It may seem like South Korea is just a tiny speck on the globe but when it comes to cultural oddities, the country has many of them. They have flavoured face masks with freaky flavours and tend to classify their children by the blood type that they have on birth. There are a lot of confusing things about the country that will leave you surprised and knowing about them will give you a great conversation starter as well.
The Government Provides Financial Support To Pregnant Women
Pregnant women in South Korea receive a credit card with $500 loaded in it from the government. They also have other benefits like cushioned seats in public transport, reserved parking spaces, and the amazing thing is that all these benefits continue even after 6 months of giving birth.
Shopping And Internet Banking Is Restricted
In 1999, a law was passed which stated that the people in South Korea could only use Internet Explorer for shopping and banking due to security reasons. This law also made it illegal for the residents to use any other web browser for these purposes.
Traditional Housewarming Gift Is Toilet Paper
The people in South Korea believe in exchanging gifts of practical value and use around the household. This is why, one of the most gifted item in the country is a few roles of toilet paper.
Flavored Drinks Of Popular Cartoons
The drinks in the Republic of South Korea have different cartoon characters on the packaging. This is not just stickers but the entire shape of the package is in the form of the cartoons. So, if you ever in the mood for a Pikachu drink, you know where to go.
School Remain Open Until Midnight
The schools in the country remain open until 1 AM. The purpose behind this intense study was initially to produce scholars but this turned out to be quite the disaster since the children lost all interest in extracurricular hobbies and had no social life as well. Their routine was mainly just sleeping, attending school, and then spending time on social media.
Church Invitations Are Sent Out On Tissues
The communities in South Korea use tissues to send out invitations of sermons in church. This is a rather weird way of inviting people but it apparently works since Korea holds the record of the most visited church in the world, with nearly 1 million people visiting each year.
Korean Girls As Pro Golfers
Golf was long since considered to be a game for just men. However, with years of practice, Korean women have left a mark on the world and they are some of the most popular pro golfers in the world.
Kids Classified On The Basis Of Blood Type
Upon birth, the children are classified on the basis of their blood type. This was a practice that was borrowed from Japan and the Koreans also believe that the blood type defines the personality of a person as they grow up.
Goguma Latte
South Koreans love sweet potatoes a lot and that is apparent from the high usage of the dish. They use sweet potatoes in many things, including their favorite drink, Goguma Latte (Sweet potato Latte). The sweet potatoes also serve as an ingredient in desserts, slices of breads, and toppings in pizza.
Honey Butter Chips
The South Koreans also love the Honey Butter chips, which are basically potato chips covered in butter and honey. They also have honey butter french fries served in their local McDonald’s.
Mall Restaurants Closing Time
The restaurants in the malls in South Korea close by 11 PM but the other shops in the malls remain open until 4 AM. The people are shopaholics and they sleep for an average time of only 6 hours a night.
The Opposite Traditions
On Valentine’s Day, it is customary for the guys to express their love to the girls. However, it is reversed in South Korea where the girls express the love to the guys. They also buy gifts, flowers, and chocolates for their husbands and boyfriends.
Black Day
The South Koreans celebrate April 14th as Black Day every year. The single Koreans moan the absence of love from their lives on this day and they also eat sticky black noodles known as ‘Jajangmyeon’.
Men Wearing Makeup
South Korean men are obsessed with cosmetics looking good. Nearly 20% of the men in the country wear makeup on a regular basis and the country spends nearly $900 million on makeup and cosmetics every year.
People Born Are One Year Old
Every child born in the country is already considered to be an year old. This is because the baby has already spent 9 months inside the womb of the mother and they consider the baby to have already lived for an year.
Common Belief About Dying
The South Koreans fear that if you sleep with the fan on and the doors and windows closed, you will die. This is because they believe that it causes a huge temperature drop and can cause hypothermia.
Legal To Drink In Public
The only restriction that the South Koreans have on alcohol is that you should be at least 19 years old. Apart from that, you can just walk into a supermarket, buy a drink and drink it right there and then.
Big Babies In South Korea
All unmarried people in South Korea are known as “Big Babies”. The love marriages are known as Yonae while the arranged marriages are known as Chungmae.
Special Products For YouTubers
There are special products for YouTubers in South Korea. These cosmetics are produced in a limited supply and are not available to the general public.
The Obsession With Feces
The South Koreans are just obsessed with feces. They make turd-shaped cookies and phone charms. They also have an entire museum dedicated to poop. The country uses advanced toilets that have pleasant flushing sounds, background music, and colored water.
The Use Of Red Ink
In South Korea, it is believed that if you write a person’s name in red ink, it means that he is either dead or about to die. They mark the use of red ink with death and use the ink to mark the death of a person in the family’s register.
Chocolate Milk Flavored Face Masks
It is weird enough that they have edible face masks but they thought of using chocolate milk as the choice of flavor for these face masks and that makes things even weirder.
The Global Capital Of Plastic Surgeries
The South Koreans are obsessed with beauty to the point where they have become the global capital for plastic surgeries. The JK Medical Group in South Korea alone sees nearly 10,000 patients in one year.
Snail Creams
One of the common cosmetics used in the country is snail cream. These creams are made using snail slime and mucus and help in smoothing out the creases and wrinkles on the face and also reducing sunspots.
The Raccoon And Sheep Cafe
When you are in South Korea, you must make sure that you visit the themed cafes in the country. One of the most famous cafes is the Raccoon and Sheep cafe where you are given the opportunity to pet the two creatures and spend time with them.
Chicken Cheetos
The South Koreans love their Chicken Cheetos, which are basically cheetos sprinkled on top of well-fried chicken. This combination makes the snack too delicious and hard to resist.
Cinderella Law
The Cinderella Law forbids the children under the age of 16 to play video games between midnight and 6 AM. This is an endeavor to help them get a good night’s rest and not be surrounded by tech all the time.
English Listening Classes
The South Korean curriculum lays a lot of focus on English speaking which is why when the classes are in session, planes are not allowed to land or take off around schools.
The Heaviest Drinkers
The South Koreans are the heaviest drinkers in all of Asia. They love to consume the Soju neat. This drink has alcohol content anywhere between 16.8% and 53%.
Credit Card Usage
The per capita credit card usage in South Korea is up to 129.7 transactions in 2011. This makes them the largest credit card users since the year 2011.
Color Codes For Taxis
If you see white or grey taxis, it means that they are basic taxis with less experienced drivers. However, a black taxi is considered to be luxurious since the drivers are the most experienced ones.
Jeju Loveland
Jeju Loveland is a theme park that has its focus only on sex. They promote sex education and have 140 sculptures in various sex positions. This park has been a popular tourist attraction since it opened in 2004.
Avocado Frappe
The South Korean Starbucks is the only franchise which serves Avocado Frappe which has smoothly blended avocados in it.
First Virtual Supermarket
The products have QR codes on them. All you have to do is scan the codes of the items that you want and they will be delivered to you at your preferred time and location without any hassle at all.
The Literacy Rate
98% of the total population of the country has completed secondary education and literacy rate is no longer an issue for the country. The only thing that they struggle with now is the low birth rate and the aging population.
Starcraft
Blizzard Starcraft has become the favorite pastime of the country and the game is considered to be a legitimate career option in the country.
Pringles
Apart from the normal flavors that you can get anywhere in the world, South Korea has some unusual flavors as well. For instance, there is a Cola flavor of Pringles, which is a bit flaky and leaves an effervescence in your mouth after you eat it.
