US Designates Seoul’s 2 Downtown Areas as Dangerous Zone

Seoul’s two well-known downtown club areas near the Hongik University and Shinchon were classified as “dangerous areas” by the U.S. State Department.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the U.S. State Department’s travel guide Web site introduced the areas as “dangerous areas” as early as May 2006.

A U.S. embassy official said, “The embassy regularly collects safety information and reports it to the State Department. My understanding is that when there were crimes against Americans in the two areas in 2005, the department introduced them as ‘dangerous areas’,” JoongAng Ilbo reported Saturday.

The newspaper said the reality differs from the U.S. decision. A police officer at Mapo Polilce Station said, “There have been virtually few crimes this year. Even the ones happened were also minor scuffles, usually happening by people who got drunk.”

Lee Seung-hwan, an official with the non-profit organization, “Club Culture Coalition,” which promotes a healthy night life, said, “Since the clubs in the Hongik University area banned the entrance of American soldiers, there was hardly any incident involving foreigners.”

Lee added, “In the past, there were many brawls between American soldiers who inappropriately approached Korean girls and Korean men who responded to the situation.”

In January 2007, a U.S. soldier in Seoul sexually assaulted a 60-year-old woman three times while dragging her around the area near Hongik University. Since then, most clubs in the area have banned the entrance of American soldiers.