apartof,nearby, Harmony rather seemingly was that scene Hongdae the and went to Hongdae at all. I remember when I did go to Seoul 84,000 hits Ibelieve.”and hits forTae’chu-ri.site3 agooglesearchyielded that wehad peakofmy the Atchecking, post-site Before immeasurable. Outside, impact. zero like, had we Korea “Within up: matters sums Harmony movement. the support to way effective most the found instinctively had Unity and Chance that visit South Korea to Medeaflying to Tae’chu-ri Benjamin itbecame soon support, clear show their and corporations such as the BBC pickingand thestory figures publicup, anti-war such Cindy Sheehan and on basis.a worldwide With Noam such Chomsky big as people declaring theirsupport, news internetleftist making sphere, aconflicthad that previously onlybeen known discussed Korea within working, so people could see the website.” People eventually warmed up to the unlikely visitors, too, and even asked them to perform perform their themto too, andasked even unlikely the visitors, to Peopleeventually up warmed For Chance, the rural periphery of Tae’chu-ri was his entry in Korea, with the actual city actual with the of in Korea, Tae’chu-ri periphery rural Chance, his entry the For was global radical overthe linked all become soon would then created they website The follow-up laughs )”. ǂ k (24), however, whom Chance got to ǂ k was trying to tell to k wastryingthem CEU eTD Collection middle of a drinking in session Hongdae the park: go toTae’chu-riidea to in of it2006, the the summer general– one mood allowed time, in the came up this, and then we got to know the problem better, and we were getting more agitated by it.” were alllooking same atthe interestedwe were stuff same and (online). at the So time keptfollowing hardunderstandfor to me. […]Soback then we wereallliving with together just computer, one so we too is using are they that vocabulary the But ideas. those about write who people these all know to got people with these kinds of [progressive] ideas, but then I wasn't sure at all… and (in Tae’chu-ri) Ireally he that andhis friends shouldto show go smallvillagethe “I to their knew support: were there that (in Tae’chu-ri), Withtoo!’” Jae-s Jil-sung and new political stuff that we never heard of, and all these kids thought, ‘Wow, that's so cool, we should be wouldfirstcome you andtalk (Jae-s to possession “someof kind of charisma. I still see that even in the park. When the kids have trouble, they discussedby ofnetizens anarchist affiliations.a small group with Jae-s being were Tae’chu-ri concerning developments newest the where “Anarclan”, forum web the livingin cramped together a tiny closeapartment Hongdae, to they would keepthemselvesinformed on very different from us.” joiningreadingMarx, have Studentsomehow Unions, payfor the and tuition. their and parents Yeah, guess. We would thinkof as beingthem raised inmiddle families,class and into havingslowly gotten I there, too. activists from issue, was kindso many a classAnd student very of them. distant felt It we 256 likeand doing,likeseemed ( they sosmart were not knew whatthey anyof us the activists indifferentfrom Chance there, of course I spokeTae’chu-ri Korean but...”. Much of their sense of estrangement with sunghe added, “Wenever thought of us as integratedattributes there. Wefelt like foreigners there, I didn’tfeel very to a matter of social distance: “I don’t know, these people After their first visitfirstinAfter their Tae’chu-ri,money there againwhenever andthe time, they would go Jae-s ǂ k was the one who had initiated their first theirk wastheonewho journey,hadinitiated toJae-s whichJil-sung attributes ǂ k). (…) [Back then]you werethereandall talkingabout this ǂ k, together with a fluctuating group of punkkids of fluctuatingother group with a k, together ǂ k explainshow hefirst decided laughs ). And therewere ǂ k’s CEU eTD Collection so Ijust didn't say a word.” Yeah, likehim actingif arobot. could cause trouble hewas kind of Italked that that to And Ithought was a kid. Hedidn't […] recognize me. his Orhejuststarted service anddidn'tdare say to something. then – one of the riotpolice who were kicking people out of the bus was a guy that Iknew from when I were looking pretty suspicious. Butwewerethinkingwe could still that But residents. probably pass as residents of me then were not andK.C., we outof village.the buswho But the people and dragging and on, getting police riot was there – bus the on then back that remember “I a siege: under effectively Jae-s age. same the were roughly of who acquaintances military. Amongst those in riot police uniform that they faced at Tae’chu-ri were alsofight to tensions off to –werepredominantly activists upof the made Korean recent conscripts the some friends and 257 Other friends from the Hongdae scene were also deployed to Tae’chu-ri to same deployed also time. at the After were scene Hongdae from the friends Other they mejust letthey passby. So I just stole a bike and rode it there. right Yeah, morning, was there,but my after wasnowas going wasdone.there bus Irunning work Tae’chu-ri. that to next the and there thenwent I the[…] riot camera. my police with there werewent I just notno. checkingno, Me, meJil-sung: at all, Jae-s called you guys once I got there, asking where you guys were. Jil-sung: Yeah, –have yeah.intoldyouhow Igotthere? IwasworkingI aconvenience store I atmosphere. So we couldn't get in. Jae-s there]. had beenerected [that policenext riot station this to underatree sleeping nextday the there?’ 10wecalledyou you. around ‘Are you were Then youthat said guys Jil-sung: Yeah? So you and Jae-bong took off with your bikes in the middle of the night. And then Jae-s will go ahead first with our bikes now.’ So your bullet belt, Ihad to take care of that. and Jae-bonghad your bikes with you. Soall of a suddenyou announced, ‘meand Jae-bong, we idea. agood let'slet's that's yeah, go, Yeah, go, like, and was everyone youmoment at that but go toTae’chu-ri.to Tae’chu-rilet'sI said go So morning. drinking, tomorrow Thenon we kept Jil-sung:we werealldrinking parktogether…Ithe let's Soat andsuddenly said, was pretty drunk Jae-s drinking park. atthe Jil-sung: Jae-bong. with No, there going no, no, whatAnd then togosleep,I wassupposed then butfeel I didn't likeit.happened Andfelt suddenly likeI back then was – I remember that precisely – we were all Jae-s The riot police deployed at Tae’chu-ri – over 10,000 of them were sent there at the height of ǂ ǂ ǂ ǂ ǂ k: Didn'tyou say you gotin pretending that you wereajournalist? k: Yeah, place. usfrom the stopped entering itAndwas kindof they a tense then k: I think that was 5th of was 5th I k: think that August. k: Yeah, Iwas asking someone towork for me the nextday. k: It was k: It park. the August.Someoneat all day drinking wastaking their so wewere off, ǂ k day, one recalls was village the when CEU eTD Collection achieved anything. Ontheone […] handit thinkingcould wewere that stop bepossible base [to the Jae-s clashes].”And saw in a cop country any May after 4 and 5 [when in school the down was torn the midstviolent of beforehad been died. Ihadphysical - sweating,panic attacks -every shaking,much terror Iso as time loved that land and those people in a way I can’t describe with mere words and afterwards, the person I anything else. I equate to was atrauma Ican’t village] “[Thethe of destruction assessment: personal her in optimistic less is Harmony again.” soon anytime happen to is going I think that something Korea. A special place, a special momentin history. And maybe it won’t be remembered, butit wasnot up for himself: “I everyone think involved wasdefinitely recognizing that is this in a specialmoment it sums As Chance development. political for own their moment Tae’chu-ricrucial that can agree was a eviction. resisting the those with clashes injuredpolice during memberswere youngincidences when riot heavilybroadcast population due to theend over toward of Tae’chu-ri, struggle the of broader largely activists the support the the lost riot police],most of them who didn’t really choose or wanted to be there in the first place.” the And indeed, [amongst victims these have immediately you then back, fight if they and them, of out beaten shit and would then pitthem activists. against Andisit like like, alose-lose situation, activists the the get like this diabolical, cunning strategy of politiciansthese wouldthat force young men into military the seemed “It against peaceprotesters: of intheconscripts 18-year-old deployment sees ahiddenstrategy how they and Chance,could justquitandpolice,says he gohome…” picking question of riot upthe Justgoes. it thinking of – them having tobe there –and thinking of all and otherthe students protesters, the Elementary School. T. says it was pretty horrible.” Now Jil-sung chirps in: “Yeah, that's how it 258 like how they were beating up grandmas. ( divergent inTae’chu-ri. the clashes – experiences during Jae-s all the action died down, they had some opportunity to talk to some of them about their –largely In retrospect, even though the ultimate loss of thisbattle still is on their minds, all three of them ǂ k adds that “After Tae’chu-ri was finished, we thought that we hadn't really we hadn't “After that Tae’chu-ri k addsthat we thought finished, was laughs ) T., he was in the Special Forces that were destroying ǂ k: “Yeah, sayingsomething they were CEU eTD Collection he had been lacking at home. “It's not like I adored Hongdae, but it was actually the only place in all of student livingin provided andhim Hongdae that Pusan, with all networks opportunities the social and school ahigh still he was when neighborhood Hongdae the to coming he started that me tells Jee-hwan place. the entering those gives to barcat social rather the with Jee-hwan together that warm welcome a corner of of one Hongdae’s is manyside-streets liked particularly its for by them cheap beerand the kids got whenthetemperatures toocold hang in to out playground.Thethe small place awayin tucked without complexity I am borrowing the mask of anarchism.” have existed before me.lookingmy for goodness, during own found which alotsimilarI ideasanarchists those of amongst that If someone were to askimpressed me what myby idealsa new kind becausenot Iwas is young. This since Iwas ever become ananarchist to are Iwanted become something. of – Westernto be able knowledgeto answer thatand wanted to follow it, but it was the outcome of 259 it moment the from self true its into “turns writes, he being”, human “A military: the for serve refusing to him pointhis hasdriven that central toward madeJee-hwan the convictions anarchist objector, aconscientious himself declared he in which officials, military to letter his In 2011). March military service andserve months a of since 18 (hesentence prison been incarcerated instead has names it asone hisof main motivations for atough choice hemadein late2010:toobjectKorean to know in involvedAnother Hongdaehadalsobeen personthatIgotto intheTae’chu-ri and struggle overcome the dilemma of that summer, to get things done in a better way.” everyone felt kindextension]. of likeAnd on thethat. other handIt wewas were notpretty so optimistic hard about for it. I everyone.think it wasn't only […] me, butAnyways, I think we should I firstmet Jee-hwan becausehe worked at a bar that was the favorite hang-out of the Chaos Class After the failure: A Conversationwith Objector Conscientious Ahn Jee-hwan wants to CEU eTD Collection very abstract in my head, and really more like a teenager would show his anger.” thinking today my negativethat perceptionmilitary beganof all groups it backthen,butwas still all floor, on like things‘Fuckoff, the or US graffiti write wall the am walls, Iwould on I Army’. or too. During the rallies,vicinity, inthe place taking join protests the soon reflect Hewould upon. to then Jee-hwan 15-year-old he “would swear at throughoutstorm thecountry,protest of military base U.S. the theof became something proximity for the GIs who were sitting in the watchtowers behind the 260 anditlife, itreally matter.”actual was more like around, flirting didn't prostitution districtDay [that – the was