My 2X3 Square Meter Home in Hong Kong

Previously I had shared my current room in Singapore. Now I am gonna recall the smallest-ever room of mine, back in Hong Kong (2007~2008).

The landlord remodelled her flat into 4 individual rooms of different sizes. Each room has a tiny washroom inside, but no kitchen. This is the door to my room.

Mine is the smallest among the 4 rooms. It's about 2X3 square meters, with a mini washroom. I have a whole side of windows to the right of my bed. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to stay in such tiny space. I am claustrophobic.

My last days in HK. Position of bed was changed by then already.

It's my smallest-ever living space, but a place where I had the biggest-ever dreams.

Singapore's Black and White Blessing ( 有寫有保佑 )

At Starbucks - "Please refrain from studying during our peak hours."

星巴克 - "門市繁忙時段，請節制自修活動"。

At M1 (telecom outlet) - "We reserve the right to refuse service to customers who are abusive."

M1 (通信公司，辦手機網路那些的) - "我們保留不為奧客服務的權力"。

My first thought - Oh, see, they are warning because Singapore's got this whole lot of abusive people.

Ah-ah, on second thought. I do not think Korea's got fewer abusive people than Singapore. So a better explanation for signs like these is probably the embodiment of Singapore's black and white culture, that everything has to be written down as evidence. Because it's written there, the Starbucks partners got every reason to ask a customer to leave if his or her drink already runs out, or, the M1 clerk can refuse to escalate customer's complaint as the in-store notice already said they do not serve whoever they deem as abusive customers and now YOU are deemed by them as abusive customer deprived of the right to make complaint.

Hence wonder not why emails are forwarded around all Singapore offices, wonder not if you received something that might not relate to you in a million years. Because by doing so, one day those forwarded or written can be the best weapon to serve certain purposes.

第一眼看到那些告示，嘴角嘲諷的微微揚起，"看吧! 新加坡就是奧客多，多到商家得寫公告"。轉念一想，也不盡然，韓國奧客的數量和功力畢竟還是新加坡奧客望塵莫及的，怎麼人家就沒想到也寫呢?

一個可能的解釋是，新加坡人有講究白紙黑字的文化 --- "不要說我不能這樣做喔，你看，我都寫得清清楚楚的!" 於是，星巴克夥伴可以在你杯子空了時請你走人，商家可以拒絕處理你的投訴因為已經明文寫了不服務奧客而現在你已被歸類為奧客啦我當然可以不服務你。

新加坡公司裡總是無限forward或cc那些大部分收件者都認為是下輩子也和自己不會有關聯的東西。不單是因為守法啦尊重契約啦那些冠冕堂皇的理由，還因為寫了可以自保，必要時還可用來當武器，好用無窮，幹嘛不寫。

有寫有保佑。

A Lower-Hip Exposing Virgin (露副臀的Virgin)



Source : CNEWS

Once again I felt disturbed by woman's image in Korea when I saw After School’s 3rd teaser picture for their first official album "Virgin"(버진). And I am to say, the K entertainment is definitely one of the biggest reasons to blame for Korea's never-improving sexism.

By showing your lower hips you are creating an image of "Virgin"?

While Korean male stars are obliged to showing their gigantic muscles (and god knows what else) as if boasting of their sexual potency, female stars are playing such correspondingly role to answer to the prevailing male dominancy.

In this country of wealth and high-tech, a fairer gender cognition is yet to establish, and the journey is uneasy.

關注韓國女性的社會形象的我，看到這張照片後，徹底崩潰惹(也沒有那麼誇張啦)。

韓國是一個標準的"偶像社會"，人們有仿傚偶像(政客、運動員、演藝人員)的傾向，你會聽到人們說"買這個yogurt啦，金妍兒代言的!" "這個新的美妝品牌我沒用過耶，不過是卡拉代言的，應該不錯啦!"這類極不理智的決策。正因韓國公眾人物有如此大的影響力，當我看到韓國演藝圈將女性型像塑造得越來越令人髮指，我感到十分不舒服。

After School (애프터스쿨)用"露副臀"當做名為"Virgin"("버진")的專輯的宣傳照，此舉堪比日本AV寫真的文案，真不知是想滿足何等想像。當韓國男星極盡能事的展現胸肌雄風，韓國女星也總是稱職的扮演著迎合男性的挑逗角色，露個副臀，然後告訴你，"I am Virgin"。

IKEA Furnished Life in Lakeside

I moved from Bukit Batok to Lakeside this month. A comparison of both places? Pros and cons, as always. Some snapshots:



Living room and kitchen



My room 270° (Lacking the side of my desk)

 What I love most is its IKEA furnished environment. I miss Sweden.

