51-Year-Old “Goddess of Youth” Often Gets Mistaken for Her Daughter’s Sibling
Lee Su Jin, a 51-year old dentist from South Korea, has amassed quite an impressive online following thanks to her incredibly youthful looks. The first time we featured Lee Su Jin on Oddity Central was back in 2016, when photos of her went viral on Asian social media, along with the heart-to-believe information that she […]
South Korean Woman Has Drunk 150,000 Cans of Coke in the Last 40 Years
If you’re the kind of person who thinks drinking Coke every day is a sure way to an early grave, this 74-year-old woman who has been basically living on the popular soft drinks for four decades would like a word with you… Back in February, South Korean YouTube channel X SBS featured the unusual story […]
The Controversial Case of a High School Teacher Imprisoned for Bullying a Student to Death
South Korean media recently reported the disturbing case of a high-school teacher who scolded and humiliated a student in front of the class, causing him to take his life that same day. On April 26th, 2020 ethics professor at Youngshin Middle School in Pohang City referred to only as “A”, for personal privacy reasons, was […]
The Crazy Transformations on South Korea’s Controversial Plastic Surgery Reality Show
Plastic surgery has always fascinated people, so it’s no surprise that shows like Botched or Extreme Makeover are so popular, but nowhere in the world is going under the knife more mainstream than in South Korea, so it makes sense that the Asian country’s own plastic surgery reality show is bigger than any Western shows […]
Chef Sues Michelin Guide for Including His Restaurant Against His Wishes
Seoul chef Eo Yun-gwon has shocked the restaurant world after announcing that he is suing Michelin Guide for including his restaurant in their 2019 edition, despite him asking them not to. Most chefs would kill to have their restaurant included in the famous Michelin Guide, and in fact some waste years of their lives and […]
South Korea Runs Out of Dog Deworming Medicine Because People Think It Cures Cancer
Remember that story we ran a few months ago about a man who claimed he cured his terminal cancer with a cheap dog deworming medicine? Well, apparently it recently went viral in South Korea and stocks of the antiparasitic medicine have been depleted. Back in May, the story of Joe Tippens, an Oklahoma man who […]
South Korean Mayor Dumps Tonne of Trash on Pristine Beach for International Clean-Up Day
On September 21, volunteers across the globe, from Thailand to Hawaii, gathered on their local beaches to clean up trash and make a powerful statement about the poor state of our environment? But what about volunteers with no dirty beaches to clean? Well, some of them got a bit of help from local authorities. Late […]
South Korean Cafe Makes You Feel Like You’re in an A-Ha Music Video
Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 is a uniquely-designed cafe in Seoul’s Yeonnam-dong district that makes visitors feel like they’ve miraculously steeped into a cartoon or a comic. Remember the song “Take on Me” by Norwegian band A-ha? It’s one of the catchiest tunes of all time, but I remember being fascinated with its music video, as a child. […]
Parents in South Korea Are Hiring Intimidating “Uncles” to Protect Their Kids from School Bullies
South Korean parents are increasingly turning to “uncle service” providers to make sure their children don’t have to put up with bullying in schools. Such services are apparently a pricey but efficient alternative to having schools handle the matter. Earlier this month, Korean media reported on the growing business of leasing intimidating uncles to either […]
Gongbang – South Korea’s Fascination with Watching Other People Study for Hours on End
Gongbang is the name of a growing live-streaming trend in South Korea, where people broadcast themselves studying in almost total silence for hours on end to dozens, sometimes hundreds of viewers who love nothing more than to watch them do it. Ask most popular streamers and they’ll tell you that the keys to a successful […]
Cult Leader Arrested After Allegedly Holding Followers Captive and Forcing Them to Take Part in Bizarre Rituals
The deranged leader of a South Korean cult was recently arrested for holding over 400 of her followers captive at a compound on Fiji Island and forcing them to take part in violent rituals under threat of incurring God’s punishment. Shin Ok-ju, founder of the Grace Road Church, was detained along with three senior leaders […]
Hood Houses – Used Jacket Hoods Recycled Into Cozy Homes For Stray Cats
South Korean ad agency Cheil Worldwide partnered with Molly’s Pet Shop, a popular pet shop chain, to provide stray cats with comfortable shelters on cold winter and spring nights, by recycling old jacket hoods into cozy homes. Called Hood Houses, the ingenious cat cribs were created to raise awareness about South Korea’s stray cat problem, and also […]
South-Korean Woman Allegedly Dates Almost 200 Men in Less Than Two Years
Popular South Korean TV show Mars People XFile recently featured a young woman who claimed to have dated nearly 200 men in the last two years, purely for materialistic purposes. The young and attractive woman, named Han Mirim, gives speed dating a whole new meaning, admitting that she sometimes broke up with men on the […]
Plastic Surgery Tourists Stuck in Airport Because Their Passports Don’t Match Their Faces
Photos of three Chinese women allegedly stuck in a South Korean airport, because their passports no longer match their faces following plastic surgery, have been doing the rounds on Chinese social media. South Korean plastic surgery clinics are renowned as some of the best in the world, so it’s no surprise that women from other […]
South Korean Startup Only Hires People Over 55, to Fight Age Discrimination
EverYoung, a technology company based in Seoul, South Korea, has an unusual yet strict condition when hiring new staff – candidates have to be at least 55-year-old. It’s been this way ever since EverYoung was founded, in 2013, and it now employs 420 seniors aged 55 to 83. South Korea’s corporate culture is notorious for forcing […]