I'm scared of Shinsegae Department Store. I dropped in today with a big hope they might carry a few short sleeve shirts,an item I badly need for my trip to Thailand this week. I've been to this store a couple times already but I've always fled in terror within 15 minutes of stepping inside. The moment I walk in I feel overwhelmed by the largeness of everything, the thick smells of cologne and perfume, the endless cubicles of shopping items, and of course the barrage of employees, never failing to say hello and offer help. I know they're only being polite, but I get intimidated every time I walk down an aisle and have to pass through a dozen employees. Sometimes they just say hello, other times they approach me asking if they need my help. And if I ever stop within a cubicle to check out some clothes they stick by me like glue, staring down my shoulder, waiting for my next move.
And upon leaving the store I must walk through half a dozen 'greeter' employees, whose sole job, it seems, is to say goodbye to you as you exit the door. So trips to the department store always feel like running the gauntlet.
The truth is, I usually don't know what I want when I enter a store and I like to browse on my own, and if I need help, I'll ask for it. But based on my past experiences in America, I think I have a general fear of department stores. I can't say that I've ever worn popular clothes - I've only ever shopped at Wal-Mart and Sears, and so whenever I walk into a store full of really nice, high quality clothes, I freak out. I feel pressured to know what I want, pressured to be comfortable in a setting where other people take care of you. It all feels like foreign territory and I don't know how to behave. To deal with my fear, I always focus on my breathing, smile a lot, and stay focused on a task.
Koreans don't stare at me all the time, but it does happen often. I've gotten a myriad of stares, ranging from friendly smiles to downright scowls. Koreans don't usually smile at strangers, which can leave you feeling very unsettled when an elder Korean gives you an emotionless look. I think they're just trying to figure you out, and if it feels right, I try and give them a smile. More often than not, they smile back.
I think the worst look to endure is the laser stare, where the person's eyes open wide and they stand fixed to the spot. I encountered such a situation today while walking into a supermarket. A young woman, late 20s perhaps, just froze at the entrance and proceeded to stare me down. It couldn't tell if it was a look of shock or fear, but there was something very intimidating about the whole thing. I walked towards her very slowly, wondering when she was planning on getting out of the way so I could walk into the building. Eventually she moved, a little, and I had to squeeze by her, and as soon as I got into the store, I muttered to myself, "what the hell was that about?"
You learn to deal with the stares and accept it as part of the experience. Yes, I am indeed a foreigner, yes indeed I am handsome, now stare somewhere else!!! I think I've learned to laugh at the sillyness of the whole thing. It's easy to hide in a country as diverse as America, but in Korea, everyone looks almost the same, physically,and fashion-wise. So a foreigner will obviously attract more attention here.
So every time I walk the gauntlet at a department store, I lower my eyes and chuckle to myself as the dozen or so employees stare me down. You have to learn to laugh at these sorts of things, otherwise it'll make you crazy.
