Characters of Seoul

Where in the world does a person go to meet other English speaking people in Korea? The answer is Itawon. Itawon is known as the foreign district of Seoul. It is right in the middle of the city. It is, as my friend John said, "in the soul of Seoul." Its an entertainment district. The streets are littered with street vendors, bars, and dining establishments. I have been there three times.

The cast of characters I have run into include James from New Jersey, Tom from The Netherlands, and Nick from Manchester. I have also seen some Nigerians and ran into Elaina from Russia.



James is a huge sports fan. I place sports fans in two categories; there is the casual sports fan and the diehard sports fan. The casual sports fan watches Sportscenter highlights once or twice a week. These fans know the stars and the rules of the games; they love sports. The diehard sports fan dreams about sports. Sports are on their mind all the time. The founder of ADIDAS or All Day I Dream About Soccer was an obvious diehard. These fans not only know the stars, but they also know the stars back ups and the backs ups back up. They know statistics that make you wonder, "Why are you using so much mental capacity for sports?" They'll tell you the record of the 1993 Kansas City Chiefs. They'll rattle off video game attributes for players, "Devin Hester, 100 speed. Manny Lawson 90 speed." James and myself are very much the latter sports fan.



Tom Koning is from the Netherlands and speaks perfect English. In fact, he speaks five languages! His English is so good that I thought he was from the Midwest. He does not have any type of an accent. When he told me he was from Holland, I almost fell over. Nick was the biggest barrel of laughs I have had yet in Korea. I would start smiling anytime he would speak. One time he caught me laughing at him talking when he obviously wasn't saying anything remotely funny. We talked politics and religion and played pool. His arrival in Korea is a good story.



Manchester is home to the Red Devils soccer team, arguably the world's most popular sports franchise. This is probably paradise for a soccer loving Brit, but Nick left the Queen to go to school in China. He speaks three languages that I know of: Chinese, Korean, and English. In China, he met a Korean girl. They sparked a little romance, then poof he's got a job in Korea. The only hitch is he hates Korea. His relationship is on the rocks and he wants out. He's a "bloody banker". We met last Thursday night and around three o'clock at night he asked somebody, "What time is it?" He followed with a slur of curse words* and was off like a prom dress. He had to be at work in three hours. Time management wasn't something he was taught in China.



*Profane Language Alert. I loved hearing Nick cuss. It was so funny. As a little kid, I would laugh so hard if damn or shit slipped out of someones mouth. Now I don't have a reaction to cursing, but when you add an English or Irish or Scottish accent to the curse word it transforms itself into belly laugh hysteria. Wanker, Tosser, Bollocks, and Taking the Piss were the words that got me giggling like a kid. One drunk guy slammed his glass down shattering it into a thousand pieces, "He's a fecking tosser." was Nick's reply.



Nigerians are rumored to be the drug dealers of Korea. This is all rumored and I don't know if it is true, but needless to say I have befriended all of them.



There is a bar called Hollywood. It is owned by Shawn. Shawn has lived in Houston and speaks perfect English. He is young, probably around 25. His dad passed away and left him this bar. So Hollywood is our Cheers. (where everyone knows your name) Its a good time.

There is a major Kansas City connection going on over here. John is from Atchinson. Zach is from Lenexa. Bryan and Ryan are from the greater KC area. Then randomly I have met two other people from KC. The seven of us should set up a Little Kansas City somewhere and eat the world's best bar-b-que, drink Boulevard, and discuss the Chiefs upcoming season. Does Kansas City have a Little Korea?

I've also met a lot of Canadians. Canada is really just high on life right now. They are some brazen men. First of all, one Canuck had the audacity to tell me that Canada could take over Alaska anytime they wanted. All thirty million of them are prepared to go to war over Alaska. He wants Alaska for the oil. He told me that they already have dug trenches in preperation. "Dave, this isn't World War 1. We're not going fight in the trenches. We have an airforce. We have cruise missles. We have nukes. You have toy guns and maybe a couple of evil bears." That is what I should have told him, but I said "Canada is a loft over a really cool party." Someone else followed up, "Canada is America's hat." These are the types of conversations you have on the international scene.