H&M - their new Android App and New Venture in SE Asia

I am checking the nearest H&M stores to me from their newly launched Android app (it's fab, download it now!). Right, 2578 km, in Central, HK. But haha, they are going to open in Singapore this Autumn, their first store in SE Asia!

• News from the Local (Sweden's News in English)
• News from H&M

惶恐之中感到的溫暖存在 - 推薦 이민헤어 的 민아 造型師

有時會想起一些八竿子打不著，回憶起來卻感到很暖的人。木洞現代百貨公司的MAC櫃姊최수연，總是面帶微笑的聽我用殘破韓語跟她對話；她不推銷，還會推薦我怎麼buy smart - 有次找她買38000won的眼部刷具222，她建議我買25000won的217就好，說用途其實差不多。2009年，是剛到韓國又不諳韓文的我最惶恐的日子，被人歧視被人騙是常有的事，僅管我是一個摸不著東西南北的外國人，她沒想騙我，還給了我美好的購物經驗。

再來是造型師민아，以前在木洞的 CASA Hair，現在轉到新林洞(신림동)的 Lee Min Hair (이민헤어)。

弄頭髮這事我一向戒慎恐懼，不料初次在韓國仍以失敗告終，瀏海被燙成Taeyeon和Sunny在Gee封面的造型，為此哭鬧了好一陣。直到認識민아(很年輕，20出頭)，我再也不找其他人。現在搬到新加坡，好幾個月了，染過的頭髮早已變成噁心的布丁頭，我還是忍到2月回韓國時找她整理。

也許以後我可以寫個민아造型編年史。回顧一下2010年至今的變化:2010年初，她幫我弄了一個韓孝珠在燦爛的遺產裡面的髮型(下圖左上，燙完一個月後，有點長長了)；夏天直接剪短也沒燙沒染，有點60年代中學生的樣子，很妙；秋天去新加坡前，燙了一個短髮(留了一個月後的樣子見圖2010 Winter)，我覺得挺好看，但有些新加坡人覺得奇怪。品味果然不可勉強。

今年2月底，冬春交際時節，我回到韓國，這次她做的是有點復古的中長髮，上面拉直，下面往裡拉，就變得那樣了，燙髮約10萬，染髮7萬，漲價了不少，不過總價在新加坡只能燙個頭而已(我實在不理解為什麼以新加坡美髮業的水準，可以高攀日本的收費標準)。

我跟민아溝通的模式跟公館莊大衛Apple一樣，不用說太多他們就知道你內心所想；不扯淡，也不推銷美髮產品。這次回韓國，她挺開心我還記得她，染燙時多幫我加了幾道護髮程序，有點老友重逢的況味。台灣女生找민아應該可以很安心，韓文跟我一樣破也OK，只要有照片，應該都可以做成理想髮型。推薦一下민아，預約資料:

= Lee Min Hair 신림점 (Website) =
Name. 민아 선생님(雖然她年紀很輕，我們都稱她선생님啦~)
Address. 관악구 신림동 1638-16 3층 (2호선 신림역 3번출구방향 150미터)
Tel. 02-871-0022
Biz Hours. 평일 AM 10:00 - PM 11:00 일요일 및 공휴일 AM 10:00 - PM 9:00

LOW CLASSIC, High Fashion

A blend of European simplicity and Korean sophistication - 

LOW CLASSIC (로우클래식)

~All Photos Courtesy of LOW CLASSIC~

Newly founded by Lee Myoung Sin, Park Jin Sun, and Hwang Hyunji in 2009, LOW CLASSIC enjoys unparalleled popularity as a result of Lee's participation in Project Runway Korea.    

Their brand campaign started with hosting temporary pop up stores in Hyundai Department Stores, entering Seoul's hippest select store Åland (에이랜드, which I will introduce next time), and now they are also found in  ÅLAND after ÅLAND 홍대 OUTLET and LOCLE (situated inside Doota).

This is my first piece of LOW CLASSIC, after more than a year, it's still one of my favorite items("賣非佛"，呵呵). I like it so much that I attended my thesis presentation in Sweden last April in this dress.

