Tell some facts about South Korea ?

Two of which are only available on weekends, while the other is broadcast in the evenings. Because of this, South Korean soap operas are among the most popular items smuggled in.

North Korea claims to operate under the "Juche" ideology, or "rejecting dependence on others, using one’s own brains, and believing in one’s own strength," according to Kim Il-Sung. Although not technically Communist, many of these ideas stem from ideologies of previous Communist leaders.

A previous version of this post stated unequivocally that North Korea was "not a communist nation" which was potentially misleading.

Drinking is an important part of South Korean society. It’s how people socialize and get to know each other. At least once a month, and sometimes even once a week, Koreans go out to eat and drink with their coworkers. These events are known as “hoesik” and involve a lot of alcohol. However, there are lots of rules when it comes to drinking. If an elder pours you a beer, you have to hold your glass with both hands. And if you pour a drink for someone older, keep both hands on the bottle. Only seniors or people in authority can use one hand. And remember to always wait for the senior to drink first, and when you down a shot, turn away from him so he can’t see you drinking.

Every society has its own odd superstitions, and while Westerners worry about black cats, open umbrellas, and spilled salt, Koreans can’t stand red ink. Supposedly, if you write someone’s name with a red pen, that person is going to have some really bad luck in the near future. They might even die.

Bill Gates sent the South Korean media into a frenzy earlier this year when he met South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Many people found his behavior inappropriate, newspapers and talk shows analyzed his insensitivity, and Internet chat rooms debated his rude gesture. What did he do to upset so many people? When Gates gave President Park a handshake, he kept his left hand in his pocket.

In South Korea, there’s a right and wrong way to shake hands, and it has to do with status. One-arm handshakes are casual, and in certain circumstances, they can imply superiority. If you’re shaking hands with a buddy or someone your age or younger, feel free to use one hand. But if you’re meeting someone older or someone in a position of authority, you’d better use two. (On the flip side, it’s okay for seniors to use one hand. They outrank you). So if you ever shake hands with your South Korean boss, you need to prop up your forearm with your free hand. A small bow would be nice, and always look into the eyes. After all, good manners are important, even if you’re the richest man in the world.

South Korean students are exceptionally bright. They rank number two in the world when it comes to reading, they have a 93 percent graduation rate (whereas the US only has 77 percent), and they have the second best education system in the world. So how’d they get so brainy? It all has to do with “hagwons.”

Hagwons are privately run institutions and almost always open—even when public school is out. Kids attend these academies to study subjects ranging from math and science to taekwondo, ballet, and even belly dancing. The best teachers attract the most students, and some teachers are so popular that they earn millions of dollars a year. However, teachers who don’t perform well are put on probation. It’s capitalism in action, and hagwons are money-making machines. Korean parents spend $17 billion a year on academies. Compare that to the $15 billion a year Americans spend on video games. In fact, hagwons are so successful that companies like Goldman Sachs and A.I.G. invest in the Korean education system.

Hagwons are privately run institutions and almost always open—even when public school is out. Kids attend these academies to study subjects ranging from math and science to taekwondo, ballet, and even belly dancing. The best teachers attract the most students, and some teachers are so popular that they earn millions of dollars a year. However, teachers who don’t perform well are put on probation. It’s capitalism in action, and hagwons are money-making machines. Korean parents spend $17 billion a year on academies. Compare that to the $15 billion a year Americans spend on video games. In fact, hagwons are so successful that companies like Goldman Sachs and A.I.G. invest in the Korean education system.

However, there’s a dark side to the hagwon system. The richest families get the best teachers while poorer students are stuck with sub-par tutors. Even worse, hagwon classes take place immediately after school so students are attending school twice a day and coming home mentally and physically exhausted. Under President Lee Myung-bak, the Korean government actually banned hagwons from operating past 10:00 p.m., as students need to rest. This overwhelming drive to do well has to do with the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). If a student does well on the CSAT, they can attend a good college, but if they do poorly, they’ll be forced to attend a lousy school. With all this pressure, it’s no surprise that South Korea has a very high rate of student suicides. So are the benefits worth the drawbacks? Only the students can say.

Lots of countries have friendly rivalries—Australia and New Zealand for example—while some are little more explosive, a la Pakistan and India. Somewhere in between these two extremes lie South Korea and Japan. While these two nations won’t be launching nukes at each other any time soon, they’ve definitely had some heated exchanges over the last few years.

South Korea is a very conservative country, so it’s a bit surprising to see so many legs. The “no pants” fashion is in vogue, and miniskirts and micro shorts are the norm. Even business women regularly wear miniskirts to work. But Korea wasn’t always so liberal when it came to showing off your gams.

There are plenty of bizarre theme parks across the world, but South Korea is home to the crappiest. The city of Suwon boasts not only Samsung Electronics, but the world’s first toilet-themed amusement park. The Restroom Cultural Park opened in 2012 in honor of Suwon’s beloved ex-mayor Sim Jae-duck, affectionately known as “Mr. Toilet.”

Everyone wants to be beautiful, especially South Koreans. According to a 2009 survey, one in five Korean women have had plastic surgery, and unlike other countries, there’s no shame in going under the knife—it’s just the normal thing to do. High school girls are often encouraged by their parents to have work done on their faces, and plastic surgery is a common graduation present. One of South Korea’s most popular reality shows features “ugly” people who are made “beautiful.” Even the 2012 Miss Korea had plastic surgery, and everyone was okay with that. And women aren’t the only targets of the cosmetic industry. Men are constantly told their personal and professional lives would be so much better if only they’d alter their appearance.

In South Korean bullfighting, there’s no matador, no red cape, and no swords. It’s just bull versus bull. Close to 500 ranchers travel across South Korea, searching for the perfect fighting machine. They pick their warriors from herds headed to the meat market, and when choosing, ranchers look for animals with big horns, thick necks, and low torsos. Ranchers then put their bulls on rigorous training programs, which begin with molding their horns with wires, forming deadly hooks. The bulls then work out on mountain tops, dragging tires filled with rocks, butting their heads against trees, and jogging with their owners. Afterward, the animals are given treats, such as body rubs. These fighting bulls also have special diets consisting of fish, live octopus, and snakes.

It’s like the premise of a sci-fi movie. The oceans of the world are invaded by swarms of jellyfish, and a team of scientists must assemble robots to do battle with the deadly jellies. Only it’s not a movie: It’s happening off the coast of South Korea, and soon it might happen across the world.