The Rest of the Story...

The Kdrama-Gmamas October Tour...First full day in Korea. On the agenda was the typical tour of the local palace and donning traditional Korean clothes or 'hanbok.' I think most tour groups participate in this activity and our group was no exception.

All Gmama followers are aware that Koreans are, shall we say, slight in stature? Well, the flip side of that is that some of our group... in fact most of our group are not 'slight in stature.' So let me explain what it's REALLY like for American tourists.

There are dozens and dozens of Hanbok Rental shops near the main tourist sites. You are directed to the correct area for women's hanboks... and the fun begins. The ladies' clothes are arranged by length of the skirt.... and one section labeled 'special.' Well, we Americans quickly pick up that we are, in fact, special. Yes, that's the euphimism for large.

You select a skirt of your choice and a matching top & head to the fitting rooms. My attendant glanced at me and quickly said 'that won't fit you...' Back I went to the racks... A favorite niece put a smile on her face and decided to just go with the flow. The hanbok she selected was a lovely shade of yellow which unfortunately made her look somewhat like a cross between a bumblee and a marshmallow. The top did not cover her body in an attractive way and the skirt was, shall we say, voluminous?

Meanwhile one of my brothers (not to be identified in this blog) had to have his costume tranferred over from the 'tent' section. Wisely, he opted for a headpiece to distract from the obvious drawbacks of wearing a tent. And alas, I had to have an assistant forcefully cinch me into my costume and could only use half of my lung space for the duration of this event.

Once fitted we were sent out into Seoul society - okay, it was just the Palace Grounds - to roam about and try to look like ladies and gentlemen of the Joseon Period. My niece is a bold and self assured young woman so she held her head high and sallied forth. She gracefully glided through the crowds... in fact a lovely couple from the Philippines requested that she pose in their photos. My niece felt the only reason was so that the Filipino women could look especially good in the photo. Kind of a compare and contrast situation.

My brother gamely posed for all photos and struck all of us with his regal bearing. In fact I'm certain that many people noticed how wonderful our group looked in this period clothing. As we exited the area my Regal brother was stopped by an English speaking duo who asked 'was renting the hanbok worth it?' My brother replied "Did I have a choice?"

Day one was a success.

Don't we look 'special?' (one sister missing from photo)