#K-Culture: You’ll Only Find Koreans Do This!

Giving Toilet Paper as a Housewarming Gift

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It may come as weird to receive toilet paper as your housewarming gift, but Koreans have their good reasons for this unusual gifting culture! 🧻 There are many reasons why toilet paper is the most commonly gifted housewarming gift, and one of them has to do with the word 풀리다 (pul-li-da). One of the meanings of this word is to unroll or unravel, just like how toilet rolls unroll. Another meaning is to work out well. So, in this case, toilet paper is given as a symbol of wishing the new homeowner everything works well and prospers ✨

Pay Money to Attend Weddings

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Called 축의금 (chug-ui-geum, congratulatory money), giving the broom and bride a white envelope with money is one of the most common wedding gifts in Korea 💵 Weddings are expensive, especially when you have to invite so many guests. This is also a way for attendees to help out the couple with the hefty expenses. It’s a plus-plus situation because it can save you the “What should I gift?” stress too! 🙌

We Don’t Age the Same?!

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Babies in South Korea are already considered one year old when born 👶  This is because they count the time the baby spends in its mother's womb as its first year of life. Not only this, but all Koreans gain one year of age on New Year’s Day rather than their individual birthday dates. So, a baby could be born in December, and they will be one year old. Then past New Year’s, they are already considered two years old even though they’ve only been born a few weeks. Confusing, right?! 🤯

Crime Re-Enactment is a Thing in South Korea

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Suspects of major crimes are escorted back to the scene to (safely!) re-enact their actions ⚠️ There are actually a few reasons for this. These re-enactments are attended by the press, who photograph and report this to the public to humiliate and shame the wrongdoings of the crime. Another reason is for investigators to understand the situation better and to see if anyone is claiming a crime they did not commit 🚨