New stuff.

I haven't really done a product post in a while...

...so I thought I would write some notes on things I have been given/have on my desk right now...

Firstly,

...you should know that the weather is getting hotter and stickier by the minute here in Seoul...

...so all hot drinks are now served on ice;

Even though it is hot I am still trying to wear fall-appropriate clothes...

I am insane...

I found a really exciting place in Yongsan that only sells things that are related to mangos...

...it's called Mango Six ;

...I have been trying more Jeju-Island-volcano face products lately...

(...real volcano ash?  not sure...)

...the peculiar novelty of using Jeju Volcanic ash on my face will possibly never die down...

...it's from Innis Free...

...I think Innis Free is my favorite cheap Korean cosmetic brand...;

Did I mention that cherries seem to be available in Seoul right now?  Like... at a reasonable price?

...I might be wrong, but I think it's berry season or almost the right time for berry-harvest in Korea...

I also like apples and anything that smells like apples...

(I have an unofficial record in New Zealand for eating 24 apples in one day)

...so I was quite happy to find this apple-smelling make-up remover...also from Innis free...

In terms of new Korean advertising...

I am quite impressed with the news Hyundai Card ads...

...it looks as though Hyundai Card might have hired a creative consultant...

...the images are not as direct or self-esteem-crushing as most Korean advertising...

돈의 맛 The Taste of Money

On Monday I saw the recently released Cannes-nominated Korean film 돈의 맛...

... (English title: The Taste of Money)...

WARNING: This article may contain some movie spoilers...

This movie is one of a number of creepy sexual dramas created by the famous Korean movie director Im Sang-soo...

The movie aimed to give an 'insider perspective' on the way that Korean 재벌 Chaebol families work...

In Korea,

Chaebol 재벌 are a high class group of powerful families that control big Korean corporations such as Samsung, Shinsegae, Lotte, LG and Hyundai...

While the movie does seem to have a reckless/oddly paced storyline...

The movie does present a few unique scenes here and there...

...particularly the scene in which the 65 year old mother sexually assaults the 33 year old male corporate secretary...

Generally a number of Korean films show sex scenes where an old man is assaulting or manipulating women (particularly very young women... see 은교)...

... so this was the first Korean film where I had witnessed an older woman forcefully pushing herself onto a young man...

(this kind of scene is not so uncommon in European or US films...think any film starring Sharon Stone...)

I felt that the biggest problems in the movie stemmed from the how the movie treated the two foreign characters...

...there was one American actor/character and one Philippino actor/character in the movie...

Throughout the movie, the American male character is considered a business partner of the family...

...he is offered a plentiful amount of hookers, erotic massages, and booze throughout the film...

(...even though we are not exactly clear on his actual job description or value...)

In contrast, the Filipina named Eva in the movie is a house maid...

...and she is treated as a helper, a sexual affair partner, and eventually a piece of collateral... 

...who ends up drowning face-down naked in the family pool...

 

I don't really appreciate the way that Korean media tends to portray the Philippines and present it as a country that Korea should pity or look down on...

...there is certainly an exaggerated wealth gap depicted in the film between Korea and the Philippines...

...while the clueless American keeps on boasting about how he "enjoys the sex" in Korea...

If the movie aimed to show the dark side of wealth...

... it certainly achieved that...

...but I think that the closing part of the movie failed to deliver a clear or important final image..

Birthday Buddha.

We had a public holiday in Korea on Monday this week...

...for Buddha's birthday...

There is an annual lantern street parade that goes through Dongdaemun and down central Seoul (to 관화문?) to celebrate Buddha...

...but I missed it this year as I was in Hong Kong...

I love this time of year in Korea...

...as the heat has not yet peaked...

...and it is a little cooler at night...

... so you can walk around and not be a sweaty mess...

So last Friday night I took the subway to 삼성역 line 2 (코엑스 COEX) and walked across the street to 봉은사 temple...

This is a really beautiful temple...

...and there were Koreans everywhere lighting candles and bowing in front of the giant statues of Buddha...

There were many different kinds of lanterns...

...and there were thousands of them...;

I was a little angry last week when I saw that some culture-crushing Korean Christian pastors were putting advertisements in Korean newspapers with the message that Seoul City Council should not display lotus lanterns in the streets because they are 'not Christian'...

...lotus lanterns are beautiful and non-corrupting objects...pastors should stop trying to control politics...

One of my Korean friends gave me this lotus lantern after I got back from Hong Kong...;

Meeting the Queen.

Last weekend I attended the British Association of Seoul Ball...

...at the Grand Hyatt Hotel...

...the event was to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth...

...who has now been Queen of the British Commonwealth for 60 years (1952-2012)...

Unfortunately... I was dangerously ill with an ugly cough for the entirety of last week...

...I felt like a biological weapon on the subway...

As a result of this death-like-virus...

...I was really struggling to get out of bed to venture downtown to find a ball gown...

...so I kind of took the lazy option and cut-up and modified a dress I already owned

...it was a really  really dreadful idea...

I thought that if I added a lot of unrelated jewellery...

... then maybe people wouldn't notice that I was too lazy to find and purchase a proper ball gown...

How wrong was I ?!?

Upon arrival I noticed a mammoth Queen Elizabeth commemoration ice sculpture...

...which can only mean one thing...

...it had to be a rather over-the-top British nationalistic event...

But I didn't feel so guilty about being underdressed for long...

 

... as I met a British guy whose drycleaning had not been delivered on time...

...and therefore with no suit jacket or tie...

...he took the title for most underdressed person in attendance...

After the welcoming...

...a british-cuisine (?!) 4 course meal began...

...one part of the meal involved everyone receiving an individual ice sculpture...

...I find all these ice sculptures to be a terrible waste of money...

...but I guess British people think they are a novelty... (?!);

I wore...

...brown lipstick (see brown lipstick @the Faceshop Korea)...

...and blue (slightly) suede shoes...

I am not the most nationalistic Australian...

...but that is not unusual for Australians...

...the Australian flag is even banned from some national events...such as the Big Day Out...

...Australia is still a part of the British Commonwealth...

...the Queen of England is our head of state and her representative (the Governor General in Australia) signs off on all our Australian laws...

 

...that said...

...modern Australians are generally not monarchists...

...but British people... wow... they really really do love their Queen...

...I know it seems rather ignorant of me to be shocked that British people feel so strongly about their Queen...

...but I genuinely felt surprised about how genuinely proud British people were of their Royal family...

...I met a lot of people from all sorts of countries...

...Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Canada, Russia, New Zealand...

Everyone received a table gift at the Ball...

...Chanel for girls, and liquor for boys...

Ball gowns are not very easy to find in Korea...

...but I promise next time...

...I will endeavour to find an actual ball-appropriate-dress...