Cleverly Disguised

Early Saturday morning I hefted my pack and strolled to the front gate of the base. 4 hours, a cab ride, a train trip, and several subway rides later, I emerged from the Seoul’s underground world into the bright sunlit crowds of Itaewon. Just off the US Army base Yongsan, Itaewon is the foreigners’ shopping district, lined with shops selling luggage, lingerie, suits, jewelry, junk, and anything else you could imagine – except climbing gear. A Korean friend led us through more of the maze of subways, then up into Dongdaemun shopping district. Unlike the America-crowded Itaewon area, Dongdaemun was Asia-crowded – as in wall-to-wall bodies…