WILL AN expat-friendly neighbourhood in Seoul retain its charm amid a wave of gentrification? Some say Itaewon has lost its soul and is now just another hangout for young Koreans.

Others say the neighbourhood has become safer and trendier – suitable for a wider range of visitors. And, if you stand in the right place, you can still find the same expatriate-led culture thriving, they say.

Photo/The Korea Herald

Whoever’s right, the debate is typical of what happens when neighbourhoods become gentrified.

Outsiders discover a less-developed area with unique characteristics and a vibrant local community. Money flows in, and trendier, fancier places pop up. Rents rise and many of the original residents and their favourite haunts are priced out.

“Itaewon was a rather run-down area for many years,” says Lance Reegan-Diehl, a Canadian who worked and lived in the area for nearly two decades.

“There were lots of reasons for that – no one knows exactly why – but the ‘small-town feel’ of Itaewon is gone.”

He was among the expats feeling the loss of once-famed bars, restaurants and shops, many of which were also run by expats. Franchise coffee chains, beauty stores and big fashion-brand outlets have replaced them and the area seems to draw more young Korean customers.

Photo/The Korea Herald

Nestled in the shadow of the city’s central mountain Namsan, Itaewon had long enjoyed unparalleled status as the nexus of expatriate life in Seoul, with its close proximity to the US military base and a large number of foreign embassies.

In a socially conservative and racially homogenous country, the neighbourhood was unique in its striking cultural diversity and laissez-faire atmosphere, although some Koreans feared it to be infested with crime, says Moon Gwang-lip, a former journalist who’s written a book of essays on Itaewon and its foreign inhabitants.

“Itaewon was never sophisticated or high-brow, but it had raw elements of culture and community. The forces of gentrification appear to be eroding them,” he says.

What Itaewon is changing into is a tidier place with glossy shops that offer a not-so-different consumption experience for Koreans, he added.

The Korea Herald took a stroll down Itaewon’s main street last weekend from the landmark Hamilton Hotel through back alleys to the Seoul Central Mosque, up Antique Furniture Street and further north to nearby Gyeongnidan and Haebangchon.

The main street had steady but limited foot traffic from the direction of the Itaewon and Noksapyeong subway stations.

Quite a few retail spaces were vacant. Clothing shops specialising in large sizes, tailors and leather shops were nearly devoid of shoppers, but two Olive Young stores were bustling with mostly young Asian shoppers.

A casually dressed expatriate haggled with a street vendor over a fake Nike cap and then walked away.

“It’s difficult to make a living,” said the vendor, who declined to give her name. “Koreans don’t buy from my stall and not as many foreigners come here to shop anymore.”

Near the mosque, women in hijabs were grocery shopping at a halal supermarket while African expats casually chatted in front of a convenience store.

Intentional efforts are being taken by the Muslim community to preserve what has become known as “Islamic Street”, according to an official at the Yongsan-gu Office, who pointed out that an African community also makes its home in the area.

An Indian resident in Haebangchon said that, despite many changes, Itaewon still holds a unique charm for foreign residents and visitors.

“Of course it’s changed a lot, but Itaewon retains the same old charm that I fell in love with when I first came to Korea back in 2002.”

Yet Itaewon’s changes so far may look trivial once developers start tearing down old homes and rebuilding residential areas.

“Itaewon sits near those hot residential areas expected to get a major upscale makeover in the coming years. For better or worse, changes are inevitable,” said a local realtor.

A DETECTIVE. Ghoulish yokai. Gourmet dining.

What prefecture has these three disparate items in common?

Welcome to Tottori, the prefecture that produced Gosho Aoyama, 55, creator of the popular manga “Meitantei Conan” (“Detective Conan”); Shigeru Mizuki (1922-2015), of yokai manga “GeGeGe no Kitaro” fame; and Jiro Taniguchi (1947-2017), creator of “Kodoku no Gurume” (“The Lonely Gourmet”).

A fan strikes the same pose as Detective Conan while taking a photo with a statue of him in front of JR Yura Station in Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture.(Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun)

It’s no surprise that manga fans from across Japan and around the world flock to the prefecture commonly referred to as the “Manga Kingdom.”

JR Yura Station, an entry point for Aoyama’s birthplace of Hokuei town, has a sign declaring it “Conan Station”. In front of the sign, young and old alike stop by a statue of Conan Edogawa, the main character of “Detective Conan”.

Striking the same pose as the young detective – pointing with his right index finger – they utter his famous line, “There is always only one truth!” and gleefully take photos.

