From: hseung@salsa.seas.upenn.edu (Rachael H. Seung)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean
Subject: New Year's Eve in Seoul
Date: 31 Dec 92 08:13:04 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania


EonNi OBba SaeHae Bog ManHiBaDeuSeYo!

New Year's eve have been generally the beginning day of my energetic
year.  Yet, the year ends the very next day, which in turn makes me
downcast, and ruins a newly started year.  However, in these few hours
still left for me to tend, fond memories during my hyper high school
years are gradually healing my sentimental heart.  Yes, I am now once
again back to being an unostentatious girl...


In Seoul, being a class president isn't an easy job, but working at
bowling center is enough to make even the toughest of the toughest
high school girls faint.  These days, after my regularly scheduled
classes, I quietly sneak out from the school (partly to avoid
participating in self studying hours imposed during the evening) over
a wired fence in the rear court yard, and dash toward the local
bowling center that has recently opened.  It's not for the money,
although I am fond of money, because I love the luxuries that come
with it.  What's more, by working as a humble shoes receptionist, I am
going to break any biased notion concerning Korean female students.

Deride me if you wish, I store colony of smelly shoes with pride.
Despite rumors of toxic odors, I'm pretty good at my work.  Sometimes
I even polish one or two sneakers for few extra Wons.  It's a really
interesting job.  I'm getting better day by day.  I mean, somebody has
to take care of these poor little shoes abandoned by their masters,
right?  Of course, I must give credit of my enthusiastic attitude to
my tiny puppy, "BaDooKi," who never fails to greet me at home with
optimistic slogans such as: "Enough stench will tend to diminish your
odor-detecting ability, Mung Mung!"  We laugh together.  We know such
statements will never be true...

Trance is the enemy of the shoe receptionists.  The game in fashion is
guessing the proper pair of shoes before the owner hands over the
numbered tag identifying the shoes after the bowling.  With careful
observance and painstaking sniffing, I have begun to notice even the
most unnoticeable characters of each pair that makes it totally unlike
another.  I guess handling millions of shoes with different shapes and
fragrance a day helps the abyss of imagination and suspicion sink
deeper and deeper.  Sometimes I can even sniff the right owner without
even looking at the person's face!  So far, my average margin of error
is 4.3% with lowest being 0.37%.  My boss is really impressed with all
these figures, but he still hasn't given me a raise.  He says not
unless I write a thirty page paper on the topic complete with abstract
and bibliography.  I throw the most moldy shoe in his face.  He smiles
and says he accepts it as my love.


Years later, however, I really wrote the paper; only I never sent it
to him.  The tender memories of my youthful days, I share only with
you -- the supportive readers on the net.  Now I am ending this -- not
thirty pages, but three Kilobytes -- paper with glass shattering
conclusion: "Shoe reception desks of Seoul's bowling centers -- no
where can you meet so many shoes with diverse background."

--
Rachael H. Seung                   *   *         Salsa Today 
hseung@salsa.seas.upenn.edu       \|/ \|/        SaeHae Tomorrow
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean