Some Interesting Facts About South Korea

Public Holidays

South Korea has a large number of ceremonies and festivals, many of them social events which call for much revelry and celebration, and some of them family occasions- such as a 60th birthday, or the 100th day of a baby’s life- which are days of celebration. Amongst the public holidays are a number of religious festivals; these include the Buddha’s Birthday (end of May or beginning of June), the Lunar New Year, Harvest Festival Day which is one of the greatest festivals in Korea, in which the viewing of the full moon is a major event of the evening and National Foundation Day on October 3 marks the traditional founding of Korea in 2333 B.C.

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 New Year's Day  
January 8 - 11 Sollal
March 1 Independence Movement Day
April 5 Arbor Day/ Day of Trees
May 1 Labor Day (banks and workers, not Government)
May 5 Children's Day
May 15 Buddha's Birthday
June 6 Memorial Day
July 17 Constitution Day
August 15 Liberation Day
September 17 -18 Ch'usok/Binara Poya (Harvest Moon Festival)
October 3 National Foundation Day
December 25 Christmas Day  

 Weekend: Sunday

Weights & Measures

Metric, which means that liquids are measured in litres, solids in grams and distance in metres and kilometres.

Electricity

110 / 220 volts, 60 Hz is the standard power supply. Appliances not compatible will need an adaptor or converter.

Customs & Duties

On entering South Korea, a visitor is allowed to bring in, besides a reasonable amount of personal effects, up to a litre of alcohol, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 gm of tobacco, and 60 ml of perfume, free of customs duty. Firearms, ammunition, drugs and pornographic material are among the items prohibited. For details or clarifications on what can or cannot be brought into the country, you can contact the Customs Information Offices at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul.

Embassies and Consulates

South Korea has pretty good diplomatic relations with a large number of countries, all of which have their diplomatic missions- embassies or consulates- in the capital, Seoul. For addresses and telephone numbers of the embassies, you can check the telephone directory. Most of these work only five days a week (with an off an Saturdays and Sundays). They usually work from 9 to 5, and maintain very strict schedules so far as public dealing is concerned, so if you need to visit an embassy, it’s best to phone beforehand and find out exactly when they’re open.

Post & Communications

South Korea’s postal service dates back to 1884, and has a fairly extensive network- each myon (a small group of several villages) has at least one post office. The service is also pretty efficient- letters can reach even remote villages within two or three days. South Korea has a good International EMS (Express Mail Service), with links to nearly a hundred countries - so you needn’t worry about your mail not reaching.

Telecommunications facilities in South Korea are very good too- very modern and up-to-date; telephones are easily available throughout the country, and nearly everybody- in cities, particularly- has a telephone. Other facilities, like telexes, faxes and internet services, are fairly ubiquitous- you’ll find shops, communication centres and hotels offering these services, but these are mainly concentrated in larger cities like Seoul, Pyongyang, Hangyongbuk-do, Kangwon-do and Chollanam-do.

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Tipping

Nearly all tourist establishments in South Korea add a 10% service charge to their bills, so a tip is neither expected nor necessary. Where the service charge is not added on, you might like to leave a tip of 5 to 10% of the bill if the service has been satisfactory, although even this isn’t really taken for granted.

English Language Media

Although there are a number of newspapers and magazines in South Korea, very few of them are in English. One of the most well known (and the oldest modern newspaper in the country) is the Tongnip Shinmun (The Independent), a newspaper that although its main pages are in the Korean language, its last page is printed in English. In addition, you’ll be able to find some foreign and Pan-Asian publications like Time and Newsweek at large bookstalls and newsagents in big cities like Seoul.

Radio and television, unlike newspapers, offer much more for English speaking audiences. The American Forces Korean Network (AFKN), for instance, offers 24-hour broadcasts in English, aimed mainly at American military personnel in South Korea. AFKN-TV is the television equivalent, and has quite a range of programmes in English.