Life&Culture
Oddities In series
From the funny to the strange and downright unbelievable
#Oddities
# Strange
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Oddities In series
From the funny to the strange and downright unbelievable
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What's in a name? How Koreans faked their way to Kim, Lee and Park
TIf you meet a South Korean, there‘s a 45 percent chance that their surname is either Kim, Lee or Park. And there’s an even higher probability -- some say nearly 90 percent -- that their surname origin
Will people travel 3 hours from Seoul for gimbap? Gimcheon is worried too many might
Gimbap (also spelled kimbap) is everywhere in Korea. You can find it sliced or unsliced, vegan or spicy, packed fresh or frozen, all for as little as a couple bucks. Every convenience store has it and every city eats it. So would it really make sense for anyone to travel over three hours from Seoul to a random city just to eat it? Tens of thousands already did last year. Now, with the second Gimcheon Gimbap Festival set to return on Oct. 25 and 26, and gimbap riding a wave of global pop cultural
Oct. 8, 2025 - 16:00:00
This district office offers more than paperwork. It has giant slides
There is a district office in Seoul where bursts of excitement, often audible as screams, echo throughout the building. The source of the thrill? A set of giant slides that whisk visitors from the second floor down to the basement in under 7 seconds. Installed and opened to the public in early September, Dongjak District Office’s “D-Lide” has drawn crowds lining up like at an amusement park. It’s not just children enjoying the ride -- office workers from outside the district are joining in the f
Oct. 8, 2025 - 16:00:00
Korea's once-condemned workplace talent shows now romanticized by some desperate job seekers
Wearing a glittering stage outfit, a woman jumps high, swings her arms, and shouts to the camera, “Start!” On her cue, hundreds of people in dozens of rows raise their cards together, kicking off a giant mass game that first forms a red running figure, then spells out the word “goal” in English. The assembled crowd also moves in perfect sync, forming a giant star. The giant cheering squad in the video wasn't made up of professional performers but of new hires who joined Samsung Electronics in 20
Aug. 30, 2025 - 18:55:04
Woman in cat mask runs amok with knives, answers 'meow' to police officers
A bizarre incident involving a mentally ill woman recently occurred at a store in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, where the suspect, wielding knives and wearing a cat mask, threatened employees and customers, including small children. When the police arrested her and asked why she did it, she answered "meow" and said, "Can't tell you that, meow." The National Police Agency on Wednesday posted a video of her arrest in a toy section of the store at around 7:23 p.m. on Aug. 2. In the video, the s
Aug. 28, 2025 - 10:44:17
Video of unidentified creature in Han River goes viral
A video showing what appears to be an unidentified creature in the Han River has gone viral, according to local media reports Wednesday. The video titled “A Real Monster Emerges at the Han River in Seoul” was posted July 11 by fishing-themed YouTube channel Jungdam Story. It shows the YouTuber fishing at night near a parking lot by the National Assembly in Yeouido, when he spotted something large and moving in the water. At first, he thought it was a big fish. Upon closer observation, he appeare
July 30, 2025 - 14:34:21
‘Please take me with you’: Diver recounts eerie discovery of teacher missing since 2010
Days after South Korean police confirmed that the body found in Andong Dam in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, belonged to a school vice principal who vanished in 2010, new details have emerged, including an account from the man who discovered the body. Baek Min-gyu, 55, a former leader of the Andong water rescue team, was conducting maintenance work on the dam on May 17 when he accidentally dropped a ladder into the water twice. Wearing scuba gear, he dove down roughly 30 meters to retrieve i
May 30, 2025 - 14:36:34
Where is Huh Kyung-young, the eccentric serial presidential candidate who once vowed to levitate?
Huh Kyung-young, a wacky politician who ran for South Korean presidency three times with outlandish pledges like giving 100 million won ($71,467) to every citizen, is back in the news, not as a candidate running for the June 3 election but as a criminal suspect. The 77-year-old, who holds the official title of honorary leader of the National Revolutionary Party, has been behind bars since Saturday after the Uijeongbu District Court issued a warrant for his detention on charges of fraud, violatio
May 19, 2025 - 17:45:05
High-rise window cleaning: A dangerous spring tradition on Seoul's skyline
As the weather warms, Seoul's high-rise buildings are getting a spring cleaning, which means it is a peak season for one of the most dangerous jobs in the country: high-altitude window cleaners. Suspended by ropes, these workers dangle from the tops of tall buildings to clean their windows and facades, creating a perilous sight for onlookers. However, such high-altitude window cleaning has become a familiar scene in the city where high-rise buildings and apartment complexes dominate the skyline.
