Burning Seoul Photo: Justin De La Ornellas

It’d been a good night in Itaewon, one of Seoul, South Korea’s busiest nightspots. I’d potentially made a new friend to guide me through the city. Even better, I was dancing with an attractive girl. We moved closer together and she put her arms around my waist. She stopped dancing and smiled.

“What’s this?” she teased, grabbing at my several pounds of excess fat.

“Uh … well, me,” I replied, surprised and embarrassed.

What did one say? She’d picked out one of my flaws and told me all about it. Thanks for the observation? Unsurprisingly enough, things with that girl never went beyond the platonic. I had just learned my first lesson on the importance of looks in Korea.

In any subway car you will see young Korean women checking their hair and makeup in mirrors that come attached to their cell phones. For those with less image-savvy devices, the windows provide ample reflection for women to fretfully fix stray stands of hair or rouge streaks of foundation.

Wondergirls Press Conference Photo: DekOow

This preoccupation with beauty is no less reflected in how many Korean women dress. High heels, mini skirts and frilled blouses are not reserved for nights out on the town – they are the norm for many women going about their daily business.

But Korean’s quest for beauty often leads them to take drastic, more permanent measures. The number of women who get some form of cosmetic surgery is nothing short of astounding. Conservative estimates put the figure at 50 percent of women in their twenties. Equally striking, one newspaper poll carried out last year suggested that almost 90 percent of Korean women have thought about getting work done.

By far the most common procedure is double eyelid surgery, which involves putting an extra fold in the eyelid, making the patient’s eyes seem bigger. Nose jobs and liposuction are also popular.

While looking good is a matter of boosting self-esteem for many women, there are often more practical reasons for going under the knife. A lot of women believe that their chances of employment are largely dependent on their looks and will improve significantly after a cosmetic touch-up. In this highly competitive society, where it is routine to send your photo attached to your resume, a pretty face can give you the edge in a job or college interview.

Such is the pressure to succeed that some parents even pay for their daughter’s procedures. It is not uncommon for high school girls to have their surgery paid for as a graduation present. And with many Korean celebrities getting surgery, the pressure to look a certain way comes from outside the home as well as within.

Asian Art Festival Photo: Stinkie Pinkie

Even politics is far from immune from the beauty obsession. Recently, one South Korean politician who had judged at a college debating competition raised eyebrows when he gave a group of students his view on how to win a debate.

“When we have a debate competition, judges don’t really pay attention to the debate. They are actually interested in how participants’ faces look,” the politician was quoted as saying.

At the same gathering he was reported as telling an aspiring news anchorwoman, “You will have to give ‘everything.’ Can you still do it?” “Everything,” one can assume, was not an innocent reference to plain determination and hard work.

Shortly after my lesson in appearances at the nightclub, I saw an online advert for free weekend Korean lessons. I went without hesitation, eager to pick up a few phrases in a country where English-speakers are firmly in the minority. The lessons were being provided by a group of young Koreans, who were keen to improve their English.

They invited me to lunch after the first class. The conversation turned to pop music. Before long, one of the girls produced her phone to show me a photo of the “Wondergirls,” one of Korea’s biggest girl groups. She wanted to know which one of the girls I thought was the most beautiful. I pointed out my favorite. I had good taste, my new friend told me.

Of course I did. I’d already learned what it meant to be beautiful here.

Tibet photo by reurinkjan.

Whitewashed temple walls embellished with vibrant artwork taper off into red dust.

prayer flags in the Himalaya

The land beyond the temple falls sharply into green grasslands speckled with herds of horses, goats and cows, until the plains reach the river that cuts this valley in two.

The wind is unyielding. It can be pleasant when mixed with rays of the sun.

Snow mountains peak out from behind the clouds.

Where am I?

I have been living in monasteries and nunneries.

Life in these places is deceptively simple, and the idea that devout souls lead a magical existence is quickly thrown to the wind that whips around robes and rubs cheeks rosy.

Monks ride away from evening prayer on their motorbikes; nuns chatter away on their cellphones.

Himalayan Studies Semester

Where am I?

The days seem to continue on forever, and yet time does not drag.

I am kept constantly busy and only realize the slow quality of time when I have a moment to stop, sit, and reflect.

The sun rises earlier and sets later in the mountains. My mornings begin with the sounds of young nuns rising early to practice their chants.

In the city, my evenings end with strolls down the dusty tree-lined streets that have been decked out with lights. It feels almost like Christmas, and so I sing carols.

Another Side Of China

I am surrounded by people who look vastly different from the Chinese I have met thus far. I am in an area that is primarily inhabited by Tibetan and Hui (muslim) minorities.

Traditional garb is the norm. Men’s hair is longer and of a different texture. Women’s clothing is more functional rather than stylish.

Himalayan art

A nun who lives alone on top of a mountain welcomed me into her home and stuffed me full of seeds and peanuts.

A monk, fascinated with technology, earned the nickname “modern old man” among his friends.

A hostess in my favorite restaurant played with my hair and marveled at watches and jewelry.

A man who has studied Tangka (traditional Buddhist artwork) for 28 years happily led me around his studio.

Where am I?

I am content. I love waking up every morning, excited to be here and anticipating what the day has in store.

The mountainous air has a cleansing quality and I feel calm. Although speaking in a foreign tongue is challenging and constant travel is tiring, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Where am I?

