Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Concerning Victorian beauty and Hangol

Hangol is the written Korean language, thought I should get that out of the way right off the bat. Victorian beauty is basically exactly what it seems but specifically means the conception that aesthetics and artistry were undeniably connected with morality. So, now I've covered my definition bases, time to get the post on its way. I mention Victorian beauty because I had some really interesting conversations lately and have been learning about Korean standards and customs of beauty and found them startlingly close to Victorian England. You're never that far away from something you love, even if nooooot quite in the expected form. I mentioned awhile back that Level Eks talked about plastic surgery and I ended up continuing that topic with some friends of mine this week. Korea has one of the highest percentages of plastic surgery in the world, to the point that it is even developing cosmetic tourism as a fledgling industry big enough to compete with that of northern Europe. It's extremely common here- especially the surgery to thread a hooked needle through the eyelid to make the western crease. One of our kids, before I came, was out of school for a month because his parents took him to get the procedure. He was 7. I have gotten glimpses of this cultural quirk before, like perming your children or the endless reliance on fashion accessories and embellishment, but it didn't really click until recently. Korea is absolutely, head over heals, hands down, appearance obsessed. Men make no secret of the fact that women (still) exist to barter beauty for bank and that people almost have a responsibility to look as best as physically (and medically) possible.

Now, despite my obvious reservations about this, I don't want to come off as too judgy-judgy. It is a natural impulse to want to feel admired and realize your potential. And I suppose I'd be naive to say that looks don't count- why else do we lint-roller that shirt the fifth time before an interview or put on that extra coat of nail-polish for a date? On some level, I get it, and I'd be really hypocritical to not admit that I've gotten advantages from this side of Korean culture. Because I have western features like white skin, creased eyelids, a more pronounced nose and an oval face, most Koreans seem to find me attractive (which in my mind is still totally separate from how I see myself or how I'd expect to be received at home...just putting that huge disclaimer out there...) and I suspect they're nicer to me for it. I'd say one out of every three pleasant interactions with Koreans stem from them thinking I'm pretty. So, I feel like it would be wrong of me to completely condemn this as primitive or alien to modern culture or terrible because a.) it exists in the states and b.) I've reaped the benefits.

Where does this leave me? I can't shake the bad taste from my staunchly feminist mouth that here, femininity is soooo inseparable from physical beauty and that physical beauty is so limited to an arbitrary western viewpoint. What happened to confidence? What happened to the kind of back-bone straightening assurance of feeling good in your own skin? I think if anything, that's beauty. So I can't agree with a culture that teaches their children from a young age that they must live up to a western standard that's been put above their own and that they will always be most valued for a random genetic roll of the dice. Now I know that not everyone here thinks this and it is possible that I've talked to an outlying subset of Koreans but no matter the severity, this aspect exists here. No matter what, I can't fully condone it- the idea that beauty is what makes a good person hasn't been taken seriously since Dickens and as much as I love Vic lit, the notion is rightly gathering dust on its historical shelf of disuse. That is, except here.

Oddly enough this doesn't make me like Korea any less, I actually enjoyed fleshing out one more part of its tricky culture- even if just to debate with it. Bottom line, it's all friendly, and as I've said multiple times, I'm still having a great time here and have sung a multitude of praises about the country I'm in. Soko, it's nothing personal. On the other side, I've also started connecting with another part of Korean culture- hangol. All of the sudden a light went on in my head about two weeks ago that it was time for me to start learning how to read. And so I did. I am getting better and have now progressed from a slug's pace, to sloth's and am hoping to conquer turtle's by the end of the week. Some characters are still eluding me but I wrote my first Korean sentence today (I love you, in case anyone was wondering) and it was cool! Note: this doesn't mean that I can in any way understand what I am reading or writing but I am slowly tackling the repertoire of noises. It just feels like one more tie to my surroundings and if nothing else, it's made the walk to work way more fun. Now it feels like one big giant game of sudoku, the city is a moving puzzle and I am sure people think I am totally crazy muttering signs to myself "Sah...lang...heh..." but no worries. I am unexpectedly proud of it so that's that.

Not that much has happened in the last 3 days...I went to the gym two more times which continues my miraculously faithful streak I've been on...went to work....today was the last day of the session which means the new girl officially starts tomorrow. Oh one cute (mmm maybe wrong word....funny? still weird...) note, Irene was trying to explain to me why "Robbie apsoyo" (absent) and she just looks at me and said, "Robbie grandmother go to sky." Now my condolences to Robbie's family and his grandmother and I don't want to seem insensitive but I thought that was adorable and hilarious all in one. Who needs poets when you have 5 year old non-native speakers?

Anyways that's it folks. Not quite so angsty as my last mid-week post (remember the "vein" street fiasco that happened in the wee hours of one sad wednesday night? hopefully moving forward from that...) and I'd imagine everything should continue to get a lot more cheerful as the rents get closer to touchdown. Next up: this weekend, I am grabbing dinner with Ella, hiking with two of my Korean co-teachers and grabbing coffee with another Korean friend and getting my hair cut. And then, you know, next Thursday is when mom and dad come...juuust in case I hadn't mentioned it enough. Love!!

Becks

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