Either... or...
I was talking to one of the receptionists at work the other day, asking her if she had any plans during an upcoming week off work: "Either I'm going to New York, or I'm going to have plastic surgery." "Pardon? What the hell are you thinking of getting done?" "My eyes are too small."
While I said "Honey, you're gorgeous; take that money and go someplace you haven't been before," once she called my attention to her eyes I was thinking "huh, I guess they are a little beady." Koreans are a little obsessed with physical features that I don't think a whole lot about. For example, I keep getting compliments about my eyebrows or my nose, parts of my anatomy I hardly groom or obsess over.
The first month I was here, I noticed a lot of young females around town wearing eyepatches. My only reaction was to make pirate noises under my breath. But now that I'm paying attention more, it's kinda shocking how widespread these surgical alterations are. Plastic surgery here is quite en vogue, given away as high school graduation presents and contest giveaways. The most common are certainly double eyelid surgery to enlarge the size of the eyes and nose enlargement - interesting because "big nose" is an epithet for whities, not unlike the use of "slope". Another very common surgery is calf reduction, where a nerve in the leg is severed, causing the muscle in the calf to atrophy. Sexy.
Same receptionist then asked if I'd ever considered electrolysis. The receptionist sitting beside her assured me that the occasional Korean chick is into hairy dudes. "Really, really hairy guys?" Then she tried to take back what she'd said. :(
While I said "Honey, you're gorgeous; take that money and go someplace you haven't been before," once she called my attention to her eyes I was thinking "huh, I guess they are a little beady." Koreans are a little obsessed with physical features that I don't think a whole lot about. For example, I keep getting compliments about my eyebrows or my nose, parts of my anatomy I hardly groom or obsess over.
The first month I was here, I noticed a lot of young females around town wearing eyepatches. My only reaction was to make pirate noises under my breath. But now that I'm paying attention more, it's kinda shocking how widespread these surgical alterations are. Plastic surgery here is quite en vogue, given away as high school graduation presents and contest giveaways. The most common are certainly double eyelid surgery to enlarge the size of the eyes and nose enlargement - interesting because "big nose" is an epithet for whities, not unlike the use of "slope". Another very common surgery is calf reduction, where a nerve in the leg is severed, causing the muscle in the calf to atrophy. Sexy.
Same receptionist then asked if I'd ever considered electrolysis. The receptionist sitting beside her assured me that the occasional Korean chick is into hairy dudes. "Really, really hairy guys?" Then she tried to take back what she'd said. :(
posted by Mark Hernandef at 9:07 PM
4 Comments:
The given away for high school graduations surgery isn't as foreign to me as it should be -- I knew of a few girls whose daddies gave them boob jobs for their 18th birthdays . . . . creepy.
Dude, people get nose enlargement surgeries? That is foreign to me. And the calf thing is freaky.
Erica once told me about how, in Chinese culture, it's not uncommon to desire eyelid surgery. Big, western eyes are almost synonymous with success.
Oddly enough, lately I've been getting more compliments on my eyebrows than any other feature. I've also been told that I have the nose of a C.E.O. I always thought it was too Roman-looking. Go figure.
Also, eyepatches are really stylish.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Momus%28musician%29.jpg
http://imomus.livejournal.com/
I've met a couple of men who have had foreskin restorations! There's a woman at work whose ankles are the same size as her thighs. Wonder is there's hope for her?
I always said your nose was lovely.
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