As South Korea becomes an ever-more popular tourist destination,
the country is more than willing to share its history and traditional culture
with its visitors while also creating an atmosphere not unlike the busyness of
other modern cities. Skyscrapers and large shopping malls are starting to take
over Seoul's mom-and-pop shops while restaurants are starting to cater to a
broader range of tastes. Certain areas of Seoul are known to cater to western
tastes in food and music while other areas draw large crowds of Southeast
Asians.
One thing that is popular among
tourists from everywhere is trying on Korea's traditional hanbok/한복. The
outfits are made out of colorful fabrics with more variations in patterns than
you could ever look through in a day. There are now even photo studios that
dedicate themselves entirely to letting people wear hanboks and have their
photos taken professionally against dramatic backdrops for a fun souvenir. So,
of course, my family and I had to go.
My two sisters and I were plopped into makeup chairs immediately
after being called in, and the ladies working there set about making up our
faces. Foundation that was too light, false eyelashes, eyebrow shaping and
filling/coloring, and even styling our hair and adding false hair pieces (in
black to cover up my purple/green/blonde hair) was all part of the included package.
After we got made up, we were taken over to the long row of hanboks. We all got
to choose the one we liked, and the ladies helped us put them on.
The hanboks were divided by size (and also length) ranging from XS-L. You could choose whichever one you wanted, but the key was finding one that touched the ground, not the top of your feet. This meant that the hanbok I fell in love with (at first sight) was not meant to be since it would have been too short (not that I'm even tall).
