korea

CHRYSSA CELESTINO travels to a city she’s only seen through rose-colored glasses. Spoiler alert: the glamour never fades, even when you’re there. ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA PETALVER

THREE DEGREE CELSIUS weather in Seoul usually calls for hangouts indoors remix of Gangnam Style played. Funky strobe lights cut through this stretch where life is as glamorous as Big Bang’s music video sets.

that included an emergency call button (which I stupidly pressed once complete with lipstick buffets and a bed.

fried cheese sometimes came with rose petals and a pink hue.

station and wait for the train that would take us back down to where we started. This stopover offered a sweeping view of the land down under:

Beautiful. hoodies and sought the nearest shade. The rain poured and the clouds cast

Instagrammable with its quirky curves from the outside than the exhibits it housed. This was where recycled shipping containers found their calling

found them prettier than yesterday.

A culture of appearances loomed and like shopping in this populated shop’s saleslady went up to us and offered their latest snail products.

The saleslady seemed determined to sell and quickly pulled us to the corner where the snail serums were. Brushing her bangs aside to reveal started demonstrating in broken English how to use the products. She

shoes. She was perfectly capable but her boyfriend was apparently more

fashioned chivalry was easier on the eyes than a couple eating their couples to follow because they looked romantic.

couldn’t snap out of.

the praise or maybe pausing to let the compliment sink in. Sitting on the eh

I wanted to warn him that Boracay wasn’t what it used to be. That crowded places and dirty environments. But that would be a buzzkill. I remembered that fantasies were personal; they were realities we craved when real life failed to meet our dreams.

to this nation of cool?

I had to stop myself as soon as I asked. Fantasies shouldn’t make Fantastic Baby.