"Do you wear deodorant?"

 

Since April, I have been taking Korean lessons. The teacher is native Korean, same age as me (we are chingu!), and most of the time he speaks 90% in Korean and I would react and answer 90% in English. That’s why my Korean proficiency is not improving… 

Anyway…

There was one lesson where I asked him, “Do you wear deodorant?”

I was surprised since he answered, “Yes, I do. My whole family does.”

Do you know why I am surprised? Because I have been knowing that most Koreans produce less sweat and do not have body odor problems.

According to a research by University of Bristol, only 0.006 percent of Koreans have the gene called ABCC11 — and this is the cause of people’s underarm odor. For comparison, only 2% of Europeans do not have this gene.

Now I remember, when I went to Korea seven years ago, I wanted to buy deodorant and there were not so many choices. I think there were only Nivea in the shop I visited. 

While I believe that my body odor is not so bad (just believe me), it is just such a habit to put on deodorant. I may stop using it after I learned natural body odor can attracts opposite sex. 🙃 

Anyhow, my teacher is such a reakyara!

Several weeks ago, I was talking to a colleague on a chat. He is a Korean ahjussi who is always willing to answer my random questions. At that day, we were talking about a smelly guy. Then I remember the Koreans body odor fact! So I asked him… 

“Do you wear deodorant?”

Unsurprisingly, he said that he never wears deodorant. He never knows someone in Korea wears deodorant. He never even saw deodorants sold in Korea, or even in Japan -a country where he has been living for more than 30 years.

Tashikani, there are some deodorants in Japan but the choice is not so many. Three years in Japan, I also have never tried Japanese deodorants. Currently I’m using an American brand deodorant. 

I asked the same question to my team leader, who is also an East Asian, to be more precise, a Japanese person. He also said that he doesn't wear deodorant. Instead, he uses wet wipes to rub on his sweaty body.

Tashikani (again), there are various kinds of wet wipes sold in drugstores, convenience stores, or supermarkets, especially when it comes to summer. I remember one of the brands called: Saborino, which is based on the word saboru (サボる). Saboru means to skip, like you can say you saboru the class. Maybe by using Saborino wipes, you can skip taking shower.

Well, I don't need wet wipes to skip showers.

I will just spread my natural body odor to the world. 🌎

So, do you wear deodorant?

...

Note: 

chingu (친구) = friend

reakyara (レアキャラ) = rare character

ahjussi (아저씨) = uncle

tashikani (確かに) = surely, certainly