Korean girls are too hot...but froyo is sexier!

B-Boy Culture of Korea -
Tat and I watched an amazing show, The Ballerina who fell in love with a b-boy. Of course, our initial interest for this show was sparked by our Korean b-boy movie from the Asian American Film Festival. We became fascinated how the American b-boy culture because integrated into the Korean young society, so we wanted to see it first hand. It was an amazing to see all the amazing power moves from their team of b-boys. They were incredibly strong to hold some of the their crazy moves. Also they also had a team of hip hop dancers which were amazing. They could pop and lock like nobody's business.




The Korean hip hop culture is very interesting and contrasts to the rest of society. Much of the fashion in Korea is very fashion forward and trendy, whereas the hip hop fashion is very American. As well, the lifestyle of a b-boy does not reflect the academic and competitive culture ingrained by many Korean families...I wonder who brought hip hop and b-boying to korea and made it mainstream?

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) -
When traveling around Seoul, you often forget just how close you are to North Korea. The North Korean border is a mere 1 hour drive from Seoul. The division between the two countries if very real. The contrast in the lives between North and South Koreans is drastically different. In North Korea, one of the poorest countries in the world, many of their people are starving to death, homes are heated with wood and coal, and men and women serve a minimum of 7 years in the army. Whereas in South Korea, people are scrambling to get the latest $500 cell phone, buy the trendiest clothes, and compete with their classmates for the top grades in the class. It's amazing that these two countries can be so close to each other but so different....It's crazy that Communism can still survive in today's global economy. How can North Korea continue being closed off from the world...the truth is - its people are barely subsisting through their daily lives while their army makes million dollar nuclear weapons...all for what?

North Korea !!!

We took an organized tour to the DMZ, which is the 2km wide border between North and South Korea. The chain link fence with barb wire and the heavily armed South Korean soldiers is an eery to experience up close and personal. We visited a tunnel the South Koreans found in the 1970s. The tunnel was secretly dug up by the North Koreans to invade South Korea. Just 20 years after the Korean War, this tunnel could have led to another attack of North Korea on Seoul. The tunnel was initially designed to allow 35000 soldiers to pass within an hour for a surprise attack on the capital city, instead now this tunnel is used to shuttle hundreds of tourists every day.



We saw several young men working at the DMZ, fulfilling their 2 year compulsory military duty. Though some feel that they are wasting their time in the army, the presence of north Korea is a ubiquitous part of life...the men must do this for their country and their people's freedom, but I still think it is a great sacrifice the men must make. I wonder if the compulsory military service reflects on the infamous Korean male persona...How would American men cope with compulsory military duty???



'Hot' Korean girls-
On another note, Korean women are a breed of their own. Many of my friends feel that Korean women's features are the most beautiful, so I was excited to see the real deal here in Seoul. (side note: Korean girls are nowhere near as skinny as HK girls, so I actually feel normal sized here instead of intensely obese in Macau/HK. ) Korean women REALLY care about how they look. Some serious time has been spent on make up and outfits on a daily basis. Almost all Korean women wear make up of some sort...it looks like they aren't wearing makeup but there is usually some kind of foundation on their face to make it seem so perfect. In addition, Koreans dress to the nines wherever they go...if they are going clubbing or just going to the market, they are wearing a cute, trendy outfit with heels. We are amazed to see those girls working it out in those heels all day long. I'm tired from shopping around in my flip flops for a day, so those girls have some serious skill walking all day in their 4 inch stiletto heels.

The reason for my quotation around the word 'hot' is because of the prevalence of plastic surgery in Korea. Though their faces are super cute, its really not natural beauty and often is altered by make up and surgery. Yuna, my former FLEX coworker, gave me the skinny on plastic surgery. When applying for jobs, all persons must attach a recent photo of themselves to the application. Employers are not just looking for well qualified employees, they also want somebody who is pleasing to the eye. Therefore, Korean women have a lot of pressure to better their looks not only for personal reasons, but also for employment reasons. She said some 70% of Korean girls get some form of plastic surgery - eye (the most common), nose, lips, breasts, etc. She said you can even alter your voice...reason being employers do not want to hire women with squeaky voices to answer their phones. I find it very disheartening how a culture can place so much pressure on a woman's looks. I feel for those who maybe do NOT fit into the mold of the ultra feminine, stylish woman....where do those women belong in Korea? I wonder what kinds of effects this has on the self esteem of women in Korea...where natural beauty is merely rejected...artificial enhancements are a normal way of life...