Men and Women's Hair Dye in Korea

He looks positively plastic.

Korean Ken doll? He pretended to be timid about removing his shirt so as not to get dye all over it, but started flexing for the camera when I tried to capture his hair. Barf. Somebody wants to be a model.

In exchange for Frontpage, Photoshop and some thoughtfully selected music files (Chet Baker, The Cranberries and Louis Armstrong- all of which brought me back to my teens), I dyed his hair black. He's in his late 20's, but starting to grey. Korean men generally bald/grey later in life, because they have more testosterone than Caucasian men.

I hate those gloves that come with the kit, so my fingernails are now stained a brown-black, so attractive an 8 year old student rejected candy from my hand. Had Eva teacher been gardening or eating handfuls of chocolate cake? He was having none of it.

The result was pretty:

Japanese folk are more liberal with the hair dye than Koreans. Fly a couple of hours on a plane and you'll even see green. Koreans choose natural shades, close to their own color. My friend said one grad student was called a 'Yankee' by his engineering professor when he showed up with a bright orange/yellow shade. He was ordered to change it immediately.

Middle and high school girls are usually forced by school policy to keep their hair natural, and cropped above their shoulders. I thought bobs were the trend, but students aren't wearing the style by choice.

So, the box of hair dye. It looked like a Korean knock-off of L'Oreal's Feria. Silver box, but with a Korean actor posing on the front. I've never seen Brad Pitt on a Honeysuckle kit, or Johnny Depp modeling Jet Black. American actresses yes but rarely actors. Tae Hun said it's common for movie stars to advertise cosmetics- even men's makeup, like foundation.

As a foreigner you'll likely have some trouble finding American brands of hair color, at affordable prices. Try the big markets. But if you have dark hair, it's safe to buy a Korean kit. It works just like any other you've tried so you don't need to read the instructions.

Fashion Glasses for Man Won

This post is for my family. Remember the 3 years in a row I wore "reading glasses"? My yearbook, health card, library card and Christmas photos all showed me in cat frames. I searched high and low for affordable glasses without prescription, and got so accustomed to wearing them that I freaked and wouldn't leave the house if I couldn't find them in the morning!

I prayed my eyesight would deteriorate at the ripe age of 16 so I could justify an expensive pair. I was convinced they made me look smart. Mom couldn't understand it, and now I don't blame her. "You have beautiful eyes! You look like you're wearing those plastic glasses with a fake nose stuck to them. Not attractive."

But fashion glasses are popular in Korea. I was ahead of the times! Look at the selection above, for 10 USD: various styles in a rainbow of colors. 6 years ago, I would have been in glasses heaven. (Sigh. I was so sophisticated.) I nearly tried a pair on for old times sake.

The Question of Beauty

I have a confession to make.

It isn't only Korea's 4000+ years of culture that I envy, or the traditions passed down through generations.

The Korean face is on the Asian pedestal right now. I told my adult class, "I can't get over how beautiful Koreans are." One woman blamed it on the obsession with fashion and plastic surgery, but I interrupted her. "No, no, no. Strip all of that away and you'd be just as stunning."

I've never seen an ugly Korean. On public transit I catch myself staring at passengers. When sun lights up people on the bus, I'm mesmerized. The skin, eyes and hair are perfection- angelic in a way that I'll never be. Even the men are soft and pretty.

But I never realized how 'constructed' the idea of beauty is until I moved here. Korean women who I find especially gorgeous aren't considered attractive by my male friends. A man in my adult class described Koreans as having 'iron faces.'

I'm often asked if I think the Chinese American actress, Lucy Liu, is beautiful. Of course I do. No, my Korean friends inform me. "She hasn't even had her eyelids done. There are many women who look like her, she is just average."

I guess in a race where people have mono hair/eye color, differences are embraced.

Fashion-Conscious Korea

What's popular in Korea are men who would make attractive women-- tall, thin, dressed in formal attire, not a hair out of place.

The Korean media romanticizes men, presents them as sensitive and vain. I think appearance is more important for men, here, than it is in the west. Men are constantly analyzing each others looks.

In this video clip, taken last night, Sonny discusses his friend's deplorable style. The guy never changes his hat, and *gasp* has oily skin! You don't hear it on the tape but Sonny purchased his friend blotting papers, to "make him feel better about himself."

Stars in Korea

A cosmopolitan in Korea: English titles, Korean content.

In Korea there isn't the fascination with celebrities that there is in, well, America. Am I surprised? Sort of. When I left Canada in the fall, stacks of tabloid-style magazines sat beside checkouts. It was an epidemic.

A fun way to kill time in a waiting room, maybe, but serious escapism.

The well known American actors in Korea, apart from Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, are spokespersons for high end clothing lines. Gweneth Paltrow and Kirstin Dunst are the models for Bean Pole and Thursday Island.

Teenage girls in my classes talk about Korean pop stars: pretty boys, but are generally uninterested in celebrities. The boys ironically praise figures like Leonardo DiCaprio for being, "so vewy vewy handsome," but know nothing about female celebrities.

There are American reality shows in Korea but you'll rarely see a tabloid magazine, unless it's imported for expatriates who need their fix, and will pay $15 USD to get it.

Are there Korean celebrities? Of course. The film industry is huge, but thing about Korean movies is how familiar everything looks. You're constantly going, "hey, look!" because you've been to that bakery, or shopped at that shoe store.

40% of the Korean population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area, so Korean movies have a sense of intimacy. How godly can the celebrities be if they frequent the same Starbucks and basically live the same life as you-- only wealthier. I mean, heck, they probably even have to use squat toilets once in a while.