I’m still trying to figure it out but, wherever I am, I feel incredibly lucky to be here.

Dragons group in a Tibetan monastery.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION!

The author recently completed a semester abroad in China with Where There Be Dragons.

Are you interested in youth travel programs? Check out these Matador articles.

9 Questions To Ask Before Choosing An Educational Travel Program

Why Travel As A Teenager Is The Best Education

Youth Travel Programs Are Vital To Our Security

Matador members believe they can change the world, and they’re out there doing it every day.

Sure, we publish the same sorts of articles you find in print publications, but these articles are just window-dressing. The editor in me cringes, but it’s true.

But no matter what we write, the most important part of Matador is the community. Whenever I need a little stoke, I browse Matador member profiles. I’m always awed by the sheer human optimism in this remarkable community.

Thank you so much for inspiring us.

Here are 10 incredible members of the Matador community. To meet the other 40 featured travelers, please follow the links at the bottom of this page.

Punchy

I travel to ride the many different waves of the world. Not only surfing swells in the ocean but riding the different waves of energy given off by every place and everyone I encounter along the way. No two waves are the same, and discovering how the wave works is what makes me want to travel.
Punchy’s full profile

VickyElizabeth

I want to make a difference by creating something that wasn´t there before, or revealing something that always was there, but was hidden from sight. Figuring out how to do the same for myself.

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when the women of the Ecuadorian village sang sad Arrullos to bid me farewell, after a month-long stay in the jungle. We walked slowly round the whole village and it was pouring with tropical rain, they said it was their tears.
VickiElizabeth’s full profile

Salcar

My full name is Salvador Carlucci. I just moved (last week) to Switzerland where I’ll be working as Senior Manager for Global Marketing and Sales for a big pharmaceutical company. I joined Matador during it’s infancy and it has been a great pleasure to see it grow and find like minded individual that feed my appetite of adventure.

Now, with a new job, new home town and new responsibilities it will be hard to find vacation time in the near future so Matador provides the perfect medium to travel vicariously among other “crazy” members of this amazing community!
Salcar’s full profile

MST

I’m usually on the road solo and travel very light; a solar backpack with a few changes of clothes is ’round about all I need. And one whisper of a fantastic off-grid meal will change my entire travel plan (as if there ever was one).
MST’s full profile

Asian Insights

I’m fired up on funding projects to help underprivileged communities. Help to preserve unique cultures. Enjoy languages, writing travel stories, learning about other cultures, photography and the arts. I love the mountains and the endless, peaceful stretches of Tibet and Mongolia.

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when I stay with local people, who invite me to sleep in their kitchens.
Asian Insights’ full profile

AliCat

I like to travel in small, intimate groups. I’m learning to travel lightly and am finding my possessions more and more unnecessary. I love learning and always have an open mind.

I want to make a difference by always showing compassion and empathy, keeping an open mind, seeing beauty in everything, staying positive.
AliCat’s full profile

Reed Lindsay

I want to make a difference by telling the truth, exposing corruption, abuse of power, exploitation, and always staying on the side of the poor and oppressed against the rich and powerful.
Reed Lindsay’s full profile

Oona Fay

I have always been a dreamer and fashion embodies the dreams of those who refuse to conform and instead, celebrates their uniqueness. I am a sucker for Aussie accents or any accent for that matter, Jameson Whiskey, and anything to do with fashion.

I was planning on hightailing it out of the states this summer to start grad school in Australia, but my bank account didn’t seem to agree. So for now am at home going stir crazy and trying to save up the funds to make that possible.

I’m killing time as a freelance fashion stylist and write for a local magazine and newspaper and I am always down for a challenge and will pretty much try anything once.
Oona Fay’s full profile

Our Man In Shanghai

I am a person that knows life is too short and have taken to travelling and working around the world. I have recently left Toronto for a first stop in Shanghai. I am a social networker who enjoys meeting people and I am always interested in learning more about local cultures and economies.

My real name is Peter Davison and I am working on finding interesting writing related projects in China.

Matador Travel has allowed me to find a cool blog space and expand on my portfolio of paid travel writing articles via the traveler’s notebook.
Our Man in Shanghai’s full profile

Sarah Menkedick

I think Matador is a great site, and I like the emphasis on community and on making connections between people, places and organizations.

I would like to see a bit more criticism of travel on the site–perhaps on travel myths that exist, or on ways in which travel sometimes acts as more of a self-congratulatory experience for Westerners than as a way to really force oneself to confront other ways of thinking.

I believe travel has amazing potential to change the world; but I also think that travel in and of itself is not enough, and that travelers also need to be very critical and self-aware of the ways in which they approach and analyze other cultures.

I think Matador would make a great forum for these kinds of discussions, since it brings together so many people that really believe in travel as a way of seeing, a way of life, and a way of connecting.
– Sarah Menkedick

To meet more Matador members, please follow the links below:

Travelers 1-10 at MatadorTrips.com
Travelers 11 – 20 at BraveNewTraveler.com
Travelers 21 – 30 at TheTravelersNotebook.com
Travelers 41 – 50 at Matador.org

Community Connection

These are only 50 out of thousands of travelers in our community. Who else should get a mention? Big them up in the comments, and if you haven’t yet, link up with us.