Hey guys what's up it's Charlie here and today we're going to be looking at
eleven surprising things about South Korea South Korea is an amazing country
and with things like kpop and South Korea getting more big and tourism
everyone's going there but before you jet over to South Korea you need to know
these facts there are some big no-nose in South Korea and also some amazing
differences about the country but first why not subscribe and press the
notification bell - coming up first we have age counting system you probably
think counting your age is the easiest thing to do anywhere in the world
well if you head over to South Korea you may well be a different age to what you
are now what do I mean by this well you don't age during the flight
over instead it's because South Korea uses a very different age counting
system in most countries when you're born you're zero then in one year you're
one years old and you also age every time your birthday rolls over well in
South Korea things are very different you see in South Korea when a baby's
born their age is set to one so instantly everyone in South Korea is
older than you by one year not only that they don't age on their birthday instead
their age increases by one every New Year's Day this means in South Korea if
you were born on New Year's Eve then in two days you would be 2 years old that
sure is a confusing system compared to other countries around the world but
this old age counting system is still commonly used in South Korea so you may
want to account for that when somebody asks - how old you are in South Korea
next up is spine number we all know that there are tensions between North and
South Korea there has been for many many decades and what a countries do in this
tension they send over spies it's estimated there are thousands of North
Korean spies in South Korea now obviously this isn't exactly ideal for
South Korea so that's why they made their very own call center simply for
reporting spies if you spot someone who you think may be
a North Korean spy or a spy from a different country cool one one free
calling this number will redirect you to a spice specialist unit from there
you'll be able to report any spice you may think are hiding out in South Korea
next up is tipping this one may not be unusual if you're not from America but
in the USA tipping is a very very important thing to do in the USA if you
don't tip you're seen as rude or maybe you didn't like the service well in
South Korea the opposite is true if you tip in South Korea it's seen as very
rude restaurant and cafe employees will actually see it as a jab at their
dignity unlike in some countries restaurant and cafe waiters get paid
very well this means there's no need to tip and you can just pay them the normal
bill it may seem counterintuitive to some patrons but tipping in South Korea
is a big no-no next up is chopstick rules South Korea is known for its
delicious foods and if you go there on vacation you're likely going to be
eating a lot but when you do be sure not to offend anyone by knowing the
restaurant etiquette one thing which is seen as rude in South Korea is to play
with your chopsticks you may not see it as playing after all chopsticks can be
tricky to Westerners you need to make sure you learn how to use chopsticks
before you go out there some people go to South Korea and stick the chopsticks
into their food vertically this is rude as doing that in South Korea is
associated with death that's because it resembles the incense sticks stuck into
the sand at funerals so if you don't want to remind everyone in the
restaurant about their impending doom then do not stick chopsticks vertically
into your food instead Google or use YouTube and find out exactly how to use
chopsticks before going to South Korea next up is necklines
if you're from a country like the USA women can likely wear whatever they want
but in South Korea there are some taboos when it comes to fashion and I'm not
just talking about socks and sandals that's actually seen as fine instead if
women wear a top with a plunging neckline this is seen as pretty rude
most women there will stick to high necklines some may also wear layers
under low-cut tops that's because a woman's showing off their chest is not
socially acceptable in South Korea but I don't think they're too prude in fact
miniskirts Essene is totally fine over there while that may be seen as taboo in
the Western world miniskirts are actually very very common and normal in
South Korea so ladies when you travel to South Korea make sure you pack
accordingly next stop is public photography who doesn't love a bit of
street photography if you go to most European cities you can take snaps
wherever you want and taking a few photos of locals it may also not be such
a big deal but if you're out and about exploring South Korea then do not take a
photo with a stranger in it even if the person is not the focal point of the
photo they'll still see this as very rude
not only that one strange law in South Korea is that you can't take photos of
strangers that's right photographing strangers without their permission it's
actually against the law if you do this you may be told off by a cop or even
given a fine so never take unsolicited portraits in South Korea and if you're
taking a photo of a landmark or building make sure there's no people in the frame
next up is Fried Chicken you may think that there's more fried chicken in the
USA than any other country after all KFC was founded in the United States but if
there's actually more fried chicken restaurants in South Korea than there
are McDonald's worldwide worldwide there's around 38,000 McDonald's stores
but in South Korea alone there's more than 50,000 fried chicken restaurants
korean style fried chicken is actually much better than KFC it's super crunchy
and also spicing that's because in South Korea they fry it twice they fry the
chicken once take it out and then fry it again but don't think it's all going to
be wings like you may get in the dates in South Korean chicken
restaurants they also use the feet and the throat of chickens so make sure you
know what you're fighting into before buying fried chicken in South Korea next
up is eye contact if you live in a country such as Spain it's not rude to
make eye contact with a stranger well this is not the case in South Korea even
if you know the person if the person is older than you or in a higher position
like your boss never look them in the eye it may be seen as rude not to make
eye contact in many countries but not South Korea it's actually seen as
disrespectful to look people like your elders your teachers or your boss in the
eyes instead it's better to look down at the ground or to the side and finally on
our list we have leaving food don't you despise it when somebody wastes a bunch
of food well if you know someone with eyes bigger than their belly then do not
invite them to a restaurant in South Korea it's seen as very very rude to
leave food on your plate in a restaurant or home in South Korea also if you visit
someone's house in South Korea it's very impolite to refuse refreshments but
what's even worse is if you accept it and then don't finish what's been served
you may not want to finish off that fried chicken leg but I'm sorry you're
gonna have to or you're gonna look very very rude the reason why it's rude is it
looks like you didn't like their food or maybe you see yourself as a diva and you
don't mind wasting good food all of these are big no-nose in South Korea so
if you plan to go there then take note but now it's time to make your voice
heard vote in the poem the top right corner and you can tell me the most
amazing fact about South Korea I think it's their phone number for reporting
spies if you guys want some more amazing videos then check out my second channel
they'll be a link to that on screen in a moment but as always thanks for watching
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