Hongeo – South Korea’s Stinkiest Food Smells Like a Public Restroom
Hongeo is a bizarre South Korean dish with a pungent aroma that most people describe as a mix of dirty public toilet and wet laundry left untended for days. Made from skate, a bottom-dwelling ray fish, Hongeo is considered by far South Korea’s smelliest food. It’s so stinky that many South Koreans wouldn’t come near […]
Purple Island – South Korea’s Newest Instagram-Worthy Tourist Attraction
There are plenty of interesting places to visit in South Korea, but if you’re all about adding new and exciting content to your Instagram feed, the you simply must add the Purple Island on your itinerary. With the Covid-19 wreaking havoc around the world, South Korea included, international travel isn’t what it used to be […]
South Korean Man Has Been Training by Banging His Head Against a Tree Every Day For Five Years
Last month, South Korean television featured the bizarre case of a shoe repairman from Seoul who has been conditioning his body by banging his body and his head against a tree for the last five years. Would you ever pick on a man after seeing him violently banging his forehead against a full-grown tree trunk? […]
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 […]