Permanents

I feel like I've been in Korea long enough that I can say some things with certainty. Here is one of those things. Koreans should not do unnatural things to their hair, because it looks ridiculous. A student just walked into the office. A male student. He just permed his hair. He looks like an Asian little orphan Annie. I actually couldn't help but to laugh out loud when I saw it (bad Daniel, bad). By the way, perms here are not usually curly perms. They are some strange Korean type of perm where the hair just gets very big and angry.

When I take the bus home to Anseong, one of the stops is at a local technical college. The boys that get on the bus there have the most ridiculous hair I've ever seen. They have the largest and most out of control mullets and they have their hair bleached and dyed and generally looking very Bozo-ish. I simply don't understand how they think this is better than their normal hair.

If you ask Koreans about this, they will all give you the same answer. They will say that these kids haven't been in the military yet. Basically, when they come out of their compulsory military career they will stop being so foolish with their hair.

Maybe it's a foolish thing to me, but what makes it most entertaining is how incredibly serious everyone is here about their appearance. So, these people think that their hair looks incredible and that they are definitely the hight of coolness and fashion. It's their seriousness that makes it all extra comical. Oh, to be young and foolish again.