Haircuts

Getting a haircut is awkward. You sit in one spot for thirty minutes, making small talk with a person you don’t really know or flipping aimlessly through a magazine you have no interest in reading. Believe it or not, not being able to communicate with the person cutting your hair makes it even more awkward. I initially thought not having to talk would make it less awkward. But when you can’t chat about the weather or what you did last weekend or about the movies you’ve seen lately, all you can do is stare at each other in the mirror. Additionally, communicating what kind of hair cut you want is quite the game of charades. Luckily I also knew approximately four words in Korean that were almost relevant to getting a haircut. The woman cutting my hair also knew a few words in English (cut, short, picture, beautiful, hair, bye).

When I first arrived to the salon I was seated with a large group of Korean children and their guardian, nanny, mother, or something. As soon as I sat down they all turned their heads and stared. This happens frequently in Jeonju and these kids were subtler than most people. After the staring ended a woman who I took to be about 40 came over and sat down with me. “Picture?” she asked. I shook my head no, assuming she wanted a picture of me when my hair was shorter. She got up and brought over a book full of pictures of hair. Pictures of Korean models, western actors, musicians, magazine clippings, tons and tons of pictures of hair filled this massive laminated tome. I pointed to one with short hair and the woman nodded yes.

The actually process of cutting my hair was interesting. In most ways it was like a haircut back in the states except that when she started cutting she used giant plastic clips to cut different layers of hair. The clip was somewhere between a beret and a plastic clip you use to close bags of potato chips. Using those devices made for an extremely efficient haircut. I also noticed that only her hairdryer had a cord. Her electric clippers and shears were all battery powered. Everything she used was on a cart that could be wheeled around the room from chair to chair, really a good idea. After she finished cutting she asked if I wanted wax-styling, I said yes. Then after playing with my hair for 8 minutes or so she asked if I wanted spray (hairspray I assumed). I scrunched my face and shook my head no. I think that face and motion translates cross-culturally. All in all I had an enjoyable experience, the staff was very nice and accommodating, and my hair looks pretty much like it does in the states right after I get a haircut. Success!