Culture Clash, 'Expressions' and Being Beautiful

Ok, so first of all, I already knew before I came here that Asians and Westerners have different ideas on appearances. And this little comic kind of sums that up nicely:

Yes, so while I might not go quite that far with my shirts – there are a couple that I have that wouldn’t be an issue back home, but here they would be.  So best idea – the higher the neckline, the better in Korean opinion.  And you need to wear long-sleeves – all the time.  I think my 3/4 length sweaters might even be pushing it, but I can’t help it! If I wear a long-sleeved shirt, I want to push up the sleeves!  Well, actually all I really want to do is wear my t-shirts without a sweater type thing over them – it can get kind of hot here you know! Hopefully, when it’s closer to summer than spring, other teachers will wear t-shirts so that I can too.  Oh, and if your neckline is wider at the top – and they can see your bra straps – ladies, according to my co-teacher, this is okay around women, but not around men, because they imagine all kinds of things. Her words. So now everytime I get ready for school, I have to take a good look in the mirror and think to myself, “if I was a Korean, would this be appropriate or not?”

Things my co-teachers say can be quite interesting at times. Like at one point they were telling me that I needed to be careful because I have blond hair, and Korean men fantasize about that, which led into a conversation about stalkers and which bus/train station prostitutes hang out at.  Not really sure how we got to prostitutes at bus stations, but there you are.

Next, I have definitely gotten quite possibly the most comments on my appearance in Korea than in my life.  Most of the time I hear things like “Oh, Amanda teacher, very beautiful,” or “Amanda, pretty/beautiful,” and I’ve gotten comments on my eyes, like “Oh! Blue!”  And more recently, today I got told that I have long legs, which are very nice, and that I have a nice S-line (which is apparently an attractive body shape in Korea). So what I’m saying is, if you ever decide that you want to hear (generally) good things about your appearance, Korea may be the place for you.

I’ve noticed that Koreans also tend to comment a lot on your expressions.  Like at lunch recently, I was told that my expressions have gotten much better than when I first arrived.  Apparently when I first came, my expressions were ‘dark, like I was nervous’.  Hate to tell you, but I WAS nervous!  Who wouldn’t be going into a completely different culture and job than what you’re used to, not to mention, not really understanding most of what they’re saying?!  But now, according to them, my expressions have gotten much better, because I have ‘let more light into them’ and must have ‘decided something in my mind’.  Right, so I’ll take that as a good thing....