Drift Reality > South Korea > Itaewon 3

Itaewon was a nightmare out of Full Metal Jacket. GIs the size of oxen roamed the streets in herd, laughing rambunctiously as they rudely called out to Korean prostitutes. They exuded a confidence borne out of the knowledge that they had been trained to kill and were protecting a country of small Asian people who were incapable of defending themselves.

We walked through the streets and I watched with amusement as Bob joined in the parade by yelling out to the various prostitutes. We headed up an incline fondly referred to as "hooker hill," for the many hostess bars that lined both sides of the streets.

In 1993, Private Kenneth Markle raped and murdered a young Korean woman. Her name was Kum E. Yoon.

Bob and I stopped at the top of the hill and watched as a shirtless Korean man was restrained by military police officers.

Kum E. Yoon was found covered in blood and detergent.

He was yelling in Korean and as he was pushed down the hill, I asked him "what is wrong," to which he responded, "get out of my country."

Kum E. Yoon was found with her legs spread open.

We entered the bar and Bob ordered two beers and a bowl of soup. As he slurped happily away, I turned and surveyed the scene in the bar. Young Korean girls were prancing around the room, grinding with American GIs on the dance floor, whispering in their ears, sitting on their laps.

Kum E. Yoon was found with a bottle inserted inter her vagina and an umbrella inserted 11 inches into her rectum.

From out of the corner of my eye, I could see that one of the Korean girls was staring at me, trying to get my attention. I responded by staring forcefully into my beer and waiting for her gaze to depart.

Markle was sentenced to life imprisonment. At the appeal court, his term was reduced to fifteen years.

Bob finished slurping his soup and began to flirt with the bar tender, who was thirty years younger than him. His filthy leer made me feel slightly ill.

Mrs. Kim Kook-Hye was a 51-year old owner of a small bar.

After drinking another beer, we headed towards a dance club that was located closer to the base of hooker hill.

Mrs. Kim Kook-Hye was found severely beaten, with her undergarments torn away from her limp body.

We entered the club and as I drank another beer, I watched Bob attempt to dance with a girl who looked about eighteen years old. As if his appearance and his leer did not horrify the girl enough, the fact that he danced like Frankenstein with osteoporosis sealed the deal and she headed out of the club.

Mrs. Kim Kook-Hye was taken to the hospital where she underwent a surgical operation on her brain.

I turned again towards the dance floor and watched as two GIs with camcorders were grinding with two young girls on the dance floor. As they groped the girls' buttocks with one hand, they recorded the action with the other.

Mrs. Kim Kook-Hye regained consciousness after four months in the hospital. Besides being emotionally and physically scarred, she had acquired a wonderful little mental disorder.

I watched Bob move on to another girl and I began to feel incredibly fatigued. The sounds of laughter began to pierce my ears and my eyes started to feel uncomfortably dry.

Corporal John Roger Saloy of the 2nd infantry division in Dongduchun stated that he had felt compelled to beat her into unconsciousness fearing her ability to use Taekwondo as a means of defense.

I stood up and realized that I had gotten quite drunk over the course of the past few hours. I headed out of the bar and hailed a cab back to Sillim.

1 | 2 | 3