100 days 백일

 If you have ever dated a Korean (at least, in Korea)...

...you might know about something called 백일 'baekil'...which means the 100th day of dating.

(...I think that Australians usually only celebrate the 1st year anniversary of dating...very casually...with maybe a beer... or two...)

In my experience, this is a pretty serious event for Koreans (...at least in Korea)... and I have to admit that I somehow dread 백일 baekil a little because...

a) it is an overly romantic event... and my skin starts to crawl a little bit... *cringe*

b) it can be a seriously expensive event, and giving and receiving gifts on 백일 baekil can cause stress and heart attack.

c) 백일 baekil is just one of many 'couple days' in Korea...so if 백일 is stressful, then I will definitely be concerned about the 이백일 'eebaekil' (200 days) and the 삼백일 'sambaekil' (300 day anniversary).

The 'anniversaries' for the 200 day 이백일 'eebaekil'and 300 삼백일 'sambaekil' day mark in relationships  are generally not as important as celebrating the 100 day-baekil... but there are still many Korean couples that acknowledge these 'couple events'. 

I honestly think that there are too many couple-events in Korea...

***stress stress stress...***

(for example...백일 100 days, 이백일 200 days, 삼백일 300 days, Peppero day, birthdays, Christmas, white day, Valentine's day...blah blah blah...

So... what exactly happens if you are celebrating a 100 day 'baekil' with your Korean boyfriend/girlfriend?

 

1) Sex...maybe...

I don't want to generalize about this couple event too much ... but in Korea the 100 day baekil often marks the day when a Korean couple should have sex for the first time (this is what most of my Korean friends tell me).  I don't expect that all Korean couples wait till 100 days to have sex...but it seems like a standard condition or expectation that at least by 100 days, there will be some kind of 'skinship' (Korean expression for 'skin on skin'...a bit of a creepy expression, in my opinion...).

2) Exchange of Luxury goods...

It is no secret now that many Koreans hold a certain affection for luxury products.  Many of my Korean male friends are at the brink of bankruptcy after the 100 day baekil ... as they feel some pressure to purchase a Louis Vuitton handbag for their girlfriend.  Korean girls (my friends...) will often opt for Calvin Klein underwear, luxury brand wallets or aftershave when they consider a gift for their boyfriend on the 100 day baekil.

3) Expensive spaghetti...

I find it really weird, as a half-Italian, that a number of Koreans think that pasta is a 'luxury food'... pasta is totally to poor-student's food in Australia.  You can microwave it, and use canned sauce.  In Korea, pasta restaurants are ridiculously expensive and they are the primary place that my Korean friends go for their 100 day-baekil celebrations.  I never let Korean dudes take me to pasta restaurants because Korean food just tastes better, and I grew up with Italian food so it doesn't hold any exoticism for me at all. 

Birthday Baby.

This week has been a little cray cray.

First of all, I am trying to organize some Korean-'authentic' presents for family/friends as I am going to fly to Australia next week... and I think I have to explain why I have not visited Australia in the last 2.5 years.  Presents will hopefully distract friends and family, and hopefully I won't have to answer many questions...

I was also busy with the mini-project of trying to organize something for my Yonsei friends/Korean friends for Saturday night for Halloween... I have never been to Itaewon for Halloween (area surrounding the American military bases) because I am a little scared of drunk military punks.  Everytime I run into American military in Seoul I have an unpleasant situation...and I generally have to ask them to back up.  But anyway, my original plan was to go to Hongdae (university area). 

(By the way, Halloween is not celebrated in Australia...but I can partake in the festivities for kicks...)

I have definitely been enjoying Korean food and alcohol too much these days...

...so I was definitely planning on avoiding anything that showed legs, arms, stomach, shoulders, or ankles... like this Halloween costume that I wore in 2008;   (oh my...golly...  -.-;)

So it was my 27th birthday this week...

(Korean age..28!!!!...which will click over to 29 on January 1st, 2012).

I am a big girl now.

Although there are still many things to achieve (I must visit Argentina... I must!  ...also South Africa...and I must also purchase a small but sturdy island in the Bahamas or the Philippines...and then develop infrastructure on the island...)...

...I feel pretty OK about skating closer to 30 because I feel like I have spent almost 10 years on my own (I moved out of my parent's house when I was 18) and I feel a little more content to keep living by myself...

Even if that means being a complete loner in East Asia for a while longer...marriage and mortgage are NOT on the cards anytime soon..

So my birthday started like this;

This is what happened when I went out with two of my European friends...

(let's call them...Mr Sauerkraut and Mr Red Bus...am I being too obvious here?).  

I consider myself to be very 'low brow'.  I currently live with a Korean homestay family in the Western part of Seoul (not far from the universities).  But...on the face of things...most of my friends in Korea appear far more high brow than myself (oh really...? ㅋㅋ) and choose to hang out in the classier parts of Seoul, that is...Apkujeong 압구정. 

If your friends feed you this many bottles of soju (see above picture) then you can be sure that they have an agenda.  Ok, that's not true.  I think they just wanted me to sing like a drowning cat at karaoke 노래방.

