32 Amazing Korea Facts
1. There are only four TV stations in North Korea.
2. In Korean, the phrase 'My mouth is bored' is used when you want to eat simply because you're bored.
3. Student loans have hit a record high of $1.2 trillion in the U.S — the same size as the entire economy of South Korea.
4. At their current birth rate, there will be no South Koreans by 2750.
5. North Korea holds "elections" every 5 years. There is only one candidate with "Yes" or "No" options. In 2009, 99% voted and 100% were "Yes".
6. You can buy glow in the dark pet cats in South Korea.
7. North Korea has almost 3 million people at risk of starvation, while Kim Jong Un spent $500 million on yachts, parties, and food in 2012.
8. Blue jeans are illegal in North Korea because they are a symbol of American imperialism.
9. The Korean version of "LOL" is "KKK."
10. The president of North Korea is Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.
11. In North Korea it is the year 103, not 2014. This is because their calendar is based around the birth of Kim Il-Sung.
12. South Korea bans children aged under 16 from playing online games between midnight and 6AM under a so-called "Cinderella Law."
13. North Korea has an autographed basketball from Michael Jordan given to Kim Jong Il.
14. An Ohio man was detained in North Korea for nearly six months for leaving a Bible at a nightclub.
15. The film of Gone with the Wind is banned in North Korea, but virtually every adult there has read the book.
16. North Korea is the only country where marijuana is 100% legal to grow, sell, possess and use.
17. North Korea is the only country that has been caught cheating at the International Mathematical Olympiad—twice.
18. South Koreans believe that unmarried women become Cheonyeo gwishin, or maiden ghosts — they never got a husband, so they haunt the living.
19. South Koreans will be extinct by 2750 if their current birthrate continues.
20. In North Korea, the punishment for watching a Hollywood movie is public execution.
21. North Korea is actually more accessible to foreign journalists than Tibet is.
22. North Korean scientists say they have discovered a unicorn burial ground, and that unicorns exist.
23. Virtually all Koreans lack the gene that produces smelly armpits.
24. The North and South Korean armies choose their physically toughest looking soldiers to have "stare downs" across the Korean border.
25. Kim Jong Il kidnapped a well-respected movie director and forced him to make a North Korean Godzilla knock-off called "Pulgasari."
26. Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, is the world’s youngest head of state.
27. North Koreans who were not seen mourning over the death of Kim Jong-Il were sent to concentration camps for 6 months.
28. In South Korea, where great emphasis is placed on academic success, kids average 4.9 hours of sleep a night.
29. South Koreans have released an iPhone app that gives lonesome cell phone owners regular messages from a digital girlfriend named Mina.
30. Up until 2015, it was illegal to cheat on your spouse in South Korea and the crime was punishable with up to two years in prison.
31. North Korea uses a fax machine to send threats to South Korea.
32. 60% of South Korean families use professionals to find a name for their newborns.
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