Kimchi Mamas

Turn that frown upside down!

Apparently, many South Koreans are taking that to... the knife.  Smile surgeries, such as the Smile-Lipt, are one of the latest fads in Seoul surgery.  For a mere $2,000, you, too, can smile forever. 

I always wanted to look more Korean (I live in Alaska, most people think I'm Alaska Native), but it seems that Koreans want to look less Korean?  Eyelid surgery was always known to us; Mema had double eyelid surgery.  Make-up tattoos have been known of for a while; Mema said she wanted to "always wake up looking beautiful". These were things known, but never spoken of.  Double eyelid surgery is, allegedly, so commonplace now that they don't even refer to it as surgery anymore.  And it's not just for women!  South Korea has the HIGHEST number of plastic surgeries per capita.  There's even one of those tumblr pages dedicated to it.  Is K-pop to blame?

A Kimchi Mama's Response to Margaret Cho's Experience at the Jjimjilbang

Kimchi Mama Julie has a post up on BlogHer in response to Margaret Cho's encounter with tattoo prejudice at her local jjimjilbang (Korean spa and sauna).  Please check it out!

The Software Doesn't Match the Hardware

As a parent of a ‘tween I found myself at the mall with my daughter the other day. It was right after school and she was still in her all-girls school uniform.

As we walked by one of the kiosks, a young man stopped her and asked if she went to ABC Private School – he recognized the uniform as the uniform of his all-boys high school alma mater’s sister school. He was indeed correct – except my daughter is in the sister school’s middle school. 

Maybe it’s the “Asians don’t look their age” stereotype or maybe it’s because she was in uniform or maybe because she’s tall for her age but as she said yes and I gave my best KDS (Korean Death Stare) to this young man and gently guided her down the hall, I had a mix of remembering the feelings of being mistaken as older at that age and what it may mean for my daughter..and me as her mom.

With the faster-than-the-speed-of-light economic growth in China, and young people flooding in from rural areas to the bustling cities in search of jobs and opportunities, a saying has developed about this group of new-to-the-city young women: The software doesn’t match the hardware. Kind of creepy when you think about it. Here’s a young woman in search of opportunity and she has been reduced to an electronic, a cliché, because she’s attractive but innocent/naïve.

We here in the United States are guilty of perpetuating some of that concept, too. Look around: magazine covers, tv shows, music . . . Have you tried shopping for “cute” girl clothes recently? Listened to the actual lyrics of some popular songs. Next time you’re at the grocery store take the time to glance over the covers of magazines specifically designed for your teen!

My fellow moms and I complain about the lack of appropriate clothing, the pressures our girls face to wear make-up, shave their legs and have first dates/first kisses, etc. And because many of these concepts were foreign to my mother, the "right" way to navigate through them are in many ways foreign to me.

Do you remember the first time you were mistaken as being older than you really were (as a 'tween/teen)?

 

Angie in Texas is practicing her KDS for all future boys...

 

Hump Day Links

Kristen Chase over at Motherhood Uncensored gives some perspective to the perception of Dads and our roles as Moms. (Did you know she's a Kimchi Mama? Probably explains her HAWTNESS.)

 

Speaking of sexy: I guess women of colour aren't sexy anymore? According to VS we're not . . . When I grow up I want to be Jen and Diane at Disgraisan.

 

Is the kid in this video Kimchi? Someone help me out here.

I *heart* this video because:

1. I love Green Day - don't care what you say, takes me back to high school and college

2. I love that this kids gets to play on stage with the band

3. I wish I had muscical skillz...

 

--Angie in Texas is going to practice her trumpet now. (Because trying to learn a new instrument at 30-something is FUN and not TOTALLY FRUSTRATING, okay?!

 

 

 

New Year Dumplings...and a Giveaway!

New Year preparations have already started in my neck of the woods.  Yesterday, we all headed over to my parents' house to make mandoo.  We don't have a set recipe for what goes into our dumplings, but there is pork, beef, extra-firm tofu, sprouts, kimchi, green onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.

