10 things you're WRONG about Korea [KOR/ENG sub]

Hello, everyone. I'm Yeji Kim from Talk To Me In Korean. Today, I'm going to talk about 10 facts that you may not know about Korea. Let's start with the first one. First, all Koreans like spicy food. Korean food is spicy. Are there many people who think of spicy food when they think of Korean food? When I travel abroad and meet other people abroad, When I say, I'm Korean, There are a lot of people talking about this spicy food. Of course, there are a lot of spicy foods in Korean food. And among Koreans, there are a lot of people who like spicy food. But I don't think all foods are spicy and all Koreans like spicy food. I eat spicy food well, but I don't like it very much. So if I can choose, I think I choose non-spicy food. But when I think of Korean food like this, I think it's because there are a lot of spicy foods among the world-famous Korean foods. For example, spicy chicken noodles, tteokbokki, kimchi. These foods are among the Korean foods that are spicy. And I think another reason is because of Mukbang and SNS. As Mukbang and SNS develop, more and more spicy and stimulating foods are getting more attention. So in fact, those foods are shown a lot in the media. In fact, I think people are looking for more spicy foods. But if you go to a Korean restaurant and eat, there are a lot of non-spicy foods. For example, seolleongtang, bulgogi, kimbap, these foods are not spicy at all. And even if you go to a restaurant that sells spicy food, you can usually choose the level of spiciness. So you can choose how to eat not spicy at all and how to eat really spicy. But the fact that there is such a choice itself means that there are many Koreans who like spicy food, but there are many Koreans who don't like spicy food or can't eat spicy food. Second, Koreans like luxury goods. I recently found out that Korea has this reputation. So I was very surprised. But if you look at the statistics, Korea is the country with the highest consumption of luxury goods per person in the world. Yes, I was really surprised. Thinking about why I was surprised, I think it's because I haven't seen many people around me who like luxury goods. So I've never felt it on my skin. I don't think I've ever felt that many people are into luxury goods. Of course, there's no problem buying luxury goods and wearing them. And I think it's really cool to be able to give yourself a good gift with the money you've earned. But when I think about my surroundings, yes, there are friends who like luxury goods. But I think it's a minority. So I don't think all Koreans, especially young Koreans, are interested in luxury goods and enjoy shopping for luxury goods. And if you think about it, luxury goods is also shopping. So it's fashion. People who are interested in fashion, people who like to buy various items, seem to like luxury goods. And SNS must have played a part in this, right? So I think people who like SNS and are interested in fashion are more interested in luxury goods. People like me, who are not particularly interested in fashion, didn't feel that much interest in luxury goods. I've never been to a luxury store, I don't have any luxury goods, and I don't plan to buy them in the future. So I don't think all Koreans are enthusiastic about luxury goods. Third, Korean pop music equals K-pop? When I talked to people from other countries, I was a little surprised. I think Korean pop music is just the same word as K-pop. Korean music is all dance music, and there are people who think it's exciting idol music. But as many of you already know, there are various genres of Korean pop music. Of course there is ballad, hip-hop, and trot. Do you know the genre of trot? It's a genre that older people like, and it's a genre that's really popular these days. So there are many kinds of Korean pop music, and one of them is K-pop. Here's the fourth point. All Koreans listen to K-pop music, and all Koreans want to be K-pop idols. I'm sure some of you think so. And actually, there are a lot of kids who want to be K-pop idols. So my nephew always dances to Ive's song at home and says he's going to be an idol later. So there are a lot of people who actually want to be an idol. I don't think all Koreans want to be an idol just by listening to K-pop. I listen to a lot of different genres of music, and I listen to K-pop, but I don't think I listen to it that much. So there are various genres of Korean music. If you like Korean music, why don't you listen to ballads, hip-hop, and trot? Fifth, it's about dog meat. It's a well-known fact that Koreans eat dog meat around the world. When we talk about dog meat, we usually use the name Boshintang. So I'll use the word Boshintang. But Boshintang is not a very common food in Korea. I think it's more appropriate to say it's not a common food. So, for example, the menu at school meals or the cafeteria. The cafeteria in the company is called the cafeteria. It's never a menu from that cafeteria. And I don't think there are many cases where dogs eat Boshintang at home. I've never eaten it at home. So I looked up how many Boshintang shops there are. My company is in Hongdae. But if you've been to Korea, you'll know what Hongdae is like. It's a city with a lot of restaurants, cafes, and bars. But even in Hongdae, there weren't many stores that sold Boshintang. So it was a little hard to find. You might think it's because there are a lot of young people in Hongdae. I'm sure the young people don't eat Boshintang often. I don't think it's wrong to say I hardly eat it. But if you're a little older, you can eat Boshintang. Maybe it's not as common as you think. I wanted to let you know. If you say meat that is consumed a lot in Korea, I think I eat more fish like beef, pork, chicken, and mackerel. Sixth, Korean men put on makeup. We took a video like that before. It's a video taken by Seung-hwan. Why do Korean men put on makeup? I've taken a video on the subject. The reason I took the video is because I looked up Google. It's a very common question. It's automatic. Why do Korean men put on makeup? But do Korean men really put on a lot of makeup? I've prepared a statistic. I asked a man in his 20s to 40s. How often do you put on makeup? 