locatedentire right see insideofitthe either. Once ayear, wasa happening there big really firework on US Independence city next was to theexcited base].it. And noAnyways, entrance about signs. That's of top on thatwire – I barbed neverthe and sawwalls this anybody dusty it.dirty is the emergingbase military the wasn't fromabout theAlso,I remember base,What andeviction. I never got reallyto it waspart offun my for city, middle of in scheduled the to located so they were the a sudden of bases all military were two talkthese expanding, withrapidly so was city the because “And Police: the Military Korean Pusan's for installation other kids Yangch the and Hialeah, Camp military U.S. the aboutbetween in squeezed neighborhood poor the there is anyone here at all who has empathy...” if here.myself Objector,formyself aConscientious And nowadays Ideclared after Ikeepwondering investinginto it. hope Now itjust became stageforthe my life, so I'm just continuing my existence all really revolutionary, but then I witnessed a lot of those communities falling apart, and then I gave up communities inHongdae asapartof cultural itand commune political movement, thought was Hongdae has lost muchhowever, years, the Over mysurvival.” for cultural allowed that breathe, whereIwasable Korea to of its initial charm to him, he admits: “At first I thought of all those small During the next year, the Iraq War would break out – another corner stone that he reflects upon he reflects that stone corner another – out break Warwould Iraq the year, next the During Only in 2002, when the death Only in school of 2002,when death the ShimMi-S two the girls Jee-hwan, in born 1986,grewupin Korea’sPusan, South secondlargest city, where helived in a ǂ n and Hyo-Sun Shin causeda ǂ ng CEU eTD Collection 261 he could that Middle East inthe home cities the than to much closer was in that a place militarization fightagainst zones, to in IraqWar combat the vainagainst the troops Korean of deployment the and quite a while, and after that, I just quit high school.” in atmosphere P'y Moon having metsome of villagers the todiscussalready their andJee-hwan options, found the instead. The there Tae’chu-ri hadfollowersissue time, Father number justgained with asmall atthat of P'y year,classes afterwards. The next in ina peacefestivalhe about place heard take would 2004, that himfamily background matters out being to top off, pointed to had ahardtime Jee-hwan attending youyouaway think canget with?’ Actually he said something similar Havingthat, to too.” his poor fuck do forget any teacher, the the face expressed, cannot the ‘What to of thisfacethat I organization. for? Whois telling youdo to this?’ I told him that Iwas doing this onmy own and that Idid not belong interrogating“’Isit,ityou this? the whostarted student: Whatkind of organization areyou working make theroundsin classrooms.enough, Soon other a teacher cameuptohim himand confronted about against his country’s rolefor hunt signatures to started Jee-hwan forces inIraq, of security involvementJapanese the against in the war just as well, handing out lists to his collectingfriends these images during that time andmy my[about guilt indirect complicity] growing.” kept and asking them towitness through the work of freelance journalists and activists seemed beto very brutal. And then I was couldsend journalists. warthatI the toIraq,theKoreanany not But pressdid send Korean troops was fallingin love for first the time. WhileKorean soondecided the to the parliament and president were alotof taking inanti-war protests place2003/2004 – Iwasinschool, same high and at the time I my birthday. day influenced the mylife.March that 20, 2003, wasalso America invadedIraq, There hisnowadays when about thinking political“The convictions. IraqWar wasevents one of biggest the ǂ ngt'aek address end atthe Iraqwar,the was May that of to and skiphe decided classes and go to Tae’chu-ri, he thinks, became a way for the disheartened peace activists who had struggled in whohadstruggled Tae’chu-ri, peaceactivists for disheartened the away he became thinks, Inspired by he aboutwhotocollect a Japanesehighschool hadstarted hadread girl signatures ǂ ngt'aek very his “So ngt'aek interests: I very congenial to own went and there stayed there for CEU eTD Collection 262 intact. Yes, perhaps this is it.” Iraq the War and Tae’chu-ri myself between power and boundary I could keepthe somehow that – so can do, that's really why I choose conscientious objection. It’s the least I could do after the failure of resort left tome. So Ijust step away from the force of the military and the nation, as the last thing that I objection conscientious becauseit’s like Iam Ifeel for feelings going final very powerlessness, of the which toreport as a conscript, he only saw himself left with one option: “After twofailures, and all the inability act.” at hima When defeat from finally arrived, giving date andour military letter the to the feeling of it, this shared I havewe met, about actually objectors that talked recently conscientious Korean] [other war. The Iraq the after felt I that feeling the of extension an somehow was it that think ‘I couldimagined have I didn't this, but think they that would actually it’.” do happeningnow, right today. Andfelta shock I wasn’t that of ‘Ican'tthe believe it’ butmoresort, like, was it history newsreels, from modern ofwarfare like black pictures andwhite wasn't those oneof see shocking to soldiersthe going civilians,the against andsetting upthein barricades It fields.the was really It lovecollapse. I hadcometo village that watch the had to andI by beaten police, up been very remote, and find a way to express his spiritual more on focusTae’chu-ri.” solidarity with the to lotstarted to from a them Iraq actually of waschanged Afghanistan, main zone the after conflict victims of war. “I was a sensevast disappointmentand failure.of afeelingof A lotof peacethe people movement andgroups, especially beinginKorea, they stop anything,evencouldn't not which sendingthe of troops, gave them were taking part in the anti-war movement, they realized that they couldn't doanything tostop this war, see come under U.S. bombardment every day on television.