Day 199: Black And White

I forgot to put on suntan lotion yesterday while on the beach at Dokchokdo and because of that I had a bit of a mild sunburn. My face was especially tanned but because I *always* have my sunglasses on (I'm completely blind without them as my eyes are extremely sensitive to light) I had my famous 'racing-stripes' (or Raccoon Eyes as many like to call it) across my face where my sunglasses had kept some skin white.

I walked into school today and all my kids noticed it right away. "Teacher, face red!" they all exclaimed as they pointed at my face. It's funny what a completely different attitude Koreans have about skin colour and tanning than us Westerners. Here's a little comparison between two cultures who could not have a more opposite view on the one issue.

Us Westerners *worship* the sun. We spend millions of dollars a year on tanning salons, tanning skin cream, and vacations away to beachy destinations all to get that much-coveted perfect tan. A good tan, in our eyes, is a sign of healthiness, activeness in the outdoors, and sexiness - all very desired qualities in our culture. How many times have you been complemented on your tan "oohhh, you've got a great tan!" or how often have you been embarrassed to wear shorts at the beginning of the season cause your legs are so white? OFTEN. To us, white skin is undesired while having a tan is hot. White skin is out, deep golden brown skin is so totally in. We love the sun, and aren't embarrassed to show it.

In Korea, they *loathe* the sun. The Koreans spend millions of dollars a year on a cosmetics industry geared entirely to making them more white. Whitening skin cream, whitening masks, even whitening plastic surgery. (and the men do this as well.) This is not an effort to look more Caucasian as many foreigners misinterpret, but rather because, in their view, only Koreans who have to work on farms or in undesirable laborous outdoor jobs get tanned. White skin, in their eyes, is seen as luxurious and rich and desirable. Brown skin is seen as poor and peasant-like and dirty. It is not uncommon to see Koreans walking around in mid-day with umbrellas up, under a bright blue sunny sky. When they go for picnics or hiking or walks in parks, they often will stop only in shaded areas where they are protected from the sun. I've seen dozens and dozens of Korean families all squished under a tiny patch of hard concrete under a bridge overpass in a park while beautiful sunny fields lay empty because it was the only part of the park that was shadowed. None of them wanted to sit in the sun and risk getting a tan. Brown skin is out, while creamy smooth albino white skin is so totally in. They hate the sun, and aren't embarrassed to show it.

It's a fascinating twist - the two opinions regarding skin colour and activity in the sun are literally black and white. The two cultures seem at such extremes as well - each of them desperately, feverishly trying to adopt a colour of skintone that their respective cultures deem fashionable and attractive. I can't say that either extreme is all that much better than the other, or all that particularly healthy, but with skin cancer rates skyrocketing around the world (especially in sun-happy Australia) maybe the Koreans are on to something?