Korea, one of the most talked about nations in Australasia.
Our reporter goes behind the Iron Curtain. Time for a change... A big change.
I scanned the wanted ads: teach English in South Korea? That or buy a
house, an offer in on a cottage on a hill in Garratt Road. I chose
Korea and my partner came too. Within weeks, working visas in hand and
Lonely Planet phrasebook at the ready, we were on a plane to Seoul,
South Korea, population 10.3 million, with two million in our new
neighbourhood alone.
For years Korea was known as the Hermit Kingdom. Closed for business.
Isolationist. Remnants, it would seem, of the Japanese invasion in
World War II and the ensuing suppression of Korean culture. Even today
there remains a tense and uneasy relationship with Japan from a not too
distant past for the many elderly citizens still fluent in the Japanese
they were forced to speak during the occupation.
Koreans operate as one big family. The language says it all: even
strangers, so long as they are Korean, are referred to as “ajumma”
(auntie), “ajoshi” (uncle) or “on-knee” (older sister). And there’s
little racial variation, a resilient pride in today’s mongrel world in
clean bloodlines that ensure the nation is almost entirely 100 per cent
Korean.
Hence everyone has black hair and black eyes.
Except me, white chick in Korea. I stood out.
Being blonde didn’t help. My hair colour was referred to as gold
(conjuring up goddess images) or yellow (conjuring up a bad dye job).
Less of the yellow and more of the gold thanks.
Being a first time teacher, in a foreign land no less, I was perhaps a
little green and a little too trusting. Feigning great distress, my
12-year-old girl charges would call “teacher, teacher, please help”,
and as I knelt by their desk to proffer assistance their best friend
would have been assigned the job of mercilessly plucking a golden
thread from my unsuspecting scalp, before they’d both marvel at it. (I
wonder if they noticed the regrowth?). Younger students would stroke my
arm hair, cooing “it’s gold”.
My kindergarten kids didn’t take my ‘otherness’ quite so well. On
meeting me several of my three-year-old pupils burst into tears. I
found out later, besides being terrified by my alien appearance they
also had some eminently practical concerns about how to communicate to
me their need to visit the toilet.
All this I took in my stride (enthusiasm for my bold, life-changing
move still surging), but shopping – that was something else. One month
in, first pay cheque in hand, my partner and I were ready to hit the
biggest clothing market the fifth largest city in the world had to
offer.
My eager entrance to the market was greeted with the shrieking of various ‘ajummas’.
“We have large-ee.” I was an Aussie size 10 at the time, a mortified Aussie size 10.
"Koreans operate as one big family. The language says it all:
even strangers, so long as they are Korean, are referred to as “ajumma”
(auntie), “ajoshi” (uncle) or “on-knee” (older sister). Except me,
white chick in Korea. I stood out"
It was hard to find anything in my size (not so much the weight as the
build; I was like an Amazon compared to the petite Korean frame), let
alone anything in my style. Korean fashion was straight out of Happy
Days. Think 1950s America: all Lacoste polo shirts and chinos, sweaters
slung over shoulders, Doris Day hairdos and court shoes.
It wasn’t just the fashion either, but the morals and values too.
Little crime, no sex before marriage, pre-feminism, pre-gay lib, and
piercings and tattoos still taboo. The inaugural Gay Pride march
occurred while we were there: 20 people and a lot of hecklers.
Amid
the twin sets and nanna gear I did manage to score a great pair of
‘large-ee’ jeans, which upon leaving Korea are now too big since I
stopped eating all that Korean food. Ironic.
Koreans know how to eat: long sumptuous meals with all that ‘panchan’
(side dishes like the well-known kim chee) constantly refilled. And
they know how to drink too. Well, Aussies may have a lot more stamina
actually; hard and fast is the Seoul drinking style. Beer and soju
shots (think cheap vodka) with dinner; then what else but karaoke (be
warned: most Seoul dwellers are consummate professionals at this
questionable pastime) and passed out by 11pm.
