Korean Beachavior

Despite half the season being rainy or overcast, I was able to get to the beach a few times this summer, once it got blisteringly, oppressively hot in Ulsan.

I noticed two things this year:

1) That the vast majority of Koreans do not wear swimsuits, despite the young population having the types of bodies we Westerners would kill for, and would love to show off at the beach. As I was sitting on the sand, if I took a 180 look around, easily 80% of the people I saw were fully dressed, often wearing completely "unbeach" clothing like jeans, sneakers, sweatshirts, long sleeves, blouses, dresses, and of course high heels. IN the water, man. Can you imagine walking into the water with a hoodie on? Over your t-shirt? Which is worn over an undershirt? With pants? And shoes? And THEN, walking out of the water, into a sea of sand? Inconceivable.

2) That Koreans of all ages like to cover their bodies neck to toe (fully clothed, naturally) with sand, set up a hat or parasol over their heads, and have a lie down or take a nap in the sand. This is very common. You really have to watch yourself when walking around, so you don't trip over or step on a mound o' native. For me, I can understand the appeal to some degree, but doing it with all that clothing... blech.

How did I not notice this stuff the last summer I was there? It's so obvious. Maybe it was because I didn't go to the beach much my first summer in Korea. The only specific beach memory I have there is from the mud fest, when everyone was covered in mud...

I asked a couple of my classes about this, because I was kind of baffled, particularly by the first one. The kids pretty much all were confused by my asking and after thinking about it, concluded that regular clothes are just more comfortable to wear at the beach. Then I made a bunch of scoffing noises of disbelief and opposition and argued that not having a bunch of wet, sandy fabric hanging off you MUST be more comfortable. They brought to the table the idea of Speedo swimsuits for men, which I rebuffed as a ludicrous choice for swimwear, and that trunks are the obvious choice for men. But they just shrugged and sat resolved, which I guess I understand. Apparently Koreans bring one set of clothes to swim in, and another to change into after taking a shower at the facilities that are commonly set up at beaches. Seems like an awful hassle to me, but all our cultures have their own idiosyncrasies. Actually, according to this Filipino lady I met, it's really an idiosyncrasy of Europeans and Americans to have special swimwear. The rest of the world just wears clothes, if they swim at all.

The whole sand nap thing makes more sense to me, except for the clothes part. I'm told they do that to create a convenient and free sauna, like at the jjimjilbang. I'd rather do the jjimjilbang, though.