3.9% of people said they put on makeup every day. 16% of people said they do it sometimes. And 79% of people said they didn't do it at all. 79% is almost 80%. So I think a lot of men you see when you come to Korea I think there's a good chance you're not wearing makeup. Nevertheless, there are friends around me who put on makeup. So my male friends. In Korean, it's called a male friend. It's called a male friend in slang. Some of my male friends put on makeup. When I see those friends, I can't think of anything. Why did you put on makeup? I don't even ask this question. I guess you just put on makeup. If you don't, you don't put on makeup. I just don't think much. So about men putting on makeup. I think there's something that Koreans don't care about. But 80% of men still don't put on makeup. I think the reason why Korean men have the image of putting on a lot of makeup is because of the media. K-dramas and K-pop idols you see are always wearing makeup. And in the case of idols, they put on quite a thick stage makeup. But when you come to Korea, you actually talk. Most of the men who are going to be friends have never put on makeup. I'd like to tell you that the probability is a little higher. Seventh, aegyo. Everyone, you're learning Korean. Have you ever heard of the word aegyo? Aegyo is to make some words and actions cute on purpose. So it's a little cute to look like a little kid. I think Koreans, especially women, have a lot of aegyo. I think there's an image of aegyo in Korea. But when I actually saw it around me, I feel like there are a lot more women who just talk normally like me. And when I actually asked them, I don't have any aegyo and I don't want to act cute. I think there were more people who said this. But still, I thought about why many Koreans think that women have a lot of aegyo. I think this is also influenced by the media and K-pop idols. When you look at idols, there are a lot of cute and aegyo idols. And when I go on entertainment shows, I often ask idols to show me aegyo. So I'm sure you've seen a lot of cute and childish girls on the media. Of course, aegyo is not a bad thing. And there are a lot of girls with aegyo. Actually, I personally have a lot of aegyo. So, of course, there are women with aegyo. Among men, there are a lot of people who like cute and aegyo-like girlfriends. But what I want to tell you is that there are a lot of Korean women who don't like to act cute. So when you come to Korea and actually talk to a lot of people, You can see more of the style of talking in general rather than the cute and aegyo style. Everyone, when you hear the word Korea, which country comes to mind first? Of course, Korea has North Korea and South Korea. So when you hear the word Korea, I think it's natural to think of North Korea. And I think Korea is not at the end of the war, but at the end of the war. So I think there are people who are worried that it might be a little dangerous. But in fact, when Koreans live in their daily lives, I don't think they feel very anxious about this war. So, for example, when you plan your future or think about your career in the future, I don't think you're planning to prepare for the danger of war. Of course, it's still in a state of war, so a lot of soldiers are working hard to protect Korea. And the people are always grateful for that. But what I want to tell you is that Koreans don't feel anxious about war every day. And in fact, Korea is a very safe country in terms of security. So you don't have to worry about that. Ninth, Koreans are not good at English. I think there are a lot of people on our channel who usually speak English. How did you react when you came to Korea and talked to Koreans in English? I wonder if there were many people who answered well in English or not as many as I thought. If you have such an experience, please let me know in the comments. However, I think you may not have met many Koreans who answer in English. So you may think that Koreans are not good at English. But in fact, many Koreans have had the experience of studying English. Especially young people are mostly people who have studied English to some extent. Because they teach English very importantly in the Korean education process. So many people are actually good at vocabulary and grammar. But the sad thing is that when we learned English at school, we didn't learn a lot of listening or speaking. So when foreigners suddenly speak English on the street, I think there are a lot of Koreans who are very embarrassed. Since English is a test subject, I feel like I'm suddenly taking a test. So you may be a little embarrassed, or you may not understand better than you thought, or you may not be able to speak fluently in English. But I'm not used to listening and speaking, so I want to speak very kindly, but I think it would be good to know that there are many Koreans who are not good at English. Lastly, 10th. Koreans will eat Korean food every day. Since Korean food is very famous around the world, I think Koreans think they will eat a lot of Korean food. Yes, of course I eat a lot. You can easily find Korean restaurants. And in my case, my favorite food is Korean food. But if you ask me if I only eat Korean food in my daily life, I don't think so. In particular, young people often prefer foreign food or exotic food. So when young people go to places like Hongdae or Gangnam, there are many restaurants that sell Korean food, but there are also many restaurants that sell food from various countries around the world. And people go to those restaurants often. So if you think about the food you eat in your daily life for a week, I don't think there will be a lot of Korean food. So Koreans like Korean food, but I wanted to tell you that you don't eat Korean food every day. Yes, I talked about 10 things that you may have misunderstood about Korea. Did you enjoy it? I think there are some parts that you already know well, and I think there are some parts that you have just learned. Please let me know in the comments what was interesting. See you in the next episode. Bye