When Midwest Meets South Korea

I am phenomenally addicted to Korean movies, TV series, etc.

I have a new appreciation for the culture and love the looks of the men. But the way the writers write transports me right into the middle of the film. Whether it is a period piece or a current up to date movie. I really walk and feel this as a lot of things they deal with are real life situations.

While 85% (these are my own private estimates, no fact checking required) of the series or movies make the man the rescuer, they also make the women the heroes for some of the men. But I love the strong dynamic of family, even when it is a little bit off beat.

I have made it a bucket list for me to travel to South Korea for a 2-4 month stay to immerse myself in their culture.

I MUST admit I’m attracted to Korean men. But I’m no fool, I understand that what I see on TV is just like what some women in other countries on TV may see on American TV so I’m not expecting to be in love with the first Korean man I see.

But recently I did have my encounter with a South Korean man.

Take a walk with me on a day when South Korea met the Midwest.

I chipped a tooth a year ago but didn’t pay any mind to hit, until it started hurting really bad and then overnight, I looked like a chipmunk, but on just one side of my face.

Turns out I had an abscess (Yikes).

I hate the dentist to begin with. But I needed to get this tooth out of my head as this pain to me was worse than childbirth (and I had natural childbirth twice).

When I arrive to the Dentist office, I do a glance around the office trying to see the dentists as they came out to pick up charts because I’m at an emergency dental office, so I don’t know the dentists.

I see 2 of the dentists as well as the hygienists. The 1st dentist was an average height older white male and then the 2nd dentist was a middle-aged white male. I was really hoping to get the middle-aged white male because I have been to older dentist before and honey they are not for the weak, and I am the weak.

After getting my x rays done, I’m led to the chair to have my infected, chipped tooth extracted. Just as I get settled down, the dentist approaches and introduces himself.

When I looked up, it was the face of an Asian Man, South Korean at that. I was on cloud nine this could not be more perfect if I had planned it. Now before you guys go there, nope, I had no grand illusions that we would fall in love at first sight, blah, blah. But I was expecting to get the best treatment.

After treating the abscess in my mouth. He went into dentist mode. He grabbed a needle (Oh did I mention I’m terrified of needles) I winced at the sight of the needle, and he said don’t worry I got you.

I think to myself, “Okay, I’m good he said I got you.” I was not even relaxed but a little more accepting.

Now remember one side of my face is swollen like a chipmunk which means I have full on plump lips because of the swelling. After cleaning where the area was infected, he immediately inserts the kind of needle I hadn’t seen in over 20 years into my mouth not once but twice. And then he proceeded to press on my teeth and ask me do I still feel pain and when I indicated to him that I did, he walked away and came back with 3 more vials of whatever (maybe Novocain) to shoot me in my mouth again.

He is also asking me to open my mouth wider. At this point I have lost all love for my south Korean brother because he is manhandling my little mouth. I felt like one of those cartoons where the person grabs both ends of an alligator’s mouth and rips it open. I truly felt like that was about to happen to me.

He pressed the teeth again and I could still feel the pain. He just stood there for a second, so I of course thought well, maybe he is going to allow some time for the numbing to take effect. Nope, I must have frozen form the pain of the needle, because when I looked at him again, he had 2 more vials in his hand, and in went this needle again and this time he used that needle to push all the way to what felt like my inner soul. The pain was so intense from being stuck by the needle that my body tensed up and tears started falling. Like I was not crying but the pain made tears fall. He is trying to comfort me and I’m not feeling him or this chair anymore.

Now that the tooth is confirmed numbed it takes him maybe 60 seconds to pull this tooth and he leaves me with one more round of rough housing my mouth to insert the gauze into the newly empty space between my back teeth.

10 minutes later I have a fully numbed tongue and shattered dreams of a South Korean male encounter. Look I know he was just doing his job but there was no slow down. He was on operation pull that tooth I have no time for your antics with needles. I still look forward to the trip to South Korea, but the first thing I will be asking any males I meet on my trip is What is your occupation?