I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!

DH and I were stationed (accompanied tour) at Yongson base in Seoul, Korea and lived in one of the satellite base-housing communities. We had gone out for dinner that night. When we came back, we found ourselves in a huge, achingly slow line getting through the checkpoint to get back home. They were examining every car - flashlights beaming into the back seats, mirrors to check the undercarriage. Once we finally got through and back to our apartment, we turned on the news. They were showing live footage of the wreckage from the first tower. While we were watching, the second plane hit. Suddenly all the new security measures made sense.

Interestingly, we got to witness an amazing silver lining from that tragedy. Itaewon was the neighborhood just outside of the base where young, dumb soldiers would go to get drunk and laid. It was filled with sleazy bars and trafficked ladies. After the attack, we were under a mandatory 9:00 curfew for all soldiers for almost a year. With no money feeding them anymore, all the bars and brothels dried up and left. In their place sprang up coffee shops, tea houses, boutiques, and specialty shops. Since the property value was so low, rent was more accessible to immigrants who opened restaurants of all types of cuisines. By the time the curfew eased to 11:00, then lifted entirely, Itaewon had bloomed into an international district, popular with younger Koreans. They even started an annual international food festival that showcased street food from all over. It was a real success story for Seoul on the global lens.