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Home > TEFL we we Blog > Teaching English in Asia > 10 things that are strange Won’t know About Southern Korea

Korea is just a country that is truly fascinating and I also defy one to spending some time here rather than fall in deep love with it. Nevertheless, there are lots of small quirks and oddities that even with 15 months I nevertheless find it difficult to get my head around. I’ve compiled a summary of 10 crazy aspects of Southern Korea that you’ll definitely find strange!

1. The trail rules

Or simply, having less road guidelines will be better. Red lights, pedestrian crossings, and providing way appear to mean absolutely nothing right right here. Scooters, motorbikes or even vehicles, easily drive across the pavement beeping at you for being within their method. In terms of parking, the overall guideline is apparently that anywhere is reasonable game if you're able to fit your car there. And there’s this strange rule that means you are able to turn appropriate at a crossing, regardless of light being green or red, that has led to significantly more than a few near misses.

2. The possible lack of queues

Yeah, yeah, I’m a Brit, and all sorts of Brits love queueing, I’ve heard all of it before, but seriously Korea, figure out how to wait your turn. Koreans seem to have this strange and irritating indisputable fact that they just want to buy a packet of cigarettes, but you have several things to pay for, they can cut in front if they only have one thing in their basket or. Ajummas (see point 7) will be the worst because of this.

3. Koreans have a amazing capacity to get to sleep anywhere

With or without having the assistance of a few containers of soju. Entrepreneurs throwing down their footwear and settling straight down for a park work work work bench for the cheeky energy nap, builders having a kip in the center of a building web web web site, dropping off to sleep in the subway yet somehow constantly getting out of bed over time with regards to their end, plus in course, ideally perhaps maybe not just an expression back at my training. Koreans have actually probably the working hours that are longest in the planet, and several of my pupils just get four to five hours sleep a night, so that it’s not necessarily astonishing which they require some recovery time.

4. Koreans have actually superstitions

Every tradition has their superstitions that are own and Korea’s are not any complete stranger than our concern about black colored kitties, broken mirrors and walking under ladders. For instance, the quantity 4 is recognized as unlucky right here while the terms for ‘death’ and ‘four’ have actually the pronunciation that is same Korean. When you are getting in a good start the key for the 4th flooring may also be F, in place of 4, or often skipped completely, and you ought to never ever provide sets of 4 as something special. Composing someone’s name in red can also be reserved when it comes to dead, which includes on one or more event resulted in a sluggish motion design ‘nooooooo’ from the young ones because they dive to make the pen away from my hand. After which there’s fan death, the commonly held belief that resting in an available space with a fan on immediately will kill you. There are many theories behind that one, nevertheless the most frequent a person is the fact that blades regarding the fan will chop the air molecules up making them un-breatheable. No, actually.

5. What’s my age once again?

Along side various other East Asian nations, Korea utilizes another type of method of age reckoning as compared to Western globe, which means that your ‘Korean age’ will likely to be https://sex-match.org/ either one or 2 yrs (based on just exactly what thirty days you had been born in) more than your ‘Western age’. Children begin life at one, when you are regarded as being one out of your year that is first of, two in your next 12 months of life, three in your 3rd 12 months of life an such like. Nonetheless, in Korea everyone ages through to the Lunar brand brand New 12 months (Seollal) in February, rather than to their real birthday celebration. As an example, a child born in January is 12 months old once they had been created, and would then turn two on Seollal in February, despite the fact that they might simply be several days old in accordance with the Western system. This method is employed in just about every time life in Korea, even though appropriate system utilizes the Western reckoning. Confusing i understand.

6. Reading and writing the date

While United states English makes use of the month-day-year structure, and British English utilizes the day-month-year structure, Koreans often (based on their training) choose year-month-day. So 10/9/12 could be October 9th 2012, September tenth 2012, or September 12th 2010. Honestly it is anyone’s guess plus it makes sell-by dates an absolute nightmare.

7. Ajummas

That certain term is sufficient to hit fear into the heart of perhaps the many experienced expat. Kitted call at clashing animal images, more diamanté compared to the cast that is entire of, not to mention, the obligatory visors atop their standard problem perm, this military of elderly ladies that wander the roads of Korea is just a force become reckoned with. They shall push, jostle and elbow their solution to the leading associated with the queue or even to log in to the coach first. Even though they are painfully sluggish whenever walking across the street, don’t be tricked, once that subway chair becomes free they pounce. The very last thing you want is always to invoke the wrath of an ajumma. Usually do not mess using them.

8. DONGCHIP

This strange, and somewhat unsettling game is unfortuitously quite popular among Korean children at this time. Where they discovered it, and exactly why no body prevents them is totally beyond me personally. The ‘game’ requires the kids placing their hands together such as for instance a weapon, looking forward to the moment that is opportune jamming their hands up your bum yelling DONGCHIP! You've got been warned.

9. Magic structures

From the land associated with tea-break that is eternal the price that structures look and disappear in Korea is absolutely nothing in short supply of astonishing. One week you’ll walk past a hairdressers, plus the in a few days it’s a totally refurbished restaurant. It is like staying in some style of time-warp.

10. Kimchi-a-rama

The obsession that is national kimchi. After all really, it is fermented cabbage.