Having lived in Korea for roughly four years now, we’ve heard countless questions and comments about the country. Most of them are curious, good natured notions that we’re happy to answer. Some, on the other hand, are strange! Those strange questions usually stem from some misconceptions about what Korea is and what it’s like here. We wanted to dispel some of those myths, so we chose our top five misconceptions about Korea and made a video about them!

Korea is on the brink of war!

We hear this one on a fairly regular basis, but it reaches near hysterical levels whenever some small event happens in North Korea. Generally, western media sources, especially American news outlets, will either misunderstand or purposefully exaggerate the situation, making it seem to outsiders as if Korea could turn into a lake of fire at any moment. That’s not the case, though. To be sure, there is a unique situation in play between North Korea and South Korea, and yes, that situation includes a heavily armed border and seemingly limitless saber rattling, but that does not mean that Korea is on the brink of war.

All Korean’s get plastic surgery!

This notion seems to have grown quite a bit during our time in Korea. The way some sources tell it, you might believe that nearly everyone, at least all the women in Korea, have had radical plastic surgery at some time or another. You’ll hear that more South Korean’s get plastic surgery than anyone else in the world, and you might imagine that everyone is running around with a plastic face and a silicone chest. Nope. That’s just not the case. While it’s true that the proportion of the population in South Korea that receives plastic surgery is higher than that of any other nation in the OECD, it’s still not quite the epidemic some people make it out to be. Recent numbers show that about 1.3% of the population has had plastic surgery – compared with just under 1% for the United States. What’s more, included in those numbers are mostly things that aren’t exactly radical – dermabrasion and hair removal.

Korea and Japan are the same.

This, I think, must stem from a general unawareness of the region that Korea shares with Japan and other neighbors. Saying that Korea and Japan are the same is like saying that the United States and Russia are the same. Sure, the people look vaguely similar to outsiders, but that’s not a good way to group an entire country is it? There are separate languages, alphabets, cultural norms, foods, histories, and about a million other things to consider here. Not to mention the diversity with Korea or Japan themselves. These are very different, but both very cool, countries.

All Korean’s love KPOP!

To believe this, you’d have to also believe that everyone in America loves Britney Spears and everyone in Canada adores Justin Bieber. We know that’s not the case, so why do people think that all Korean’s love KPOP? True, it’s a dominating market force and a growing export, but it’s far from universally beloved in Korea. For those who don’t dance to the corporate KPOP tune, there are thriving indie music scenes of varying types all over Korea – usually situated close to universities – just like everywhere else in the world! Imagine that! ;-D

Korea is a third-world country!

Finally, the misconception to rule them all. Perhaps because many people don’t recognize a Korean name when they see, hear or read it, they are unaware that much of the high technology surrounding them was developed and built, at least in part, here in South Korea. Hyundai, Samsung, LG, Kia… the list goes on. Developing and building these things (and consuming them at the rate Koreans do) requires an advanced, industrialized economy. So why do people think that Korea is so underdeveloped, perhaps forming an image in their minds of an African village they saw in a movie two decades ago? I suppose we have to chalk this one up to general ignorance as well. If your last notion of Korea came from M*A*S*H*, well, you’re due for an update. Korea is modern, developed, and full of more smart phones and other gadgets than I could name in a single blog post.

The post Five Misconceptions about Korea appeared first on Evan and Rachel.