"The Beverly Hills of Korea"

Last year, before going to see Amber and Kate's Daechi area apartment for the first time, they explained that their adult students had told them Daechi was "the Beverly Hills of Korea."
Amber and Kate smiled and explained it was a bit of an exaggeration. The sewage smell in the air aided their explanation, as did the presence of many apartment buildings in place of large houses and mansions, as did the concrete covering 100% of the non-existance of hills.

Ilsan, South Korea, where I arrived on Wednesday, actually is probably more befitting of that nickname; yes, I did read it described with those same "the Beverly Hills of Korea" words in an article. It's easy to conclude that this is a cliche expression used by Koreans to describe an affluent area in Korea in this way. But Ilsan is similar to Beverly Hills, in that the city government works to keep it separate from Seoul. It is also one of the most affluent areas in the country, with several parks and upscale shopping centers. It's grown much in the past 10 years.

Newsweek magazine, in fact, listed Ilsan, South Korea, as one of the world's 10 most dynamic cities.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13528949/site/newsweek/page/9/

After a year of living in and travelling to places in Korea, I felt skeptical about the inclusion of a Korean city on a "most dynamic" list. Koreans seem traditionally rigid and conservative, holding on to confucianism, some say moreso than even do the Chinese. Judy, a Korean co-teacher last year, told me "Korean men want to be tough guys, always holding their pride close and arguing, exercising any 'superior' power over 'inferiors' simply because they are in a position to do so." The men want to "be tough," and the women want to "look pretty." Friend Seon clarified one of my wonders: "Korean women wear short skirts in the cold winter because they are very fashionable." Upon observing these cultural trends, "dynamic" never came to mind.

Ilsan doesn't feel like real Korea, but after a year of living in Bongcheon, I'm not too disappointed about living in a less-traditional culture; where the ground and air are clean, the people don't spit all over the sidewalks, the hotels aren't the "heart-shaped bed" variety, and where most of the pizza-delivery drivers realize that driving on the sidewalk is stupid. In my opinion, if traditions are preventing a society from progressing in important areas (i.e. average citizen physical and mental health) then people in the society should question the traditions'
importance. The organizers of Ilsan are doing something different, and it landed the city in a popular worldwide magazine's top-10 list.

I don't agree that all rich people should start up their own communes and keep all the poor people out, and I don't know if that is the major motivation behind Ilsan's fight to keep its population down. Perhaps more Seoullites will begin to move to smaller towns and expand their economies, creating new jobs, as they might realize that everyone cramming into the big city isn't for the best. But what do I know about sociology and economics and foreign cultures? Not enough, but maybe if I'm interested and thinking, I could learn a thing or two.