Style

Who knew that Gangnam Style would take off like it did? Alan and I loved this song, going through the requisite stages of ironically liking, then ironically ironically liking, then just liking. It was our go-to song to play in the car to stay awake while driving. We learned the lyrics. We learned the horse dance. We talked about going as Psy and the guy in the yellow suit (see the 1:50 mark) for Halloween, but by Halloween, everyone was going as Psy, so we scrapped that idea.

Alan showed some Korean pride when Psy broke all the YouTube records, and when he broke the internet with his AMA on Reddit. He followed all the new songs, the new interviews. We had inside jokes about the song. We one-shotted coffee. No, wait, that was soju.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Korean culture, Gangnam is the fancy rich area of Seoul south of the Han River. Oppa is what a girl calls her big brother, but is also what many women call male friends. There's some subtlety here, though. If they see the male friend as much older, they may call him ajeossi, or uncle. Guys strive to be an oppa, not an uncle. This is a song about a funny looking dude explaining that he may not be sexy or popular, but he's still an oppa, and he's got style. It's pretty tongue-in-cheek. The description of the Gangnam girl he's looking for is equally tongue-in-cheek, but essentially is about someone who is all business during the day, but knows how to cut loose at night.

Alan generally wasn't seen as an oppa or an uncle. I think most girls saw him as their adorable dongsaeng, or little brother. He left behind a trail of girls that wanted to take care of him, cared deeply about him, and tried to break through his shell to help him. Many of them remained his friends, even if he pushed them away.

Alan did have his own style, and we saw it evolve over time. The first signs of sadness really came to the forefront when he started high school. He had this kind of emo thing going on. Mom called it kindergarten Goth. He let his hair grow swoopy (this was just a bit pre-Bieber). He made sure to look sufficiently puppy-dog-eyed and pathetic in all his photos. One year, he participated in his high school's haunted house. On one of the nights, Alan's makeup turned out a bit funny. Usually, thick black makeup was applied in hollows of his eye sockets following the bony ridges of his face, but that night, the black areas were made a bit too round. Instead of looking like some sort of ghoul with blood dripping out of his mouth, he looked more like a panda (with blood dripping out of his mouth). Hence, the nickname, "carnivorous emo panda."

That look required a lot of upkeep. He was showering and trimming his hair multiple times a day. As high school continued, there was a shift. He started becoming more and more hipster, but also struggled with things like sleeping and showering regularly. He wore skinny jeans and ironic plaid. He switched between Birkenstocks, Converses, and boat shoes. He wore sunglasses in all weather. But strangely, it seemed like there was still so much upkeep. How could he spend so much time primping and still look dirty and unkempt? Once, Uncle Steve told him that it looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to look metro or homeless. He suggested that his style should be called, "hobosexual."

As time went by, being hipster was too in, so he went with a more authentic homeless look. He buzzed the side and back of his hair. He wore thrift store and toss-off jackets. He wore way too many layers. His pants were sometimes more hole than fabric. Is it any wonder he struggled to find a job at times?

 Through it all, he was clearly Alan, through and through. And through it all, he was my dongsaeng.