Daehanmingook

Ah Korea. I always have such mixed feelings whenever I return to the motherland. Annoyance (at rude, nosy people; pollution; materialism), dread (at rude, nosy strangers who will comment on your weight, age, dress, etc. on the subway, at restaurants, on the street), nationalism (the Han blood runs through my veins after all) and nostalgia (at childhood memories).

When my padre asked me what my plans were for my free time in Seoul (I'm spending four days roadtripping through Jeollado and Jirisan with my grandparents, uncle, aunt and dad starting next week), I listed all the things I wanted to eat (good naengmyun, patbingsoo, hanjungshik, soondae, shigol babsang) and a trip to the beauty salon for a haircut and coating (a procedure that makes your hair shiny and healthy). Korea is the only place I know where your hair is healthier AFTER a trip to the salon than it was before. Japan's greatest contribution to mankind is its toilet technology, Korea's greatest contribution is hair products and procedures.

Other than eat and get her hair done, what does a 29 year old single female do in Seoul? I'm too old to go clubbing, I abhor the taste of soju, I'm not interested in setup meetings for arranged marriage, I've decided to minimize my life so not planning on shopping and I've seen most of the tourist sites in Seoul during my previous visits and extended stays in Korea. I always enjoy just walking through the narrow sidestreets of Myungdong, browsing the food stalls at Lotte and Hyundai Department Stores and people-watching from a cafe while eating patbingsoo.

El Hombre is flying in for the weekend so can't wait to eat yummy things with him even though by Seoul standards I am officially fat. That's one thing that worries me about moving to Asia - in the States, I'm in the healthy, normal petite range. I'm neither fat nor thin - I constantly think I would look best if I lost 2-3 pounds, but I'm generally satisfied with the way I look and other than my mother, no one ever tells me I need to lose weight. In Asia, I am clearly fat - evidenced by the muscles I have in my calves, the sal (meat) that covers my bones, the fact that skin-tight clothing doesn't hang loosely off my rib cage and collar bone.