Yep, it’s Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. Truth be told, I really like Pete’s, although I’m not sure how good it looks with tennis shoes. And yes, they can be tough to put on.
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13 Comments
Yet another post on foreigners wearing hanbok to honor Korean culture is sure to elicit the usual “look at me, whitey” and “Stepin Fetchit” grousing followed by “angry expat” retorts.
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans.
Yeah, let’s just say
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! HOORAY FOR TRYPTOPHAN-INDUCED COMA (…even though it’s not scientifically true)!!!!
I don’t see why Koreans get all creamy and why expats get annoyed when foreigners wear a hanbok. What’s the BFD anyway?
not a big deal but for once i wish someone could visit here and not have to wear one
@mcnut
I don’t know… is there a legal code that says “if you’re famous and foreign, you HAVE to have a photo Op with Hanbok on”?
Or is it just a popular way of publicizing someone’s visits in Korea?
Ridiculous as it might be every time we see John G. Foreigner have a hanbok strapped on them, I think it’s actually a normal part of experiencing the world and learning about different cultures.
How many people go to Vietnam and have their picture taken in that hat? or when in China or Japan either buy or don their traditional gear?
Though I am not a fan of the hanbok, I see nothing wrong with people experiencing the culture or learning about it.
6. True. And how many people, when they visit the Omo River valley in Ethiopa, feel they have to get that lip plate put in?
Yah, but the huge difference is that if you go to vietnam and get a picture taken with a hat, its usually you choosing to buy the hat, you taking the picture, and you showing it to your friends.
Here, in the land of opposites, its the Koreans buying you the Hanbok, Koreans taking the pictures, and Koreans showing their friends, while the foreigner is slightly confused and uncomfortable with the role reversal play.
“Here, in the land of opposites, its the Koreans buying you the Hanbok, Koreans taking the pictures, and Koreans showing their friends, while the foreigner is slightly confused and uncomfortable with the role reversal play.”
Lol… foreigner or foreign celebrity? That’s either quite an ego, or quite a poor reading comprehension.
Well, given the choice between the two, I’d say its my ego. I try to keep it confined to the Ego Ranch with a 20′ tall Electrified Ego Fence, but it keeps getting out somehow. I guess there’s no keeping my ego down.
Are you also implying that your friends have never dressed you up in Hanbok and taken pictures?
I still don’t get the negative reactions, of all things, the hanbok wearing. This happens nearly all the time in other Asian countries as well, and it’s not forced either; the publicists for the celebrity recommends it regardless for extra exposure and as a thin sign of respect. Recent example of Bush in Vietnam:
http://www.harpers.org/media/i.....ietnam.gif
Hell, if I could afford it (I think I recall nice ones going for 2-10k, though this was when traditional stuff was harder to find), I’d want something like Pete’s, ’cause I went to S. Korea and all I got was this kimchi cookin’ female overlord.
I haven’t worn a hanbok since baby. I’m jealous.
Those two tennis dudes, though… What can I say? Chillin on the top, not so chill from the waist down.
“And how many people, when they visit the Omo River valley in Ethiopa, feel they have to get that lip plate put in?”
You’re comparing clothes to what is essentially body mutilation? Right. Excellent reasoning skills there. I’ve seen someone else try to make a similar point by comparing hanboks to American “Pilgrim” outfits, which is also disanalogous and for reasons that ought to be very obvious — so obvious that I’d feel like an idiot for even bothering with an explanation; for it would be like explaining the basics of arithmetic, quantity, and the transcendental principles of logic involved in the case of “1+1=?” to a person of primitive culture. There’s just too much ground work to do for the such a paltry achievement.
@Mateomiguel
Your original comment was saying that Koreans dress up foreigners in general in Hanbok and take pictures, even though Koreans only do it to foreign celebrities. Therefore, I thought it was either that you thought you were a celebrity, or you didn’t understood the article well.
“Are you also implying that your friends have never dressed you up in Hanbok and taken pictures?”
Well, there was this one time when I took my friends to a Korean culture festival and there was one of those “take a photo!” place with Hanboks available, but otherwise… No. Most of my friends, not being Korean, wouldn’t know what Hanbok is, let alone dress me, of Korean descent, in one… and take pictures.