Eating in Korea is a deliciously slow process of multiple courses of
many dishes and flavours. So how do Korean women maintain that tiny
figure? Much to a white chick’s surprise, the Korean tradition of
manually feeding your man is alive and well. Maybe that’s their secret.
A meal out generally consists of the woman cooking at the restaurant
table and assembling the food before delicately placing it in her
significant other’s mouth.
Being a dedicated foodie I decided to indulge wholeheartedly in the
Korean fare (and gained three kilos in the process!) rather than face
the well-meaning ajummas at the Namdaemun markets again. Instead I
resorted to weekly visits to flea markets and trash’n’treasure. If you
like thrift, Seoul is for you.
Shoe shopping posed similar problems to clothes shopping. Thanks to
friends reminding me that Asia was synonymous with shoes, I had decided
to travel light and arrived with one pair of multi-purpose black boots.
In summer.
My friends weren’t wrong. There were so many shoes, so many great
shoes, but nothing over a size 38. If you have ‘large-ee’ feet, come
prepared. Luckily, despite being momentarily perturbed, I hadn’t really
discovered a love of shoes yet and managed to survive 12 months with
the black boots and a pair of Birkenstocks purchased in Itaewon.
Itaewon, otherwise known as America Town, is where all the expats (GIs,
ESL teachers, airline staff and working girls) head for a taste of home
with its umpteen bars, nightclubs and western-style restaurants. For a
big night out (or if you are hankering for a pizza or kebab) Itaewon’s
the place.
It’s in Itaewon that you will see yourself reflected, hear your own
language and meet compatriots. But while there were times I really
craved this, nothing beat my own local neighbourhood.
For all my experiences as ‘the golden-haired other’, for all its
pollution and overcrowding, Seoul gradually won a place in my heart. If
you make the slightest effort (and the language is fairly easy to learn
so there’s little excuse) you will be welcomed with a warmth and
genuine generosity. The Koreans I met revelled in sharing their city,
country and customs (and food, did I mention the food?).
If you are planning a quick holiday Seoul may not be the first choice,
but if you have the time to settle in and become part of the
neighbourhood I highly recommend it.
Seoul style
The trends on the streets of Seoul this season are moving away from the
primary crayola tin to the French maid’s palette. This spring the Seoulite woman is painting a monochromatic silhouette
resulting in a cool, manicured mix of minimal basics: crisp white
suits, little black dresses and the classic pencil skirt.
Matte fabrics are vanishing and fashionistas are instead squeezing into polished cotton, satin or silk.
Pencil skirts with button detail or soft flouncy numbers are also featuring. Waists are cinched with contrasting belts to accentuate a sylph-like
frame. Bows are used to wrap oneself up like treat. Manes this season are flowing, tresses are soft: it’s all about the perfect ringlet.
Accessories are pared down to a minimum. Soft ringlets reveal the hint of a plain silver hoop, fingers are flashing
understated rings and necks are for looping string of beads around.
Heels are figuring prominently and we are still glimpsing the peep-toe.
The shoe is in mirror patent black, this preference extending into
matching belts and bags.
Going there
Korea has four distinct seasons. It is best to visit in spring and
autumn to avoid the painfully cold winters or humid summers while
catching the spring cherry blossoms or glorious autumnal leaves.
Excellent hotel packages with the centrally located Grand Hyatt, The
Shilla and the Sheraton Walker Hill start at $210 per night.
Grand Hyatt
Tel: +82 2 797 1234
www.seoul.grand.hyatt.com
With its central location and excellent packages, this is an ideal luxury base.
Guerlain Spa
Tel: +82 2 2230 1167
www.shilla.net/seoul/en
The Shilla Seouls’ L’ insitut de Guerlain Spa has excellent pamper packages.
Chon
Tel: +82 2 720 4888
www.insadongchon.com
Enjoy an extensive menu of authentic Korean food in an old-style ambiance.
Once in A Blue Moon Jazz Club
Tel: +82 2 549 5490
www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr/
85-1 Chungdam–dong, Kangnamgu, Seoul
The perfect location for an intimate dinner with live jazz to match.
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