“During the Iraq war, all these people who After Tae’chu-ri was more orless destroyed, again he was overwhelmed by emotions of defeat. “I initially had thewarthat directly of experience Because he away found Tae’chu-ri,to hesays, CEU eTD Collection 263 found. 12, 2006),for instance, a number left of posts diverse by people affiliated with militarythe can be about Tae’chu-ri Onathreat punkscene. Hongdae March on (“Basestarted in Expansion Pyeongtaek”, duringthat years those functioned as maininformationthe for gossip) (and board English-speakingthe in on behind in a discussion Korea” forum (aweb traces is “Broke called defunct) site that nowadays left find could I comments and thoughts their of some However, East. Middle the of theaters war beaffected in by deployedreturn the Statesorto Tae’chu-rito the country to the long have departed struggle wereclosely monitored by some, andheavily onby commented others. Consequently, interventions of the Class Chaos the whowereavidkids of supporters anti-base the more surrounding Tae’chu-ri them. urgency conflicts home scene there,the even to with were driven couldthat initself be viewedby as insubordinate their mingling superiors), with from people punk the standpointin the matter. For some of those G.I.s who would spend their free time in Hongdae (an action some take to and in country the created theirpresence controversies awareof the become to time at that over prolonged struggle Tae’chu-ri,however,manyforced more in Korea American stationed soldiers infor Iam that Korea The byaGI movementaware of. for anti-bases the sympathy drasticof display drinking inHondae.The action youngof soldier, this his expressing solidarity way,this wasthemost risk visitingsecretly of Tae’chu-ri of with a knowwhileout hadtogether group people he to gotten overeachmeterof Tae’chu-ri’ssupporters adaily land greatwas still the reality, took soldier aU.S. Rumor has it in that 2006, while thestruggle between police Korean the riot and the villagers and their punks) they music, Punk like people are These exceptions. make really also can you complex, are humans brain, your separate Youfriendly, can they are just kind of doing their job, they are not brutal killing machines. (Chance on GI With soldiers typically only being stationed for a few years in South Korea, most of those The GIPunkstheir ofHongdaeand Chaos Class Antagonists VII. “Hate the VII.“Hate the War, the not Warriors”: CEU eTD Collection 264 in soldiers P'y laud wetland hepolluted areas involvementwork, expansion of goeson theduring to community formerly work done, of details theclean-up expansion.the such as of good After of the some praising compliance” section Camp Humphreysof his and dueto had job muchinformation the logistical about gigantic on golf course landthe of ricethe farmers, reveals in heworks that “environmental the a building about is only expansion the that claim person’s one to reply in a “Sicknesscampaign”, out against ourcountry.’” He says thatit is high time for the U.S. military to leave: a soldier andhave wholethe ‘if you give the country a bad name,you gotojail;i problem,still speak leave ramshackle huts next to amilitary base -- they just want aplace to earn some money.” sadto particularly else. aren’t probably new somewhere They find jobs them to Korean government to the landfarmers protested... the on the haveheard I that also squatters. deeds andareessentially no farmers trying “milk” to theirmoneyfor government and jobs: people “the who liveland on that have Korean affected “Verv”, the heardhimself soldier, about hehas Another calling rumors some reiterates of because soldiers” the Tae’chu-ri:on are“heapingshit anti-base activists it hefinds that sickening engagement of the framework larger them within andthe with, placing he isfamiliar baserelocation of details the of the U.S. Armed Forces in Korea, he admonishes at the end of his analysis how our arrogant ways andfollow country'sthis laws and customs. this that realize is and eyes fucking NOTits open to needs theMilitary US […] The language. USA, of korean bit little a therefore, learn actually we do not controlsurrounded by ofa bunch stupid asianpeople cant speak that english, whentheir[sic] too thesimple mindedto laws. This [is]a thebunch korean people'sof racisttroops land, should be pulled outso of here. Leavewe just enoughshould to drunkshave an embassy of burysome sort. Ourwas military here is fulla of greatwho thing.reallySouth But Korea ashave ofhas beenlate, no through i fuckingthink a lot we'veof shit andclueworn personally, out asour towelcome i thinkwhat that theandis US thanks. steppingreally inI thinkand givinggood the them majority here.a hand ofThey the US think that their have absolutely no say in. Hate the war, not the warriors. Oppose the method, not fromthe men. Canton Ohio neveror many happen.should and horrible and awful war.It's fuck yeah, of on this, It'sleaning left ourlittle a I'm it. the with do friends to NOTHING have they policy makersand inand mythe case,whiteHeap shit on them for beingcollar drunkenmany idiots or womanizers criminals orof jocks or whatevermy youfamily want but thatthis is one area whereshould put bein heldharm's to the flame,way for not Joewhich blow they Yetanother servicemember, moron – i Anarack, himself as “noflag-humping may describes be “Admin”, who starts off the debate, is writing as a U.S. military dependent. Summing up the ǂ ngt'aek: CEU eTD Collection 265 158 Interestingly many morefound and forum,of its enough, debate, be that could kind this web this on girls how about soldiers areall unrully [sic] and dumbdrunks justwho like fuck to andharass [sic]drinky “todo” then goes on to comment on the conduct of soldiers in the country: “I keep on hearing this crap higher ranking officers: in favor of is being allocated howbasespace soldiers “common” amongst is much dissatisfaction there explains and movement anti-bases the of target wrong the being soldiers about complaint original another “todo”, disclose soldiernot whodoes in“admin”’s hislocation support stepsin to Korea, of evil: source soldiers prime asthe have targeted before it, had place taken that the andsimilarTae’chu-rifact that events decries the He, too, protests, Another word for“juicy girls” - i.e. mostly foreign entertainers working in the clubs nearby U.S. military bases. 