Cultural Quirks About South Korea (To Know Before You Go)

I love South Korea. 

It surprised me the first time I went so I had to go back again to experience it. 

So far, I’ve only been to Seoul but it is still a city that has amazed me both times I’ve visited. Whilst everywhere you go may have some cultural differences or quirks, these are some of the things that I’ve noticed that have stuck out for me in South Korea.

Culture shocks in South Korea

They have safety videos showing on their trains

I’m not sure if these are sly adverts or public information, but on the metro, there are videos showing how to put out fires on trains, how to give CPR and how to stay safe in the station by not dropping your suitcase down the escalators. Whereas most metro systems around the world now have screens showing adverts or information on the upcoming stations, but this has full on safety advice.

Another thing I enjoyed was the jingle that played in the station as the train comes into the platform.

Soju is everywhere!

I know soju is a popular Korean drink but I was shocked at how it was EVERYWHERE! Entire sections of 7Elevens were filled with it. And then in almost every restaurant I went to had soju on the menu. 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a bit of soju but I didn’t expect to see it as frequently as I did and thought it would be more like how a spirit is sold in the UK. How wrong I was…

Americanized not British English

You’ll see signs for “restrooms” and not toilets. The shopping malls had “stroller rental” and not somewhere for your pushchair.

And if you want to order something from a screen, you’ll tap the American flag and not the British one to change the language. In most of the world, there is an international level of English but I’ve found in Seoul, it is an American version and nothing else.

That leads me onto…

A lot of Americans

I heard more American accents than any other when I was in Seoul. There were a few Korean Americans on my tour of the DMZ. There were a few more in a bar I was in. I heard a lot of American accents when walking around Seoul and on the metro. 

There’s a lot of reasons for this. An exodus of Koreans to America after the Korean War. A large number of American military personnel being stationed in the country to help protect the south from North Korea. Korean schools employing Americans to be English teachers to help educate and improves their language skills. And all of that means there are some cultural ties between the countries that may not be obvious to an outsider on their first visit.

Used to be only Samsung…

When I visited previously, I noticed how almost everyone had a Samsung phone. It’s what you would expect when you’re home to the world’s largest phone maker.

But on my most recent visit, I was shocked at how many iPhones I saw. I would argue it is almost more than the number of Samsungs!

If this a cultural thing or just the market talking?

Many couples wear matching outfits

In the west, I’ve only seen this when it come to Christmas jumpers or Christmas pyjamas, but in South Korea, I’ve noticed it multiple times where a couple are wearing a shirt with the same pattern on. Both tailored to fit, but matching perfectly. Often with bottoms, trousers and entire outfits matching perfectly.

This was more prominent in Hongdae, a very fashionable district of Seoul but I’ve heard it’s common across the country. 

Google maps doesn’t work

Apparently it is something to do with security and North Korea, but Google maps doesn’t work well in South Korea. It is good for planning as it does have all the roads and major attractions, but many smaller businesses, cafes, restaurants etc aren’t on there. 

It also doesn’t work for directions. Google maps doesn’t give you driving or walking directions, but will only give public transport directions (which aren’t that helpful for short distances when you want to walk). To get around, you should download one of the local equivalents such as Kakao maps or Naver maps. I actually found those difficult to use so I used Organic Maps (or maps.me if you’re still using it) to get around for walking directions instead. 

Unusual fashion

Those coming from the west may be a bit bemused by some of the fashion choices in Seoul. With a modern population, especially around the Hongdae area, you’ll see some people wearing some questionable outfits. They aren’t quite as outlandish as what you might expect in Japan, but they still look out of place to me (as someone that has zero fashion sense!).

They don’t age

My tour guide for the DMZ looked like he could have been my age, or maybe younger. He was actually 12 years older. 

Then I noticed there are only two types of people in Korea. Young looking people and then people in their 80’s with nothing in between. 

I know it can be a bit of an Asian stereotype but I really noticed it this time when I spoke to people about their age!

Summing up the cultural differences in South Korea

South Korea is one of my favourite countries and a place I have been to twice now, and one I hope to return to again in future. There are a number of cultural differences I’ve noticed from when I first visited and others I’ve noticed on my second visit. 

I know it is normal to notice cultural differences when you visit other countries (like I did in Taiwan) but these are the ones that shocked or amused me in South Korea.

Dan

Dan is an avid traveller from London. His first big adventure was in 2010 living in Malaysia for 3 months. He has been on the road almost constantly since 2015 travelling to destinations that aren’t on the mainstream tourist trail and working full time and travelling since 2021.