This year, my youngest was able to participate!  We put her in charge of making the flatter version we use for fried mandoo:

And here is my dad, our resident mandoo-making expert, showing his patented technique for making the plumper kind used in soup:

On New Year's morning, the kids will dress up in their hanboks and bow to their grandparents, saying, "새해 복 많이 받으세요!"  Then they'll receive some money and some blessings, then we will all chow down on the dumplings we made!

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To ring in the new year, we're giving out presents!  One of my fellow Kimchi Mamas has a couple brand-new hanboks she'd like to give away to our readers!  They are gorgeous and have really hip colors and styling, so hip in fact, it's hard to find hanboks like these in the States.  

There will be two winners, one for the little Kimchi Babies (size 2, suitable for first birthdays and hopefully a year or two afterwards):

girl

or

boy

...and one for the slightly older Kimchi Kids (size 6...suitable for ages 4-8, depending on how tall they are):

girl

or

boy

(Just to reiterate, there will be one size 2 winner and one size 6 winner, and they will choose the gender they want.)

Enter by submitting a comment below with one of your family's New Year traditions, along with your preferred gender and size.  We will close off comments on January 14th, select a random winner from each size category, and ship the hanboks out in time for Lunar New Year!  Good luck!

Extreme Makeover: Kimchi Edition

We all know how hectic life gets after your first, second, or eighth son is born, and being the selfless women we are, we often let our femininity fall by the wayside.  If I had a 100-won for every time I left the house with bedhead and no make-up, I'd be able to buy a 5th Gucci purse.  Sigh.

However, although I hardly ever wear make-up anymore, people are always so curious to know how I preserve my creamy Asian skin.  At least that's what I think they want to know, because they can't keep their hands off of it!  Well, the key word is preserve.  Let me explain.

We all know how delicious kimchi is, especially when eaten with a steaming bowl of lice, I mean, rice.  But did you know that the microorganisms responsible for making this cabbage-y concoction so delectable can also help you fill in those fine lines and wrinkles?  That's right!  The Fountain of Youth has been in hiding in your refrigerator this whole time!  At least that explains the smell.

Introducing...Kimchi Beauty Face!!!

Free picture collage personalized with Smilebox

For flawless skin, I recommend 2 cups of kimchi applied to your face weekly.  Feel free to try out different kinds of kimchi too!  I've found that buchu kimchi is great for minimizing pores, and kkakdugi also works for all-natural hair removal.  Don't ask me how I know that.  Let's just say I haven't had to get a Brazilian ever since.

Double Happiness Beauty Good Luck To YOU!!!

Warning: The actions depicted and/or described in this post are potentially dangerous, yet delicious. Julie is an experienced fermentationary professional. Results (and beauty) like Julie's are not guaranteed to everyone. Avoid the eye area.  Always wear the appropriate safety gear.

Cross-posted on Kimchi Mamas!

Forms of Torture at Korean Hair Salons

The comments in the last post inspired me to write this post. =)

Korean hair salons (at least the ones I've been to in the LA area) have some fancy smancy forms of torture. Have you ever had to endure the "magic" straight perm or the "digital" perm? They take forEVER to do. Yet, I endured it, time and time again, so that my straight hair could be straighter.

What do you mean you ask?  How can straight hair become straighter? Well, you see, before the "magic" straight perm, my hair would look like this if I didn't blow dry, curl, and/or flat iron it. Sometimes it would look like this even when I DID blow dry it.

I like myself just how I am, I think?

So, I have some extra time to myself this week while my daughter is spending some time with her dad.

The plan: haircut!

I haven't gotten my hair cut in over six months. My last hairdresser said something about "oriental babies" being so cute, so instead of saying anything, I'm just never going there again.

