20 Interesting Facts about South Korea

South Korea is another interesting country to know. It is located in northeastern Asia that resides in the southern portion of the Korea Peninsula, which was officially known to be the “Republic of Korea”. South Korea is surrounded on the north direction by North Korea, on the east by the “Sea of Japan”, on the west by the “Yellow Sea” and on the southeast and south by Korea Strait which unattached it to Japan.

Photo by Shawn Ang on Unsplash

The country was established in 1948 accompanied by the post-WWII dividing Korea between the dominating forces of the United States in the south and the USSR in the north. South Korea rose after the wrath of the Korean War (1950-1953) and in 1990’s South Korea was announced to be one of the largest economies in the world.

So now that we know where the country is located and the history of South Korea. Let us now know more about its interesting facts:

1. In South Korea, you are considered a year old after you were just born which means you age faster by a year compared to a westerner.

2. Drinking in public is legal; people can carry liquors of containers in public.

3. South Koreans believe that number four (4) is an unlucky number and is accompanied by death. The belief was rubbed off by China

4. They have the “Fan Death” concept in which they believe that leaving an electric fan overnight would kill the sleeping person directly below it.

5. They avoid using red ink in writing the person’s name for it indicates that the person is about to die or already dead.

6. South Korea population is nearly about 49 million

7. The size of the U.S state of Indiana is roughly the same in South Korea, which is about 38,500 square miles.

8. Sweet potato is a popular flavored delicacy in South Korea in which some of their main courses, desserts, chips, latte, salad, and bread are flavored with sweet potato.

9. South Koreans mostly speak “Korean” and their second language that is widely taught in schools is “English”

10. They do have a national religion since they are granted with religious freedom, though Buddhism and Christianity are the most common religions

11. They have the biggest shopping malls in the world. Stores are open until 4 AM while café, bars are open till 11 PM.

12. South Korea flag has a broad philosophy behind its simplicity. It has a white background with a blue “yin”, the red “yang” in the center of it; both symbolize cosmic forces for balance and harmony and in four corners of it are four trigrams that symbolizes universal element: Earth, Heaven, Fire, and Water.

13. South Koreans have the unity on what language they speak and write. Hangul language consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants which is considered one of the standard scientific writing systems.

14. Almost 63 printing presses have a daily print edition of the newspaper in South Korea.

15. South Korea is known for their “smiling roofs” as all Korean roofs curve at the ends that give an appearance of a smile.

16. Seoul is the capital of South Korea with a population of 10 million people, which is three times larger than North Korea’s capital.

17. The government in South Korea is a constitutional democracy, but most of its history has been ruled by a series of military authoritarians.

18. The first major military dispute between the Soviet Union and the United States is the Korean War

19. In South Korea, taxi is labeled by colors that indicate the level of service they offer.

20. Korea was once unified kingdom until its schism in two in 1945.