18 EXPAT LIVING
In search of a more perfect you
‘There is this notion of beauty. I think people should just be the way they are’
By Sonya Beard
In a perfect world, the 160 cm
Dayna Ahmad said she’d be 13
cm taller. That way her excess
baggage would be more evenly
streamlined over her frame.
But this is an imperfect world,
where the average-size American
woman is only 163 cm accord-
ing to health statistics from the
Centers for Disease Control.
That’s an inch taller than she
was in 1960, but that same wom-
an is 11 kg heavier.
It’s only natural that Ahmad
would have body-image insecuri-
ties living in Korea, one of the
thinnest nations in the World
Health Organization rankings.
“I’ve never heard so many people
comment on my weight until I
moved here,” said Ahmad, who
teaches English in Gangneung,
Gangwon Province.
Ahmad has gained more than
9 kg in the last three years. She
was once a confident size 8, but
now she’s as uncomfortable with
her fuller figure as she is with
the running commentary on her
new shape. She could do without
the not-so-subtle hints from co-
workers and unsolicited advice
from school administrators.
She’s confronted these pudgy
demons before.
“I’ve done cardio until I was
purple in the face and I couldn’t
breathe anymore,” said the 24
year old.
The self-proclaimed “crappy
eater” suspects her metabolism is
partly to blame. “I don’t eat a lot,
but I need to know which foods
I should avoid,” said Ahmad.
She realizes she can no longer
get away with the same culinary
choices she made in college.
Ahmad is the first to admit
she needs to make some changes.
And she has no shame if those
alterations are rendered with a
little surgical assistance.
The New Jersey native had
contemplated getting a nip and
tuck back in the States, but was
turned off by astronomical prices
and couldn’t convince her mother
to front the bill. Now that she
was making her own way, she
could afford to make her own de-
cisions.
Still, that didn’t mean her
mother was on board with the
idea. “She didn’t think Korea
was that advanced,” Ahmad said.
Korea, though, is a burgeon-
ing hub for medical tourism with
patients traveling specifically to
take advantage of elective and
non-elective procedures. More
than 60,000 foreigners sought
medical attention here last year,
said Elly Kim of the Korea
Health Industry Development
Institute. That’s more than twice
the number treated in 2008, an
increase correlating with recent
healthcare legislation spurring
more aggressive government
regulations.
Korea, too, has become a cos-
metic fixer upper’s paradise —
the place to go if you’re in search
of a more perfect you. Ahmad’s
search led her to the Beauty
Belt of Seoul, at Hus+Hu Clinic,
In focus: Maintain
stability (Part I)
The Photo Challenge is spon-
sored by Hyosung Camera (Eng-
lish: 010-7203-9599) and Babo
Shirts (www.baboshirts.com).
Winners of the weekly competi-
tion receive a 50,000 won store
credit at Hyosung Camera and
a Babo Shirt. To take part in the
competition, simply upload your
photo at www.flickr.com/groups-
seoulphotoclub — Ed.
By Aaron Raisey
Do you need a steadier hand?
What should you do? There are
several things you can do to get
sharper shots and that’s what
we’ll look at over the next couple
of weeks.
A shaky camera (or more to
the point, a shaky hand) has
been the bane of photographers
since the beginning of the art. To
minimize camera shake, you need
to be aware of both the shutter
speed and the limitations of your
ability to hold the camera steady.
A general rule of thumb is that
you can safely hold a camera
steady at a shutter speed equal
to the focal length of the lens you
are using. The situation here is
Dayna Ahmad takes in some shopping last weekend. Her search for a “more perfect her” led her to the Beauty Belt of Seoul, at Hus+Hu Clinic,
where she and her supportive boyfriend recently went for a consultation. 
where she and her reluctant, but
supportive, boyfriend recently
went for a consultation.
“We were a campus couple,”
she said of Chris Kobrzynski, a
fellow New Jerseyan and teacher
in Gangneung, who was there to
watch her bags during the ap-
pointment. “I was skinny when
we met.”
Expats visiting the upscale
Apgujeong med spa are greeted
by a witty English-speaking staff
that instantly eases any nerves
associated with doctor visits,
especially in a foreign country.
Prospective patients are ushered
to plush leather sofas where they
can browse through glossy cata-
logs to select from an array of
upgrades such as flawless skin or
a brighter smile.
