Pretty Woman

Sometimes when one says "Wow. I feel just like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman," it is not necessarily a good thing. Several months ago Jennifer and I made an impromptu trip to Shinseage. I guess one could describe Shinsegae as the Nordstroms or Saks of Korea. It carries pretty much any western brand imaginable, Chanel, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gap, Banana Republic, etc., along with a variety of Korean brands as well.

Quick fact: The United Colors of Benetton is HUGE in Korea. I remember Benetton being a big deal in the US in the early 1980's but had completely forgotten about the brightly colored company until arriving in Korea and seeing my students in Benetton apparel each day. There are also Benetton bicycles and condoms everywhere.

As usual, I have gotten off track. Let's go back to my shopping excursion with Jennifer. This was the day that I purchased my Roberto Cavalli sunglasses. If you do not know to what I am referring, you have not been reading my blog. Bad Reader (no cookie)! Before deciding on a pair of sunglasses, I dragged Jennifer into a million different stores in search of a simple black sweater. I usually have luck at Banana Republic, but on this particular day, that was not the case. Eventually, we ended up in a random Korean brand store. While browsing, I picked up a furry black sweater. (Koreans truly love all things furry, when it comes to sweaters, jackets, and vests, And I can assure you that they are not PETA friendly.) It was very ajuma-esque, and I had no intention of purchasing the furry item. IMMEDIATELY, a saleswoman grabbed the sweater from me and said (in korea) "very expensive." The she proceeded to show me the price tag. It was 500 dollars. Yes that was too expensive, AND the sweater was hideous, but NO ONE is allowed to assume that I can't afford something. My inner Budgie (that's my grandmother) nearly bought the horrible sweater out of spite! I know, I know, that would be maturity at it's finest, but no one puts Baby in the corner!!!
Instead, I grabbed the sweater back, shook my finger at the salesperson, and said "Not nice! Rude!"
She, in turn, nodded her head and replied (again in Korean), "Ah. Yes. Very expensive."
GRRR....She thought that I was shocked at the price, not her rude behavior.

Jennifer laughed at me for a good, solid two hours, NO,  make that two days after the incident. She kept reenacting the situation and quoting Pretty Woman by saying "Big Mistake! HUGE!"

For the most part, however, Korean customer service is excellent IF they are making money off of you. Once a salesperson knows you want to buy something, the discounts and free products begin flowing like soju and mekju on a Saturday night in Hongdae. But if you're not gonna be a cash cow, you might as well not exist, and they want you OUT.

Call me a masochist, but I still stand by my belief that Shinsegae is the REAL happiest place on earth!

And this is basically what you see walking down the street on a daily basis. It's freezing, ladies! Put on some pants!!!!