The interior of the karaoke room 노래방 was clearly something inspired by a  pimp's 70s disco-den...

Mr Sauerkraut and Mr Red Bus also procured an icrecream cake ~~! 짱이다 ~~!!!

So... I had a slight headache the next day...*oh so slight*

...but the next day I went to a Japanese restaurant with the Korean boyfriend...for my birthday dinner...

(Korean boyfriend is the 'civilized eating' kind of guy... I am the 'all-you-can-eat' kind of girl...)

We ate colorful sashimi;

...and some attractive sushi;

...the Korean boyfriend prepared balloons... ;

I also received a cool card in the shape of a hanbok...

Then came another cake...

...in a big box...it was found in a boutique-type of cake shop in Yangjae... 양재...

It was a rather handsome cake...

...and finally...I continued my romance with pink Japanese digital electronics...생일 선물 ~~^^...birthday present...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So then Halloween was last night and it was probably the most wholesome Halloween that I have ever had...and I did not objectify myself at all (...isn't Halloween that festive time when smart women wear something a little too overtly sexual?).

Actually... to be honest...

...I fell into the trap of doing something a little 'overly-Korean'...*cringe*

...and prepared 'couple-costumes' for the Korean boyfriend and I (*shocking*).

The concept was somewhat confused...

...it looks a little like Lacoste vomited on us...and then handed us some bad second-hand badminton racquets.

It's my first venture designing a couple costume... harder than it appears...I had to sew the Korean boyfriend's shorts from scratch...*I clearly have too much free time...*

Lovers.

WARNING: This post contains overly-romantic scenes involving individuals over the age of 50.

Last week I caught up with my best Korean (female) buddy that I hadn't seen in a while.

It is hard to schedule time to meet her these days because...

a) she got married a few months ago

and

b) I have been doing almost back-to-back trips... non-stop this year.

When we caught up she told me she had been stalking through some of my family vacation photos from Europe (family trip was back in June...) and she said she was really shocked about some of the photos.

????????????????????????????????

I guessed that she was referring to my weird poses... see here...

Luigina straddling a lion in Barcelona...

'Why?  There was nothing out of the ordinary, I just got a bit out of control, with the posing'... I commented...

She replied;

'Not the posing...I mean...What is wrong with your parents?'

I said... 'whhhhhaaaatttttt...?'

She replied; 'Your parents were touching in every shot, I was amazed!  I even showed my husband!!!'...

Upon further probing, she elaborated that she was confused about why my Mother and Father (both over 50) are so 'physical' with each other.  That is; holding hands in photos, kissing, looking deeply into each other's eyes...*eeewwweeee ewe ewe ewe*  ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ   *cringe*

My Korean friend explained that her Korean parents...
~~ do NOT touch...
~~ do NOT kiss...
~~ do NOT have sex...
and 
~~ do NOT generally stare deeply into each other's eyes.

(Like this... ;)

I asked if this was typical for most Korean parents over 50. 

She replied; 'Totally normal'.  

I am not sure if my family is a bit more 'physical' than Korean families... but I could take a leap and say that my Australian family shows a little bit more physical affection than the family of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il...

See here;

                                          (Photo Source: http://www.davidstuff.com/)

So to clarify what the deal was here... my Korean friend had a few questions about my parent's marriage;

'Why do you parents hug in public?'

'Why do your parents appear to like each other?'

Why do your parents kiss in public?

Why do your parents gaze at each other so romantically?



Considering the overly romantic behavior of my parents, you would think that I might be less cynical about marriage...

To be honest... I don't know if my parents have a typical 'Australian marriage'.  I don't know if all Australian parents are this affectionate all the time.  After graduating from High School in the Australian countryside, many of my friends' parents filed for divorce.  A high percentage of my friends from Law School in Sydney also come from a divorced family.

So, the fact that my family is still together (albeit in different cities and countries) is defying statistics. 

My parents generally taught my brother and I that physical affection is important and my Mother even still holds our hands sometimes... see here (my Mother and younger brother holding hands...);

I hate to generalize yet again...but I think there are some notable differences between Korean marriages and Australian marriages;

* Korean marriages are less about individuals and more about two families combining.  Financial and education status are generally more important than sexual compatibility in Korean marriage match-making.
 
* Korean couples pour 200% of their attention into their children and children's education, which may leave less time for hand-holding, kissing, hugging, and eye-gazing activities.

* Korea is still a relatively conservative society when it comes to public displays of affection, and I have never seen a couple over 35 kissing in public in Korea (although... it might...be possible...).

* My Chinese friends tell me that there is a Chinese belief that having sex over the age of 50 takes years off of your life... some Koreans hold a similar belief that sex after 50 is detrimental to health (but again...probably not all Koreans think like this...surely...). 

I think these slightly disturbing romantic pictures of my parents really inspired my Korean 언니 friend.  ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

She told her husband; 'When we are over 50 we are going to hold hands and kiss like Luigina's parents.  Ok?'.   ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Seoul Fashion Week: Lie Sang Bong 이상봉 패션쇼

I need to get out of the house more frequently...