Ahmad checked out the body
contouring procedures. She’s had
her heart set on Smart Lipo, a
laser surgery that dissolves fat
from localized area directly un-
derneath the skin. “I could go to
work the next day,” said Ahmad,
not a fan of invasive forms of Li-
posuction that would require her
body up to six months to recover.
Liposuction is a popular pick
for the 2,000 foreign teachers,
soldiers and embassy person-
nel who frequent Hus+Hu each
year, says Yeo Myung-jin, a
spokeswoman for the clinic. The
growing reputation in the inter-
national community is one Yeo
credits with language ability and
affordable prices.
During the consultation, Dr.
Chang Seung-ho asked Ahmad
what she’d like to have done. “I’d
like my stomach and thighs and
arms to be smaller,” Ahmad said.
Chang probed her about diet
control: “I eat what’s fast and
cheap.” He inquired about ap-
petite suppressants: “I tried diet
pills but they all increased my
appetite or made me feel sick.”
somewhat analogous to holding
a stick. It’s easy to hold one end
of a toothpick and keep the other
end steady, but much more diffi-
cult to do the same with a broom
handle. With regards to a camera
and lens, this isn’t so much due
to the physical length of the lens,
but the distance to the subject.
With a longer lens the subject is
further away for a similar size in
the viewfinder — a tiny move-
ment of the camera here trans-
lates into a large movement at
distance over there. Keep in mind
that this formula is only a rough
guide for hand-held shooting and
it will vary between individuals
— some might need that cup of
coffee or a little attention to re-
sults to see where your comfort-
able limit lies.
So what happens if the shut-
ter speed goes lower? What if we
want to shoot our pals in the bar
And exercise? “I’ve worked out,
but nothing has worked.”
The surgeon told Ahmad the
words she feared most. “I can’t
recommend liposuction at this
time because there are too many
risk factors and side effects,”
Chang advised.
Point blank: She needed to lose
weight.
Ahmad looked crushed at
the cycle of bad news. She’s not
heavy enough for more drastic
measures such as lap band or
gastric bypass procedures. But
lipo wouldn’t produce her desired
results.
The doctor prescribed a
healthy eating plan and exercise
routine for Ahmad. “Surgery is
not a solution to weight loss,”
Chang said. “But exercise and di-
eting don’t fix the entire problem
either.”
Chang cautions against rapid
weight loss so skin retains elas-
ticity and healthy toning. He ex-
plained that surgery is most ef-
fective after a well-scheduled diet
program and referred Ahmad
to a nutritionist. “If you operate
without changing those habits,”
he said, “the fat will grow back
in other areas.”
Ahmad was appreciative of the
honest advice and thorough ex-
planation, something lacking in
the consultations she’d had with
American doctors. “He could’ve
just taken my money and done
the surgery.”
That would not be likely in Ko-
rea, so horror stories about dou-
ble-eyelid surgeries gone wrong
and rumors about psychiatrists
performing tummy tucks should
not concern foreigners. There
have been dramatic changes in
the industry, Kim said. “Medical
institutions that treat interna-
tional patients must meet certain
requisites.”
According to the KHIDI,
PHOTO CHALLENGE — weekly winner May 11 — A scene from the Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul.
 Pil Gam Sung
on Saturday night and the cam-
era is telling us the shutter will
be at a perilously slow 1/8 sec? If
you’re shooting film, you’re out of
luck. But if you’re taking advan-
tage of digital’s convenience, just
bump up the ISO. The ISO value
is the measure of the film or dig-
ital sensor’s sensitivity to light —
the higher the number, the more
sensitive to light, so the camera
needs a faster shutter speed for
the same exposure. Just dial it
up until the shutter speed reach-
es a comfortable level. Something
to keep in mind when increasing
Resources
International Medical Com­
muni­cations Office
— A 24-hour hotline for
pre- and post-op health-care
concerns, legal questions or
customer concerns
▪ Web: www.medicalkorea.or.kr
▪ Phone: (02) 5777-129
The Korean Society of
Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgeons
— Offers a directory of certi-
fied practitioners
▪ Web: http://plasticsurgery.or.kr
Skin clinics
TengTeng Skin Clinic
Web: www.tengteng.com
▪ Phone: (02) 337-4066
▪ Location: Sinsa Station
Nova Skin Clinic
▪ Web: www.novaskin.co.kr
healthcare facilities must abide
by tougher safety protocols, staff
certified physicians based on the
areas of specialty, and guaran-
tee insurance coverage. These
standards are compliments of a
Medical Service Act passed in
May 2009 to protect the rising
number of foreign patients.