My second LOW CLASSIC, a suede clutch/shoulder flat folding bag. Price: 59800 won. As KC and I were such mysterious customers, Miss Lee gave us this bracelet as a souvenir.

Black chain bracelet, u.p. 12000 won.

Patched knit leggings. 32000 won. Comes in 2 colors (and I own both, hehe).

I like their sophistication embodied in a simplistic fashion. No mass production, but reasonably priced. Many Seoul fashionistas continue to keep a close eye on LOW CLASSIC. While stocks last. 

Not My Cup of Hennessy (唔係我杯軒尼詩)



Crossing Hennessy (source)

I came accross HMV's 2 for 20 promotion which includes "Crossing Hennessy"(月滿軒尼詩), a movie I've been interested in since its release, so I paired with Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic & Baby. That's how I got the chance to watch it, by chance. I mean, I don't like to risk my money, more specifically I don't wanna risk my expectation, so if it's not on sale, I probably never get to watch it.

So what did I expect of this movie? Not the cast, not the story, but something about Hong Kong. I thought it's a story closely related with Hennessy Road.

But...no. Except some street views and the famous Honolulu Coffee Shop(檀島咖啡餅店), I find it hard to link this street with the story. Hence, it can be named Crossing... Whatever.

Back to the movie (still, I am not writing a review, just sharing personal thoughts). I like Tang Wei (湯唯) and Jacky Cheung (張學友), they did a good job in this movie, and, I am not sarcastic, their characters in the movie, Oi Lin and Loy, are such boring figures that make the movie down to earth and interesting. On the contrary, other supporting roles like Oi Lin and Loy's exes, prinsoner Xu and fashion photographer Man Yu, possess extraordinary characteristics, but pale in the face of Oi Lin and Loy's mundaneness. 

Though the movie somehow intends to relate the story with the Hennessy Road neighborhood, I find this effort umimpressive. Suddenly another movie, Rene Liu's Happy Birthday rings a bell. It's a movie that does not have any geographic implication, but brings a vivid picture of Hong Kong, its scenary, people, and life, in front of my eyes. It's another story.


我對於"月滿軒尼詩"的期待不在演員、故事內容，而在香港，我期待這是一個和香港這塊土地的軒尼詩路有所關聯的一個故事。但我似乎失望了，除了一些街景和壇島咖啡餅店，這部電影叫做月滿羅斯福路或月滿第五大道好像也行。

我不是在寫影評，就像我寫吃喝玩樂一樣，照片照得不讚，也不鉅細靡遺的闡明什麼東西，只想講點個人意見。我看東西一般也不看千篇一律的介紹，而是揀那些因人而異的內容。

回到這部電影。湯唯跟張學友的表現無可挑剔，我也很喜歡他們的劇中角色愛蓮跟阿來，這兩個角色實在是無聊得讓人印象深刻。有著特殊經歷的配角，例如他們的前男女朋友，脾氣暴躁的牢犯和一副老練女強人形象的離婚時尚攝影師，這種街角pub隨處可見的角色，在愛蓮和阿來的平庸面前只顯得黯然失色。

這部片多少想讓劇情和軒尼詩路串在一起，但我卻無法感同身受。我突然想起劉若英的"生日快樂"，沒刻意強調片中背景地點 - 香港，卻在我眼前展現了一副副活生生的香港圖像，有人有事有景。不過這是另一個故事了。

Starbucks Korea 2011 Planner

2010年底，韓國星巴克再度推出喝17杯即可兌換planner的活動。我不在韓國，許小臉獨自終究拚不了那麼多杯，只好直接買，一本17000韓圜，有黑白兩種版本，跑了好幾家，買得黑色的版本。2011年曆沒有特別驚喜，在細節上則大有改進(按圖放大)。

有質感不錯的硬盒包裝(右圖上)，內附帆布pouch。Pouch拉鍊附有兩個貼心的拉頭，上有STARBUCKS刻字，內裡是防震布料，還有一個筆槽。

Planner正反兩面；正面有可愛的飲料圖樣刻紋，有咖啡色鬆緊帶，書籤線(那個線有名字嗎?)有白、咖兩色各一條。

內裡小細節，包括封底的紙pouch，planner編號，各城市地鐵線路圖，2010 ~ 2012 年曆，以及1+1 coupon 3張(右圖)。上下兩張是雨天1+1，中間那張則是任何時候都可使用的1+1(往年3張都是雨天才能使用的)。

