Friday, February 05, 2010

Dear Korea...

I'm returning to the motherland!

At the end of this month, I'll get on an airplane for the 13+ hours required to get me clear across the Pacific Ocean.

I'm so excited!

Then I checked the weather. And my good humor dropped a bit. What does a California girl, raised on sunshine and mildly breezy winters, wear in Korea during the winter?

William, Diana, Amanda, other people that have recently experienced Korean weather, any advice for me?? Particularly anyone who knows how temperate the weather in LA is- help! How many layers am I supposed to wear?

Keep in mind that, uh, I haven't been in weather below 45 degrees Fahrenheit in about, um, three years. So my thin-skinned temperament has probably gotten worse.

The weirdest thing, to me, is that I can't figure out what kind of shoes I'm supposed to take with me. Boots? Uggs? Galoshes? Say "whatever" and just wear what I normally wear?

I really am thrilled to be going back to Korea for the first time since 1995 (1996?), when I was just a wee student, in Korea for (of all things) a math competition (in which America was beaten soundly by Korea and China).

I'll share (read: freak out) about my preparations for the trip in the coming weeks.


Hooray! 만세!!

5 comments:

william February 5, 2010 at 7:43 PM  

wow, i wasn't expecting that! how long are you going to be in korea for?

right now it is 12:40pm and 34 degrees F outside. it is pretty cold here (but there are no clouds and the sun is shining).

you need to wear long underwear, and maybe 2-3 layers over that, one of the layers being a nice thick coat.

uggs are very in right now in korea. and boots too.

bring chapstick, moisturizer, earmuffs, gloves, and a scarf (and maybe even a hat). they will all come in handy.

hoping you'll visit little ole daegu.

Diana February 5, 2010 at 7:55 PM  

william's advice is on the money. At least one of those layers should be wind-cutting as it's not the coldness that bothers you so much as the windy cold.

Remember: effectiveness and utility win over cuteness (though Korea has lots of cute AND effective hat/mitten combos with cartoon characters on them--yes adults wear these). The trend in Korean winter this year is to wear shorts and tights with boots, but those girls always look like they are freezing to death.

Jeanny February 5, 2010 at 11:24 PM  

Thanks, guys!

I'll be in Korea for 2.5 to 3 weeks, and will definitely try to go to Daegu.

Turns out, Daegu's pretty far from Seoul and Jeonju! I'll figure it out. :)

Yay, cold Korea!

Diana February 6, 2010 at 5:17 PM  

You might be in Korea just as I depart. I'll be in Cambodia/Thailand the last two weeks of Feb.

And Daegu is less than two hours from Seoul by speedy KTX ;)

Amanda February 14, 2010 at 11:45 AM  

Sorry, I totally missed this post. I have no idea how you should dress if you're in California. I'd say dress for the cold, but since you're from California, I'll say dress for the Arctic. ;)