If you don’t read Korean you’ll be surprised that the above photo is advertising a bar called “Hitler,” or “Hitler House,” as in the photo below. Hitler bars are growing rare in Korea, but they still exist. I spotted this one in my new neighborhood in Ulsan last night.
These places aren’t necessarily pro-Hitler or pro-Nazi. Rather, it’s an insensitive attempt at creating an image that is slightly shocking or energetic.
Some people might remember last year when a new restaurant in India called Hitler’s Cross made the news. The owner’s defense, as quoted in an article from USA Today was:
The owner of the just-opened Hitler’s Cross restaurant in Mumbai claims he’s not “trying to promote Hitler here.” Instead, Punit Sabhlok tells the Mumbai Mirror, the Nazi dictator “wanted to conquor the world by using force and I would like to do that by the food and service I provide.”
He eventually changed the name.
I’m sure the person who owns this bar would say something similar. And, likewise I’m sure they’d be rightly pissed if someone opened a bar called Hirohito House.
Just a couple months ago this topic was in the news again, though barely as Israel’s envoy to South Korea sounded off about a Nazi-themed bar in suburban Seoul, calling it “revolting.”
No that wouldn’t be Hitler on this advertisement outside the bar. But he does have a slightly Germanic look to him, doesn’t he?
This inside of this place is just your every day Korean “hof.” (Koreans use the word “hof” as a German loanword.) You can buy beer and food. Although, I must say, in the few times I’ve walked by there’s nary a soul inside.
Here’s an actual interview with a Korean Hitler bar owner, as published on Pusanweb a few years ago.
I’m going to post another one of these later in the week.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Gus Lonzo // Dec 17, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Indeed, as the poster said, the only way to get Koreans who don’t see anything wrong with this bit of uncultured, insensitive vileness would be to open a Hirohito House in the heart of Seoul. Yes, a fine drinking establishment fronted with a nice, big picture of the divine Emperor himself, dressed in full battle array, with all of his lovely war medals dangling off of his godly frame, or better yet, perhaps a picture of Hirothito sitting atop his cherished Imperial Stallion, Shirayuki. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I’m sure it’d go over quite well with the locals. After all, it’s only business. A flattering picture of the demi-god who inspired millions of Japanese soldiers to regard millions of Chinese citizens as subhuman pigs, which in turn allowed for the decimation of Nanking to occur, well, what would be wrong with that? Such an establishment would only be trying to attract customers, you understand. It’s not like such a place would be supporting some of the beliefs of Hirohito. For instance, such a place could still be able sell beer to its plebeian patrons, and yet not espouse the idea that Emperor Hirohito was actually a living God. Because again, it’s only business, right?
2 A.S. // Dec 18, 2007 at 8:30 am
For the record I didn’t call it “uncultured, insensitive vileness.” And I don’t think the correct retribution would be to open a Hirohito House in the middle of Seoul. There’s already a Hooters anyway and any proper Hirohito House would be similarly themed. But I do think that Hirohito House in, say, Spain would get Koreans riled up.
I’ve thought about this a lot, because I’ve had another Hitler bar in my life for a while. I think first and formost it’s insensitive. I read another blog post, which I chose not to link to, because he was throwing this into a discussion of minjok (a racial purity) and going as far to draw comparisons between the Korean national anthem and the German version. While I believe these ideas exist to some degree in Korea, I don’t think Hitler Bars are a product of it. I think it’s dumb. Backwoods, just like the bars called Africa that show a wild native dancing and holding a spear over his head. Koreans ought to be ashamed and some definately are. But, this is Korea, and you never are going to forget you are in their country. It’s up to them, not you, and they take a lot of pride in that.
3 Hmmm // Dec 18, 2007 at 9:40 am
Now anyone who suggests putting a Hirohito bar anywhere is guilty of the same insensitiveness as a person who puts a Hitler bar anywhere. Just because one individual has exerted right to free expression (distasteful as it might be) doesn’t mean the concept should be proliferated. If we extend this logic, then we should be placing Ku Klux Klan bars all over the US, to show Americans the Klan is a distasteful part of US history. This sort of logic can be extended to everything that concerns public display of what most democracies hold sacred to be the right to free expression. In this case, you take the bad with the good. The generalization of one business owner’s mishappen idea to a society, culture, or even to a subsegment of that society is frankly a very subtle form of cultural racism.
4 Yonkeer // Dec 18, 2007 at 10:50 am
I don’t know if anyone is really suggesting opening a Hirohito bar, but the point is well taken. (The KKK idea is not. It’s not comparable because we’re talking about Hitler bars in Korea, not Germany)
And…to not lose sight of things…the issue here is Hitler bars in Korea. I have to say, as a Canadian, I’m offended. I know Korea belongs to Koreans as one of the other comments states, but we’re all part of the world community here and there are too many people out there hurt by this sort of “celebration” of a mass-murderer. Yes, “celebration” is a strong word, but in using the Hitler name in an attempt to make a profit is celebratory. It trivializes what Hitler was and what he did. Taking “the bad with the good” has nothing to do with it. It’s offensive. It ought not to be censored, but the owner should have the decency to change the name. The onus is not on society, the onus is on the owner.
5 jackson // Dec 18, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I’ve encountered quite a bit of “Hitlerian” stuff out here in Asia, and its almost always out of context and seen as sort of an icon without reference. A student of mine who I’m good friends with had a swastika sticker on his scooter the other day. I noticed it when we went out. I didn’t tell him I thought he was bad or something like this, I just insisted that if he kept that sticker on his scooter I wouldn’t eat dinner with him. He took the sticker off. Is that cultural imperalism? I don’t really think so.
Another situation I was in, I was in a dept. store in Tokyo, there was an entire fashion line that had a hitler theme. I told the store clerk I found it offensive, but I’m sure you have an idea of how far that got me. Would I have been out of line to make a fuss about it? (By the way, I’m Jewish if that makes a difference).
The point being that Aaron isn’t just extrapolating a single event into a label of the culture as one poster suggested. There’s a lot of ww ii hitler type iconnery out here in Asia. The issue is that most people don’t understand what it really implies and its just more of a symbol, kind of like we might have Mao t-shirts here but not really realize the meaning.
6 Agagooga // Sep 5, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Well, some would consider Che Guevara T-shirts to be offensive too.
7 simon // Sep 6, 2008 at 1:43 am
Regarding the swastika, Hitler reversed the Asian swastika (which is religious and has nothing to do with racism) and made it a Nazi symbol. The Nazi reverse-swastika is more prominent in the Western consciousness, while the true swastika is just a religious symbol in Asia. Kinda got off track from Hitler bars though.
8 Shinsano // Sep 6, 2008 at 8:42 am
When I first came to Korea it took me a while to get used to seeing that on temples and around people’s necks. Of course, a number of Koreans are careless with the Nazi swastika anyway. As the bar example shows.
And for the record, Che Guevara and Hitler are not of the same ilk.
9 Agagooga // Sep 6, 2008 at 3:31 pm
No they’re not, but Che Guevara supported tyranny and dictatorship and had many ruthless moments; not for nothing is he known as “the butcher of La Cabaña”.
I’m just raising the point that these things are more problematic than they seem.
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