內裡一覽。每頁皆有簡單清爽的設計，彩色頁有一如既往的星巴克品牌介紹、咖啡豆產地介紹等；記事頁面的資料很貼心，陽曆、陰曆、節日日期都有標記，每一頁右上方都有該月月曆。

這是我收集的第3本韓國星巴克年曆。做個簡單的比較 : 2009年是可愛取勝，也有一個方便的塑料pouch；2010年的highlight在紀念隨行卡和卡套，年曆本身就乏善可陳；2011年的整體質感典雅，白、咖、金、綠幾個主色的配色概念相當一致，整體來說，新鮮感倒是沒有，但實用性高，幾處貼心設計則最得我心。

A Snapshot of Korean-ness

March 2nd, after visiting Chagall Exhibition at Seoul Museum of Art, we came to Cheonggyecheon (청계천) for Paris Croissant and ran into Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. I managed to take a snapshot and later realized it's quite an interesting one - The Mayor had already hopped into his limo (Hyundai Equus, very politically correct!) and the rest of the personnel bowed to his departure. I like the sunshine in this picture. I like the Koreanness I captured in this picture.

Love Zombies (곰트리)

Bear Tree (곰트리) in Shinchon Hyundai Department Store, a White Day decoration. KC said those polar bears look like zombies.

A New Hip Place in Seoul - Rose Bakery and Comme des Garçons

A new hip place where you can go for classic European style light meal (Rose Bakery) and find something expensive for no reason (Comme des Garçons flagship store).

Rose Bakery is reasonably priced, a coffee for 7000 won, a carrot cake 8000 won. Light meals around 13000 won. I especially recommend carrot cake and cheese scone. Their light meals and latte do not wow me, but their Americano is supremo...ly strong. Worth trying!

Rose Bakery X Comme des Garçons flagship store:

Subway Line No.6, Hangangjin Station Exit 1, walk 3 mins.

( Note to those tight with schedule: This fact may help you prioritize your schedule - there's nothing interesting to see in that neighborhood, except Samsung Leeum Museum. )

Finding Mr/Ms Heo (姓許的好處)

One thing KC believes he's special is the rarity of his surname, Heo (허). According to some statistics, Heo ranks 30ish among all Korean surnames, which makes it pretty handy when finding his name from a list or waiting in a queue formed by alphabetical order.

許小臉自小相信自己是個特別的孩子，原因之一是他的姓氏並不常見，大概排在第30多位。這個事實不但讓他容易被他人記住，也有幾個方便之處，例如前年我陪他到微軟考試時，報到人數大概2、300名，姓氏是ㄱ開頭的，例如姓金(김)的，隊伍長到要排Z字型，許小臉的隊伍是ㅎ開頭，則是隨到隨報。

Here's the seating arrangement of his graduation ceremony, whereas Kim, the most common Korean surname, abounds,

還有個好處就是在名單上找自己很快，例如畢業典禮的座位安排，姓金的有這麼多:

there are only 10 Mr/Ms Heos.
姓許的就這麼10個，找起來實在很方便，科科。

許小臉與韓國教育體制的八年抗戰

終於在這一紙畫下句點。

(eh, 現在睏了，明天再寫)

"Chopping Play" - Korean Contemporary Art Now

source

This week I visited Chopping Play @ ION Orchard, featuring 6 contemporary Korean artists: Gwon Osang, Shin Kiwoun, Son Donghyun, Yee Sookyung, Chung Suejin, and Chun Sungmyung. (All photos taken @ ION were under permission from ION staff; courtesy of AndrewShire Gallery in Singapore)

Gwon Osang's work plays with dimensions. He takes photos (2 dimension) of a subject (3 dimension), and overlays them back to real size light mannequins, through which he transforms the 2 dimension photos back to the 3 dimension object again, creating an effect both surreal and realistic. This concept does not appear that fascinating to me, however, since it's my first time encountering this style, it feels refreshing and interesting. Check here for more of Gwon's work.

Gwon's "Rimowa"

Chung Suejin's "untitled" is an interesting piece, since it's untitled, I need not say much. But I do enjoy the Koreanness in her work. Look at the faces, who else can they be?

Source: AndrewShire Gallery

Also noteworthy is Son Donghyun, who's said to be good at using traditional painting techniques to portray modern mass cultural pop icons. A seemingly contradiction lies in the concept of using traditional painting techniques supposed to only serve the upper class in the past to portray pop icons. May take a look at his KING series featuring Michael Jackson too.

