Creepy or Cute?

On Saturday, Jimmy, Brandy, Asuncion and I had a Girls' (Plus Jimmy) Day in Seoul. We had lunch, went shopping, stalked a designer from Project Runway Korea - the usual. While we were shopping in Myungdong, we came across a sight that I have never encountered before. There were multiple people with signs that read "Free Hugs." The signs were in both English and Korean. The people, for the most part, were pretty normal looking. The fourth was a guy that looked like an emo girl but, he was the exception. In other words, they looked like they probably had something else to do other than stand around a crowded shopping area and try to hug total strangers.

When I got home, I Googled "Free Hugs." Apparently, there is a Free Hugs movement going on. According to Wikipedia, the Free Hugs movement started in Australia when Juan Mann (a pseudonym) was depressed and somehow ended up being hugged by a stranger. He found the hug so transformative that he started standing around crowded pedestrian areas of Sydney with a Free Hugs sign. Eventually, he convinced others to do it too and now there are people around the world trying to convince strangers to hug them.

I can't decide how I feel about the Free Hugs. On one hand, it seems harmless and possibly even helpful to lonely people. On the other hand, it's kinda creepy.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took. You can decide for yourself whether it's creepy or cute.

The Free Hugs guy that looked like an emo girl.

Only Jimmy hugged them. The rest of us simply mocked/photographed them.

Three of the four Free Hugs people.



This guy was loud and proud with his sign. He actually posed when I took out my camera.