10 Awesome Facts About South Korea

If You only know about PSY Ganam style you are wrong ^.^ South Korea still got alot of amazing stuff.

10Crime Reenactments

One thing South Korea is definitely not known for is liberal criminal rights. Anyone who has seen films like Sympathy for Lady Vengeance or Mother is familiar with the Korean practice of crime reenactments. Citizens suspected of committing crimes, such as rape or murder, are forced to take part in these humiliating public rituals, which start with police binding the suspect with ropes or handcuffs. They are then led to the scene of the crime and are ordered to recreate the criminal act. To make the ordeal even more humiliating, the media is invited along to publicize the event. Dates for the reenactments are even printed in newspapers so the public can show up, watch, and hurl insults.
In 1972, Jeong Won-seob was forced to act out the murder and rape of a schoolgirl, a crime he allegedly committed. As he acted out the event, people were screaming at him and yelling things like, “Kill this guy!” As horrible as this is, it gets even worse: Jeong turned out to be innocent. Despite the glaringly obvious problems with this procedure, the practice still continues today. The reasoning is something called “national sentiment” which basically means public feelings are more important than civil liberties. Obviously, not all Koreans agree with this viewpoint, and many are campaigning against the practice, but it seems the majority favors the public ritual despite the public opposition.

9Fast-Food Delivery

If you lived in South Korea, you’d never have to leave home to eat. Most restaurants will deliver straight to your apartment via motorcycle drivers—who are notorious for speeding through traffic to deliver the food on time. And after you’re done eating, you can just put your dirty dishes outside your door because the delivery guy will come for them later. That’s pretty awesome.
Almost all restaurants deliver, even McDonald’s, which gives new meaning to the term “fast food.” And if someone starts craving a few Big Macs at five in the morning, that’s no problem—McDonald’s will deliver 24/7. After all, hamburgers are the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast. And if you ever do visit South Korea and decide to call up Mickey D’s in the middle of the night, you might want to try some of the Korean specialties, such as the Bulgogi Burger and the Shanghai Spicy Chicken Burger.

8Male Makeup

Despite a reputation for being uber-macho, South Korean men are obsessed with cosmetics. It turns out that South Korean men are spending close to $900 million a year on makeup. BB cream foundation is the product of choice, but facial cleansers, anti-ageing moisturizes, and eye creams are also extremely popular. There are even TV shows dedicated to the subject of the manly makeover. Up to 20 percent of the male population, known as the grooming tribe, use makeup regularly, but it’s not so much about fashion as it is business. The South Korean job market is extremely competitive, and wearing makeup is all part of the game. These guys want to make good impressions in their job interviews by hiding their blemishes and looking like celebrities. It looks like in Korea, makeup really does make the man.

7The Boryeong Mud Festival

Since 1998, millions of people from around the world have been flocking to the Boryeona Mud Festival, which is exactly what it sounds like. For 10 glorious days, revelers ignore everything their mothers ever told them about playing in the mud.
Originally conceived as a way to advertise mud cosmetics, this popular Korean festival has grown enormously, attracting three million people in 2012 alone, including 22,000 foreigners. The gray clay is shipped from the Boryeong flats to Daecheon Beach where people take part in mud massages, mud photo contests, mud marathons, and best of all, mud wrestling contests. Top it all off with concerts and parties, and you have a festival that will cheer up any stick-in-the-mud.

6South Korean Robots

Robots aren’t just the stuff of sci-fi movies anymore. In fact, they’ve invaded South Korean classrooms. In 2010, the South Korean government launched its “R-Learning” program to fill schools with automated assistants like Engkey. There are two different version of this robo-teacher. One comes equipped with a TV screen which displays the face of an English-speaking teacher—who might really be as far away as Australia. The other model uses voice recognition technology to help students with their speaking skills. In addition to Engkey, preschool teachers use Genibo, a robotic dog that teaches dance and gymnastics, as well as iRobi, which keeps track of which kids are in class and asks them how they’re feeling.
However, not all Korean robots are friendly tutors who want to help you get better grades. Some just want to keep you in line. In 2012, a prison in the city of Pohang became home to the world’s first robotic prison guards. These guys come with 3-D depth cameras and two-way wireless communication systems that allow correctional officers to speak with the inmates. Sometimes the robots are controlled by guards with iPads, but sometimes they patrol the cell blocks on their own by following navigational markers. Thanks to “pattern recognition algorithms,” the robots can identify illegal or dangerous activities, such as gang fights or suicide attempts, and then call for human backup. Fortunately, these guys can’t touch the prisoners, and they aren’t armed.
However, the same can’t be said for the SGR-1. Deployed in 2010, this guy patrols the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Unlike its prison guard brethren, the SGR-1 is packing some serious firepower, including a 5.5-millimeter machine gun and 40-millimeter automatic grenade launchers. The SGR-1 can’t fire without human permission, but it’s pretty clear that the scientists who invented this droid have never seen Robocop.