Son's "Ninja Turtle, Raphael"

Chun's "Swallowing the shadow"

Another noteworthy one is Chun Sungmyung, coz he's just such a creepy guy. It doesn't make me feel all that comfortable putting his work here, so I just select one that looks healthier (well, the whole concept of his art work is about un-healthiness actually).

Well, this exhibition aroused my interest in contemporary Korean artists. When I go back Seoul this Friday (YAY!), let's see what I can find there!

可以告它廣告不實嗎

"Hang Ten - Korean Styles"

這張照片在我臉書上的回響實在太踴躍了，一定要來分享一下。

普通人的生活

這幾年過得大起大落。2007、08年之際，正值高峰，從香港到韓國探望許爸許媽，買的禮物是港幣幾千幾千，許小臉那時家教case接得也多，月入也是一兩百萬圜的。08年秋天到歐洲念碩士班，我成了無薪階級，彼時韓圜狂貶，以致2009年初，當許小臉來瑞典小住時，正是我兩最為艱苦的時候，為了不讓許小臉挨餓受凍，我是這裡摳點那裡省點的，同學們課間去餐廳買杯不到台幣50的咖啡，我是每天從家裡自己帶Latte。那年一起在瑞典過了農曆年，該買的雞鴨魚肉自然不會省，只是我在購物籃裡多放了盒許小臉喜歡的GuyLian巧克力，他也可以感動不已。我說，過年嘛，總不能連喜歡的東西都省了。
2009年夏天修完課，我到了韓國寫論文，那段日子有離家出走還有在零下不知多少度穿著短褲奪門而出冷到嘴唇發紫的那些喜怒哀樂，當然還有數不盡的歡聲笑語與促膝談心，總之日子過得無比深刻，許小臉家教收入50萬圜，我的補習班收入20萬圜，這是我們70萬圜的幸福。
後來就到了筆下的現在，我回到了新加坡，許小臉則在韓國開始職場生涯，這時是450萬圜的生活，從經濟寬裕程度來看，相較我們的過去是比上不足比下有餘，日子則開始變得平庸，周一盼周五，盼了4個周末等發薪。
離開韓國後，我再沒因語言問題而感到不自在、或因洗碗問題感到身為女性的無奈，我不憤世嫉俗，也開始遺忘過往對韓國社會的悠長怨念。身在這個沒有冬日凜冽的熱帶小島，就算要離家出走，都不起眼的和夾腳拖一樣平庸得寒磣。我突然領悟原來這就是一個普通人的生活，活了20多年我終於過上普通人的生活，但是每當我耳邊響起許巍的那句"這是初次的感覺，我想了解這世界"，我終究還是有種動心的感覺。

2009年2月14日(相片顯示為韓國時間), Uppsala, Sweden.

許小臉用他僅剩的盤纏，在Carlings給我買了條Miss Sixty的牛仔褲

(季末出清，台幣不到2000)，我試穿時，從口袋掉出一張小紙條，

原來是他放進去的情人節卡片。

傍晚時到林奈咖啡(Cafe Linne)小坐，他跑去對街抽菸，偷拍站在門口的我。

Mandarin Is Not Equal To Chinese (從字幕想起)

This is captured from a Korean drama on TV. Not surprisingly, it is also dubbed into Mandarin (FYI: it's basically banned to broadcast dialect in TV programs, according to the Free-To-Air Television Programme Code. It's in line with the government's Speak Mandarin Campaign since the 1980s with the intention to make Mandarin the lingua franca among Singaporean Chinese). It's easy to understand that the English subtitles are made for the non Chinese speaking people (expats, Malays, Indians, etc.), but then why Chinese subtitles? Isn't it already dubbed into Mandarin? Only if you are aware, that not all Chinese Singaporeans understand Mandarin Chinese, as dialect groups in Singapore include Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and many others, and that even after 2 decades of promoting Mandarin, still, local Chinese people, are not all conversant with Mandarin. In Singapore, Mandarin and Chinese are different concepts. Mandarin is just one kind of dialect, where as Chinese is a universal written language. Those who understand written Chinese may not understand Mandarin, as they might be of other dialect origins.

