Unexpected And Unforgettable

[I didn't know there still were places like this in Korea]

This past Friday I had planned to take a photo taking excursion to AHyeon, but somehow or other I missed my stop and ended up in an unfamiliar neighborhood.  According to the subway map I was in a place called GhirEum, which I had never heard of before.  Deciding to make the best of the situation I started ambling around at random, as I'm wont to do in any new neighborhood, to see what I could see.  Well, the neighborhood proved to be disappointingly ordinary, with no unusual features or points of interest whatsoever.  Everywhere it was the same boring, interchangeable box-type architecture that modern cities abound in.  I had already given up and was heading back to the subway when I noticed a large yellow sign, prominently displayed by an alleyway.

Basically, it states that minors are prohibited from venturing beyond that point, and also that anyone who causes another person to be employed in a sexually exploitative occupation will be prosecuted.  Just to make certain everyone got the message, there were brightly colored plastic strips partially curtaining off the entry (one thing about this feature though -- I realize the purpose of the primary colors was to be eye-catching, but I have to say they were making me think of playgrounds and circuses -- fun places that presumably the city fathers had not intended to associate with in this case;  maybe next time they could replace them with somber gray or something).

So of course I went in.  It was fairly dark in the alley, as there were semi-opaque awnings overhead, mostly a deep red, cutting out direct sunlight and creating a crimson twilight -- or should I say, creating a literal "red light district", if you haven't guessed it already -- and moreover, it turned out to be just the entryway to a whole mazelike environment of ever-multiplicating narrow lanes all branching off each other, much larger in scale than I had expected it to be.  Indeed, it was almost a whole small village of its own within the city, and I was actually amazed that such a place could exist without being at all conspicuous from outside.  I could well see how the signs (it turned out there were multiple warning signs at the boundaries) were necessary.

The place was quiet, rundown(very) and bereft of any sort of traffic, and I had almost convinced myself that the entire "village" must be long since abandoned, when suddenly a largish young woman appeared out of nowhere, blocking the way and asking in a loud voice, "Oppah, where you going?"  I was much taken aback (actually, I think "shocked" would be a better term) and took a couple of quick steps back.  She followed me, cutting off my escape, and continued to accost me, declaring "Oppah, why don't you come in and have a look, huh?  Looking don't cost you anything!"  Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, and I was completely at a loss as to how to respond.  All I could do was just mutter -- rather apologetically, too -- something about sorry, I was just there to satisfy idle curiosity, and quickly take my leave, leaving her disappointed.  I actually felt sorry for her, she was so eager.

Then I began to notice signs of habitation.  At one point I saw an old man smoking -- I didn't want to pass him, so I turned around and retraced my steps.  I saw two old women sitting on a bench.  Someone had even put out food and water for stray cats.

Looking up the place later at home, I learned that these few blocks were once a thriving community of sex workers.  The makeshift booths shown below are relics of its heyday back in the 80's.  Presumably girls sat in them to exhibit themselves to potential customers.

Then there was this shop.  I'd previously heard about these "coffee delivery" services.  The girls who worked there actually did deliver coffee -- by scooter -- but once they arrived at the designated home or motel, they also became call girls on "outcall".

Amazingly (not quite sure why I found it amazing, but it was), there was a clock here, as well.  And yes, it also kept accurate time.

I suppose as the city continued to grow around it and undergo development, what with the fancy cafes and shopping malls and whatnot catering to the new, more sophisticated generations, the place gradually lost whatever attraction it may once have had in the past -- along with the clientele -- until it became semi-forgotten (aka deliberately ignored) in the new society, and by and by degraded into the gloomy empty shell that it is today.  The few people who still live there would be the poor loners who couldn't afford to move away.  It might even be that they are the reason the city has not razed the whole place down to the ground.