Seoul Skin

There are skin care shops everywhere. Japanese women have an impression that Korean women have amazingly beautiful skin. They say it’s all the kimchi. I think they might be getting a little more help than that. Korea is the plastic surgery capital of Asia. It’s cheap and within the reach of more than just TV and movie stars. They joke that every Korean actor and actress has the same nose.
No matter what you order you seem to get a side of kimchi. The restaurant I went to the first night kept refilling my side dish of gherkins. I was over the moon. I have been known to eat gherkin sandwiches. In Lux ate a whole jar in one sitting. I didn’t feel very well after.
Women hold hands as they walk along the street. It’s kind of charming. And men (especially younger men) seem way more affectionate with each other than in other countries I’ve visited.
Sitting in a coffee shop a dude comes in off the street and offers to shine your shoes while you drink. It’s all very ‘developing world’. Not what I was expecting.
There is no taboo about eating as you walk or eating on the street as there is in Japan. In fact eating on-the-go and outdoors seems to be encouraged. You can buy a variety of fried foods on a stick and fresh fruit on a stick from stalls on almost every street. It seems very unsanitary to these eyes that have come from ‘germ’ phobic Japan, what with the food all piled there out in the open and everything being prepared right on the street beside all the fumes and insects and stuff. Again this really brings the country closer to the whole Bangkok vibe. Overall the Koreans don’t seem at all worried about germs. Three women at the table next to me ordered one cup of tea and shared it with each other. I’ve never seen that in Japan.