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WOMEN OF THE ORIENT
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business
Bachelor's Japan
How to Do Business With the Japanese
Japanese Secrets of Graceful Living
The Art of Mistress-Keeping in Japan
Japanese Business Dictionary
Lover's Guide to Japan
Japanese Influence on America
Japan at Night
Discover Cultural Japan
Japanese in Plain English
Korean Etiquette & Ethics in Business
Korean in Plain English
Chinese Etiquette & Ethics in Business
Japan Made Easy
Business Guide to Japan
Etiquette Guide to Japan
Diner's Guide to Japan
Shopper's Guide to Japan
Survival Japanese
Subway Exit Guide to Tokyo
YENBOOKS are published and distributed
by the Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.
of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
with editorial offices at Osaki Shinagawa-ku,
Tokyo 141-0032
© 1992 by Boye De Mente
All rights reserved
LCC Card No. 92-81007
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0787-8 (ebook)
First printing, 1992
Printed in Japan
CONTENTS
PREFACE 7
1. THE WOMEN OF JAPAN 13
2. THE WOMEN OF KOREA 59
3. THE WOMEN OF TAIWAN & HONG KONG 87
4. THE WOMEN OF THAILAND 117
5. THE WOMEN OF VIETNAM 135
6. THE WOMEN OF THE PHILIPPINES 153
PREFACE
Immediately following publication of Marco Polo's tales of the almost mythical land of Cathay, small bands of European adventurers, missionaries, and traders began making the long journey to the Orient. Some of them braved the perils of sailing uncharted seas in small ships. Others trekked for months across bandit-infested mountains and deserts.
As the centuries passed, the exotic lure of the Orient grew stronger, attracting an ever increasing number of Western men. By the advent of the present century this stream of American and European men pouring into the Far East had become a flood.
The lure of business profits, of making religious converts, and expanding or protecting political influence were given as the reasons why Western men were drawn to the Orient as if by some magnetic force. But why did so many of these men stay on in the Orient after they had succeeded or failed in their original purpose? The answer is simple. They stayed on because of the women!
Of course, many men may deny this, but after carefully considering the various advantages and disadvantages facing foreigners who live and work in the Orient, it seems to me that no other reason is even remotely possible.
It is an established fact among those who have firsthand knowledge of the matter that Western men have traditionally been fascinated by Oriental women. Both Marco Polo in China and Will Adams in Japan would probably have found some way to shorten their visits if it had not been for the charms of the young ladies made available to them. In recent years the growing number of international romances has proven that this fascination is not always the "love them and leave them" type. The old rationalization that it was only low-class, uneducated men who went for Oriental girls has also been thoroughly discredited.
There is considerable evidence that the more highly educated and cultured the Western man, the more likely he is to truly appreciate Oriental women— whether or not they have pretty faces and seductive figures.
Which group of Oriental women is the prettiest or the all-around best from the girl-watcher or girl-hunter's viewpoint is, of course, a matter of personal opinion. Some Western men consider Thai girls the most beautiful women in Asia. Other Western men believe the girls of Taiwan are the most appealing. Veteran New York Times foreign correspondent Robert Trumbull once observed that the tawny complexion, piquant faces, cascading glossy black hair, and incredibly tiny waists of Vietnamese girls undoubtedly made them the most attractive women in the Orient. Other men are just as lavish in their praise of the beauty, personality, and manners of Korean and Malaysian girls.
For the record, more men vote for Japanese girls as the all-around best. Some of the advantages Japanese girls have are sociological—greater independence from their families; more freedom to cater to their own desires—while others are strictly mechanical. The abundance and high quality of transportation and recreational facilities in Japan, for example, have a fundamental influence on male-female relations. As many playboys who travel the Orient are quick to point out, making contact, entertaining and keeping in touch with girls in less advanced areas is often more difficult, time-consuming, and less rewarding. From my own experience and that of others, however, there are compensating factors which make Seoul or Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) just as interesting if not more so than any of Japan's leading cities.
There are many fundamental differences among the women described as Oriental, not only in appearance but in attitudes and personalities. A Korean girl, for example, is as different from a Chinese as a French girl is from an American.
There are also several points of view in considering what Oriental women have. A lot can be made of the argument that it isn't so much what they have but where they have it. It is a well-known fact that men are very adaptable and able to adjust their attitudes and tastes to fit a wide variety of circumstances. Throughout history men have proven that they will take up with whatever females