This time, I went to a Korean hairdresser. I liked her because she was more business than chatty. But, once I opened my mouth and asked about wedding hair, it was all over.

Instead of giving me a regular blow dry, she made my hair all pretty and curly - "Today's your wedding day!" she proudly exclaimed. So, today, for the first time ever, I have boing-boing curls. And I almost like them.

On the flip side, I am miffed that the makeup artist that works at the salon made comments about my skin. She told me, "you have an acne problem."

Great. I could feel her looking at my brows, my forehead. Eh. She asked if I was going to wear contacts when I got married, and I told her that, no, I don't wear contacts. She was shocked. Now, why in the world would I trust someone like that to do my makeup for my wedding?

It just confirms all the negative things that I think of when I think of beauty products and beauty salons. I believe that I can be beautiful without getting my eyebrows done, without contacts and with my acne. Why do I need to have curly hair to be beautiful? Who ever said that my straight black hair isn't beautiful?

I'm torn. I'm enjoying the boing-boing curls for tonight, even though it just doesn't feel like me. But it makes me want to rebel and not so anything crazy and fancy with my make-up and hair for the wedding. Because I'm not that fancy (I'll admit, I am sometimes crazy) in real life.

But, I'll admit it. I'm totally enjoying flipping my curls, just for tonight.

~ eliaday, who washed out her boing-boing curls this morning and is enjoying straight, newly cut hair.

So, I have some extra time to myself this week while my daughter is spending some time with her dad.

The plan: haircut!

I haven't gotten my hair cut in over six months. My last hairdresser said something about "oriental babies" being so cute, so instead of saying anything, I'm just never going there again.

This time, I went to a Korean hairdresser. I liked her because she was more business than chatty. But, once I opened my mouth and asked about wedding hair, it was all over.

Instead of giving me a regular blow dry, she made my hair all pretty and curly - "Today's your wedding day!" she proudly exclaimed. So, today, for the first time ever, I have boing-boing curls. And I almost like them.

On the flip side, I am miffed that the makeup artist that works at the salon made comments about my skin. She told me, "you have an acne problem."

Great. I could feel her looking at my brows, my forehead. Eh. She asked if I was going to wear contacts when I got married, and I told her that, no, I don't wear contacts. She was shocked. Now, why in the world would I trust someone like that to do my makeup for my wedding?

It just confirms all the negative things that I think of when I think of beauty products and beauty salons. I believe that I can be beautiful without getting my eyebrows done, without contacts and with my acne. Why do I need to have curly hair to be beautiful? Who ever said that my straight black hair isn't beautiful?

I'm torn. I'm enjoying the boing-boing curls for tonight, even though it just doesn't feel like me. But it makes me want to rebel and not so anything crazy and fancy with my make-up and hair for the wedding. Because I'm not that fancy (I'll admit, I am sometimes crazy) in real life.

But, I'll admit it. I'm totally enjoying flipping my curls, just for tonight.

~ eliaday, who washed out her boing-boing curls this morning and is enjoying straight, newly cut hair.

Who can pull off the hair better?

or

- Mary is happy to have finally gotten a good picture of her baby smiling.

Korean Make-Up

Does anyone use Korean make up?

I used to use Hydro something or another by Isa Knox but it got a little too expensive for me so I have stopped using it.  Also, my skin was gettin' a bit dry with the pregnancy and all so now I use the Borghese stuff that they sell at Costco and you know what?  It's pretty good.  I didn't like the smell at first but my skin seems to like it so yeah...

Korean make up seems to be getting big nowadays... a lot of my Chinese co workers use it and I've seen it being sold at a lot of places that aren't Korean.  I guess that's good?!

I love the brow pencil that has the mascara brush type thing-y at the other end of the pencil to "blend" the brow after you draw it in... so convenient!

What's has been your experience with Korean make up, if any?

Here's a picture of the beautiful Hyori selling Isa Knox make up.  Didn't even know she was a model for them until I did a google image search...

- Mary