From: hseung@salsa.seas.upenn.edu (Rachael H. Seung)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean
Subject: Christmas Eve in Seoul (Little bit long!)
Date: 24 Dec 92 14:05:05 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania


EonNi OBba AnNyung!

My name is Rachael (aka HeJa).  Every Christmas eve, I am tormented by
a horrible experience I had at a department store in Seoul.  Although
being only fourteen years old junior-high girl, the eve in question
happen to coincide with the time when my maturing physical features
could not be left unattended.  Until then, I had only dyed my finger
nails with BongSoongAh.  Fashion magazines are something.  It makes my
existence feel totally naked without a well-cut dress or make-up.  Of
course, I've been told on numerous occasions that my redish brown
finger nails were pretty, but I took that as a polite way of saying,
"You're ugly otherwise."

Nonetheless, that Christmas eve I was determined to buy myself some
fancy make-ups, a perfume, a nice designer dress, and a pair of
matching high heels with some money I've managed to save over the
years from the relatively few allowance I received from my parents.
Don't get me wrong, though.  I respect them dearly.  In fact, ten
percent of my savings had been left untouched for college education --
I am paying the tuition all by myself now.

However, the moment I stepped into the first floor of that department
store in MyungDong, the luxuries available over the counter
flabbergasted me instantly, right on that spot by the revolving door!
Then, with my mouth in awe, I hurriedly glued my eyes to one of the
displays at the make-up section.  The endless rows of vibrant red lip
sticks, the shiny tubes enclosing facial creams I had heard from
magazines and TV commercials, the mesmerizing bottles containing
perfumes & Eau de Cologne instantly put me into a visual high!  I
didn't even notice the crowd of AJumMas staring at me.

It was then the sales bitch who ruined my eve came over to my side.
She asked me what I was interested in (her politeness really pissed me
off for some reason).  Since it was my first time ever to be asked
from a make-up sales person, I replied in a trembling voice, "I want a
brown eye shadow for my mother."  After a pause -- a really long pause
to be precise -- she gently smiled and remarked in a high-pitched
voice, "Surely you're joking."  "Huh?  Really, it's for my mother," I
replied.  My heart was pounding like the time when I first had that
bottle of SoJu with my classmates the night of our TakASo graduation
day.

"No, no, no.  I mean the color," she said.  "I don't get it.  What's
wrong with brown as an eye shadow?" I answered back.  She replied,
"Rule number one of make-ups: always use blue eye shadow.  You're only
a kid, so I don't really expect you to understand the logical
reasoning behind the preference of blue for eye shadows, and since
there are other customers anxiously waiting for my assistance and
intelligence, I recommend you not hassle with my well-intended advice,
but purchase this latest, most tantilizing eye shadow kit from Paris!"
Then without giving me a chance to question her statement, she
snatched the money from my purse, put the tiny kit in my hands, and
ran off to another customer.  I didn't even had the courage to ask for
a refund, let alone the desire to buy another item from my shopping
list in that crowded department.

With tears running down my red cheeks, I walked under that cold dark
sky for god knows how long.  Only the snow that kept piling on my hair
comforted my sadness, my dejection; a joyful day turned into
nightmare.  The streets packed with lovers, families, people singing
Christmas carols, atheists carrying Christmas shopping bags... all
came as a subliminal mockery to my existence, that I wasn't worthy of
the happiness on that eve of Christmas.  I noticed later on when I
returned to my room that the bitch at the department store managed to
snatch all the money I had in my purse...

Yet, the most disturbing thought that kept bothering me over the years
is the reasoning behind people's preference of blue over brown for eye
shadows.  Seriously, wouldn't brown match the color of brown or black
eyes that are dominant among Koreans?  Isn't it true that blue eye
shadows only look beautiful for people with blue eyes?  Please, if you
can't believe me, take a good look at any elevator EonNi in Korea.
Not only do they have inch thick make-up, almost all of them have blue
eye shadows as if they were part of their uniforms.  They're so ugly,
I feel like I am suffering from PMS rather than MPS!

--
Rachael H. Seung                   *   *         Salsa Today 
hseung@salsa.seas.upenn.edu       \|/ \|/        Shopping Tomorrow