Hello beautiful people, and welcome back on the route! 🙂

Today our *hopefully* never-ending journey through the curiosities around the world brings us to one of the most fascinating countries in eastern Asia… South Korea! 😉

South Korea is a land of contrasts — ancient temples between futuristic skyscrapers, K-pop blasting from shopping malls while monks chant in mountain monasteries, and a food culture that could keep you exploring for months!!

From the world’s fastest internet to superstitions about red ink, from crazy beauty standards to a border you can visit as a tourist… South Korea is full of fun facts that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew.

Today we will show you 10 of the most curious ones!

Let’s dive right in! 🙂

1. South Korea Has

the Fastest Internet in the World

(And It Shows!)

If there is one thing South Koreans take seriously, it is their internet speed.

South Korea consistently ranks as the country with the fastest average internet speed on the planet — we are talking about speeds that make most European and American connections look like dial-up from the 90s (although the average user probably wouldn’t immediately notice!).

But you know what is even more impressive?

Free public WiFi is available almost everywhere! 

In the Seoul metro, in buses, in parks, even on top of mountains… In South Korea, I wonder how, they’ve got hotspots almost everywhere…if you’d get too much into it, you could literally stream a K-drama while hiking! xD

That is partially why the country invested heavily in digital infrastructure since the early 2000s, and today over 97% of South Korean households have internet access.

Gaming cafes, called “PC bangs,” are on almost every corner in major cities, and many global tech companies (such as Samsung in primis, the tech giant from South Korea!) actually use Seoul as a testing ground for new apps before launching them worldwide.

If you are planning to visit, picking up mobile data in South Korea with Roambit before your trip is the easiest way to have maps in the country, translations, and all your apps ready from day one:)

2. Writing Someone’s Name

in Red Ink is Considered Very Bad Luck

This one really caught me off guard when I first learned about it.

In South Korea, you should NEVER (!!!) write a living person’s name in red ink.

In Korean tradition in facts, red ink was used to write the names of deceased people on family registers and funeral documents — so writing someone’s name in red essentially implies that you wish them dead (not a nice thing xD).

This superstition is taken so seriously that teachers never grade papers with a student’s name in red, and business cards with names in red are a major cultural offense.

Quick Cultural Note: While younger South Koreans might be more relaxed about this, it is still considered very poor taste. If you are visiting South Korea or working with Korean colleagues, just stick to blue or black ink! 🙂

3. South Koreans Celebrate Their Birthday Differently (Everyone Ages Together!)

Here is something that confuses most visitors when they first hear about it, us included!

In South Korea, there has traditionally been a different age counting system.

Under the old Korean age system, you are already 1 year old the day you are born, and then everyone in the country gets one year older together on New Year’s Day — not on their individual birthday!

This means that a baby born on December 31st would technically be 2 years old the very next day on January 1st, even though they have only been alive for 24 hours (I wonder if they can stand and walk being two already xD).

BEYOND THE CURTAIN: In 2023, South Korea officially adopted the international age system for legal purposes. However, many South Koreans still use the traditional Korean age in everyday conversation. So if someone in Seoul tells you their age, you might want to ask: “Korean age or international age?” 🙂

The traditional Korean New Year celebration, called “Seollal”, is one of the most important holidays in the country — families gather, perform ancestral rites, eat “tteokguk” (rice cake soup), and children bow to their elders to receive money and blessings 😀

4. K-Pop is Not Just Music:

It is a Global Cultural Phenomenon!

You probably already know about K-pop, but you might not realize just how DAAAAMN massive this industry truly really is!

South Korea’s pop music industry generates over $10 billion annually and has fans in virtually every country on earth.

Groups like BTS, BLACKPINK, and Stray Kids sell out stadiums from New York to London to Tokyo!

But here is what makes K-pop truly unique: trainees often practice for 5 to 10 years before debuting, entertainment companies control almost every aspect of an idol’s life, and fan culture is incredibly organized — fans coordinate streaming strategies, buy billboard ads, and even donate to charities in their idols’ names!

Extra fun fact: Remember “Gangnam Style” by PSY? In 2012, it became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views and literally broke YouTube’s view counter. Named after Gangnam, a wealthy district in Seoul, many Koreans found it hilarious because it was actually a parody of that flashy lifestyle!

K-pop has become so influential that the South Korean government considers it a key part of the country’s soft power strategy 🙂

5. South Korea and North Korea

Are Still Technically at War

Going back in history few centuries, did you know that the Korean War (1950-1953) ended with an armistice agreement and not a peace treaty?

This means that technically, North and South Korea have been in a state of war for over 70 years.

The two Koreas are separated by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 250-kilometer-long buffer zone that, despite its name, is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world (and in recent days, even more!).

As a tourist, you can actually visit the DMZ!

Guided tours from Seoul take you to the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom, where you can step into North Korea for a few seconds inside the blue UN conference buildings that straddle the border.

Quick Cultural Note: The division of North and South Korea is deeply emotional for many Korean people, as millions of families were separated during the war and have never been reunited. The differences between the two Koreas as of today, are as night and day: a gruelsome dictatorship on one side, and a democratic country on the other!

6. The Beauty Industry in South Korea is Unlike Anything You Have Ever Seen

South Korea is the beauty capital of the world, and that is not an exaggeration!

The South Korean beauty industry, often called K-beauty, is worth over $13 billion and has influenced skincare trends globally.

The famous “10-step Korean skincare routine” has become a worldwide phenomenon!

But the beauty culture goes far beyond face masks and serums…

Plastic surgery is more common here than almost anywhere else — Seoul alone has over 500 clinics in the famous “Gangnam Beauty Belt,” and it is not uncommon for parents to gift their children plastic surgery for graduation. Some Korean friend explained to us, that in Korea there are only 8 “acceptable face shapes” according to their beauty standard, and if you don’t fall into one of those, you almost certainly will need to go under surgery (how crazy is that?!!).

