Ilsan - Home of the Whopper

Review:
I've been sitting on this one since mid-February. I wrote up 1,200 words or so about Ilsan (my hometown for the last two years while living in South Korea) for assistant editor, David Carruth over at 10 Magazine in Seoul, South Korea. Being the successful magazine that it is, time and plenty enough magazine content were foes of mine while trying to get it to print. That left the original article being pushed back several months and eventually being cut down to half its size. Aww... But it's not the size that counts. At least, that's what I've been told. Aww... Regardless, it finally made it to print with a handful of my photos in June's issue, and trust me, I'm a happy guy for it. I'll do just about anything to see my name in print. I once wrote to Wizard Magazine in the 90s and asked if Superboy was related to Superman. Sure I was just stuffing an envelope with a meaningless question in order to get the envelope itself (a rendition of Beavis and Butthead dressed as Scorpion and Sub-Zero of Mortal Kombat fame) printed in the "letter art" section. My question showed up in issue 21; the drawing was never to be seen again, however. Bringing things back on topic, I've decided to publish the unedited version of the article instead of the final 10 Magazine revision for anyone interested -- which is like three or four of you -- to check out. Seeing that I'm leaving for American in less than a week, it seemed fitting to finally get this out as my time here comes to a close. I hope somebody visiting Ilsan can someday make use of this carnival show of a write-up. And I hope not too many of you clicked away mid-rant above. Those of you still reading, enjoy!



Ilsan – Home of the Whopper

Well, not really… but try to follow me. The northwest satellite of Seoul is known as the New City or Garden City to most. But since “new” things become “old” things before you know it (let’s face it, the district has been around for over 20 years now), and because the area is undergoing urban development at a seemingly exponential rate with fewer “garden” left to enjoy, I like to focus my thoughts of Ilsan down to an experience near and dear to my (trans-fat infested) heart – fast food corporate chains. They’re a blessing I’ve enjoyed from day one in my adventure to the Land of the Morning Calm.



Don’t get me wrong. Ilsan is by no means full of greasy burgers and fries. It has quite a diverse selection of amazing eateries. You can find (much like eyeglass stores, pharmacies, cafes, and “barber shops”) traditional Korean dishes galore down just about any street, as well as a wide selection of foreign restaurants – including Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and Indian as well as western sit-downs like Outback, Bennigan’s, and Pizza Hut. And even though my better half makes Gordon Ramsay look like (allow me to mix metaphors) a Sudden Attack n00b who just got pwnd via the headshot of a ramyun-eating twelve year-old girl when it comes to cooking (seriously, she’s good), there’s a special feeling I get from those golden arches, those 11 herbs and spices, and that flame broiled goodness at my local fast food joints. It’s probably the beginnings of heart failure, but to me… it feels like home.




Ilsan is the popular brother of the two districts in Goyang City leaving the lesser known Deogyang as the sort of Casey to Ben, Eli to Payton, or Luigi to Mario if you will. You can get there by transferring on the subway to the orange 3-line or by riding any of the red 1000 or 2000 busses. The district spans from subway stops Daehwa (310) to Jichuk (319) and is roughly a 45 minute subway ride outside of downtown Seoul. What really makes the area a treat to live in, is that it offers all the amenities of a metropolis like Seoul – food, shopping, nightlife, recreation, and a readily growing expat community – but with a fraction of the population. The reduced congestion & pollution in a relaxing environment are nice. Now for the sake of preserving my gluttonous reputation, allow me to offer a breakdown of a few more select spots that make Ilsan worth the ride to.



Juyeop (311): Zeppelin’s – Mr. Kim and his wife serve up an awesome selection of songs on vinyl (if they don’t have the song you’re looking for, they will the next time you come back!), foreign beers, cocktails, and yummy roasted nuts in this small (10 chairs or so, so get there early) LP bar. From exit 4: Walk straight, cross the major intersection, and it’s a short walk up in a side hall on the left. Look for the giant adjuma in the fur coat advertisement.



Grand Department Store – Exit 5: Groceries, McDonalds, upscale fashion, furniture, electronics, as well as a comfy movie theatre up top. It's a staple of my neighborhood, as well as the larger Ilsan area.




Miller Time – A hof that serves up delicious spicy short ribs, tater tots, fried chicken, as well as (you guessed it) Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Lite beers. Good eatin', son! This place gets crowded, so get there early. From exit 8: Hang a left at the first street, hang a right at the next street and it’s in the middle of the block on the left.



Jeongbalsan (312): Lotte Department Store – Right outside exit 2: Similar to Grand in Juyeop, but with a lot steeper prices if that’s possible. La Festa Shopping Mall – Exit 2: A huge outdoor / indoor shopping area. Cross the street towards Lotte, hang a left, walk down past the Burger King to the McDonalds and everything is to the right. Bar Boom and Frog and Toad are two excellent expat bars to check out on weekends. Heaven is another great LP bar located on the street corner in the middle of the mall, across from the Baskin Robbins and STCO. Andy owns it. Tell him Aaron from Chicago sent you! He’s awesome.




What's even better, you know, for consumerist whores like myself, is that when you're done making your way through the almost never-ending three-leveled labyrinth, head back past McDonalds, and just on the other side of Jeongbalsan Park pavilion area is Western Dom: another huge mall with equally impressive amounts of crap to buy – like nice smelly stuff at the Lush store, overpriced cameras and electronic stuff at PixDix, or Chicago style deep-dish pizza at Uno’s. Check out the Cubs baseball display that houses a White Sox jersey inside. Oh, Korea! You make me laugh.



Lake Park – Probably the biggest draw to Ilsan next to Kintex in Daehwa, it’s a huge man-made lake with tons of exercise and recreation areas for the family, as well as botanical gardens and a really cool musical fountain during the nicer months. Take exit 2, but don’t cross the street to Lotte. Just head left past La Festa, take the bridge over the major road and you’ll end up inside the park. It’s a big place to explore, but it makes for a great Sunday afternoon.



Baeseok (313): Cost Co –They have everything from AA batteries to “his” and “her” underwear. Seriously. You name it, and they pretty much have it. It’s quite nice having this store so close. We still head to Seoul for certain things, but Cost Co takes care of the majority of our needs. The little lady does a lot of our monthly grocery shopping there and it’s full of harder to find western items like cheese, tortillas, and good meat among others. Take exit 1, cross the first street, turn right at the second street and it’s a block down on the left. Grace Hospital – A friendly woman’s hospital two blocks straight from exit 4 on the left. Science forbid you actually have womanly part troubles here, ladies. But this place took good care of my Boo!




There’s really quite a lot more in Ilsan than the scope of this article can encompass, and in all honesty, the promise of delicious obesity is only a fraction of what can be found here. Everything from bowling alleys, health clubs, bookstores, and assorted street vendors to exhibition centers, art theaters, and various churches and temples can be found. There are mountains to climb and trails to hike. And if you’re a photographer, you have easy access to both urban and rural areas. Sweet! For me, living outside of Seoul and still finding fast food readily available made my move here an easy transition. And although it may not be so new anymore, nor have quite as much greenery as before, Ilsan does have everything a guy from Chicago needs in order to feel a little closer to home. Let me tell you, it’s really nice to know that in such a different land, you can still “have it your way."




Thanks for reading!
- ab