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17 Interesting facts about Korea
Refers to the slides, Choose interesting facts that fascinate you the most about
South Korean culture then compare to Australia.
(use your own words to write down the facts in your book)
1. Most South Korean restaurants (including fast food like McDonald´s) offer food delivery via motorcycle drivers who are notorious for speeding through traffic to deliver the food on time. After you are done eating, you can just put your dirty dishes outside your door and the delivery guy will come for them later.
2. Seoul residents are among the most sleep-deprived people in the world. On average, a Seoul resident sleeps less than six hours a day, which is – along with people living in Tokyo the least amount of sleep in the world. The study found that nearly three in ten of people work between 51 to 60 hours a week, while 11 percent work more than 50 hours a week. Furthermore, 43 percent of professionals in financial services are contactable around the clock, over weekends and during holidays.
3. South Korea has the world’s fastest wireless speeds on the planet, with an average download speed 33.5 megabits per second, nearly three times the average speed of second-place Hong Kong. The country also has an average upload speed of 17 megabits per second.
As Korea is one of the most well developed IT country, you can easily find a WiFi sign in any stores, especially in the cafes..
4. South Koreans love shopping and the country have some of the biggest shopping malls in the world. The stores are open until 4:00 am, while most restaurants, bars, and cafes are open only until 11:00 p.m.
5. South Koreans have a very unusual approach to age. Every South Korean child is considered to be one year old when it is born, and it will turn two on the next Lunar New Year. Furthermore, 100 days after the birth, a huge celebration is held for the baby.
6. Each July, the town of Boryeong hosts arguably the largest mud festival in the world. The Boryeong Mud Festival features various mud contests and fights but also massages, mud photo contests, mud marathons, and mud wrestling contests. Since it was staged in 1998, the festival has attracted millions of visitors to Boryeong.
7. Many South Koreans believe your blood type reflects your personality. They take this thing very seriously, similarly to people in Western countries who believe in horoscopes.
8. Samsung alone is responsible for 20% of South Korea´s $1.1 trillion economy. While most people think Samsung only produces electronics, the company also manufactures armored vehicles, oil tankers, appliances, door locks, medical equipment and much more.
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9. Taxis in South Korea are color coded according to the level of service offered. An orange or silver taxi is a basic car, while the black cabs are luxury cars.. .
10. South Koreans consider the number 4 an unlucky number, and it is associated with death. This belief seems to have come from China. The floor number 4 is almost always skipped in hospitals and public buildings. In other buildings, the fourth floor is sometimes labeled "F" instead of "4" in elevators.
11. Similarly to their problem with the number four, South Koreans are also very superstitious when it comes to writing things in red. The color red symbolizes death in South Korea, and if you write a person's name in red, it means that you either want them to die or you think they will die soon.
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12. South Koreans love kimchi, a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables. From cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi to cucumber kimchi, there are about 250 different types of this delicacy.
13. Despite being located right next to North Korea, an infamous aggressor, South Korea is one of the safest and most peaceful countries in the world. It has an extremely low crime rate and very strict gun policy.
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14. The iconic song "Gangnam Style" by the South Korean musician Psy became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. With more than 2.54 billion views now, it has been YouTube's most watched video since November 2012, when it surpassed "Baby" by Justin Bieber. The phrase "Gangnam Style" refers to a luxury lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul.
15. South Koreans are famous for their specific cuisine that is heavily based on seafood but few people know they harvest more than 90% of the world’s seaweed consumption.
16. South Korean men are literally obsessed with cosmetics. They spend a ton of money on cosmetics products (particularly make-up) in order to improve their appearance. In fact, South Korean men are the world's top per-capita consumers of skincare products, with four times the purchases of runner-up Denmark.
17. Talking about appearance and beauty, South Korea also has the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita in the world.
