Interesting Facts About South Korea

1.The number “4? is considered extremely unlucky, to the point where most buildings in Korea do not have a 4th floor. This is actually true in many parts of Asia because the number four is a homonym with the word death in Chinese. For this reason, many countries in Asia consider the number to be extremely unlucky.

So much so that many hotels skip the fourth floor.2. In Seoul, Taxi’s are color coded. a grey or white taxi. And you get a basic car.

With a less experienced but still fully qualified driver. Choose a black cab. And you get a bit more luxury and a more experienced driver. But it costs you a few more Won. Whichever way you go the driver will probably be watching the TV in the cab. At the same time as driving you!3.

Soju is South Korea's rice wine. It tastes good. But it's pretty strong! At least 20% alcohol content. It's traditionally served in small shot glasses. And on the shout of 'Gumbay!' It's the custom to drink the whole glass full in one go.

Then when your glass is empty. Your host will quickly refill it. And it's not really polite to refuse...

. So you can see it's quite easy to get pretty drunk. Pretty quickly! Another way to drink Soju is as a Korean Bomb. Where a shot of Soju is added to a beer.4. Korean age is calculated differently than international age.

The way the majority of the world measures age seems common sense to most people. We are born without a year, and then every year on our birthday we get one year older. Simple right? The Korean system isn’t so easy. Koreans are all two years older than they really are. When Koreans are born they are instantly one. In Korea, a baby is born being one year old because they include the time in the womb as being alive, so they are already technically a year older than westerners consider themselves.

Every New Year another year is added to their age. Thus, if a baby is born on the last day of the year, they will be two years old on New Year’s Day!5. A Traditional Korean Roof Curves Up With A Smile. If you see a picture of a traditional Asian building. And the roof curves up at the corners. Then you know it's Korean.

We saw some stunning traditional buildings in South Korea. Like this gorgeous one at WaWoo temple. Inside is the golden bell of re-union. The bell symbolizes the wish that North and South Korea will re-unite one day.5. A 16-hour school day? The average high school student generally has class from approximately 8A until 9:30P or 10P.

With Koreans, the goal is to get into a good college and often, the competition is high. As a result, many students will also attend a private hagwon (afterschool learning program). After school programs reinforce education and English learning, so there is high demand for them; and for students, this is perhaps, their one social outlet and way to meet other friends. This means the average teen doesn’t get home until midnight; and lunch and dinner are served at the school! But just when you think Korean teens have the weekend to be teens, they also have school on Saturdays!6. Korea is crowded.

Crowded, crowded, crowded.... With a population of over 48 million and a land area of 38,000 sq.

miles, South Korea has one of the highest population densities in the world at over 1,200 people per sq. mile. In contrast, the United States has a population density of 79 people per sq. mile. Speaking of crowded, Seoul is the second largest city in the world. According to the World Atlas, Seoul has a population of 20,550,000, making it the world's second largest city behind Tokyo.

Seoul Is A City Of Apartments: One of the interesting facts about South Korea. Is that many, many people live in high-rise, high-tech apartments. Some have robots to do the housework. And the heating can be controlled by a call on the mobile phone. Of course to pay for all this. South Koreans work hard!7.

99% of the people here obey traffic lights even if there’s no cars around. There’s a traffic light in my neighborhood that’s 3 minutes and 45 seconds long and people wait for them all the time. It’s all related to their respect for authority and doing what you’re told. “you follow the signs.

” Plain and simple. Furthermore, NOT obeying the traffic light can get you into trouble.7. Fruit is a luxury item. Fruit in Korea is already absurdly expensive, but especially due to the high levels of rain as of late, it’s costing Koreans even more than normal. (What is one of the most expensive fruits? WATERMELON – at about 30,000 won, which is equal to about $30.

00 in Canada.) Because of the high level of rain, fruit in Korea is absurdly expensive. A watermelon is about $30,000 won – about $26.50 in US dollars.8. Koreans love SPAM and it is a countrywide favorite.

Why is it so popular? Well, during the war, soldiers were supplied with a lot of canned foods, so they ended up creating something we know now as ???? (Military Stew). The population ended up picking up on the SPAM after this creation and starting adding it to other soups and recipes. Koreans also LOVE ??? (sweet potato) and sweet potato-flavoured things. Deep fried sweet potato, sweet potato cake, sweet potato crackers, sweet potato chips, sweet potato bread, sweet potato latte, sweet potato salad, sweet potato pizza.

10. The South Korean beliefs: (1) about "Fan Death'': electric fans left running overnight will kill the persons sleeping in the breeze that they generate. (2) When the first night of the new year comes everybody hides their shoes. This is because there is a belief that a ghost will come down and try on everyone's shoes. If the ghost finds a pair it likes it will take it.

It is thought that the owner of the shoes will then have bad luck for the whole year.12. Drinking in Public is one-hundred percent legal. You’re allowed to sit in the park, by the river, on a University campus and have a few drinks and some snacks with friends. Don’t think you’re being a rebel, though, a lot of other people indulge in this, as well.13.

Avoid using red ink. Writing someone’s name in red ink basically means they’re going to die, or that they’re already dead. You should also avoid writing a note or letter in red ink, as it does not send a friendly message to the recipient of said note.14. South Koreans love to shop.

If you love to shop. Our advice?....

..go to South Korea. We thought we'd seen big shops in London. And Paris.

Shopping in Seoul is on a different scale! Some Seoul shopping centres are literally like small towns. Filled to bursting with beautiful people buying beautiful things.15. South Korea is in the grip of a beauty craze. 50% of South Korean women in their 20s have had some form of cosmetic surgery.

Most Koreans favorite for Plastic surgery: Eyes. Most East Asian have monolids, so to improve the beauty of the eyes, they would like to have surgery or Soo-sool (??) to their eyes. Usually girls have this surgery during school break or after graduating from senior high school. What Korean women do to get that flawless skin.

A typical woman has 16-18 beauty products! Korean women dedicate at least half an hour in the morning and also at night to care for their skin.