The 1.5-kilometre Conan Street connects the station with the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, a museum where original Conan cels and other memorabilia are displayed. There, another statue of Conan stands next to statues of characters including frequent antagonist Kaito Kid. Everywhere one looks, someone is taking a photo with their favorite character.

The Jiro Taniguchi section in the Minato Sakai Koryukan hall in Sakaiminato. (Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun)

“I’ve loved Conan since I was little, so I’ve always thought about coming here,” says Koharu Arie, 14, a second-year junior high schooler from Kama, Fukuoka Prefecture, who is visiting with her family. “I want to take loads of photos.”

The Detective Conan series made its debut in 1994 in the manga “Shukan Shonen Sunday”. High school-aged detective Shinichi Kudo is given a drug by a mysterious organisation, turning him into a child. In the persona of elementary school student Conan Edogawa, he sets about solving crimes in each mystery episode. In 1996, an animated cartoon was started and broadcast on the Nippon TV network.

The town, riding the character’s explosive popularity, started work on the commemorative street in 1999. The museum, which opened in 2007, has been thriving and drew about 127,500 visitors in 2017.

The manga is published in 25 countries and territories, with fans not only in Japan, but also in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and around the world. Every year, a Swiss family with a particular passion for manga visits the town for a weeklong stay, according to museum director Toshimitsu Ishida, 67.

“People come from around the world,” he says with a smile. “Conan is our town’s treasure.”

Nezumi-Otoko (Ratman) is one of the many characters sometimes seen on the Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture. (Photo/Mizuki Productions)

As you near the Mizuki Shigeru Museum in the city of Sakaiminato, you might hear the visitors before seeing them, as screams of “It’s scary” and “Gyaaa”, ring through the halls of the memorial to the GeGeGe no Kitaro creator.

In 1993, a kilometre-long stretch of road connecting JR Sakaiminato Station with a shopping arcade was dubbed “Mizuki Shigeru Road.” It was lined with statues of phantoms, ghosts and other yokai characters from his most famous works, notably “GeGeGe no Kitaro” and “Akumakun.” The museum opened in 2003.

Along the road are a yokai shrine and souvenir shops paying homage to characters such as Kitaro’s father, Medamaoyaji, or the half-human, half-yokai Nezumiotoko.

“It’s really something that there are so many yokai,” says Seiji Yamada, 52, an office worker from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, accompanied by his wife. “I am completely immersed in the world of yokai.”

Tottori native Taniguchi, of “The Lonely Gourmet” fame, is particularly popular in Europe, and was the recipient of France’s Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters and other awards. There are said to be many people who visit the Tottori Castle ruins, Kurayoshi city’s white-walled storehouses and other locations depicted in his classic works “A Distant Neighbourhood” and “Chichi no Koyomi” (My Father’s Journal).

To promote itself as the birthplace of popular manga artists, Tottori Prefecture declared itself the “Manga Kingdom” in 2012. The list of related activities is wide – providing subsidies to local governments and entities; holding events featuring anime voice actors; displaying related art objects in Tottori Airport, which was nicknamed “Tottori Sand Dunes Conan Airport;” and holding an exhibition at the Minato Sakai Koryukan hall in Sakaiminato to introduce Tottori native manga artists.

It was manga and anime that provided the spark for the prefecture to be ranked No 1 among the “top 10 tourist spots you need to visit in 2019” on an internet site aimed at foreign travellers.

“The thrill of two-dimensional objects such as manga and anime becoming three-dimensional is very attractive,” says Yoshiyuki Nomura, 44, director of the Manga Kingdom Secretariat of the Tottori Prefectural Government Tourism and Exchange Bureau.

From Conan-themed handkerchiefs and candy to Kitaro teacups, from yokan sweets in the shape of the Ittanmomen yokai to bags depicting the Nurikabe yokai … Before you know it, your suitcase for the trip home is packed with manga character goods.

It is intoxicating to wander in the “Manga Kingdom,” which surely leads to hefty spending. One easily falls under the spell.

IF YOU GO

Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory is a 20-minute walk from JR Yura Station

Mizuki Shigeru Museum is about 10 minutes on foot from JR Sakaiminato Station

From JR Osaka Station to Yura Station, it takes about three and a half hours by express and other trains. To Sakaiminato Station, it takes about four and a half hours.

Both museums are open every day.

WILL AN expat-friendly neighbourhood in Seoul retain its charm amid a wave of gentrification? Some say Itaewon has lost its soul and is now just another hangout for young Koreans.

Others say the neighbourhood has become safer and trendier – suitable for a wider range of visitors. And, if you stand in the right place, you can still find the same expatriate-led culture thriving, they say.

