Texas Street

Go with the Flow

Some people have told me that I “go with the flow.” Being a laid back person is sometimes very necessary in a foreign country like Korea.

A Korean lady just rang my doorbell. She was wearing rubber gloves and an apron. She was about 5 foot nothing. She was talking away about something. No clue what about. She was looking at the inside of my apartment. I let her in just to see what the hell she was talking about. She continued talking away while she went and opened all my windows and turned on my two faucets. She then proceeded out the door and left. No clue what that was about. About 15 minutes later she came back and turned the water off. Whatever. Some people would freak out about a lady coming into their house. I’d rather see what the hell she wanted. Maybe she drained some poison out of the lines. Who knows.

Texas Street

Korea is known to be a very safe place. Well, South Korea at least. In Busan there is only one place that foreigners are warned about, Texas Street. I guess you could say it’s like the Wild West there.

It’s known for the amount of Chinese and Russians that live in the area. Cameron and I went in search of a good Chinese restaurant. We entered a run down Chinese restaurant. They gave us tea and appetizers before we even saw the menu. We were given the foreigner’s menu in English and we realized we were getting ripped off. They wanted to charge $50 for the two of us to eat crappy Chinese food. We decided to split a meal instead. They still were trying to charge us $50. The meal was actually worth about $12 at the most, we paid $25. It pissed us off, but we knew better than to make a scene in this neighborhood. At least they didn’t get away with $50!

We walked up and down the streets after dinner to get a feel for this mysterious area. The Koreans told us not to be there after 9:00. It was 9:30 by then, and the only people left on the streets were Russian hookers and their pimps. All the shops were quickly closing their doors, and the only thing left were the brothels and bars.

Cameron and I noticed two big Russian guys that walked up and down the main strip, keeping an eye on us and everyone else. I don’t think they were there to protect us.

I convinced Cameron to let me buy us a shot of Russian vodka at one of the bars. Two Filipino girls welcomed us at the door. They were extremely beautiful, and they obviously worked for the Russians.

We sat and drank our beers while they talked to us. They asked us to buy them a shot. This is customary for this type of bar. The girls are there to get you to spend money on alcohol.

We definitely got a wake up call that night. I complimented one of the girls on her ability to sing. She told me that she was sent to Korea on the promise that they would help her singing career. I quickly understood that I was talking to a sex slave.

She was not afraid to tell her story. There are 10 girls that live above the club, mostly from the Philippines. Some of the girls have lived in other places like Japan. She has lived in Pusan for 6 months. She didn’t know anything about the city. This is because she hasn’t been off of Texas Street since she has arrived. She hasn’t left the building.

A Russian lady watched us from across the room while we talked to the girls. This lady controlled them. She could not hear what we were talking about. The two girls asked us to get them out of there and back to the Philippines. What do you say to that?

My girl told me that they promised to let her return home in 9 more months. This is an empty promise that has been given to indentured servants throughout the ages. She told me how much she misses home, and how much she hates it at the club. It’s not something she would ever choose to do, and she feels there is nothing she can do.

We said our good byes, finished our beers, paid our bill, and walked up the stairs and out the door. We walked to the subway and sat in our seats. What would those girls give to be in our shoes, to be able to escape so easily from their hell on Earth.

All petty issues that I may have don’t seem of any importance now. Everyone complains about their annoyances in life, not realizing what someone would give to be in their position.

I feel angry. How can this be allowed to go on? Why?

It’s not always fun and games when you travel. I am glad I took the time to see the other side though.

Halloween: The first Halloween ever for the Germans. I was an Ajooma! (An old married Korean lady)