Busting Myths: Life in Seoul

I'm really glad you guys like the thread! I've been trying to think of ways to share my adventures without me basically writing a blog in the forum, and I thought this format would be a good way to incorporate everyone! ^^

amrita828 wrote: Far from me to discard or disrespect any information about your students - on the contrary, I'll come with school questions soon enough - but right now there's something I absolutely need to know about the legal male population - say above 21. Blame my hormones.
Are they really in such a good shape as k-pop artists and actors would like us to believe? Are there fat ones, very short ones, with crooked noses or uneven teeth? LOL
In short: have you ever met Hyun Bin's double on a bus? (You're free to substitute Binnie with whomever you deem gorgeous. As for me: sorry, he's my paragon. ;)

This one is for Rita and kamz: I think the answer to this one is both yes and no.

I'll start with "No". No, I've never met Hyun Bin/Won Bin/Lee Min Ho/Yang Seung Ho's double on a bus. Partly because I don't ride those six-wheeled death traps, and partly because no mortal can reach the height of physical perfection attained by the men listed without a crack team of plastic surgeons, make-up artists, and photo-shoppers. Much to our collective disappointment. ㅠㅠ

Are they really in such good shape as k-pop artists and actors? Yes. Are there fat ones, very short ones, with crooked noses or uneven teeth? Yes.

Perhaps the hardest truth for me to accept is that Korean men are, above all else, men. Some are pretty to look at; others less so. They can run the gamut from ridiculously good-looking (but still not Hyun Bin level) to just downright blegh, but regardless of where they fall in this reckoning, they all care a lot about how they look from head to toe. Many subway stations have full length mirrors placed randomly about, and I would not be lying if I said that Iâ??ve seen guys checking themselves out in them far more than Iâ??ve seen women. And not even like a quick walk-by-and-glance. Iâ??m talking full on adjusting their pants/shirts/hats, checking the view from the side/front/back, give a little nod, a wink of approval, and run to catch that train to Sadang. Even when thereâ??s not much to check out in my opinion. And yes, the men do rock the BB Cream. Sometimes for the worse.

I was going to write that they come in all shapes and sizes, but the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to realize that that's not really true of Korean men (women are a different story, but Iâ??ll save that for a later post). While there are men who would fall on the hefty side of the scale, I've seen so few that I've come to consider them as rare "deviations" from the norm. For the most part, Korean men are generally pretty physically fit, especially the strapping lads who have just been released from their military service. According to one of my female co-workers, men come out of the military obsessed with their physical build, and it shows. I live by Korea University, and it is dominated by muscley students just out of the military. After years of desk work post-college, the muscles seem to fade away, but apart from a little pudge around the belly area, Korean men seem to maintain a trim figure.

So, yeah, unfortunately, you wonâ??t find many men who look like THE Hyun Bin, but youâ??ll find that settling for Im Hyun Bin or Kang Hyun Bin will do in a pinch.

(I hope that answered your questions, Rita and kamz! Hopefully I'll get better at this answering business.)

phoenixtearz9 wrote: Thanks, I think Johnny Depp is probably one of the sexiest men alive..

Haha Quoted for truth! :p


@B&T Haha wow The part about the mirrors made me laugh XD

jeanie65jh wrote: 1) Ahjummas and Ahjussis ~ so...seen any flowered work pants and visors during your daily tromps and mosey's around Seoul? Are the Ahjummas and Ahjussis really up in your business if you make a public faux pas? (like throwing your food into the recycle bin or your cans in the regular trash?

I hope you don't mind if I split up my answers into individual posts, Jeanie!