Photo/The Korea Herald

Whoever’s right, the debate is typical of what happens when neighbourhoods become gentrified.

Outsiders discover a less-developed area with unique characteristics and a vibrant local community. Money flows in, and trendier, fancier places pop up. Rents rise and many of the original residents and their favourite haunts are priced out.

“Itaewon was a rather run-down area for many years,” says Lance Reegan-Diehl, a Canadian who worked and lived in the area for nearly two decades.

“There were lots of reasons for that – no one knows exactly why – but the ‘small-town feel’ of Itaewon is gone.”

He was among the expats feeling the loss of once-famed bars, restaurants and shops, many of which were also run by expats. Franchise coffee chains, beauty stores and big fashion-brand outlets have replaced them and the area seems to draw more young Korean customers.

Photo/The Korea Herald

Nestled in the shadow of the city’s central mountain Namsan, Itaewon had long enjoyed unparalleled status as the nexus of expatriate life in Seoul, with its close proximity to the US military base and a large number of foreign embassies.

In a socially conservative and racially homogenous country, the neighbourhood was unique in its striking cultural diversity and laissez-faire atmosphere, although some Koreans feared it to be infested with crime, says Moon Gwang-lip, a former journalist who’s written a book of essays on Itaewon and its foreign inhabitants.

“Itaewon was never sophisticated or high-brow, but it had raw elements of culture and community. The forces of gentrification appear to be eroding them,” he says.

What Itaewon is changing into is a tidier place with glossy shops that offer a not-so-different consumption experience for Koreans, he added.

The Korea Herald took a stroll down Itaewon’s main street last weekend from the landmark Hamilton Hotel through back alleys to the Seoul Central Mosque, up Antique Furniture Street and further north to nearby Gyeongnidan and Haebangchon.

The main street had steady but limited foot traffic from the direction of the Itaewon and Noksapyeong subway stations.

Quite a few retail spaces were vacant. Clothing shops specialising in large sizes, tailors and leather shops were nearly devoid of shoppers, but two Olive Young stores were bustling with mostly young Asian shoppers.

A casually dressed expatriate haggled with a street vendor over a fake Nike cap and then walked away.

“It’s difficult to make a living,” said the vendor, who declined to give her name. “Koreans don’t buy from my stall and not as many foreigners come here to shop anymore.”

Near the mosque, women in hijabs were grocery shopping at a halal supermarket while African expats casually chatted in front of a convenience store.

Intentional efforts are being taken by the Muslim community to preserve what has become known as “Islamic Street”, according to an official at the Yongsan-gu Office, who pointed out that an African community also makes its home in the area.

An Indian resident in Haebangchon said that, despite many changes, Itaewon still holds a unique charm for foreign residents and visitors.

“Of course it’s changed a lot, but Itaewon retains the same old charm that I fell in love with when I first came to Korea back in 2002.”

Yet Itaewon’s changes so far may look trivial once developers start tearing down old homes and rebuilding residential areas.

“Itaewon sits near those hot residential areas expected to get a major upscale makeover in the coming years. For better or worse, changes are inevitable,” said a local realtor.

IN HAVANA there’s a shop selling a camera for more than US$25,000 (Bt790,000) – roughly 850 times the average monthly wage in Cuba.

The eye-popping sum earned predictable scorn on social media, but it begins to make sense when seen through the lens of the island’s fledgling bid to tap into the luxury tourism market.

The exclusive camera store and other boutiques featuring A-list brands like Versace and Armani are located in a shopping gallery on the ground floor of the swanky Gran Hotel Manzana.

The mere existence of the shops certainly seems incongruous in a country that has been governed as a one-party communist state since 1959, and where the average wage is $30 (Bt950) a month.

The swimming pool on the rooftop of the Gran Manzana Hotel in Havana is a tourist magnet. 

But the hotel isn’t exactly looking for locals to buy in – it attracts “a clientele of private planes, princes and celebrities”, according to general manager Xavier Destribats.

The Gran Hotel Manzana, the first ever five-star establishment in Havana, opened in 2017 in a sumptuous historic building that was, at the beginning of the 20th century, the island’s first shopping mall.

The property run by Swiss group Kempinski is “the first genuine luxury hotel in Havana”, said Destribats.

“It’s the first hotel with a 1,000-square-metre spa,” he said. All the rooms are at least 40sqm, with prices ranging from $370 for a basic room in low season to $5,000 for the presidential suite.

“There was a certain type of clientele that didn’t travel to Havana, or Cuba, because there wasn’t the standard of luxury five-star hotel like in cities such as Paris or London,” Destribats explained.

