/ / / /

Seoul May Be A Notoriously Expensive City, but Haircuts are Only $15

Where: Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea, 135-080
January 23, 2009 at 10:07 AM | by | Comments (0)

In South Korea, where vanity is not a sin but a lifestyle, it is not uncommon for people to go in for a weekly haircut in order to maintain a their preferred look. As a result, Seoul is one place where you are always guaranteed to score an awesome hairdo at a hip salon for under $15; it's a favorite economical sort of pampering.

Feeling adventurous, we tried out this trend in the chair at Leechard ProHair in the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul, an area known for its high-heel hockers in the day and clubgoers at night.

Leechard, a phonetic bastardization of the Anglo name "Richard," is a salon with an unfortunate website--leechstyle.com--but an amazing cast of cutters. Since we were probably the first Non-Korean they had worked on in a while, if ever, we were treated to their best stylist and her apprentice, who was more than excited to play with foreign hair. Giving them complete freedom with our locks, which we had only previously granted to Milios' in Chicago, our sole direction was to say: "I live in New York, so it doesn't have to be blah."

For the kickbutt haircut we did receive, which was actually only $11 but $15 including tip, we'd happily fly to and from Seoul again and again. A simple step outside of our comfort zone gave us more than just a really cool hairdo with a flounce different from anything New York offers, but also contributed to our understanding of Seoul style. When traveling, it is often these seemingly frivolous experiences which reveal much about the local culture and the flow of life, a fact which makes this haircut truly priceless.

Related Stories:
· Leechard Prohair [Official Site]
· Where Is: Prada's Tetrahedron 'Transformer' Building? [Jaunted]
· Seoul Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Leechstyle.com]

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Return to » Seoul May Be A Notoriously Expensive City, but Haircuts are Only $15

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised 08/01/2011). © Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.
Ad Choices