Korean Selfies

Living in the small town of Gyeongju, most people here are very natural and laid back. Average outfits are hiking gear and sneakers. When I go to big cities like Ulsan I am always taken aback by the extremely done up ladies (and when I go to bigger cities, like Seoul, I am taken aback even more by the done up men!). They honestly look sort of like aliens. Shoes of impossible heights under wobbling ankles, and shorts of impossible shortness. They wear massively thick black eyeliner, and about 2cm of foundation that is a shade or two away from 'pure as the driven snow'. It's very amusing and odd. I imagine that if I spent that much time on my makeup I would want it immortalized in a selfie too. So these girls take photos of themselves on their massive Galaxy phones and it's hilarious to watch.

Selfies - photographs a person takes of him or herself while outstretching their hand - are considered somewhat embarrassing back home. At least they are for those who aren't teenage girls on MySpace. It's a little vain and silly to take photo upon photo of yourself, right? No so here. On any given day in any given populated place from trendy cafe to intercity bus, a young Korean woman will be taking a photo of herself.

The thing to do here is to be cute. How is one cute? Apparently by holding the camera slightly above your head, bulging your eyes, and (most surprisingly to me) puffing out your cheeks. I really can't understand it. I guess babies have fat cheeks? After taking maybe ten shots of themselves, they will put the photos in editing apps and add all the effects and hearts you can imagine.

Here is an example of the classic pose (although they often look at the camera too):

Note the terrifying eye makeup and impossibly large irises. This is actually a celebrity and this article  describes how adorable she is when puffing out her cheeks. Her eyes aren't nearly as bulgy as many selfies I've seen taken.

So there you have it. A little bit of amusing Korean culture for you guys. To wrap it up, here I am looking absolutely adorable (by Korean standards)...

PS Oddly, when adults take selfies (cause they totally do, too) their facial position of choice is completely emotionless stoicism. When co-teachers show me pictures, I always think they absolutely furious in them. Who would have know simply smiling was not the international norm!