06-05-2017

Her Story專訪：她，是穿韓服、獨自遊歷南美的韓國女生

你有沒有設想過，某天自己可以圍繞某個特別的主題來環遊世界呢？有的人旅行時隨身帶著自己的毛絨玩具，每到一處景點就和玩具合照留念。還有一些人每去一個地方都會塗鴉一些話留在那裡。這次，HF和大家分享的經歷是穿著傳統服飾環遊世界。

眾所週知，「韓服」是韓國的傳統服飾。其設計獨特，充滿活力，能生動地展現韓國傳統文化。最近，韓國掀起了一股穿韓服遊世界的熱潮，這賦予了旅行更多的意義。為什麼人們會想到穿韓服旅行呢？為了解答這個疑問，HF採訪了穿韓服遊歷南美的韓國女生Minjeong Kim。

Ever felt like you wanted to travel around the world with a unique theme or with a special message? Some people choose to carry a particular plush toy to take pictures with at every destination. There are some who scribbles down a special quote everywhere he or she visits. This time around, we are going to see people who carry out their adventure dressed in their traditional costumes.

As a lot of people know, Hanbok is the traditional costume of Korea. It’s vibrant, unique and heavily reflects the country’s roots. Recently, there has been a trend to travel wearing Hanbok to make the journey more meaningful. Why do people decide to travel in such outfits? To answer this question, we’ve conducted an interview with Minjeong Kim (@iammin._.j) who traveled to South America in Hanbok.

HOKK fabrica: Hf｜Minjeong : M

Hf: 是什麼讓你想到穿韓服環遊世界的呢？有什麼特別的原因嗎？

M: 我一直都特別熱愛旅行，也給自己訂下大學畢業前遊遍世界的諾言。我很想看看美國的教育體系究竟如何，也很想遇見來自不同文化背景的人。這種經歷一度給了我很強的震撼力，當我向一路遇見的各種各樣的人學習語言與文化時，我就想，我也可以給我遇見的人們一個機會了解韓國。於是我開始思考，該以一種什麼樣的方式來最完美地傳達韓國文化呢。最終我選擇了韓服，因為我覺得韓服可以完美展現韓國文化中精緻的視覺美，而視覺最能給人以直觀、深刻的印象。從此之後，韓服成了我旅行不可缺少的一部分。

Hf: What motivated you to travel around the world in Hanbok? Was there a special reason?

M: I’ve always loved traveling and promised myself that I would travel around the world before graduating from university. I wanted to experience the education system of the States and meet people from different cultures. At one point, it hit me. Just as how I learn about different languages and cultures from those I encounter during my journey, why don’t I also give those who I meet chances to get to know about Korea? That’s when I started to wonder about the best way to present the image of Korea, and I chose to present it with Hanbok, which I think best represents Korea’s exquisite visual beauty. The visual itself was enough to cast an effect, so from that day onwards, Hanbok has always been part of my travels.

Hf: 旅行中有什麼難忘的片段嗎？

M: 講真，我覺得韓服使我的整個旅程都非常難忘。秘魯、玻利維亞，無論我走到哪裏，我都有種自己是公眾人物的感覺。很多本地人或者遊客出於對我的服裝及文化的好奇，跑來問我很多問題。難忘的片段有很多，如果一定要選一個，那就是在穿越玻利維亞的時候，我不僅要背非常重的背包，還要提著我長及腳踝的裙子防止它拖地。當地海拔達到四千米，我連呼吸都非常艱難。一路艱辛終於抵達旅社後，我卻發現預訂的房間被別人搶走了，因為有人出了更高的價格住我的房間，一番交涉後還是無果，我不得不收起行李離開。我拖著腫脹的腳又爬了一座山，找到另一家旅社住下。安頓好後，儘管我已經累的精疲力盡，卻還是不想耽誤欣賞美景的時間，於是我就馬上出門了。路上我遇到一對很關心我的巴西夫婦，他們說因為看到我和前一家旅社老闆爭執，很擔心我，想看看在附近能不能找到我。他們邀請我去他們家吃晚餐，我欣然答應了。我坐下和他們聊天後了解到，他們被我穿的韓服所吸引，尋找我也是想要聽聽這個穿著長及腳踝的裙子，獨自遊覽南美的亞洲女孩的故事。那天晚上的談話都是圍繞著韓國的，我還教他們如何用韓文寫自己的名字。晚些時候我還被邀請去一個酒會，在那裏我遇見了來自世界各地的人。那晚，在的的喀喀湖和漫天繁星的映襯下，一切都是那麼難忘。

Hf: Was there was a memorable episode from your journey?

