July 27, Hanbok Day

Hello, Darlings! Lovely to see you all? Before I tell you about today, may I just say that cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society. Please… just keep it in mind. 

 Today, Mama was set and direct with her goal. We were going to see the daily changing of the guards at the Imperial Palace. And we were wearing traditional hanboks. We took a metro to the palace and found a rental store with hanboks. We bought the 2-hour rental and went to choose our skirts. It was somewhat fun to see the beautiful designs and patterns. Once we chose our clothing, we were pushed into changing rooms with one female assistant each. She put everything on us; however, it was a bit awkward. 

The hanboks were cool - first we had to put on an underskirt that made the overskirt look really fluffy. Then we put the overskirt that had thin straps like a bra to keep it in place and to be able to adjust the length - it went all the way to the floor. Then we put on the overshirt that goes on top of it all - long sleeves and all. Got some accessories. Mama also insisted on a hat that looked like the lampshade - you wear a metal ring on your head with metal rods coming out to the lampshade part of the hat. The construction is held on the head with bright ribbons. 

We finished and rushed to the palace (me going absolutely crazy about what a bad person I am because of the cultural appropriation). It was incredibly hot, but we stood there and watched the guards. 

After the performance, we went to see the inside of the palace and took photos. 

RL: At one point, a bunch of tourists rushed over to us and asked to take pictures. Dan and Isabella escaped but Georgia and I stood in smiling. We could not place where they were from, and they said that they were from New Mexico. Lots of thoughts...  They could not be brave to ask locals dressed in Hanbok? There were aplenty, including lovely young couples taking engagement pictures with photographers, families, and colorful flocks of young girls? Or were we the most approachable? Or hot? I personally decided on the last one. P.S. On the cultural appropriation, we got the read that Korean people actually liked foreigners spreading the word about Korean culture and would not find it offensive. They were very willing to rent out the outfits - there is a whole industry with multiple shops in this and other areas with photographers and all. If it was something that was making them uncomfortable, they could have made it harder to rent them.

Mama was happy with the results, so we called the grandparents to show them our outfits and then hurried out of the heat to change. 

 We took a short break in a cafe to cool off and then went to a temple. The temple was very anti-foreigner, so we left. We returned to a market and went into a six-story modernish art enhibit, each exhibit worse than the last. 

They upset our eyes, so we left. After walking in the heat, we realized that we needed to get food. We walked everywhere looking for food and finally found a few pubs. We got cheese tteokbokki and it was incredible. Basically, rice-based mac and cheese!!!

We also had deep-friend octopus strands, for some reason that dish was called "Addition." Georgia had something nice too. And we helped Canadian tourists make their choices. Anywho, we went home to work and then went out to dinner. The afternoon was kinda of quieter than usual, so we didn't do anything particularly crazy.