5 Unique Things You Might Not Know About Korea!
1. Valentine's Day in Korea is Just for the Guys, Not Girls?
Valentine’s Day is for couples or many individuals with a crush to share their feelings and love towards their partners! However, would you believe me if I tell you that Valentine’s Day in Korea is only for the guys? It’s normally the boyfriends who receive gifts from their girlfriends. This is because Korea has another day just like Valentine’s Day for girls! It’s called ‘White Day’. So overall, Valentine’s Day in Korea is for girlfriends to share their feelings to the guys, and a ‘White Day’ is for the boyfriends to do the same to the girls! Very fascinating, right?
2-1. Koreans automatically turn 1 year old at birth?
In Korea, on the day of your birth, you are considered one year old! Do you want to know why? That’s because the Korean age counts the time that you spent in the womb before being born, which is approximately a year. So your Korean age will always be at least one year older than your international age.
2-2. Korean age isn’t calculated based on your birthday
Another unique thing about this whole Korean age thing is that birthdays don’t affect the age. More specifically, Koreans do celebrate their birthday, but the age wouldn’t change until January 1st. This is because, Korean age is counted from the Lunar New Year, not from the date of birth!
3. Drink Anywhere, Everywhere!
While most western countries have regulations on where you can and cannot drink in public, wherever you sit down with drinks is your own bar in Korea! Are you tired of drinking indoors? Then why don’t you try drinking while walking in the middle of the street? Enjoy this absolute freedom while you are in Korea:) BUT always be careful not to pass out on the sidewalk.. It’s not the most comfortable place to sleep in- trust me!
4. Ever Heard of Tetraphobia?
Wondering what ‘Tetraphobia’ is? It means avoiding the number ‘4’. This is because the word for ‘4’ in korean is similar to the word for ‘death’. When you get on the elevators in the hotel or shopping malls, you’ll often find floors 1,2,3, and F, instead of 1,2,3, and 4. Even the apartments with multiple 4s are often avoided and the property values are lower compared to the ones without the number ‘4’. Interesting, right?
5. Toilet Paper Warms the House!
Are you moving into a new house in South Korea? If you’re planning on having a housewarming party, don’t bother buying toilet paper or laundry detergent. You’ll get plenty of it as gifts! Because the guests of a housewarming party or anyone who’s visiting others’ new houses giving out toilet paper or laundry detergent is a very common and polite thing to do in Korean culture. So why don’t you plan a little party once you move into a new house to get your house warmed by a bunch of these supplies?
