Prior to our departure, I Googled and YouTubed this subject. Not much was available, but what I did find did not ease my fears. I read that Americans in particular are not well liked and that the stereotype is that most of us are rude and fat. From watching dramas and KPop programs I had learned that appearance and weight are a huge deal in Korea. In my head I had this belief that everyone in S Korea was super thin and thanks to plastic surgery, everyone was beautiful as well. Also thanks to KDramas, I believed that everyone was super well dressed with great accessories and fabulous shoes... except for poor people who had another clothing style that is often portrayed. Well, if this was the case, I was in huge trouble, because I am a fat forty year old Midwestern American who has never had plastic surgery, wears comfortable shoes and does not know a thing about fashion. Were people going to stare at me? Would I stick out? Was someone going to say something to me about my weight?
Reality Check!!!! KDrama's are not real and don't let what you watch on TV be your point of reference. Korean entertainment is just like American TV where only beautiful people with beautiful clothing tend to be shown in pretend situations.
Once we arrived many of my fears were put to rest and I have to laugh now at how silly they were. It is true that many S Koreans are thin, but just like here, you will see many different sizes, looks and body types. I will admit that I did not see a lot of severely overweight people, but they do exist. It also became immediately clear that while the style was different, most people dressed comfortably. Women in particular do make an effort to look nice by wearing make-up and high heels, but this is not all women. Some men also put great effort into appearance, so it is not uncommon to see a flower boy sporting a cool pair of shades, a fitted white dress shirt with cropped black skinny pants wearing bb cream. Just keep in mind that not everyone is beautiful and you see all different kinds of people.
People will look at you! Get used to it. I did not feel that they were looking at me because I was fat, but because I was different. Some people may have had negative thoughts about my weight, but no one said anything to me directly. Also, because I do not speak the language, I did not understand if something nasty was said anyway. Embrace that you are different because you are. If you do not want to draw more attention to yourself I suggest you make an effort with your appearance and behavior. We saw many foreigners who were dressed inappropriate based on Korean standards and several more (mostly men) behaving poorly.
Now for the challenges and observations I had about being fat in Korea...
- You will not fit everywhere. In some cases seating may be an issue. I noticed this most often on the subway as they were always very full and I felt like I squished over my seat and onto the people sitting next to me. Because of this I would stand. Also, seating in some venues, restaurants and coffee shops seemed to be a bit smaller. The one place that this was most apparent was when we went to a baseball game and the cup holder jammed into the fat in my thigh the entire game. Painful!
- Tight Spaces. Seoul has over 10 million people so making the most of space is a must. You will notice that you will not have a lot of room when walking in restaurants and stores and you will bump into things and people more often. Take extra care to be aware of your surroundings and learn the correct Korean for "Excuse Me".
- Nothing Fits. Korea has fantastic shopping, but if you are looking for clothing or shoes for yourself you can just forget it. Vicky was able to score some fabulous finds for super cheap in the subway and in the markets, but I was limited to some KPop socks and souvenir T shirts. We saw the most amazing shoes, but not for my US size 10 feet.
- Get In Shape and Invest in a great pair of walking shoes. Walking, climb up stairs, walking, climb down stairs and more walking. Yep, that about sums up how you will be getting around Seoul. The Subway is super easy to get you to where you need to go, but getting to the subway requires a bit of a walk and then you have to take stairs to get down to and up from the subway only then to walk again to your destination. If you are lucky, your subway stop will have an escalator or elevator. Depending on where you are going, your destination may require you to walk up hills. Plan on doing lots of stairs as many businesses and restaurants are located on upper floors of buildings that do not have elevators. This three week trip was the best Boot Camp and I felt great when I got home as I had lost 10 pounds and one pant size. The $110 pair of Merrel sandals I purchased for this trip were the best investment ever..and on another note... be sure to take Ibuprofen before bed as your feet and legs will hurt.
- Bathrooms. You will see all different kinds of bathrooms ranging in size and type. I found that some restroom stalls were quite small which could be an issue for a big person. Also, you will find restrooms with a squatter style toilet that would be problematic even if you were not fat.
- You Will Be Very Aware That You Are Overweight. It's true, but embrace it and do not let it impact your trip. It's hard not to be aware of your weight while in Korea as spaces are tight, nothing fits and even the overweight Koreans are smaller than you. While I was very aware of my weight while on this trip I never once let it get in my way of doing things or meeting people. Yes I was a fat foreigner in Korea, but it was how I behaved that people reacted to. If you do not want to draw additional attention to yourself, then make sure to behave appropriately and learn about Korean culture before you go. Being fat might have been noticed, but it was the foreigners who spoke too loudly, drank too much, showed too much skin and just acted like obnoxious idiots that got the most negative attention.