April 7, 2025 - 15:04:24
Court, not victim, gives 'second chance' to abusive husband
An appellate court recently upheld a lower court ruling that gave a suspended sentence to an abusive husband, saying it is "giving a chance to apologize to the victim," despite acknowledging that the defendant had not been forgiven by his wife. The appellate trial at the Chuncheon District Court approved of the earlier ruling that found the 60-year-old defendant guilty of special intimidation -- intimidation using a weapon -- and destruction of property, sentencing him to one year in prison, sus
March 27, 2025 - 13:21:10
Burglar fries chicken, takes beer in late-night restaurant break-in
A burglar broke into a fried chicken restaurant overnight, fried some chicken, grabbed a beer, and left without taking anything else. Three days later, the bizarre incident repeated itself. When police caught the culprit, they discovered it was a former staff member, returning for a late-night snack. This case, which took place in Sejong in August last year, gained media attention this week, after a court sentenced the culprit to six months in jail, suspended for one year. The Daejeon District C
March 20, 2025 - 13:24:31
Bags becoming 'babies': Korea's strange honorific twist
Struggling with honorifics, obsessed with propriety, Koreans show respect to everything from coffee to vitamins When is an object referred to as if it were alive — like a person, a baby or a friend? In Korean, a cup of latte served at a cafe is personified and respected with honorifics, and a vitamin supplement sold via a home shopping channel is referred to as a "child devoted to filial duty," with sellers encouraging potential customers to "adopt" the items and "bring them home." Personificati
Feb. 22, 2025 - 16:00:00
Why Korean variety shows are so text-heavy -- and why it works
The relentless captions in Korean variety shows, though overwhelming for the uninitiated, add space for exaggerated fun, drama and emotional release beyond what's happening with the cast South Korean variety shows have a lot to say -- and not just through their hosts or celebrity guests. If you’ve ever watched "Running Man" or "King of Mask Singer," you’ve probably noticed the other star of the show: the captions and onscreen text in almost every scene. Bold, colorful and often hilariously over-
Feb. 8, 2025 - 16:00:03
'Treat the boss day,' a decades-old practice in some Korean offices, set to fade away
The practice of subordinates pooling money to treat their bosses to lunch faces discontinuation amid complaints from younger civil servants In a typical hierarchical organization in South Korea, whether public or private, it is generally expected that senior workers will pick up the bill for their juniors. But in some bureaucracies, this expectation is reversed, with subordinates taking turns treating their boss to a meal. The practice, called “treat the boss day,” has unclear origins, but it ha
Jan. 30, 2025 - 13:30:49
Slippers in the cold: The quirky winter fashion Koreans can't quit
Despite love of down jackets, why are Koreans so indifferent to the warmth of their feet? Pedestrians bundled up in thick, knee-length padded jackets, but wearing slippers? This style, surprisingly common in South Korea during winter, often raises the eyebrows. A TikToker, who introduced himself as Russian, posted a video of several Koreans walking on the street in rubber slippers or Crocs sandals, commenting, "Such a fashion is unthinkable in my country." A similar observation was shared on Ins
Jan. 14, 2025 - 13:57:49
How old are you? The answer is ... complicated.
South Korea has officially dropped traditional age-counting system that made everyone 1-2 years older. But many still use it. Why? When asked his age, Park Se-kyu used to answer in two simple ways: “I'm 34,” or “I was born in 1990.” But since June last year, his responses have expanded to three: “I'm 34 in Korean age,” ”Technically, I'm 33 in ‘Yoon Suk Yeol age,’” or “I was born in 1990." Whenever Park mentions his international age -- often referred to locally as “Yoon Suk Yeol age” after the K
Jan. 1, 2025 - 10:25:13