Empowered and informed,
Ahmad left the office, nutrition-
ist referral in hand, determined
to get in fighting shape for her
Smart Lipo.
Yeo offered encouraging words
as they walked to the elevator.
“We will get in shape together,”
Yeo vowed to Ahmad with a
pinky-swear.
Kobrzynski had little to say
about the day’s events once the
two were taxi bound. “I just came
ISO is that more “noise” gets
introduced into your image. New
DSLRs and high-end point and
shoot cameras have very good
high ISO capabilities, so it’s not
a huge issue, but with older or
cheaper digital cameras it is
something to be wary of.
Another important thing to
consider is that blurring from
camera shake at shutter time is
a function of probability. That
is, as you slow the shutter down,
blur in the image is more likely
to occur. Using an 85 mm lens
at a shutter speed of 1/8000 sec,
Sonya Beard
▪ Phone: (02) 563-7977
▪ Location: Gangnam, Seoul
STARS KIN Aesthetic
▪ Web: www.starskin.co.kr
▪ Phone: (02) 775-0886
Plastic surgery
K’s Plastic Surgery Clinic
▪ Web: www.kksplastic.co.kr
▪ Phone: (02) 541-7533
▪ Location: Apgujeong, Seoul
Beauty and health
YE Medical Center
▪ Web: www.yemedical.com
▪ Phone: (02) 541-7533
▪ Location: Gangnam, Seoul
Hus+Hu
▪ Web: http://english.hus-hu.
com
▪ Phone: (02) 1577-3782
here to hold the bags,” he said.
“Everyone wants to buy into this
notion of beauty. I think people
should just be the way they are.”
Ahmad shot him an easier-
said-than-done look. “Well what
am I supposed to do?” she asked,
after failing to make it to the di-
etician’s office before it closed.
“When you do all this work
and you have nothing to show for
it, it makes you give up hope,”
said Ahmad, as she continues
her search for the perfect body or
at least one resembling the one
she had before.
To comment, send a message
to mattlamers@heraldm.com; to
reach the author, e-mail sonya-
beard@yahoo.com — Ed.
blur is vanishingly unlikely —
you will get a sharp image 100
percent of the time. With the
same lens at say, 1/10 sec, the
likelihood that you will introduce
some blur is quite high. You can,
however, increase your chances
of nailing a sharp image at
slower speeds by shooting several
frames, though no matter how
many you shoot it is next to im-
possible to hold a camera steady
for a 1-second exposure.
Next week we’ll look at some
other ways to get a sharper image.
(raisey@hanmail.net)
WEDNESDAY MAY 26, 2010
briefly
Photo contest dishes out millions
The third CheongShim Calendar Photo Contest is
calling for expats to participate in this year’s competi-
tion.
Prizes include 5 million won (first place), two prizes
of 1 million won and 12 more people will be awarded
300,000 won. All winning entries will be printed in the
2011 Cheongsim calendar.
The theme for this year is “family.”
The text for the contest is: What does family mean
for you? There are many kinds of families bonded
together through sponsorship and lifelong soul mates
based on friendship deeper than love. Discover the
meaning of “family” in your everyday life.
The contest period is May 24 to July 15. A JPEG
must be over 3,000 pixels to be eligible.
An exhibition of winning photos will be held Oct. 11
to Oct. 17.
Go to www.cheongshim.com/contest to register and
for more information, visit the Cheongshim blog,
http://blog.naver.com/cheongshimc.
(mattlamers@heraldm.com)
KOTESOL conference in Jeonju
On Saturday the Jeonju (North Jeolla) wing of KO-
TESOL will host a regional conference, open to both
card-holding members and non-members alike.
Leading the charge is professor Allison Bill, a former
International Conference chair and long-serving lectur-
er at Jeonju University. Her central role in coordinat-
ing events is pillared by the qualified expertise of pro-
fessors Phil Owen, Ingrid Zwaal and Shawn DeLong.