...like... before 5pm...*yaaawwwnnn*...

I arrived in Seoul from Ho Chi Minh city on Monday, after the Korean boyfriend organized a birthday tour of Thailand and Vietnam last week (hey, did I mention it is my birthday next week?  I'm turning 27~~ *Korean age; 28*).

Monday...***silly me***...was the beginning of Spring/Summer 2012 Seoul Fashion Week...

....a good reason to get out of bed, at least to meet some awkward/kooky foreign press, right? 

(I have to say... I could use my mad drawing skillz to design a way more 슈퍼 super pimpin logo than this one...Seoul Fashion Week organizers...not to be a moaner or anything...)

I didn't prepare anything for Seoul Spring/Summer 2012, but since I am mostly dedicating my time at the moment to researching Korean traditional dress, I decided to go to one of the more traditional-Korean inspired shows... that is... Lie Sang Bong (Paris).  He interprets Korean culture in a science-fictiony way.



I did attend the Lie Sang Bong show in Seoul 6 months ago, for Fall/Winter 2012... and it was a bit dreary...a bit muddy...a bit grey... a bit depressing (is that how we sum up Winter?  I love winter...my favorite season...).  It looked like this;

                                          (Photo Source: blog.naver.com)

So... I was surprised to see a turnaround in Lie Sang Bong's Spring/Summer collection this time...

(P.S. my Olympus camera totally took miserable photos of the show, so I am borrowing someone else's shots to give better color/angle..these are from the same collection, but taken from the show in Paris, two weeks ago).

See here;

                                     (Photo Source: forums.thefashionspot.com)

and here....

                                    (Photo Source: forums.thefashionspot.com)

The Spring/Summer collection was allegedly inspired by Daecheong... which is that mad-detailed Korean artistry displayed in Korean wooden art and architecture;

I like that he references Korean things.  Lie Sang Bong became particularly famous in 2006 when he started using 한글 Hangeul Korean language in his designs.  He has undeniably broken ground not only as a Korean designer, but as a Korean artist. 

The final look was a badass ball gown with some kind of laser cut-outs.  It looked a bit like an industrial metal mess, but I liked it !  Except for... *ouch*  *ouch*... it looked kind of stabby-in-the-ribs *ouch*...

To be super frank...I think that Lie Sang Bong is a really well-travelled dude (did you watch his documentary on Lie Sang Bong in Brazil?  Interesting...) and I think he is a terrific ambassador for Korean culture and customs.

But...would I actually...buy LIE SANG BONG?

Most Koreans, when buying quality products, look outside of Korea.  My Korean friends buy Italian brands before Korean brands. 

Do I own ANY LIE SANG BONG?  ... I only own one Lie Sang Bong pillow case.  He is also a homewares designer... his bed spreads look like mismatched High School bed sheets.  Color/texture/pattern mayhem.

Besides designing colorful bedspreads, Lie is also famous for throwing mad parties after his fashion shows. 

Check out the colors in his cracked out Woodstock invite;

Through my eyes... Lie Sang Bong looks skilled.  He is cutting and pinning and pulling and pressing and hemming with precision.  The problem is that the overall look is kind of whack.  I mean, do we NEED to wear emblazoned leggings with cut-outs and sequins under a ball gown? 

We all know the answer to that question... 

(Photo Source: mochimag.com)

That said... I am a slob.  I am a sloppy dresser.  My dream is to one day own a collection of all-in-one cotton jumpsuits ranging from grey to navy. My idea of getting ready is shower + brush hair.  Lie Sang Bong loses me at the leggings + skirt + second skirt + second shell part... it looks like COMPLEX DRESSING. 

Celine jacket plus pants please.  Finished.  The End.

But... we can not argue that this collection is sooo pretty !!  Sooo... artistic!!! 

The collection makes sense when broken up into small edible pieces. 

Like, when you get overwhelmed by the kebab and you just take out the meat and eat the meat.  You only need the important ingredient!!! 

 You know what I'm getting at, right?  I'll just take the skirt... not the leggings...

If you would like to see a slightly edited version of the S/S Paris version of the same show, you can check out the link on the Korea Times website: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/10/199_96577.html

I am not surprised that people refer to Lie Sang Bong as the 'Korean Alexander McQueen'...because if you peak through Lie Sang Bong's look-book there are many overlapping ideas between the designers... cut-outs, shells, dramatic head pieces, use of odd leggings...and so on...

On other topics... I think that Seoul Fashion Week picked up some new sponsors this season...

Anyone heard of W magazine?

... and Seoul Fashion Week wouldn't be Korean without celebrities;

Front Row Celebrity Spotting at the Lie Sang Bong Show 쇼:

~~~~~ 구하라 Gu Hara (Kara)
~~~~~홍석천 Hong Sok Chon (Korea's only outed gay celebrity)

Ok, it is late... time for me to brush my teeth and go to bed... until next time... 주무세요~~~ ^^*

For more lookbooks by Lie Sang Bong 이상봉; http://www.liesangbong.com/gb/index.php