My last post left off with me and my co-worker, British Robert, somewhere between drunk and gone, in a dirty bar, with a sign that gave the prices of the women, while I watched some hammered Korean man dancing insanely alone on the dance floor and listening to Robert talk about Anglophiles or Prince Harry.  And when I say this drunk Korean man was dancing alone, I don’t mean he was one of many out there, no hewas  the only one dancing in the whole place.  Ohhh yeahhh.

Well, after one beer, the place began to bore Robert and myself.  Robert is quite keen to these things and asked if I wanted to move on.  I said sure.  We exited, walking past winking working girls longing for a buck.  No thanks.

He showed me an infamous hooker street.  You walked and walked and it was brothel after brothel.  Women in skimpy clothes if they were wearing anything at all, beckoning you to enter, you know “just for a drink”.  All types of shady characters sauntering by, waiting for a certain call to strike just the right chord.  Very interesting.  I am not ancient, but I’ve been on this Earth for some time and I have never quite seen anything like this.  Call me sheltered.  Very interesting indeed.

Robert wanted to take me to a bar at the end of this street where people like to buy and chat up women.  This perked my interest.  I am an observer, not a judge. These things really tickle my fancy.  Anything with humans being humans in odd manners, is always interesting.

Robert’s place wasn’t open.  It was late, I guess too late.  No worries though for Robert knew another spot on the same street.  We walked passed the same prospective night-walkers, soliciting us again and again to no avail.  The bar was nestled between some whore houses, excellent.  There was a a guard at the door.  He was one mean looking Korean man.  Dressed in a perfect riot gear-esq. outfit.  Robert told me to wait outside as he checked the place out.  Whatever.  It was a good time to have a cigarette.  So good.  I waited, trying to take it all in when a strong hand grasped my shoulder.

It was a tall, slender dark-skinned man.  He was dressed pretty well and had a boisterous voice.  We got to talking, his hand still on my shoulder, gripping harder.  He was from Kenya.  He wanted something.  I am not big or small and I don’t particularly think I would be a good fighter.  I haven’t been in one since the early school days.  Plus this man was a behemoth.  My senses were heightened.  Robert is smaller than myself and looks even more out of shape.  The Kenyan didn’t so much ask me as tell me the two of us were going to go out together and hit some of these brothels.  I respectfully declined.  He wouldn’t take no for answer and his grip tightened.

Robert returned from his inspection and noticed the tension in the air between the Kenyan and I.  Robert got all fired up and put his finger in the large man’s face barking to leave me alone.  What a good friend, I guess.  Both of their eyes were opened wide.  The guard was extending his riot stick.  He had seen this before.  So did I and I didn’t feel like getting my head bashed in.  I pushed Robert’s finger down and forced us to enter this place.  The Kenyan disappeared for now.

The establishment was dimly lit and there was a dance floor, some pool tables, booths, tables and a bar.  We sat up the bar. I tried to get Robert to calm down a little so I ordered two beers and two whiskeys.  He seemed to cool down and ranted for a good twenty minutes on “the nerve of that bloke”.  It was entertaining.  He finally seemed fully relaxed after a few more beers and got up to use the restroom.  All was well.  Nope.  When he got up, he bent over to my ear and said, “I don’t know why but I really want to punch that guy sitting next to you in the face.”  Then he went to the bathroom.  I sat there for a second and gave a passing glance to the man sitting next to me.  He was a young looking Korean man with his friend.  Looked harmless.

Everything weird happened that night when Robert was absent.  It was on cue:  Robert, exit stage left.  Shit happens. Not once during my stay in Korea have I ever felt insulted.  Well,  this young Korean man sitting next to me would change all that.  He leaned over as I was sipping a beer and taking a drag of my cigarette and says, no joke, “America is run by Jew” in a very heavy Korean accent.  I didn’t know if I should laugh or putty on my Capt. America pants and recite the Bill of Rights.  Luckily for this guy I didn’t bring my Capt. America pants.  I laughed.  But he didn’t stop.

He mumbled some more about how we are owned by Israel, Obama is a Jew lover, all this stuff in a terrible Korean accent.  At this point it was just annoying. I told him to fuck off, but he started to get more intense about it.  Right when I was telling him to go fuck himself, Robert entered.  Scene 2.  They get in a terrible shouting match.  The Korean man pushes Robert and before I could intervene he was dropped by one fell swoop of Robert’s unbelievably quick left.  My jaw dropped.  The Korean crumbled.  I immediately headed for the door.  No one really knew what happened.  There were a lot of foreigners in the bar, including some of the workers.  The Korean bouncer entered as I was leaving.  I’m too old for this shit.

I start walking a little down the street and turn back to see if Robert is going to make it out alive.  Instinct took over and I was looking out for number one.  I like Robert though, and thought I should go back for him.  As I do Robert turns onto the street and is walking nonchalantly towards me with with a cigarette dangling from one of the biggest grins I have ever seen plastered on another human’s face.  I could have died.  The old bastard.  He said the bar-keep was a foreigner and basically that Korean guy had been saying weird shit all night.  No harm no foul, well to us.

Robert would tell me at our next destination that he used to box.  Lucky me.  Unlucky drunk Korean anti-Semite.  Unfortunately for Robert and for me our night wouldn’t end on a high note.  Actually a quite low one indeed.  There was still three more hours to go…