For the first time in the chapter’s history, the con-
ference will be held at a central and independent high
school — Jeonju Geun Young — in a bid to make KO-
TESOL more accessible to all tiers of the educational
pyramid. There will be a focus on practical teaching
for young learners and teens and an ATEK speaker
has been added.
Another goal of the newly constructed executive is
to work hand-in-hand with local non-academic groups
such as Jeonju’s acclaimed art coalition. Plenary
speaker and seasoned international representative
Scott Miles heads the lineup on “Critical Conditions
for Long-Term Language Acquisition” — and support-
ing strands along with various other special interest
groups and commercials fill out the multifarious bill in
the company of both local and national publishers.
(Tori M. Elliott)
Seoul, Shanghai expat teams clash
Expat rugby team the Seoul Survivors will host
their archrivals the Shanghai Hairy Crabs on Satur-
day at Jamwon Rugby Pitch, Apgujeong.
According to a press release, this international rugby
match is the most anticipated clash of the 2010 Yellow
Sea Cup and will play a large part in deciding the fate
of this year’s trophy.
The Seoul Survivors and the Shanghai Hairy Crabs
were the top-ranked squads from 2009.
Four of Asia’s top expatriate rugby teams compete
for the Yellow Sea Cup. The Beijing Devils, the Shang-
hai Hairy Crabs and the Guangzhou Rams — all rep-
resenting China’s expatriate populations — as well as
the Seoul Survivors, South Korea’s sole representative,
compete in the annual round-robin competition.
Shanghai has edged out the Survivors to retain the
title of Asia’s top expatriate rugby team for the past
three years.
As host team, Seoul hopes to win the trophy for the
first time since the inaugural championship in 2005.
The game starts at 2:30 p.m. For more information,
go to www.survivorsrfc.com.
(mattlamers@heraldm.com)
Seoul Players’ first English musical
The Seoul Players’ first ever English-language musi-
cal, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,”
will be staged Saturday at 8 p.m.
Although it took the Seoul Players nine years to tack-
le the challenge of a musical, director Margaret Whit-
tum is confident that “Spelling Bee” offers something
exciting for both the expat and Korean communities.
To begin with, the show features both expat and
Korean talent, on stage and off. Lyle Bjorn Arnason, a
Seoul Players Committee board member who will per-
form in the upcoming production, said that between
50-60 hopefuls turned up for auditions, outnumbering
the usual number of auditionees for the Seoul Players’
plays. Arnason says he and Whittum were both pleas-
antly surprised by the amount of talent they saw at
the auditions.
Over the course of its nine-year run, the Seoul Players
name has become synonymous with high-quality Eng-
lish theater, popular improvisational comedy perform-
ances, and community participation-inducing events.
Amy Mihyang, a Korean adoptee from the U.S. with
a B.F.A. in Performance will perform the role of Marcy
Park, the over-achieving Korean-American. Mihyang
said she was particularly interested in this musical.
“This show was specifically conceived in terms of
having a diverse cast and I think that’s what the fu-
ture of any type of show really needs to be,” she said.
She added that the improvisatory nature of the show
can also appeal to those who may not particularly be
interested in the traditional musical.
Whittum gives the show’s contemporary relevance
and its logistical simplicity as the reasons why it was
picked to be the group’s first musical. The small cast
— only nine members — and short running time —
under two hours — coupled with the minimal space
needed to put on the show were key selling points.
But the show’s ability to draw in a crowd is another
special characteristic. The script actually calls for four
audience members to participate.
“Spelling Bee” opened to wide acclaim on Broadway
in 2005 and was later nominated for six Tony Awards
— winning two, including one for Best Book. “Spelling
Bee” first came to Korea in 2007, but the show was
done in Korean. This is the first time it will run in
English in Seoul.
The show will run for three weekends, May 29- June
13, with three showings each weekend — Saturdays
and Sundays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets
are 10,000 won. All shows will be held at Roofers, near
Itaewon Station, Exit 3. For more information or ticket
reservations, please visit the website www.seoulplay-
ers.com or e-mail seouplayers@gmail.com.
For more information about living in Seoul, visit the
Seoul Global Center’s unofficial blog www.seoulcity-
blog.com.
(Shannon Heit)