So you thought cosmetic surgery was the most common form of surgery in Korea? Wrong. It’s piles. http://bit.ly/eI4W1L #. The Korea National Health Insurance Corp gives the statistics in the Korea Times. [Read More]
Category: Statistics and league tables (page 2)
The search for beauty through cosmetics
According to L'Oréal, Korean women apply more potions and cosmetics to their faces than anyone else – 25 at any 1 time, compared with 20-25 in Japan and more than double the amount used by American or European women. http://bit.ly/cWD4XA # [Read More]
Koreans in British prisons
There are 2 North Koreans, and 7 South Koreans, in British Jails. Which begs all sorts of questions (HT Michael Rank). http://bit.ly/dc712J # [Read More]
A sunny day in Busan
Haeundae Beach, Busan, 1 August 2010. Now that's what I call crowded, and supports the contention that Koreans like to go on holiday in crowds. But why are all the rubber rings yellow? http://bit.ly/c701UB # [Read More]
SNSD at an East Coast resort – a Korean man’s favourite holiday
Korean men want to go on holiday with Girls’ Generation, according to a KBS survey. Now that’s being greedy. http://bit.ly/a4zZ4O # And while on the subject of holidays: doing the arithmetic, does this mean around 6-7 million Koreans will be heading to the East Coast at the end of July? http://bit.ly/9HYiuk #. (47% of a … [Read More]
The attractions of North Korean restaurants
If ever you're on holiday in Cambodia this looks like the restaurant to visit. A North Korean noodle restaurant known for its beautiful waitresses – including the “North Korean Kim Tae-hee:” http://bit.ly/bHmvzR # …but if you work in South Korea you haven't got long to get there: an average of only 4.1 days for your … [Read More]
Dating a Korean American woman…
Korean-American girls are tough to date, says You Offend Me You Offend My Family in a great article entitled How To Survive A Date with A Korean American Woman, from August last year. Maybe because Koreans most materialistic people in the world, according to a survey reported in the Chosun Ilbo [Read More]
Korea Ranked 8th ‘Most Sinful Country’
"Korea spends more money on pornography than any other country" according to BBC Focus magazine, and is the world’s eighth most sinful country. http://bit.ly/aonQhv # [Read More]
E-Government in Korea – The Spirit of Sillok Lives On!
The forthcoming publication ‘Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis’ from the United Nations reveals the Republic of Korea to be at the top of both E-Government Development and E-Participation Indices. The website where the new report is introduced remarks: While technology is no substitute for good policy, it may give citizens … [Read More]
Suicides soar among NY Koreans
Suicides soar among New York Koreans – more depressing stories for 2009: Money troubles have been the leading force behind the sharp rise, say Korean civic leaders and officials, who are alarmed by the trend. Failure to get into top colleges, perform well at school or climb the economic ladder can cause deep shame and … [Read More]
Piles of Piles in Pusan
Piles of Piles in Pusan: Korea’s most common operation (more common than plastic surgery?). The southern city is the haemorrhoid capital of Korea according to the National Health Insurance Corporation of Korea, as reported in the Chosun Daily http://bit.ly/7x1zc7. 11:12 PM Dec 15th from bit.ly [Read More]
Seoul is slacking
Seoul is slacking – beaten into second place by Cairo in hours worked per year according to the 2009 edition of the annual UBS Prices and Earnings report. # People in Seoul worked an average 2,312 hours a year, ranking second among residents of 73 major cities around the world. Cairenes were first with 2,373 … [Read More]
Sleepless (and short) in Seoul
The French spend more time sleeping than anyone else in OECD countries. They also devote more time to eating than anyone else and nearly double that of Americans, Canadians or Mexicans. The Japanese sleep nearly an hour less every night than the French and also spend longer at work and commuting than they do indulging … [Read More]
Another industry in which Korea leads the world
We all knew Korea had some world-beating industries: ships, chips, LCD screens. Add to that the manufacture of condoms, where three Korean companies – Unidus, Dongkuk Trading and Hankook Latex – account for 30% of the global market, according to the Chosun. Maybe there’s a big domestic demand – for example for high school field … [Read More]
Round-up of recent business stories
Some recent stories I don’t want to lose. Mercer’s annual cost of living survey for expats has recently been published. Seoul, last year’s number 2, has been pushed to number 3 by London. Moscow stays top of the list. Tokyo is fourth. Korea is also slipping in the GDP rankings. Bank of Korea data shows … [Read More]
S. Korea’s birth rate inches up
Whether it’s the auspicious influence of the year of the Golden Pig, the outcome of Bada’s awareness-raising concert, the result of Shin Dong-jin’s efforts as head of the birth-boosting campaign, or a combination of all the above, Yonhap announces an increase in the birthrate in 2006. KBS gets all technical about the potential astrological reasons: … [Read More]