Korea as a plastic surgery capital of Asia – couldn’t agree more! It’s funny that when my husband met one of my female officemates, he told me her cheeks, eyes and shape of the face are not real. This is just an officemate, not even an actress! hahaha.

On the other hand, there are also some Koreans who have chosen not to undergo plastic surgery and I appreciate them a lot for not being swayed by the pressure of what is the norm here.

But it’s really rare to see a Korean without makeup. That’s from high school girls to women in old age. I don’t put makeup even when going to work. I remember one officemate asking me if it’s just me, I answered no, many Filipinas don’t wear makeup. In offices, it’s just a simple lipstick and powder. But here in Korea, they put so many layers of cream. They have a complete eye makeup and well done hair. Looks really do matter here a lot.

they all tell me that in korea, black or brown, you’re considered black. so, same with cher, i rant back, tell them it’s very easy to have white skin if i want to, with all the glutathione scattered in the market, but no thank you if i will have a face like them. yes, that’s how brutal i become when students emphasize how they dislike brown skin. they tell it straight to my face like they want to say i’m gross and dirty. what i do, i open my webcam, brag that i have beautiful blackish grey eyes, a nice shape of nose, and NO MAKE UP!

as always, there’s silence..

i don’t stop from there. i continue, tell them that Filipinos standard of beauty is very high. before we say that a woman is beautiful she must have sparkling eyes and voluptuous body. and what makes Filipino women more beautiful is that we bath at least twice a day. (i say this spontaneously, without sounding mean).

but.. consequence is, the next day, they’re no longer my student.

ang gusto nila, sila yung mas maganda. i can’t count anymore how many of my students have told me that in Asia they are the prettiest. they brag about the many sites where people from different countries comment that korean women have the best looks if compared to other asian women.

well, i release a little bitchiness, make “patol,” and give them many links of the beauty titles we have won in many prestigious pageants. We have 2 Ms. Universe titles — talo na naman sila.

what surprised me though is that they’re not aware of the fact that white people envy our smooth, brown skin. that westerners find morena beauty very sexy, and they move heaven and earth to achieve tan skin.

when, for the first time, my students saw our local actors, they couldn’t believe their eyes. As expected, maraming naiinis na mas maganda pala ang mga artista natin. it’s not what they have expected. looking at the pix of our actrors, they’ll say, “they’re beautiful. but I like korean beauty.”

O, eh di talo na naman sila. they can’t hide their insecurities.

I agree.

But there are Filipinos among us who come over here in Korea and want to blend in. Sometimes, they overdo the blending in that the the physical outcome (dress and make-up) make them look more Korean than the native Koreans hahaha.

aside from knowing that most of these beautiful faces are surgically-altered, i actually admire the poise and the bearing that go with it:-).

when i was pregnant, i talked to a Korean visitor of another lady living here in our apartment and she actually remarked “All of the moms living here dress well and look good”. that was coming from another Korean who doesn’t look bad herself.

so, looking at each other from head to foot and concluding whether the other one looks good or not is really just… that. i do that to other women, too, hehehehe… that doesn’t make me bad hahaha.