1) I will fully admit that I want to be an ahjumma when I grow up:
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Rosie the Riveter wishes she looked this good in a visor! As for whether ahjussis and ahjummas are really all up in your business, yes and yes, but the sentiment behind their meddling differs whether their victim is a foreigner or not. Many of my non-Korean Asian friends have complained of ahjummas and ahjussis berating them loudly and aggressively in Korean, probably because they think my friends are Korean and should know better. There are seats on the trains that are specifically designated for the elderly, the handicapped, and pregnant women. One of my friends didn't know this, and was yelled at and chased away by an ahjumma for sitting there. Another friend was speaking a little too loudly when we were on the train, and an ahjussi came up to her and told her to be quiet. In my experience they tend to be a little more patient with my misdemeanors, except that one time when I wore a tank top with nothing over it back in August and the ahjummas almost succeeded in incinerating me with their eyes. I was terrified when it came time to sort my trash for the first time, but when I went down to the sorting area, there was a group of ahjummas who, upon seeing me, took my garbage and gently shooed me away. They do this every time, and while helpful, I still to this day have no idea where anything goes garbage/recycling-wise. Again, others have not been so lucky and have been forced to correctly sort the trash under the sharp eyes of an ahjumma neighbor. My friends would agree that ahjummas and ahjussis seem to love me (when I'm clothed appropriately). I've had ahjussis on the train offer me cakes (yes, this happened more than once). Or ahjummas will gesture towards an empty seat beside them in the prohibited zone and wave me over to sit next to them. Also, it pays to have an ahjumma on your side because they can get away with murder. If Kim Jong Il were an ahjumma, bygones would have been bygones, and the North and the South would probably have been reunited years ago. On a more serious note, ahjummas will skip to the front of lines, elbow their way forcefully through crowds, tear the wings off doves, kick a puppy, or drown a kitten, and no one can tell them to do otherwise.

I have an ahjumma landlady named Jang Chung Ja, and she is quite possibly my favorite person ever. According to one of my co-workers, when she heard that a foreigner was moving into the apartment she was terrified that it was going to be a male tenant. Which explained the look of utter relief that washed over her face when I opened the door the first time she visited. Then cue the questions. "Name? Where from? How old? Oh, baby! You baby! Boyfriend? No? Oh, no worry, you still baby! Food? You no have food? I show!" She took me to the neighborhood mart and bought my first week's groceries for me, showed me her favorite restaurants in the area, chatted my ear off in this mix of Korean and broken English, and was just all around adorable. Still is adorable. When she catches me on my way out, she'll always ask where I'm going and then she'll let me know what she thinks of my destination: "Gangnam? Oh, rich men good!" "Hongdae? WHY?!?! You like dirty men!?!?!" "Dongdaemun? You buy good skirt, you get good man!"

My favorite moment with Chung Ja:
"Agassi~, where go now?"
"To the movies."
"You take train?"
"...Um... No..."
"Bus?"
".....No~...."
"....You in car?"
"....Um....yes...."
"Who car?"
"Um...."
"BOY CAR?!?!"
"Um...."
"Waegookin boy?"
"Um...."
"KOREAN BOY?"
"UM......"
"....Where boy? Boy and I, we talk. We talk Korean. I take care."
So I took her to the boy's car, and he nearly fell over himself bowing to Chung Ja while she laid down the law in Korean. Every once in a while she'd pull back her arm with her fist clenched as if she were about to hit him, and he'd flinch and bow faster and lower. When she was done, she pulled me aside, shook her head and said, "This boy, bad boy." Sure enough, she was right. The next day when I was determined to sulk all day in my apartment, Chung Ja came over and insisted that I go on a walk with her. We ended up in Korea University's campus, where we sat together on a bench and admired the male student population... for their academic prowess. Yes...

This was more ahjumma-centered than ahjussi. The ahjussis will have their turn when I turn to the question of drinking in Korea.

Ah B&T i loved ur post above about ur Ahjumma Landlady ....she sounds like a right character fabulous keep the stories coming I love them :D

It is interesting to see so korea through someone else eye :D and to see so much intrest in it

Hahahaa I love that ajumma already :P So there are ajummas like the ones in dramas. It's unbelievably hilarious. Keep it coming ~ It's interesting to hear about Korean culture like this.

Loved the ahjumma story!! I'm hoping to one day go to Korea. Perhaps I'll already have a friend there?? :D

The story was so cute:-)