June 02
To say Seoul is Milan in the east is definitely not an overstatement. I have never seen more shining men's suits on the street anywhere else. (So I decided to put on my suit jacket and forget about buying a cheap zipper jacket for the cool climate the first few days I just arrived.) Drop-dead gorgeous ladies were steadily running on their high heels inside the subway. Today, in a fast food restaurant called Lotterie in Jongno 3-ga, I almost cracked up into loud laughters when I saw a 30-ish young man carrying a Louis Vuitton (LV) purse. He was alone so I am sure he is not carrying it for his girlfriend. Well, his outfit does not look as stylish as his purse though. When I was wondering what he may have in that smaller-than-a-notebook-PC purse (cellphone, mirror, lipstick?), then what popped my eyes was that another man in the late 20s just walked in and, yes, he carried a different style of LV purse, stopping at the counter and ordering his food. Again, he is alone. The thickness of his purse cannot even hold a master thesis. Wow, in less than 5 minutes, I saw 2 men carrying LV (more women style) purses in a fast food restaurant. I must be in a different world. Then ... just merely 2 minutes later, I almost dropped off from my seat: a third man carried a slightly bigger LV purse coming in with a girl. Hmm, now I think LV is really popular here. Although I could not tell if the ones they were carrying were from those street vendors, asking like 10 to 20 bucks each. But I bet if you walk on the street with a T-shirt untucked in and jeans on Seoul's street, most likely you are either a college student or will be considered a bum. I got to figure out how to upload the picture I took from my cellphone.