COVID-19 devastates Itaewon businesses
The alley behind Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, once a major foodie mecca, is deserted last Saturday at 5:30 p.m. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
By Hallie Bradley
COVID-19 has done no favors to food and beverage businesses since the initial outbreak in Daegu months ago, but many restaurants continue to open as they find themselves in a catch-22. They won't survive if they don't open ― but if they do, they have to just hope they aren't visited by an infected patient which puts them on the map.
The government has done an amazing and internationally touted job with its test-and-trace program to keep residents informed but it has some pitfalls, as businesses in Itaewon have learned.
“While I appreciate and applaud the efforts made by the Korean government to mitigate and curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country,” explained Juweon Kim, cofounder and CEO of Vatos Urban Tacos in Itaewon, “I think what we have experienced in Itaewon is one of the negative consequences of the very public track-and-trace methods being employed by the government. Itaewon served as the low-hanging fruit for the 24-hour news cycle during a period when the news cycle was slowing down for COVID-19-related stories.”
In the past year, Itaewon had already dealt with the loss of the U.S. military from Yongsan Garrison which means fewer foreign customers in what has been widely known as the foreign district for decades. When COVID-19 originally hit the peninsula, businesses the country over were immediately in a precarious situation with some letting go of staff in order to stay afloat as long as they could and others choosing to close down completely. After the Itaewon establishments were hit with this further blow, sales plummeted.
The rooftop of Hustle remains empty as the sun sets over Itaewon. / Credit: Jason Waller
Residents around Korea need to be vigilant and take precautions as the pandemic continues to spread, but according to Juweon there has been “a mischaracterization by the media to make Itaewon sound like it's the epicenter of the spread and it's where there's a high concentration of COVID-19 infections. This false narrative must change.”
Despite the government-released data that showed patient zero came from Yongin and the majority of the infected do not live or work in Itaewon, the media quickly labeled the uptick the “Itaewon cluster” and turned the once-popular district into a ghost town.
“I've never seen Itaewon so empty; it kind of looks like a movie where the world has ended,” said Pinnacle TheHustler aka Jason Waller, the owner of Hustle, a local hip-hop hookah lounge in Itaewon. “Truth be told, considering that there's really no people in Itaewon right now, the safest place in Seoul is in your home and the second-safest place is Itaewon.”
Juweon added, “The narrative spiraled out of control concerning Itaewon and it was unfair and unfortunate for businesspeople and residents of this great neighborhood. Sales plummeted 90 percent to 95 percent for most businesses.”
Vatos Urban Tacos, which first established itself in Itaewon in 2011, has taken measures to protect customers including checking the temperatures of all employees who come into work, and any who show signs of sickness are sent home immediately and cannot return until they are cleared by a doctor. They are requiring employees to wash hands every 90 minutes, wear masks at all times, seat customers with an appropriately safe distance and sanitize the restaurant at the end of every shift.
“It does not help anyone when an entire neighborhood gets harped on and scapegoated for a global pandemic, especially with non-factual fear mongering and media-fueled ostracizing through stereotypes against LGBTQ and foreigner populations,” said Juweon, who aims to continue to keep Vatos open seven days a week catering to customers.
Linus Kim, owner of Linus' Bama Style Barbecue, has also been especially attentive to cleanliness since the onset of the pandemic. “We have been very vigilant about taking temperatures of all customers' foreheads and spraying all hands of customers coming in,” he explained.
They also use hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a food-safe all natural germ killer known to be safe enough to use on an open wound, on all surfaces in the restaurant.
“I take sanitation very very seriously,” Linus said. “Among my circle, I am known for "the Linus hello"?where I offer a blast of alcohol on peoples' hands when we meet in lieu of a handshake.”
The Alabaman native is known for his authentic American-style barbecue and says that though the time has been difficult, it is “somewhat bearable because everyone is in it together so to speak.”
Find out more about Vatos Urban Tacos at
, Linus' Bama Style Barbecue at fb.com/LinusBbq and Hustle on Instagram.com/hustleitaewon.
Hallie Bradley is a writer based in Seoul and runs the popular site
thesoulofseoul.net
.