SEOUL — A top 8th Army official is considering putting the string of bars and clubs in Itaewon known collectively as “Hooker Hill” off-limits to all U.S. servicemembers, workers and contractors.

Col. Timothy McNulty, the Area II commander who ultimately decides which businesses and areas in Seoul are off-limits to American personnel, said he has been working with Itaewon businesses and police officials for 90 days to encourage them to limit the prostitution and propositioning common on the hill.

The results have been slow, he said during a recent interview.

“If we can’t get this under control, one of my options would be to put the whole area off-limits,” McNulty said Wednesday. “There’s nothing set in stone. It’s something I reserve the right to do.”

The policy change under consideration is part of U.S. Forces Korea’s efforts to keep servicemembers from hiring prostitutes, a practice USFK and others believe supports human trafficking on the peninsula, the commander said. Many bars and businesses on the hill — which is one block south of the main drag in Itaewon — support the effort, he said.

A meeting last week between McNulty and more than a dozen bar owners reflected some of that support, but also aired some grievances.

Some of the bar owners present were wary of other American policies, a point they made clear to McNulty during a meeting Thursday afternoon at the King Club.

They say business has dropped after USFK imposed a new drinking age and stricter curfew requirements late last year. The changes are driving servicemembers either to clear out a few minutes before midnight to meet the curfew, or to spend their money in other parts of Seoul where U.S. military police don’t have permission to patrol, they told McNulty.

It’s a frustrating position, both sides acknowledged, especially for bar owners who have been following requests by U.S. officials to help ensure a safer social environment. And that frustration is part of an ongoing dialogue between McNulty and the bar owners to air concerns and offer suggestions about improving the business and nightlife in Itaewon.

At last week’s meeting, McNulty handed out 23 certificates of appreciation to the bar owners for cooperating with USFK and making some changes in the last few months.

For example, USFK has asked the bars to hire bouncers, to discourage parking near the front doors, to refuse to serve alcohol to high-school students and to stop serving people — especially servicemembers — who already have had too much to drink. Many bars have complied.

The owners, in turn, graciously accepted the recognition and read a letter of thanks.

Then they got down to business.

Once again they asked McNulty to consider changing the curfew policy, which directs all U.S. personnel associated with USFK, including private contractors, to be home by midnight. They again objected to last fall’s change in the drinking age, which made it against military policy for servicemembers under 21 to drink, even off-base. The South Korean drinking age is 20.

McNulty said he would pass both requests along, but offered little hope that the policies would change. The drinking age was changed to bring it in line with U.S. laws, he said, and the curfew aids USFK’s protection of its personnel from terrorists and other threats, he said.

Another objection involves the “courtesy patrols,” where U.S. military police and South Korean police tour Itaewon to look for curfew violators or people who might be in off-limits bars. Those patrols are distinct to Itaewon, and the servicemembers know it, the bar owners said Thursday. More and more American customers are going to the Hong-ik University area in Seoul, where USFK has no agreement with local police.

McNulty acknowledged the concerns, and said he’s working to get patrols added to Hong-ik and other areas in Seoul. In the last couple of weeks, there were two fights among servicemembers in areas of Seoul outside of Itaewon, he said, adding that one victim still was recovering in the hospital.

“We’ve been putting on the full-court press,” he told the group. “I understand. And I do voice your concerns.”

Still, all this has hurt business, said Kim Sam Sook, who owns the Grand Ole Opry and East N West on the hill. She favors cleaning up the hill. If it’s put off-limits, however, that means no U.S. servicemember, worker or contractor could even walk by her bars.

“Itaewon is my life. I don’t want this kind of business,” she said of the prostitution and of the bar her family has run since 1969. “I know many, many soldiers. Now they say off-limits. It pisses me off.”

The decision about closing access to the hill hasn’t been made, McNulty stressed during an interview in his office on Wednesday.

Prostitution is illegal under South Korean law, and McNulty said he’s been encouraging local South Korean police officials and bar owners to enforce their own laws. There is little U.S. officials can do, however, other than limit customers and hope to affect supply and demand.

The majority of bars on the hill already are off-limits to U.S. personnel, he said. The remaining ones are traditional bars and dance clubs and don’t like that their customers often must walk by propositioning women just to come in and play pool or dance, he said.

“It’s good,” said Oh Chang-Kun, the manager of King Club, a bar at the foot of the hill that his family has run since 1975.

“They are going to change it soon,” he predicted.

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