M: Honestly, I truly believe that Hanbok made my journeys unforgettable. Peru, Bolivia, wherever I showed up, I felt like a celebrity. A great number of locals and tourists’ curiosity about my dress and my culture led them to approach me and ask a lot of questions. There were many memorable episodes, but if I were to pick one, it was when I was traveling through Bolivia. I was exhausted from carrying a heavy backpack and holding up my ankle long dress from falling, and the 4000m above sea level made it even harder for me to breathe. When I finally arrived at a hostel I got kicked out as I just finished unpacking. Apparently, there was someone who was willing to pay more for the room. After some arguments I had no choice but to pack up and leave. I dragged my swollen feet and climbed over another hill to check into a different hostel. When I finally settled down, even though I was exhausted I couldn’t bear to waste another waste another moment to miss such a beautiful scenery so I headed out. As I headed out I ran into a Brazilian family who were actually looking for me in concern as they have seen me argue with the owner of the previous hostel. They asked me if I was willing to accompany them for dinner and I complied. As I sat down and had a conversation with them, turns out, there were fascinated by my costume and came looking for me because they wanted to hear about the story of a small Asian girl with an ankle long dress traveling around South America all by herself. That night the conversation was all about Korea and I also got to teach them how to write their names in Korean. By the end of the night I was invited to a wine party where I got to meet people from all over the world. It was truly an unforgettable night under stars by the Titicaca Lake.

Hf: 世界上有許許多多的國家，為什麼你會選中南美呢？

M: 我想選擇一條少有人走過的路。對於探索不太為我們了解的南美，我懷有極大的興趣和激情，我也想證明作為一個入門背包客，我依舊可以獨自去這個陌生的地方。現在看來，我其實也是在和自己較真。

Hf: Out of all the countries, why did you choose to travel to South America?

M: I wanted my journey to be the road less taken by others. The curiosity and passion to explore the lesser known South America, and to prove that even as a first backpacker that I could still make it. Now that I think about it, I guess it was a challenge against myself.

Hf: 從旅程中你學到或是感受到了什麼嗎？

M: 我學會了如何在一個陌生的環境中進行探索，應對一路上遇到的各種變化和挑戰，並同別人分享交流不同的文化。這個旅程最棒的地方在於，我並沒有設立任何目標，但是旅途中的每一件事，包括我自己，都是非常特別的，從每件事中我都自然而然地學到很多東西。我相信韓服在旅程中扮演了非常重要的角色。

Hf: What have you earned or felt from your journeys?

M: I learned how to explore the unfamiliar situations, deal with the constant changes and face the challenges that were in my way. I learned how to talk, and become friends with those I met on the road, and to share cultures with. I guess the best thing about this trip was there were no “set goals” as to what I wanted from this trip but everything, including myself felt special and every action became a message in which I naturally acquired and learned from. I honestly believe that Hanbok played a big role in making my trip so special.

Hf: 你還會繼續穿著韓服遊世界的計劃嗎？

M: 當然啦！我現在正在為非洲之行存錢。認真說來，旅途中不是只有陽光和彩虹，還會有許多艱難險阻。在旅行中，我的腳因為極度的嚴寒而腫脹，我的皮膚被灼烈的陽光燙傷。但是，穿著韓服能讓我忘卻這些痛楚與困難，因為當我穿上韓服時，我就是傳播韓國文化的使者，我不能擺出一副愁眉苦臉的樣子，因為在旅途中我就是韓國文化的象徵。有了這些想法，我就會忍不住穿著韓服四處遊歷了。

Hf: Do you have any other travel plans with Hanbok on?

M: Of course! I’m currently saving up for a journey to Africa. To be very frank, travelling isn’t all that sunshine and rainbows. From time to time my foot got swollen from extreme coldness, and my skin got burnt from extreme sunlight. However, the footsteps I took in Hanbok made me forget about all of my pains and worries, because when I put that dress on, I was the national ambassador for Korea I couldn’t frown even for a minute, as I was the face of my culture. Every smile felt sincere and led to a truthful smile. Because of these merits, I can’t help but travel around in Hanbok.

厭倦了日復一日的單調生活？不如找個時間去探索一下世界上不同的地區吧。筆者保證開闊眼界之後，你的世界會從此不同。在文末，就引用Minjeong的一句話作為結束吧：如果你帶著一個特別的主題去旅行，這場旅行會變得更加有意義、更加難忘。我們還年輕，年輕就意味著還有無限的可能性。在我們還能冒險的時候，如果想要感受這個世界，就快快行動起來吧！

Sick and tired of the same routine every day? How about exploring different parts of the world for a while? I guarantee that with the new perspectives, your world will never be the same again. Before we finish, here’s a last word from Minjeong. If you travel with your own special theme, the journey is going to be more meaningful and will be an unforgettable experience. We’re still young and youth is a period of infinite possibilities and when we can take risks. If you want to feel the world, make a move now!

Photo courtesy of Minjeong Kim

INTERVIEW & TEXT: JINJOO KWON
CHINESE TRANSLATION: ELLEN N
DESIGN: JOANNE L/HOKK FABRICA