從電視上翻拍的韓劇畫面，配音是普通話，字幕有中英雙語。英文字幕想當然是給聽不懂也看不懂中文的觀眾(洋人、馬來人、印度人等)，但為什麼有中文字幕呢，配音不已經是普通話了? 這個配音版本明顯是從台灣買來的，當然也附有繁體中文的字幕，我想製作單位是刻意不把中文字幕拿掉的，畢竟並不是所有新加坡華人都懂普通話。在新加坡，識中文字的人，不一定聽得懂普通話。

原生新加坡華人大都是閩南、潮州、廣東、客家、海南等方言族群，普通話對他們來說可是最為陌生的舶來品，大概是從1980年代政府開始推行講華語運動才開始發跡。這運動後來不知是走火入魔還怎樣，方言被全面封殺，例如無線電視的中文節目只許使用普通話發音，霹靂火和民視八點檔(最近在熱播"愛"XD)到了這裡都得講普通話(氣勢完全low掉)。

自政府推行普通話以來，20多年過去了，方言逐漸式微，取而代之的並不是普通話的坐大，而是英文使用人數的成長；方言不被鼓勵使用後，人們更為專注在英文的使用，方言家庭不是轉型成普通話家庭，而是變成英語家庭。

新加坡的土與摩登

電子花車feeling的新加坡超市的農曆新年裝飾

世界上的每個地方都有自己的特色，例如新加坡的特色之一，就是"土與摩登"。在這裡為什麼我講的不是"傳統與現代"，而是"土與摩登"呢? 因為它就是土與摩登(踹飛)。

"土與摩登"，和"傳統與現代"，是不一樣的。"傳統與現代"是指傳統與現代兩者不停相互影響，在現代化的華人社會，台北、香港、甚至中國幾個大城市，我們可以看到傳統不斷的在產生有機的變化，或質或量，例如在質方面，傳統演變得更為精緻，在量方面，則有加有減，有些東西一下少了，有些一下多了。

而新加坡呢? 在這個高度現代化、西洋化的國家，人們對於外來文化有相當高的品味，例如手機要用iPhone，看雜誌看書籍的品味也跟西洋人相當雷同，但是新加坡的在地華人文化，還停留在非常老土的階段，你幾乎不會看到他們閱讀較有深度的中文書籍，例如最通俗的王文華龍應台都紅不起來，更不會有余華或張愛玲。生活方面，這裡的華人料理依舊相當古早，並沒有被經過精緻化、健康化的過程，又或在文化方面，看看他們會紅哪些明星你就知道了，在台灣被唾棄的Y某人一家可舉家在新加坡開演唱會，被台灣大眾文化認為很ㄙㄨㄥˊ的數字團體在這邊就曾是天團，喔還有，當你登入新加坡msn首頁，右邊永遠是台灣收視第一的那個可以演到上千集的電視劇的影音檔，可在台灣它雖也收視第一，卻從來都沒佔據過哪家入口網頁的首頁。

用一句話這樣說吧，新加坡如果是一個人，這位人士呢，如果你用西方人的眼光看他吃西餐、買英文書，你會覺得他是個受過大學以上教育的白領，但如果用個台灣或香港或中國人的眼光你看他吃中餐、買中文書，你會覺得這大概就是受過中學教育，文化素養不會太高的人了。此之謂也。原因是什麼? 文化特色當然不需要什麼原因。但如果拿新加坡跟其他華人地區來比，探討差異為何產生，那答案就是，因為以中文為主的華人文化在新加坡，已經跟拉丁文在中古世紀以後的命運一樣，不會再發展了。

韓國跟台港中一樣，也具備傳統與現代不斷相互影響的文化。
傳統文化不斷的被精緻化、普及化，而現代文化也不斷吸收
傳統文化的精隨以持續發展。圖中是韓國超市的新年裝飾。

Their Heroinic Tears (面對阿珠媽們的我的態度)

Ajummas (아줌마, middle aged women), probably top expats in Korea's "list of hatred". They seems always bbali bbali (빨리빨리, hurriedly), they jump the queue, shout in public, push people to make way, obsessed with petty advantages... they just don't seem to make you feel comfortable.

I used to hate many things about this country, and I criticized a lot. But sometimes, when I passed by the Han River, overlooking the scenery outside the window, the beautiful riverside parks and bicycle tracks, carefully planted trees, expansive cross river bridges... I marveled at modern Korean people's achievements. And back to the roots, what had initially made all these possible?

