Itaewon’s changing face: global food

Kim Chang-sook (standing, center), the owner of French-Belgian eatery Mignon, brings more wine glasses to Tristan Aitchison, 29, left, and Frederick Meier, 42.By Jeon Min-kyu

For decades, Itaewon’s identity as Korea’s largest residential area for foreigners remained unchanged.

But along the way, it has acquired different reputations, ranging from a club cluster for U.S. soldiers, to a paradise for fake luxury goods, to a general shopping district.

More recently, Itaewon, in Seoul’s Yongsan District, has emerged as a center for global cuisine.

Since early 2000, scores of restaurants serving authentic exotic foods began to mushroom in the area, particularly in alleys behind the Hamilton Hotel, the neighborhood’s most identifiable landmark.

“Many people say they go to Itaewon to eat rather than to shop,” said Lee Dong-oh, executive director of the association of merchants in Itaewon. “Extrapolating from the current trend, it looks like that’s the way of the future.”

Though it might not be readily apparent to a newcomer, around 30 international restaurants are nestled along the hillside and three connected alleys in the tightly packed area behind the nine-story hotel.

Run by foreigners and overseas-trained Koreans, the restaurants boast authentic foreign foods, including cuisine from France, Thailand, Belgium, Germany, Australia, India, China, the U.S. and Bulgaria.

Itaewon’s international restaurant street spills out into other areas in the neighborhood, offering customers rare and exotic dining experiences, extending into areas just outside the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone.

According to restaurant owners there, the Itaewon foreign restaurant street has seen an increasing number of foreign and local visitors in recent years.

Tristan Aitchison, a 29-year-old Scot who has worked as recruiter for Korean hagwon for over four years, explained why he frequents the street.

“A lot of restaurants in Itaewon are ethnic. That’s quite special about Itaewon,” he said last Saturday while eating at Mignon, which claims to be the only French-Belgian restaurant in the neighborhood. “You actually get food that is very authentic to the country. If you go outside Itaewon, usually many restaurants are a little bit Koreanized.”

Area merchants including Lee, who has run a handbag store for 22 years, welcome the business trend.

They say the neighborhood’s facelift into a quality foreign restaurant area improves its image, which many locals still consider a dirty place packed with dangerous foreigners.

It could eventually prop up the area’s entire economy, they believe. According to data compiled by the Yongsan District Office, which governs the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone, around 2.4 million foreigners, excluding Itaewon residents, visited the area between 1997 and 2007. Today, on average, almost 7,000 foreign tourists visit the neighborhood daily. The data show that approximately 2,000 businesses in Itaewon had earned around $1.2 billion over the few decades preceding 2004.

Experts like Keum Ki-yong, a research fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Research Group, said the dining industry began playing a more pivotal role in the area about a decade ago. Keum said the number of eateries continued to soar - rising from 355 in 1989 to 399 in 1997 and to 478 in 2004. This is in contrast to a contraction of other businesses in the area, he said. Though there are no official figures, area restaurant owners say their businesses have yet to suffer from the ongoing worldwide financial crisis. To further promote the restaurant industry, the Itaewon merchants association launched the International Food Festival last year and participating restaurants sold food at a discount.

Bae Jong-yoon, a Yongsan District Office official in charge of the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone, said the district also hopes to see the dining street prosper even more.

“Last September, we suggested that the city government officially designate the street [behind the Hamilton] as the international food street,” Bae said. The measure, if approved, will allow the city to spend money to build more infrastructure in the area. “We will see what action the city will take. But I think the idea is very worthwhile.” Some insiders say that even more efforts should be made to make the street as appealing and authentic as possible.

Garrett Edwards, the chef at Ruby Edwards Tartine, a new area bakery that sells pies, say the restaurants should not compromise in terms of taste. “Koreans running restaurants here might have gone to Western countries to study, but when they come back, somebody else says, ‘It’s too salty,’ and they go, ‘Ah,’ and change it, and then somebody says, ‘It’s too sweet,’ [and the owner says,] ‘Oh, I’ll change it.’ Pretty soon, food becomes not close to authentic,” he said. “Foreigners, we come, and think, ‘What is this?’”

Some experts, like Keum, also say the area could be more appealing if there was sufficient parking. The two-way four-lane road that forms the spine of the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone suffers from bumper-to-bumper traffic day and night. With parking spaces few and far between, many drivers park their cars along the road, compounding traffic congestion.

“The plan that could genuinely develop the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone into a global tourism area - including adding parking - has gathered dust on the desk of someone in city government for many years,” Keum said. “I’m sorry to see this place with such potential is being overlooked.”

Still, due to people interested in mixing with other cultures, Itaewon won’t easily lose its charm anytime soon. The foreign restaurant street, among other lures, will be a key to attracting people to Itaewon, people say. Mikhal Ashminov, the Bulgarian owner of Zelen, the only Bulgarian restaurant in Itaewon, said he believes the district has potential to get recognized globally.

“Itaewon has many places to visit, and is a charming food center. Who knows? It could become [as famous as] Central Park in New York in 10 years,” he said.

By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter [joe@joongang.co.kr]