by starfox64 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 3:50 am
First off, that article reminded me of this
The neighborhood where I live in Seoul (Itaewon) is rapidly changing, with foreigners and shitty goods that cater to tourists and American GI's being pushed out in favor of upscale bars and restaurants. It used to be a hub of prostitution, but that's also being cleaned up. Well, actually, all of Korea is a hub of prostitution, and it's being cleaned up all over the place (huge red light districts being shut down, etc.), but Itaewon is/was an area that catered to non-traditional prostitutes (gay, trans, ones for foreigners) and that's being phased out. I came to Korea on vacation once during 2008 and in that time the area has changed a lot and become a lot nicer place to hang out on weekends, even though it still has the kind of grimy foreigner stigma, it's a popular place for like yuppie Koreans to come. One the one hand, it sucks that rent is really going up, but on the other hand it's nice to be able to find some decent foreign food, even if it costs 50% more than a similar Korean dish. Regardless, though, it's probably better to call this development or redevelopment than gentrification, as there is not the same kind of racial undertones that I associate with 'gentrification'.
Also, every time I read an article about like fucking hipsters ruining things, I wonder, "am I a hipster? am I ruining things?" Then I think about the things that I enjoy, and I realize that I am probably one of the fucking hipsters that everyone complains about, even if I don't have an ironic mustache or ride a fixie.
"Authorities say the phony Pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and incredibly foul mouth."