The Ajummas. They gave birth to the generations that brought Korea from the WW2 ashes to this developed country today. Burdened by their various roles as mother, daughter in law, wife, producer, housekeeper... how can they not be how they are as of today? Whereas man, the so called "master of the family", can rest after coming back from work, leave his plates on the dining table after meal and go for a cigarette, put dirty clothes in the basket after shower, woman has to cook, do the dishes and laundry, and everything. So how can they not be bbali bbali? How can they behave with repose? They have to be tough and unyielding, only looking at desired results, at whatever expense.



Korean ajumma's classic outfit
for weekend's mountain hiking(left)

Now, they are supposed to be more released when they reached their 50s. So they go mountain hiking on Saturdays, church on Sundays, other than that they go han jeung mak (한증막, sauna) with their middle aged friends, gossip unsubstantiated things and complain about their husbands. This seem to be an ideal outcome for rewarding their efforts in the past decades. However, for woman in their mid 50s right now, everything is just superficial. A lot of them are still burdened with debts from house mortgage, children's university tuition loans, and preparation for children's wedding expenses (the groom's family is supposed to prepare house and car). Burden after burden makes them seek religion for recourse. According to report, whereas 11% of Danish middle aged women have religious belief, 78% of Korean middle aged women resort to religion for spiritual comfort. Therefore one should be be too surprised if the number of churches exceeds that of convenience stores (especially in Seoul city area).

Maybe I am just too sensitive. Maybe I am just too sentimental. I came to feel uneasy later on when I see churches in Korea. Along the steeples of the churches, I as though can see tears trickling down, telling of a story of a generation of Korean women from the 50s. It could be religion, it could be economy, it could be a better job for their children, I sincerely hope Ajummas be rewarded one day, with what they really deserved.

Styling Xu Xiao Lian

也許男生的衣物總是比女生選擇少，考量到預算和商品availability，打扮這事似乎變得更有趣，也難怪比起妝扮自己(反正我不是以外貌取勝~)，我比較喜歡研究怎麼打扮許小臉。

和大部分首爾男一樣，許小臉相當注意儀容，可他更難搞的地方在於他又不想穿得跟首爾男一樣，也不買韓國牌子，所以不管到哪，他總是第一個想跑百貨公司看衣服，取取經(要我，首先跑的就是博物館XD)。最近回顧電腦裡的相片，整理出幾個focus items，那些東西描繪出了我們走過的地方和歲月，睹物思事，挺有意思的。

賢慧如我本來還想聊聊男生的西裝，礙於篇幅，就下次再提啦。
(都是按圖放大)

Styling is a like trajectory of life, which reveals your mood, condition, and taste at different times. Due to concerns like product availability and budget, styling becomes more interesting because it is challenging. A few tips I concluded from reviewing KC's fotos over the years are as follows (click to enlarge picture. Xu Xiao Lian refers to KC) :

Scarf

A wool scarf I got for KC from agnès b, priced at 599HKD, made in Italy. One side is olive green and the other light beige, pretty handy for mix match. One thing I love about scarf is that with the same item you can look good even with an undie (of course, it can't be crumpled). Another line from agnès b is SPORT b..We loved SPORT b. several years ago but not so much nowadays. We feel that it's just too much in Asia, and the pricing does not reflect the fact that more and more of their products are now produced in China.

BTW, in the above pictures he's wearing the scarf in a very Korean way, haha.

(Pictures taken in 2007, HK, 24 years of age.)

Another wool scarf from H&M @ Seoul for around 39,000 won, made in China. Insisting to look gentleman, he's still wearing it in 30+ degree Singapore (left) and Taipei (right). He said he has reached the age to look classy, so simply wearing a polo or cotton shirt would not be right, and a classic polka dot scarf would do the job.

(Taken in 2010 summer, in SG and Taipei, 27 years of age)

Beanie

Fred Perry beanie I got in Sweden for about 249 SEK (around 1250 NTD). The logo itself probably tells you the owner has some brand concern and is also a smart consumer, given that Fred Perry is reasonably priced in Europe. Beanie helps enliven your winter outfit and create layering look. Also, since KC thinks fully zipping the down jacket is no trendy, but not fully zipping up may let freezing air in, adding a beanie can solve the problem and keep your head warm.

(Taken in early 2009, Sweden, 26 years of age.)

Sweater

We love this sweater from H&M. Usual price was 59000 won and we bought it with 50% off. It's made of cotton and can be worn in all seasons. In summer (middle) it goes well with a tank or undie inside, and at other times it's perfect with shirts of any color. All in all, it brings new look to your shirts and they won't look boring. 

