TOMI:MITO

Rich and Famous

Tomi — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:58:36 +0000

Near Itaewon which is widely known as the most multicultural, expat-friendly area of Seoul, there is a (extremely) wealthy, quiet neighborhood up on the hill looking down at Han River called UN Village. It is so private that only permitted visitors get to enter the area- actually not many locals even get to discover/explore it in first place. Only cars you will see are luxury European ones, and even so are tinted with the darkest film possible. This is where the Korea’s rich and famous reside, and we are talking about an apartment that cost 5 million US dollars- note that I said an apartment, not a house. ;O As the name suggests, this town once was reserved for UN employees and diplomats who get their housing paid by the organization they belong to. But things have changed these days, and it’s now being invaded by movie stars and K-pop singers- the most successful and famous ones, think T.O.P of Big Bang, Lee Hyori, Kim Tae Hee, etc. I read somewhere that you are normally not even allowed to take pictures here unless you’ve received official permission by the security, but we only learned about that after the outfit shots [...]

Gastronomic Adventure Korea: Songdo

Tomi — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:56:25 +0000

If I had to choose one of my favorite go-to dishes ever, it would undoubtedly be rolls. Yes, rolls, as in California rolls, and all of its variations. I’m not a big fast food lover and have a hard time digesting anything fried and/or dipped in MSG but anything and everything Asian (not the Oriental Chicken Salad type though) is welcome, and if it’s easy to eat (as in bite-size) and it’s got avocado in it, it’s a definite go. Strangely enough, I’ve been finding it hard to come across my favorite food here in Seoul, though it’s probably more “Asian” than McDonald’s… I’ve seen more than enough Micky D’s here than I ever had back in the States but rolls are amazingly hard to come by. So I had to ask the chef at Crazy Rolls by Askos why that is. And the answer was both surprising and somewhat expected: Koreans consider dining out as a “fancy” experience (unless you are eating by yourself at a local joint that serves a $5 soup) and to them, rolls are perceived as being not much different from Gimbap, which is a Korean version of sushi rolls without sushi, usually made with [...]

SFW: Street Style version 2

Tomi — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:41 +0000

In contrast to surprisingly subdued hues that were rampant during the colder days, brights seem to be a necessity in Seoul these days, with all kinds of print and patterns in every possible color variation popping up all over the city, everyday. While color is always an effective way to add fun to any outfit, color matching along with print mixing is one of those things that requires mastery, which often can be done through trial and error… Practice makes anything and everything perfect indeed… Perhaps that’s why most of the highly “fashionable” people we run into happen to be either working in fashion industry, or are preparing/training to enter it. Many of them are “seasoned veterans”, which for me personally takes away a little bit of fascination.. Perhaps it’s our humble hope in which we wish to see extremely stylish folks who are natural-born fashionistas (rather than “trained” ones) who work in a completely random industry or are studying something that “sounds” geeky or “boring” on the surface… So when we do run into such folks, you can only imagine how ridiculously excited we become. Maybe it’s that we are looking for friends… those who are somewhat similar to [...]

Seoul Fashion Week: Kwak Hyun Joo Backstage

Tomi — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:27:12 +0000

Park Seul Gi from Korea’s Next Top Model. Always been obsessed with her androgynous look. This fresh blue eyeliner has to be cutest eye makeup I’ve seen so far, a must try. Oh, and can’t forget those platinum blond wigs. Model Lee Ho Jung. Honestly, I thought she was 13 when I first saw her on the runway. Too cute. but don’t let her baby face fool you, she’s got some serious skills when it comes to modeling, managing herself to look completely different at every show as needed: sometimes mature and elegant, sometimes young and vibrant, sometimes nice and cute, sometimes just plain badass. Model Joo Sun Young who was kind enough to accept me as a friend in the cyberspace. Now I’m totally biased and I know I tend to post lots of photos of her because of that. It also helps that she’s super cute. Go Sun Young! Joo Sun Young’s angry face. Meow! Model Choi Joon Young, who is more than just a pretty face. Not only does she never fail to rock the runway with her unique charm, she takes amazing self camera shots. So you ask, what are the requirements to be a model? Besides being [...]

Seoul Fashion Week: Yang’s Backstage

Tomi — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:26:08 +0000

What goes on in the backstage shows up on TOMI:MITO. Designer Yang giving a direction to the crew. I love it when the designer is equally stylish as the collection itself, or sometimes even more so. Getting hair did © 2013, Tomi. All rights reserved.