So that's how it happened...

An interesting story explained to me today over bimimbap (a light, healthy lunch dish consisting of rice, shredded lettuce and carrots, a fried egg and spicy pepper sauce--delicious for only $4!), with a side of hot and spicy soft shell crab:

You may remember that a while back, when I mentioned getting my hair cut, I explained how I almost went to one of the shops marked by a barber pole which is in fact a house of ill-repute. Today I learned how that came to be. Apparently, the way that it happened was this:In 1980, South Korea democratically elected a president, reclaiming power after a military coup. One of his policies was to try and end prostitution, so he rounded up all the prostitutes in Korea (to the extent such a thing was possible), and trained them in barber-skills. They learned how to cut hair, shave customers, and give legit massages. When they finished training, they were sent back into the job market with their newly acquired skills and were hired by the barbershops that catered to men. You can see where this is going.

It was only a matter of time before the babershop owners realized what sort of resource they had on their hands. Barbershops, as a means of attracting customers, started offering certain "extras" to people who came in. The more this happened, the more customer expectations started to change so that the"extras" were now simply part of the haircutting experience. The result isthat barbershops have evolved into these sort of seedy places--borderline brothels, really--and almost all men get their hair cut at hair shops, which are akin to unisex salons in the states.

Interesting story. All the more reason I'm glad I went to my friend Eun Soo at the salon-of-great-but-completely-wholesome-pampering a couple of weeks ago.