South Korean men also spend more on skincare per capita than men in any other country, and K-beauty products feature unusual ingredients like snail mucin, bee venom, and fermented rice water.

Extra fun fact: November 11th (11/11, looking like chopsticks!) is “Pepero Day,” where people exchange chocolate-covered cookie sticks. The emphasis on appearance is deeply rooted in South Korean culture, where first impressions carry significant social weight.

If you want to know instead how 11/11 is celebrated in China, be sure to check out also our article on Curiosities on Relationships in China 😉

7. Koreans Are Obsessed With Fried Chicken

(And It Has Its Own Culture!)

llIf you thought fried chicken was just an American thing, you have clearly never been to South Korea!

South Korea has in facts a massive fried chicken culture that is entirely its own thing!

Reportedly, to date there are over 87,000 fried chicken joints across the whole country, more than the number of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide!

The go-to combo is called the “chimaek” — “chicken” (chi) + “maekju” (beer). It is practically a national pastime to order fried chicken with beer while watching sports or K-dramas (if you ask me, such a lovely thing ahah).

Other popular styles include yangnyeom chicken (sweet and spicy red sauce), dakgangjeong (crispy bite-sized pieces with a sticky glaze), and snow cheese chicken (topped with a blizzard of powdered cheese).

Quick Cultural Note: The food culture goes way beyond chicken, of course — Korean BBQ, bibimbap, kimchi, tteokbokki, and countless street foods make South Korea one of the best food destinations in the world. But chimaek still seems to holds a special place in most Koreans’ hearts! 🙂

8. South Korea is 70% Mountains

(And Koreans Love Hiking!)

Here is a geographical fact that surprises most people: did you know that approximately 70% of South Korea’s land is covered by mountains?

The most famous mountain is Hallasan on Jeju Island, which at 1,950 meters is the tallest peak in South Korea and actually a dormant volcano with a stunning crater lake at its summit.

But what really amazed me is this: hiking is basically the national sport of South Korea! 

On any given weekend, the mountains around Seoul are absolutely packed with hikers of all ages — from teenagers to 80-year-olds in full professional hiking gear xD

South Koreans take hiking so seriously that there is an entire fashion subculture around hiking gear, mountain trails often have convenience stores or restaurants at the summit, and soju (Korean rice liquor of which will talk next) at the top of the mountain is practically tradition!

Extra fun fact: Bukhansan National Park, located right inside Seoul, receives over 10 million visitors per year. And if you want island hiking, Jeju Island off the southern coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its volcanic landscape, beautiful beaches, and the iconic stone statues called “dol hareubang.”

9.  Soju is the Best-Selling Spirit

in the World (even if you’ve never heard of it!)

Move over vodka, move over whiskey… the world’s best-selling spirit is South Korean soju!

Most people outside of Asia have never even heard of soju, yet it outsells every other spirit on the planet!

South Koreans consume an estimated 4 billion bottles of soju per year — in a country of just 52 million people. That is roughly 77 bottles per person per year! (yeah, bottles are generally smaller 25cl/37,5cl but still pretty impressive to say the least!

But what is Soju exactly?

Soju is a clear, slightly sweet spirit made from rice, wheat, or sweet potatoes, with an alcohol content between 16% and 20%.

It is cheaper than water in many restaurants and deeply woven into South Korean social culture.

If you’ll ever have to try it, remember there are very specific drinking etiquette rules in South Korea for soju: you should never pour your own drink, when someone older pours you a drink you receive it with both hands, and you should turn away from elders when drinking as a sign of respect!

BEYOND THE CURTAIN: Drinking culture is so embedded in South Korean business life that many companies have regular “hoesik” — company dinners where employees are expected to drink together. While this tradition is slowly changing among younger South Koreans, it remains an important part of corporate culture.

10. There Are Over

100 Different Types of Kimchi

You cannot talk about South Korea without talking about kimchi!

Kimchi is South Korea’s most iconic food — a fermented vegetable dish (most commonly napa cabbage) that South Koreans eat with virtually every single meal 🙂

But here is the fun fact that surprised me the most: there are actually over 100 documented varieties of kimchi in South Korea.

While the classic spicy cabbage version (baechu kimchi) is the most famous, you can find kimchi made with radish, cucumber, scallions, and even watermelon rind — plus regional variations that differ dramatically from city to city, and “white kimchi” (baek kimchi) that contains no chili pepper at all.

Every year, countless families in South Korea participate in “kimjang” — a massive communal kimchi-making event in late November. In 2013, UNESCO recognized kimjang as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity!

Quick Cultural Note: Many Korean households even have a dedicated “kimchi refrigerator” — a special appliance designed specifically for fermenting and storing kimchi at the perfect temperature. That is how seriously South Koreans take their kimchi! xD

Conclusion

And here we are at the end of this article! 🙂

From the fastest internet in the world to the most consumed spirit on the planet, from mountains everywhere to over 100 types of kimchi — South Korea is truly one of those countries that the more you learn about it, the more you want to visit. And trust me, once you are there, the real surprises are the ones you discover on your own.

If you want to discover more fun facts about countries around the world, be sure to check out our other curiosities articles on the blog!

Before going, as always, I would like to ask you:

Which fact surprised you the most?

Have you ever been to South Korea before?

Let us know in the comments below! 😀

Hereafter I will leave you a few articles that you might be also interested in checking out:

• 15 Interesting Facts about Rome you didn’t Know!
• Travel Italy: Discover the most Beautiful Destinations in Italy and How to Visit them!

Thank you for reading,

And see you in the next article!