Saturday

I went back to Itaewon today via subway. It's scary almost how at ease I am with finding my way around Seoul. I really like Itaewon, there is an abundance of western food places, both fast food and sit-down restaurants and several American or European brand clothing stores. As a result, Koreans are almost the minority there. Today I met a Belgian South African who took me to an Austrian butcher shop and deli. Really good sandwiches there and I have now used my German in every country I have ever visited. Everyone in Seoul seems really laid back and easy going, but even more so in Itaewon. I saw an older lady setting Abercrombie & Fitch clothes next to Nike shoes on the sidewalk, all fake of course, but cleverly done so and you can buy them for a tiny fraction of what the real thing costs. Technically, it's illegal for her to do so and there are even signs all around boldly stating that this is a "Special Retail Zone. Selling items without a business license is strictly forbidden and is violaters will be severely punished to the full extent of Korean law" in English, Korean and Japanese. However, I saw three cops picking up some of the fake A&F shirts and looking at them, feeling them, talkign with the old lady about them, and one even tried one on. Just put it on, right on top of his armored vest and police uniform while his buddies and the old lady had a good laugh. So either the cops don't care, or the lady was bribing them. I figure the former is the more true option as a little later down the sidewalk a man in his twenties was carefully laying out over 100 dvd cases of pirated American movies, some still playing in American theatres. This was done right underneath one of the DO NOT SELL ANYTHING HERE! signs and less than 20 yards from a police station. I saw several Americans looking over them and so I struck up a conversation with them reminding them to make sure they are smuggled but good when they go back to America, if they're caught it is a $100 fine for each one and if the RCAA feels like it, they can sue you for possessing pirated material. Thats how its supposed to be, in theory. In reality however, the major airports are too swamped with more pressing issues (illegal immigration, terrorism, mounds of paperwork) than to harrass returning American tourists over a few DVD's.