【CNN 20140830】韩国人最擅长的十件事

满仓

【中文标题】韩国人最擅长的十件事
【原文标题】10 things South Korea does better than anywhere else
【登载媒体】CNN
【原文作者】Frances Cha
【原文链接】http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/27/travel/10-things-south-korea-does-best/index.html


对于这个小国家——它的国土面积世界排名第109位，仅次于冰岛，韩国在世界舞台上的出镜率的确不低。

有时候它爆出的新闻算不上正面，比如边境线两边离散的兄弟。有时候则是主流流行乐，比如一个可爱的演唱组合，在国际舞台上甚至压倒了Lady Gaga的风头。有时候，它的新闻令人摸不着头脑。比如在一场棒球比赛中，第一个投球的人趾高气扬的样子让人颇为不解。

从怪异到神奇，再到科幻，下面就是韩国做得最出色的十件事

1，网络文化



想见识一下未来世界吗？你可以订一张机票，前往这个网络覆盖率高达82.7％，以及78.5％的人口都使用智能手机的国家。在18岁到24岁的人群中，智能手机覆盖率高达97.7％。

他们的智能手机不仅仅有那些带有各式表情的聊天应用，还可以做支付、在地铁里看电视（不是视频，而是电视节目），甚至在世界上第一家虚拟超市中扫描条形码。现代公司计划在2015年推出一款用智能手机启动的汽车。三星公司同时在设计一款曲面手机。

在韩国最大的电信公司SK的未来科技博物馆里，你可以看到已经研制成功，但并未投放市场的各类技术原型。

2，信用卡



根据韩国银行提供的数据，韩国在两年前就已经成为世界上最大的信用卡市场。2011年，平均每个美国人用信用卡进行了77.9笔交易，加拿大人是89.6笔交易，韩国人是129.7笔交易。

这个国家所有商户如果拒绝使用信用卡，被认为是违法行为，不管交易的金额多小。所有出租车都可以使用信用卡。

这些漫天飞舞的信用卡让首尔成为世界首屈一指的购物中心。

3，工作狂



韩国人对学习一场狂热，它是经合组织成员国家中受教育水平最高的国家。98％的人口完成中等教育，63％的人受过大学教育。这些人进入工作岗位之后依然改不掉这些毛病。

在韩国任何一座城市里，写字楼的灯光一直亮到深夜，那都是职员在彻夜假扮。据韩国财政部2012年发布的一份报告，韩国工人平均每周工作44.6个小时。经合组织成员国平均每周工作32.8个小时。根据2014年8月的一份报告，首尔和东京被认为是世界大城市中睡眠时间最少的居民，平均每天晚上不到6个小时。

4，酒桌应酬



当韩国人不工作的时候，他们会在深夜的晚餐中发泄，借酒浇愁。尽管很多大公司已经在试图遏制酒文化，但依然有不少的老板抓着员工去享受烧酒、啤酒和威士忌混合起来的“炸弹”。那些不参加活动的人被认为无礼，或者极度无趣。

日本和其它一些国家也算得上在这方面出类拔萃，但是韩国无疑是酒吧间的忠实拥趸。真露烧酒是过去十一年里全世界销量最大的饮料，几乎全部是本土消费。

韩国酿酒商生产的司木露伏特加以3748万瓶的销量排名第二。

5，化妆品



说到化妆品，韩国人在测试新方法和新材料上的脚步永不停止。

蜗牛乳膏（从蜗牛内脏提取的物质）已经是2011年的玩意了，现在时髦的是济州岛火山泥和大豆发酵乳膏。韩国最新的化妆品生产商VDL每个月都会推出新产品。他们的最新产品是氖元素染发和含有真花瓣的指甲油。

韩国男人可以毫不犹豫地接受整形手术，他们还会抢购护肤品和化妆品，往往都是BB霜之类的产品。

韩国是男性化妆品最大的市场，韩国男人消费了全球四分之一的男性化妆品——每年9亿美元。

6，女性高尔夫运动员



《经济学人》在2013年提出了一个价值100万美元的问题：“为什么韩国女人高尔夫球技术如此精湛？”

排名说明了一切。世界排名前100位的女性高尔夫球运动员中，有38个韩国人。排名前25位的运动员中，有9个韩国人（如果算上在首尔出生的新西兰人高宝璟，应该是10个人）。

25岁的朴英碧世界排名第二，她是美国女子公开赛年龄最小的冠军。14岁的高创下了职业高尔夫球巡回赛冠军年龄最小的纪录。

暂且不论韩国内部激烈的竞争和虎妈虎爸的教育方式（据说朴世莉的父亲曾经让她在坟地睡觉，目的是锻炼胆量），这种现象的确值得研究。

韩国人对这项运动主宰引起了各方强烈的反应。美国LPGA巡回赛在2008年发布一项规定，要求参赛者必须会说英语，否则会被禁赛。

7，星际争霸



一个国家不可救药的废物，在另一个国家可能是万人瞩目的明星。

星际争霸在韩国算是一个合法的职业，专业玩家有数万美元的收入，还会得到赞助。自从这个游戏在1998年出现以来，几乎一半的产品被韩国人消费。男女老少都会一整晚待在网吧打游戏。

