Like most eastern countries, Korea is a place where you must be shoeless indoors. Even at school, we are expected to keep a pair of "indoor" slip ons in a cubby to protect the floor from the crud we might drag in. Most Korean restaurants also keep cubbies at the door to ensure a shoeless patronage.
Koreans are actually a very stylish people. So it was no surprise to me when I noticed, this weekend, that many of the Korean men around me had really flashy socks on. It makes perfect sense. Westerners tend to not care about our socks because our feet are not really exposed that often. It's the complete opposite here, and I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier. There are little snazzy-sock vendors lining many streets, that at first seemed inoquous, but now it's all coming together.
The real irony is that I always got a schmaltzy pair of socks in my stocking on Christmas morning. They inevitably found a comfy place in the back of my drawer, and then, sorry mom, usually jumped right into the Salvation Army bag several months down the road. Now, when I actually want these eyesores, unfortunately I must contend with Santa skipping my chimney. That's the downside. The upside? I now get to actively sock shop, a first for me in 23 years. Hey Dave Smoler, any advice for a guy on what to look for in a good sock?
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