158 in "ville"”the –but a broader perspective onpeople’s behavioris needed, he argues: beers and paid company is how alot of them handle it. soldiers aren't bad people, they just want stress relief from a long work week (I work a pocketmin of 13hr days) anda few change (...).culture and history country,of the your then [sic] scared that some crazy korean bum is Sogoing toshank you yourfor you see,certain perimeter mostbecause of time constraints,loose and you have to find someonemotivation who actually whowants to go and enjoy hatethe toamericans even gohave a midnight curfew, beyondandyou can'tgo out without a"battlewant buddy" watch and out forthe koreans withto video cameras "Ville"catchOur commands you telland doingus "yeahsee go somethingoutreal and enjoy korea. korea, absorb wrong 90% the culture, ofon camera"ect... ect... bullshit" So yeah but they nowalso say they"you limit you to a Senior staff NCO BEQ's that have beenbuilt while the lot of us live in shitty abestos also agree ghettos.that theuseof Humphrey'sCamp [sic] used,being space I'll is there'ssoldiers atleast 3-4 filled officerhalf and american Most themselves). areas farming rural from come soldiers of american you alot (mind expand about ittoo say that it's completely fucked up that they're getting kicked off farmingtheir land for the base to so fullof shit. I'ts not their fault that Deachu-ri [sic] is being annexed campinto humphreys. Most soldiers Italk [admin] is absolutly correct about the fact that this wave of anti-american troop sentiment that is floating around is because before thepeople US was Korean the here,to it wasoccupation an Japan who represented built long thosehave Humphreys garrisonsCamp Yongsan and expansion. in the first this to comes it place.when maker decision a not is Soldier The people, wrong the at directed are demonstrations The home". "go to them telling protesters angry 5,000 are there because days certain on base the leave never can they why to confused I know personally many Soldiers who fear to go off base because they years. the overto feelaccustomed been have Koreans Korean causepeople trouble. hate TheSoldiers do the job them,waythat they are askedthe to for do,most they didn't askresponsible to is who comeSoldiersthey know to Koreadon't andI occupy.that is actual mypoint So They didn't come area. the are heresee to around removalcenters it is rehabilitation and that oforphanages theylocal arefarmers here during to the andholidays, protect teaching english [sic] what atthe local elementary schools, plan andhours offreedom volunteer local servicethe for at the of things the lot community a as weekendsuchup clean done of have localROKri (the An-jung townoutside base), of andthe ignorant donating gifts tolocalor kids drunk andare a they way whether US community ofthe in governments life Soldiers The that South have for the defense of Korea. But CEU eTD Collection 266 straight-forward pretty the by intrigued also and there, punks foreign and Korean both of number justas well. playground Hongdae first WhenI came parkmyself, the to by was struck large I the incapable of or unwilling communicateto with each other – saw itself repeated in the microcosm of the foreign punk kids, includingThe pattern that showed itself on the internet – the two groups (Chaos Class punks on the one hand,those and related to the U.S. military on the other) would havemade iteasierbeforby understood to peoplethe communicate hetried with): to the large part beinglater criticizing iname with conversation thatJae-bong help wasrefusing hisany with English which in forum Jil-sung well(with Korea” web onthe“Broke as bewouldpunks that discussed scene the of them.” thought there’s no way to communicate with these people and since then I just completely ignored replied. Yeah,I Ithinkso, thinkjust Iwas havingahardtimemyself. expressing just And then I none of theirbusiness, Imean... Somebody informed me about it, so I read it [on their web forum]. And about [the discussions on the forum]. And I just didn’t understand why they would get pissed off. It’s beforehe gave up onengaging into arguments with them entirely:“I it think was Jae-bong who told me all,board after Jil-sung,in and particular, involved got ina with couple of ontheboard rows people Korean, either. Jae-bong and Jil-sung, Ilearned, eventually started to follow the discussions on the web went andbankrupt), only a fewof “foreign”punksthe were capableof expressing in themselves the exception of Jil-sung, who studied in the U.S. for one year as a teenager before hisfather’s business communication between the two groups. Most of the Chaos Class kids speak only broken English (with much direct prevented that barrier language – the inactivity for this is reason There major one commotion by toTae’chu-rigoing attacked. addressed or they occasions– even directly are on though all inhadthe started Class who pittingany punks largely Chaos the were takingof without place people, give pain topeople! Fuck up! You are really lier! Please,you mustlook backyour way! What’s good? job? You‘I said love punk’.But, how to choose US army? Fucklove up!I you. yourButhate job. I You just kill I know! Many foreigner people our hate acts! And, many USarmy people us.Fuck hate you! fuckin’ the What your GI the to message a leave to website myspace band’s their used hand, other the on Jae-bong, CEU eTD Collection 267 withinKarl he Hondae friendsbasis a 2009. hungout possibly would comewhenever regular on to him.” ignore tocompletely Istarted then And eversince superiors, they are all like,like commies, you know. ( was saying somethinglike, Yeah, I’m I wannaand anarchist. beananarchist, all shit,this of causemy somewas related to kind of the symbolspolitical on T-shirts andhecouldn’thave those. And then he some punk T-shirts online, andhisit, bossfound about and out he couldn’thave them base.iton Ithink military, causeit’s shit.’ Andlike, hewas‘Yeah, you’re totally right.’ He told mehejust had bought somehow talking park. atthe Andjusttelling then I was guy, this ‘You should hell getthe of the out cause wedon’t together,speakKorean.’” hang out to me, and I didn’t want to. I think it was with them. much. annoyingmemainlythey kept Cause Causethey so park,and the would cometry to to talk like, ‘Oh we want to pick up some talked them few to chicks,a you more know... times, I isthink that Ikinda thought wasamistake hang to out let’s go GIs. don’tAndknow, then, I fun I buyingyou thinkmekept know.cause they Ihad drinks, And I then soldiers: “When I was at the park one night,But I wasstill, really drunkinmusic. same the to theandlistened And home. back I fucks ended endpoor also were they upit school, hanginghigh finish didn’tdidn’t “also out with work two for me.” He relays one instance when he hung level been had as well,ifa justreached. certain alcohol especially out with two U.S. English, oratleast willing giveto it atry, would seek out conversations with the foreigners in the scene in were moreadvanced who kids in Korean. Korean punk Those was fluent soldierwho U.S. the Mike, or instance, for well, communicate to able be to enough well Korean learned had who teachers – forth woulda couple backbetweengroups both makecourse, English theirway and of always separation that could be seen: foreigners in one corner, Koreans in another. Certain individuals, of Karl,a 26-year-old Army member, Jil-sunghis wasoneof and that fewservicemembers the just “Yeah,anarchism: we were about think him talk I to upto came aGI occasion, On another them of many that struck he was GIs, some met first he when that says instance, for Jil-sung, laughs ) And I was like, ‘yeah,man, yeah, Iget it.’ CEU eTD Collection new generation new of generation young – very Korean leftists has usually been overlooked. breedinggoingfor in potentialofHongdae a on particular thepolitical asaground this area –and through putatively highly sexualizedforeign themany males, experiments other and contestations has focused mediaWhile Korean only youth repeatedly Korean the subsequently on pollution the of in thecountry. tothem been allocated have that fewspaces very the of boundaries the set stay within itis actually beto Koreanunderstood isterrain that being by contaminated foreigners whonolonger utterly foreign within make-up social the of country,the isthesource Hongdae muchof panic because end here: while It’aew 268 indeed a distant cousin to that other urban entertainment district of It’aew allows its visitors many liberties that cannot be attained in other parts of the country. In such a way,that it aspace is is still days, these commercialization increasing its despite Hongdae, up, matters Tosum ofbeer.round hair. “What cropped shortly their up cover to faces a their into fuckingdeeply pushed caps baseball their have who soldiers joke”, he says, and of hisfinger atagroup so infront playground,the points and of emerge of store convenience the out we walk back to the Chaos guys,”atprefer tokeepalow“Look helaughs those profile onedaywhile whenever we possible. Class kids to have U.S. the presenceinthecountry, surrounding Forces Armed many debates and ofthe conscious deeply another is still Ihavemethe in his being military, of the comrades likemost about uneasy necessarily Not out. basis – however,him which his hefreedom more asaGI, on nights recognized allows israrely ever a “Korean-Korean” on daily mistake himfor Korean. People nevertheless speakany not child, he does whenlittle a by still parents he was U.S. –adopted from Iraq whorecently returned Korean-American is a He military”. for the places other andthose all “It’sI’taewon because far awayfrom could, so U.S. soldiers, as we have seen, have played a significant role for a while as the putative source ǂ n, in the eyes of many is a space to be avoided because it is understood as Exit theDMZ –Enter the TAZ? ǂ n. But the similarities shall CEU eTD Collection 269 strong involvementinmilitarist capitalist / around projects the (such world Korean as sendingthe of their country’s only Korea’s by about victim remarks countering increasingly cynical asa role putative Korean Dream of rapid contesting bylooking the peninsula. beyond way borders of Thoroughly the from disenfranchised the development, utterly Korea. ina more Andsignificantly, them world social around engage the with have to they learned disinterested in allactivists, punks drop-outswhoand other connect over their senseofbeingmisfits inhyper-capitalist issues concerning and of network peace anarchists butgrowing –madea loose, leftists upof Korean generation of North Korea, and diverging from ideologicalthe laid path by out minjungtheir elders.This isindeed an new entirely be notmay enough foractually them beableto to tear down trenches the them keeping apart. preferences and into the realm of class activelyaffiliations. However,acknowledge as Jil-sung mepointed facedInterestingly Classsome kids have GIs. people with Chaos the of enough, when to described their out to me,potential all of this commonalities by generated feelings diffuse fearof triggeredby violentimaginations somany that young Korean than rather anti-militarism withborder-crossing and outspoken their on based themainly is it but neighborhood, GIs which go beyond those of musical terms. in political Korea hyper-militarized amidst unease of feelings vague rather times at their it throughout was – chapter this moment firsttheirexpress that coming-of-age own allowed themto Tae’chu-ri forintroduced whom ChaosClasskids the I have mostina keymoment certainly 2006was understand“GI The fractious area. the trying punks”of relationsstrugglesurrounding their the to with intoby integrated now aswell. Thelink between Tae’chu-ri and Hongdae isa pertinent when one is Korea deeply system that of a militarist-capitalist pawns