The hotel terrace offers stunning views over Havana’s colourful historic neighbourhood where many Cubans live in dilapidated buildings that have fallen into disrepair or have vegetation sprouting from them.

“It really doesn’t feel like Cuba, clearly not – it feels like being in the United States, Miami or Puerto Rico,” said Celia Liegeois, a 26-year-old from Paris.

Having travelled around the island nation for three weeks, she and a friend had decided to spend their last few days relaxing by the hotel’s rooftop pool.

Nearby, Suki Lu, a recently arrived 28-year-old Chinese television presenter, was impressed at what she saw. “It’s beautiful. Look at the sunset! It’s truly addictive,” she said.

“I live in Dubai, so when you talk about luxury hotels, the level there is really high, but I think I’ll like this hotel,” she said, while her friend used a camera drone to get an aerial view of the building.

The largest single group of visitors to the Gran Hotel Manzana – one-fifth of the total – is comprised of tourists from the US, although there are plenty of visitors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The Kempinski group, which hopes to open two or three more hotels in Cuba, is of course not the only chain to show an interest in the ultra-luxury market.

In September, Spain’s Iberostar opened its second five-star hotel, the Grand Packard.

French hotel giant Accor is planning on opening its own luxury establishment on the Malecon, Havana’s famous seaside boulevard, next September.

Ancient American cars are still a common sight in Havana, like this one out front of the Gran Manzana.

It will include a chocolate shop on its ground floor and a restaurant and concert space on its roof.

The employees’ outfits will be designed by Spanish fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.

However, there is a slight catch – in every case, the hotels are owned by Gaviota, the Cuban army’s branch dedicated to tourism.

The foreign hotel groups are only allowed to run the establishments, all built by French group Bouygues, which has a long-standing local presence.

Authorities don’t publish the army’s revenues, but this alliance between hoteliers and the military landed the luxury hotels on Washington’s blacklist.

US tourists are technically banned from staying in the hotels – but they can easily circumvent restriction by either paying in cash or booking through travel agents.

Beyond hotels, developers have more ideas to entice those with deep pockets.

“There’s a plan to build golf courses in partnership with real estate groups,” said industry expert Jose Luis Perello.

The opening of a luxury hotel means Cuba has turned a corner, he said.

“Since it opened up to international tourism more than 20 years ago, Cuba has focused all its plans and strategies on sun and beach tourism” for the masses, Perello said.

That category currently accounts for 73 per cent of the 70,000 hotel rooms on offer in Cuba. And those who rent them usually don’t spend much money.

The same goes for cruise ship tourists – while the number of cruises docking in Cuba has exploded, passengers only spend an average of $15 a day on land.

That isn’t great news for Cuba, which welcomed 4.7 million tourists in 2018 – it needs the cash.

The government, which has been subjected to US sanctions since 1962, used to depend on aid from Venezuela, its oil-rich ally. But with Venezuela in turmoil, Cuba is scrambling for other sources of hard currency and its economic growth has stagnated at around one per cent – not enough to cover the population’s basic needs.

Opening luxury hotels is “a new stage” but also “a necessity”, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz has said.

ICELAND HAS blocked the millions of tourists who descend upon the volcanic island each year from visiting a canyon that has been overrun since it was featured in a Justin Bieber music video.

An influx of tourists and a humid winter have disrupted the Fjadrargljufur Canyon’s fragile ecosystem, so the Environment Agency of Iceland has closed the site to the public until June 1.

“During periods of thaw the path is completely muddy and is practically unusable for hikers,” agency adviser Daniel Freyr Jonsson said.

“Because the mud is so thick, visitors step over the fences and walk parallel to the path, which rapidly damages the plant life.”

Fjadrargljufur Canyon, a popular tourist attraction in Iceland’s southeast, has been temporarily closed because a spike in foreign visitors was ruining the vegetation. 

Fjadrargljufur is a gorge about 100 metres deep and two kilometres long, with steep green walls and a winding riverbed. The canyon was created by progressive erosion from water melting from glaciers 9,000 years ago.

The canyon was little known to foreigners until late 2015, when Canadian singer Justin Bieber featured the site in the video for his song “I’ll Show You”.

“Visits to the site have risen by 50 to 80 per cent per year since 2016,” said Daniel Freyr Jonsson, estimating that around 300,000 people visited the canyon last year.

A growing number of tourist sites in Iceland have been closed in a bid to preserve them.

The popular Reykjadalur Valley and its hot springs were temporarily closed in April last year and a hiking trail overlooking the Skogafoss waterfall is currently shut.