(Taken in 2010 summer and autumn, Seoul, 27 years of age.)

Bag

Think I am just lucky to have found this bag, made of genuine leather with thoughtful pockets and wonderful details. 2400 NTD from SOAP, my favorite boutique in Taipei. It is one of the very few things of mine that KC thought about taking from me (and he did).

Vest

A cotton vest I got (again, haha) from CK Jeans for about 80000 won after 50% off. It does the same job as sweater, basically to add some vitality and change to your shirt inside. However, KC now seldom wears vest as he thinks it's too Korean to wear vest (yes, you might have realized that vest is already a typical item for Korean guys nowadays).

Last but not least comes...

Beret! Yes I haven't talked about shoes as I do not have enough pictures on my laptop to write a paragraph about it. And I have not talked about KC's office wear either. I'd love to share some ideas about selecting man suit as this took me some time to learn the lessons and I am still learning. Anyway. Here, need not to say much. If your man has baby face like KC, and you also happen to look...well, your age, then you can put on a pair of glasses and a beret to make him look maturer. Smart move, isn't it!

( Taken in 2010 summer, Seoul. Beret from Uniqlo, 7000 won after 50% off, something like that.)

道高一尺，魔高一丈

記得有次許小臉跟我說，韓國巴士費用是按距離計，很多韓國阿珠媽們是前門上車打了卡不久就到後門又打一次卡，這樣一般可省個100圜，當時這已讓我印象深刻。可惜貪小便宜這事，比起新加坡人，韓國人恐怕還略遜一籌，同樣是pay by distance，新加坡連對應策略都出台了 - 巴士後門貼有警告標示，讀卡機更是一絕，讀卡功能是在巴士駛近車站時才會開通(如下圖左)，而巴士運行期間，讀卡功能將被關閉(如下圖右)。

好吧，那有些人更絕，乾脆上下車都不打卡，但這種人你也碰不到，因為巴士司機可是兩眼兩耳隨時偵測是否人人打卡，甚至時不時會有traffic inspector上車查票(查票耶! 是哪個年代的事了啊)。

Samsung, Still Sucky in Camera?

I still remember KC used to own a Samsung camera years back, whose performance was pretty disappointing. Likely, though his last mobile phone was an expensive model from Samsung with lots of breathtaking features, the camera sucks big time.

As KC is now using htc Nexus One, in order to operate on the same OS, Samsung's Galaxy S seems the best option for me, plus, it was on sale for 138 SGD with 56SGD monthly plan (free incoming calls, 200 mins free local calls and 500 sms, 12 GB data bundle). Again, this time I was disappointed by its camera: no FLASH, and the quality also falls far behind that of the Nexus One.

A simple comparison here, both pictures taken by me:

Using my Samsung Galaxy S

Using KC's htc Nexus One, with flash. You can even spot the oil stain on his shirt thanks to HK flying pork (it's another story).

Rich Apple, Poor Apple? No, it's Affordable Korean Apple

Sometimes popular things are not popular solely because they are superior. Same reasoning applies to the popularity of Korean products in Singapore, why? Though they are superior to products of this region (South East Asia), a lot of times they still lose competitive edge to Japanese products in terms of quality. Let's say, you buy apples of Chinese, American, or Italian origin, which are priced around 5 for $2, and once in a while you wouldn't mind trying Korean apple that is $1.2 for one but double the size of the cheap ones. But it's very unlikely that you would shift your expectation of the price of an apple to $3-$5 or higher and go for a Japanese apple on a regular basis. So a possible explanation for the high visibility of Korean products("Korean Fashion", "Korean Accessories", etc) in Singapore is not because they are the best, but that they are affordable luxury.

成真

以前人們在開玩笑時，有時會說 "等到民國100年吧!" 從今天開始，這個梗宣告過期。

看到世界各地的倒數活動，想到自己曾經列過幾歲之前要做的幾件事，其中之一就是到紐約時代廣場倒數，不過我想它大概不會成真，因為我現在就是個怕吵怕擠怕累的人，也早已習慣於冷眼旁觀群眾活動。不會成真的事情往往就是這樣，有時是來不及實現，有時是中途喪失了存在的理由。

最後，熱烈慶賀偏安政權中華民國百年元旦，因為它真的花生惹!!!