willing as putatively them mainly criticize rapid commodification of an “alternative” neighborhood by others. The Chaos Class kids, however, blamedfor the areoften they additionally local inHongdae, and betweensoldiers civilians encounters of evil withinthis sexpanic. all violentimaginations loominglargeAndwith still the day-to-day over Another point to take note of is the way in which this Hongdae leftist youth is actually youth leftist Hongdae this which in way isthe of note take to point Another intheir servicemen U.S. issueswith own their has have seen, This aswe Tae’chu-ri-generation, CEU eTD Collection 270 political, social and alternative sexual which in relationships spaces explored, may being is be formed.actors state by repressive overlooked spaces of interstitial creation the for 159 carved for themselves out withinlimits the of Hongdae. zone autonomous temporary livein barracks the of a way,and the snuckout have quietly they Insuch movements. leftist radical ininspiration global for look andactively to attached were sokeenly elders minjung their that framework nationalist the of out stepped have they East), Middle the to troops Temporary Autonomous Zones is the title of a book by American Anarchist Hakim Bay (1991), in which the possibilities 159 they CEU eTD Collection 271 Uijeongbu’s kiji’chon 1992:171) (Cumings immediately exploited by any politician willing todoso.” – Bruce Cumings 1968,after avisitto is“It alsothat apparent America isleaving alegacy hatred, awell of ill feelingof that could be (1925:6)Robert E.Park momentum of and onwith itsimposesmoves thelife locality onthepresent, a certain every itself of “The past own, more or less independent of the larger circle of life and interests about it.” – Seeds of Antagonism,Children ofDissent Conclusion: 6. CEU eTD Collection 272 Korean the of make-up symbolic the of outskirts very the on spaces endangered and endangering both become nowadays have that realms kiji’chon, in place took that encounters violent times at asymmetrical, deeply The well. as just GIs with dealing Koreans of sentiments everyday the and countries, two the between relations larger the both of transformation the to contributed unwittingly large in today’s Korea. Those “close encounters of the Korean kind” (as one former soldier put it), have decades insince the Korean the War occurring of camptowns the country the throughout looms –still prostitution U.S.militaryaround bases, thereby infuriatinggradually other sections of society. impoverished seeking in women sexual money,encounters forexchange wouldoften in gladly engage hyper-masculinistbehavior, norms of young faced the with men, presencelarger the of numbers of localthe On contrary,they the population encountered. a into military socialized nourishing culture exactlynot model onthe ground ambassadors have wouldthat easedthesting of putative inferiority for country’s economic, and political military supremacy the host-nation over they were stayingin, were it into the country individualsbrought particular. who adailybasistheir experiencing soldiers, on U.S. those and dollar U.S. the on and in general, assistance on American dependency high in themselves communist North. defined newfoundthe astate Korea, from Republic of its beginnings the very byits opposition to following decades the over World Warin maintaining manpower invested many and much II, resources antagonisticinto andpeninsulahalves two bythe wasdivided UnitedUSSR. The States the Americans, history turbulent havingbeenof imperialist subjectedtothe desires of powers,theKorean outside have seen,haveindeed been Goingsown many ago: decades back in Ihave time, shown how, after a is, andincivilians local –that thedistricts in entertainment and nearSeoul. The seedsof antipathy,we zonesGIs between contact main in the themselves manifest asthey in Korea military presence U.S. the The central goal of this dissertation has been to explore the effects of widespread local discontent over The legacy of the Ville – the sum of those daily economic, social,cultural and sexual exchanges All the while, stark economic asymmetries between the USA and the ROK expressed CEU eTD Collection 273 such highly gendered nationalist symbolism there-framing soldiers just aswell,were increasingly who inand prostitution, particular, weretaken as stand-ins for relations the nations, the between two with canbe Rape Korea over dominance on ground. violencethe experienced U.S. spaces whereputative of as beingmilitary re-positioned were installations U.S. spacesnearby entertainment cooperation, the this of asymmetries and injustices focusthe on a for opting activists leftist With Korean alliance. military U.S.-R.O.K. the of givens structural highlighting amplification an for allowed that momentum deathof the Shim Mi-s been. has ground the on troops its of behavior be inKorea tothereputation astheactual equallyasof to U.S. the damaging double-standard proved blind eyeon implementation (non-)the of by democracy regimesthe they supported. This kindof its non-Western allies,been playingfor their country.in Seeing that principle the USA democraticendorsed amongst reforms they were appalled reached individualsthese vastly groups and different hadconsensus a therole about super-power the by the country’s in1980 KwangjuUprising the actual after of Barracks, the and Capitalism Militarized Modernity decades of willingness to with the North.repeatedly Originally embracing the U.S. and its people as a beacon of hope throughout the austere turned a the goal of liberalizationachieve was determinedto movement that nationalist-leftist by a framingundertaken successful to the and due was it well, democracy as dissertation in this explored been has as rather, But behavior. military U.S. reckless on South Korean soil, dissent, werenotsimply natural the inevitable andextension and outcome of earlierthose decadesof to a lesser degree, into large-scale foreign feelings wereattimes turned soldiers of the against public manifestations reunification Land of the Morning Calm. unaware of, butthattheirgrapple