Drift Reality > South Korea > The Korean Air

Some of the children at ECC wear masks. I remember when a boy named Danny took off his mask and I could see a brown outline on the inside of his mask, where his mouth was inhaling the filthy Seoul air.

I wear contact lenses and many times, while walking around outside, I have been assaulted by a gust of wind. I immediately start blinking because small particles of dust fly into my eyes.

The first time I got sick in Korea, it lasted for a week. The second time I got sick, it lasted for about four months. I got better by leaving the city with a cute girl with a big head named Oon-Young. We went to the mountains and as soon as I started breathing the fresh air, I could literally feel myself getting better. I could feel my head begin to clear up, and my body grow stronger. The ache that had possessed my legs and lower back steadily dissipated and I began to walk with a bounce in my step.

Most importantly, I began to think and speak with pleasure and enthusiasm. I became gracious and full of humor as I again began to take delight in another person's laughter, or rather, making another person laugh. My mind and body had been temporarily freed by the freshness of the air.

Many people have terrible skin here and I am sure that the pollution is a large part of the reason for this. For the women, it is even worse because they put loads of make-up on in order to cover up their blemishes, but the make-up only further clogs their pores, causing them to use more and more makeup.