“The infrastructure is not set up to accommodate so many visitors,” said Daniel Freyr Jonsson. “Tourism in winter and spring, the most sensitive periods for wildlife in Iceland, was previously almost unheard of in Iceland.”

Since 2010 and the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajokull – which generated a lot of publicity for the island – the number of visitors has grown by 25 per cent per year on average.

Last year, a record 2.3 million people visited Iceland.

 Now in its second year, the awards recognise women across the global technology scene who are trailblazing new paths, creating innovative products and experiences, positively impacting communities and inspiring future generations. At a gala ceremony held in London, UK recently, eight prizes were given out including seven individual category awards, one employer award, and the overall 2019 Technology Playmaker of the Year award.

The winners include a Mexican entrepreneur who has created a detection system to locate survivors following an earthquake; the founder of an NGO aiming to lift Nigerian girls and women out of poverty through technology education and empowering teachers as change agents; the creator of a device that allows women to test for cervical cancer at home; and the leader of a global movement to teach girls coding, AI and robotics. Each category winner received a 5,000-euro (Bt180,000) prize, and the Technology Playmaker of the Year, who was selected from among the individual winners, received an additional 10,000 euro. The seven categories recognised the tech contributions of women in areas ranging from positive business impact, innovative use of digital tools and emerging technologies, community impact and sustainable practices, rising tech talent, and an organisation that is demonstrating a commitment to achieving gender diversity in IT and technology.

Linda Liukas, Finland-based founder of Rails Girls, was named the 2019 Booking.com Technology Playmaker of the Year. This award is given to the individual category winner who judges felt has made the most impactful contribution to innovation in technology and driven social change at a global level. In addition to founding Rails Girls, a global movement that is teaching young women to program in over more than 300 cities worldwide, Liukas is the author and illustrator of “Hello Ruby”, a children’s picture book series translated into 25 languages about the world of computer science.

The 2019 Booking.com Technology Playmaker Award winners include Community Impact award for Martha Omoekpen Alade (Nigeria), founder of Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), an NGO using technology to drive socio-economic empowerment in Nigeria in order to help 20,000 women and girls out of poverty by 2022.

The Business Leader award goes to Beena Ammanath (US), Global VP of AI, Data & Innovation at HPE and Founder and CEO of Humans for AI, a non-profit focused on increasing diversity in tech through the use of artificial intelligence.

The Young Technologist award goes to Betelhem Dessie (Ethiopia), founder and CEO of Anyone Can Code (ACC) in collaboration with iCog Labs, empowering children and young adults to innovate via coding, AI and robotics with the aim to solve society’s problems through technology

The Tech Innovator award goes to Sophie Hombert (France), founder of Aglae, the first luminescent plant company of its kind, developing a biodegradable nutritive serum that gives plants a luminescent effect

The Digital Leader award winner is Jill Zeret Jimenez Rodriguez (Mexico), founder of Zytreon Tecnologia Infinita, a technology firm that launched a detection system to locate survivors following an earthquake. The Employer Award is given to 1 Million Women to Tech (US), a global online technology education program dedicated to reaching one million women with free coding education by January 2020.

“We received an exceptionally high calibre of nominations from every corner of the world, and it is my pleasure to congratulate all of our inspiring finalists and winners. Their stories highlight the breadth and scale of achievements that women at all stages of their tech careers are making every day,” said Gillian Tans, chief executive of Booking.com. “We recognise the need to shine a light on role models in the tech industry, and set out to create a forum that brings together leading female technologists from different backgrounds to exchange ideas and perspectives and build connections with the aim to inspire future generations and achieve equal gender representation for women in tech.”

“I’m completely blown away to receive both the Role Model and overall Technology Playmaker of the Year 2019 Award. Initiatives like this help women feel seen and more widely recognised in general, as well as help to forge important and lasting relationships among like-minded, brilliant, world-changing women who work in the tech industry,” said Linda Liukas, winner of the 2019 Booking.com Technology Playmaker of the Year award. “Technology for me is about self-expression, creativity and joy. Women have so much to offer to the tech world and often make the mistake of trying to fit in too much. The moment I decided to step into my own possibility and curiosity, I started to build a career that looks like me.”

This year, the awards were open to global nominations, building on a European focus last year, and drew hundreds of entries from over 60 countries.

The judging panel was chaired by Tans and included leaders from global tech companies, academia and start-ups including Skyscanner, WeTransfer, Amazon Web Services, Spelman College, Delft University of Technology, NeuralBay, Wormhole and All Turtles, as well as representatives from the European Parliament and the Financial Times.

For more information about the winners, go to http://techplaymakerawards.com/this-years-winners.