soldiers have to with on a dailybasis their in during deployments the mostindeedleft ordinarynation, behind inheritance that have atroubling areutterly Americans Several amongst most events, famouslycritical which the were Yun K antagonistic few which common Significantly, decades,during last the over escalations the ǂ n few have in lastand ShinHyo-sun the over been 2002, decades the creating ǎ m’i murder inmurderm’i 1992and CEU eTD Collection 274 was atthattime already a South that Korea 1990sto 1980sandearly late in only the entrance, arriving colonization through outside forces. This conclusion may seem to have made a rather untimely to areaction and of anoutcome as militarization of beenthat has it answer,seems, the and place, first in the had about come modernity suchamilitarized backhow look at intocame a reflective with turned involved. attraction when talk comes to the U.S. military in theircontradictions justas well, city. and frequently they backoscillate andforth between and repulsion Strong emotions, at any rate, are typically with are fraught too, with, interact they thesoldiers United States the Their on Forces. Armed views complex notions on their country’s long-term, fractious, and often intensely personal entanglement with GIs in Seoul’sface with face to inuniform. However, coming strangers those fearwhenencountering even full or of entertainmentsome critical events – theseyoung peoplehave learned through mediathe that they are tobe distrustful districtshavelabeled I that “Violent Imaginations” has following been createdamidst –which publicuproar the nowadays,youngKoreans. Often in exposed their childhood and years teenage tothe counter-hegemonic framing oftenlongerno exclusive GIground, butrather, they are today playgroundsalso the of a newgeneration of they take the opportunity seekingways tothose a get of worlds.other to taste to develop entry- justbecoming unexpected exit and aswell, desirerather of innovation creative and adventurous very local at feartargeted putativelythe foreign violent soldier. beequally Butthey as often to sites proved military, ofintense affiliatedoften U.S. sites the with were districts seen, aswehave Entertainment between urban highly chargedspaces andthe civilian rendezvous military American other.the on the and hand, one the on encounter real-life and imagination violent between connection contradictory brutes imagined asviolent friendly rather than by sectors allies ever growing of society. For the generation of their parents, stepping out of the vast barracks that South Korea had Korea South that barracks vast the of out stepping parents, their of generation the For But significantly, entertainment districts in central Seoul that attract U.S. military personnel are Two other central themes of this dissertation have been the intricate and at times highly CEU eTD Collection and ever increasingly challenged by both nationalist uprisings and far left movements on their own turf, own their on movements left far and uprisings nationalist both by challenged increasingly ever and surprise, by discouraged seemingmilitary in futility the a drawn of out Middle the engagement East, by countries these Shaken by has years very ago. caught core the the global still to that 20 crisis commonly understood to be “the West”, are stuck in a sense of gloom that was simply unimaginable whichare countries core make upthose thattogether nation-states theother many andof United States, astonishing the from at speedeconomic crisis, the ofChina,haveemerging recovered powerhouse five last East led re- years.While the Asianin by the the countries, speedover up picked increasingly large-scale andpoliticaleconomic shifts within global the incapitalist mind order have that of anti-democratic militarism to tackle, including those brought about by their own elites. legacies many has still but heart, very its into economy world the of margin the from climb stellar the times rather disapprovingly, Koreathe of today, at theyseehas made which changed country avastly the unassailable “holy itself, deploymentsmandatory toIraq, military considered service troop or Korean once that conclusion cow” of Korean society, death of Shim Mi-s are now to be contested. gamespower focus. into Through agitationtheir U.S.military againstthe as such the during events Looking thoroughlyincreasingly broughtcountry’s their history of involvementsmilitarismits own inand global recent and at century, some of their consisting children, of young, currently disenfranchisedrather leftists, have form violent particularly modernitythe hadKorea of South experiencedthat 20 the throughout 275 and evenimagined communities such nations. as inevitable that reverberate through space andpotentially time, changing theindividuals, paths of groups a pool into Like fact. water, thrown of the violentafter docauseripples people stones events decades imagined real, and small-scale within and larger arefelt settings, in livesof still usually thedaily social vastly its in strengthened dueto changing position economic world.the However, ofviolence, histories Indeed, none of these contestations on the ground can be fully understood without keeping the keeping without understood fully be can ground the on contestations these of none Indeed, But whilethe ǂ minjung n and thedestruction ShinHyo-sun or of Tae’chu-ri, havereached some the generation still singled out the Americans as the sole source of blame for of source sole the asthe out singled Americans still generation th CEU eTD Collection 276 contention, it seems, and much work still lies ahead until that day will have arrived. between Americans andKoreans is onlyviablethe way historyout of protracted this violenceof and interactions in the phrase empty an than rather principle a ruling as Egalitarianism be understood. of representatives inthe toward world’s dramaticthe the attitude changesfully military most powerful West from the can actors rest the and between different the contact of zones everyday mundane in the these days. 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