Korean Culture- What's HOT

Photo by "Superlocal"

Hot - Engineering. If you meet a Korean student, don't bother asking what his major is. He's an engineer.

Hot - Naps. Take a snooze in public- anytime, anywhere.
Hot - South Korean dramas. Turn on the T.V. and you'll find at least 10 actors having mental breakdowns, sobbing in hospital rooms, staring longingly into their lover's eyes.
Hot - Matching outfits for couples and even friends.
Hot - Discipline. People work hard for success. I'm talking 12 hour days, 6 days/week.
Hot - Grand openings. When a new store opens up, there are big pink bows, plastic flowers, music, go-go dancers.
Hot - Corny ballads. It's the norebang influence.
Hot - Computer games. There's a generation of young boys wasting their youth in P.C. rooms.
Hot - Metrosexual men. Pink shirts, tight pants, styled hair... purses, even.
Hot - Eating out. You don't tip in Korea, and meals are dirt-cheap. I can't get over how many restaurants there are. Business is easily come by.
Hot - Rip-off brands like a Tim Hortons with a bar interior, serving $7 coffees, "Buma" masquerading as Puma, and 'The Face Shop' after The Body Shop.
Hot - Late nights. It's normal for young children to stay up past midnight.
Hot - Shopping and fashion. Millions of people literally shove their way through markets and malls in search of good deals. Koreans are very stylish.
Hot - Drinking. Many people drink for the sake of drinking and it's legal to drink on public transit. What does it say on a Soju (hard liquor) bottle? "Be Happy Again."
Hot - Plastic Surgery. Seoul is the world's hub of plastic surgery. Walk in off the street. Eyelid shaping is the #1 choice.
Hot - Skinny jeans and dangerously short skirts, on women, but not shoulder-bearing tops, considered too revealing.
Hot - Same sex friends. If you hang out with someone of the opposite sex, expect suspicion.
Hot- Kimchi!!

Korean Trends- Clothing & Coffee

"Autumn couture breaks the convention of garment shape. Fall 2006 is about sex appeal without showing skin. Women are sporting menswear, military jackets, sweater dresses, skirts over tights, belts and floor-grazing coats.

Jewelry is gold, handbags are oversized and red is popping up all over runways. Even plaid, patent leather, skin-tight pants and ankle booties made the cut this year. You could say fall style is a classy take on the 80’s."

That's a quote from an article I wrote for Loox.ca this summer. I find it comical how seriously Koreans have taken the trend. Shopping in Suwon, it's practically impossible to find a style out of the 80's! The women look like they were all pressed from the same cutter.

I bought that pokadot shirt for $8USD today. I haven't done much shopping in Korea. The reason, apart from wanting to save money, is the overabundance of staff at department stores. Walk down an aisle and there's a row of them like soldiers. I couldn't even admire a garment without an employee "helping!" This store was the first that didn't breathe down my neck.

It's either pokadots, plaid or stripes in Korea. I chose pokadots.

On my way to read at Ajou University...


I discovered my first reasonably-priced coffee shop in Korea. Coffee is popular here, but a luxury. The shop is suitably called "Coffee Good," and it's popular among Ajou college students. Nearly all drinks, hot or iced, are less than 2USD. There was a steady stream of customers as I drank my creamy iced latte:

Male Sexuality in Korea

"So... tell us. Just how pretty are we?"

No, it isn't a gag store. This is men's fashion in Korea.... I've always liked a man in pink...

Teenage boys in my classes hang all over each other. They hug and touch each other's hair. It's human to want affection and I think the lack of homophobia here is refreshing.

Standing in line at Wooribank the other day, a business man in front of me was absentmindedly grooming the hair of his coworker.

My friend Camille was instructed by her boss to touch the younger students so they'd feel loved. She was told to touch their hair, their hands and to hug them.

In Canada if you work with children, you're put through an obligatory police check, but not in Korea... this I admittedly take issue with.

Arg. Superficiality.

Josh recently e-mailed me an ad posted on a Korean site: American Male Model willing to tutor English in his off time- like his being a male model has ANYTHING to do with his credibility as a teacher! As Josh said: "Dork." Sadly, the guy will likely get a stampede of interest from Korean parents.

Everyone I meet at the school gives me the standard Korean greeting: a compliment refering to appearance. It isn't just because I'm white- and, let me tell you, that is "special" considering I haven't seen a SINGLE non-Asian on the street since I arrived, Monday. Not a one. People stare and stare hard.

40% of Korean women get plastic surgery. A student I taught between 9 & 10, tonight, showed me her contacts. She's about 14 years old but looks like a child. I asked her if she needed glasses. No. The contacts are colored black and give the apprearance of bigger Irises. She told me, "big black eyes make a beautiful face." She also worried she ate too much today and would get fat.

It's usual for Korean parents to reward their children with plastic surgery. All young Korean girls seem to want eyelid enlargements: the most common practice.

When I went to Home Plus today, I stopped into a department store selling clothes and cosmetics. Imported American (fashion) goods sell for 3 times the price. On the plane, when I was flipping through the duty free catalogue, Jay wasn't surprised that a tube of Clinique lipstick sold for a whopping $85. You can buy the same thing in Canada for less than $20.

On the street, there are a suspicious number of perfect women; skinny, long shiny hair, tiny stilettos... and they all seem to be rattling keys in their hand on their way to a lavish car.
Even the vehicles look the same! Factory made cars in Korea only come in 3 colors: grey, white and black. If you want a colored version, you have to order it for a hefty fee.