这个国家有专门为这个游戏铺设的网络，这样的文化导致9岁到12岁的韩国人群中，14％对网络成瘾。为了遏制这样的趋势，政府在两年前发布了一项被称为“关机法”或者“灰姑娘法”的禁令，禁止16岁以下人群完网络游戏。但几乎没有人遵守。

8，民航乘务员



全世界航空公司的乘务员都到韩国的培训中心来学习正确的航空礼仪。任何一个乘坐过韩国航空公司飞机的人，都会说机上的服务是最好的。

你看到的不仅仅是甜美的微笑和对每一个小要求的及时回应，而且是当轮到你的时候恰好没有石锅拌饭了，他们脸上浮现出的那种几乎想要自杀谢罪的歉意表情。

9，相亲



“下次相亲是什么时候？”这是韩国单身男女最经常听到的一个问题。

标准的回答是讲述一个有关上一次相亲史诗般恐怖的故事，往往会掺杂一些恋母情结和无法忍受的生理缺陷。

接下来是一个欢快的问题：“你有合适的人选和我见见面吗？”

由于相亲的次数实在太多，韩国人打定主意之后往往动作非常迅速。据韩国最大的婚恋公司提供的数据，韩国工作人群中，从第一次相亲到结婚的平均时间是10.2个月，平均每个人经历62次相亲。

这家公司的一项调查结果显示，工薪单身人士平均每周相亲两次。在韩国最大的4家婚恋公司中（韩国共有2500多家这样的公司），这家公司的市场份额高达63.2％。

10，整形



无论你是突下巴、宽脑门还是暴齿，亚洲美容整形之都的医生没有搞不定的。

俄罗斯人、中国人、蒙古人和日本人纷纷前往韩国体验“整形之旅”，他们所向往的并不是高超的技术，而是低廉的价格。

首尔国家医院整形部医生权承台在接受CNN采访时说：“美国平均一例面部整形手术的花费是1万美元。但是在韩国，你只需要花费2000到3000美元。”




原文：

For such a small country -- it ranks 109th in the world for total area, right behind Iceland -- South Korea sure is in the news a lot.

Occasionally that news is grim -- something to do with a troublesome cousin across the border.

Sometimes it's pure mainstream pop -- a bunch of cute singers taking down Lady Gaga on the world stage.

Sometimes it's just plain astonishing -- no one throws out the first pitch at a baseball game with as much panache as South Koreans.

From the weird to the wonderful to sci-fi stuff from a Samsung galaxy far, far away, here are things South Korea pulls off more spectacularly than anywhere else.

1. Wired culture

Want to see what the future looks like?

Book a ticket to the country with a worldwide high 82.7% Internet penetration and where 78.5% of the entire population is on smartphones (as of 2013).

Among 18 to 24 year olds, smartphone penetration is 97.7%.

While they're chatting away on emoticon-ridden messenger apps such as Naver Line or Kakao Talk, South Koreans also use their smartphones to pay at shops, watch TV (not Youtube but real-time channels) on the subway and scan QR codes at the world's first virtual supermarket.

Hyundai plans on rolling out a car that starts with your smartphone in 2015.

Samsung in the meantime has been designing a curved phone.

Crazy displays of technology already in place but not yet distributed can be seen (by appointment) at T.um, Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom's future technology museum.

2. Whipping out the plastic

South Koreans became the world's top users of credit cards two years ago, according to data from the Bank of Korea.

While Americans made 77.9 credit card transactions per person in 2011 and Canadians made 89.6, South Koreans made 129.7.

It's technically illegal for any merchant in the country to refuse credit cards, no matter how low the price, and all cabs have credit card machines.

All that flying plastic makes Seoul one of our top shopping cities in the world.

3. Workaholics

South Koreans are so used to studying -- the country has the highest education level in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, with 98% of the population completing secondary education and 63% with a college education -- they can't get out of the habit once they reach the work force.

According to this quirky map from thedoghousediaries, Brazil sets the standard for FIFA World Cup titles and North Korea leads in "censorship," but South Korea takes the crown for workaholics.

You can see it in any Korean city, where lights in buildings blaze into the late hours as workers slave away.

According to 2012 data from South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance, South Koreans work 44.6 hours per week, compared with the OECD average of 32.8.

And according to a study released in August 2014, along with Tokyo residents, Seoulites get the least amount of sleep of any residents of major cities in the world, just less than six hours a night.

4. Business boozing

When they're not working, Koreans are celebrating their latest deals or drowning their sorrows in soju.

While many leading companies are trying to curb the working/drinking culture, there are still plenty of bosses who drag their teams out for way too many rounds of soju/beer/whiskey "bombs."

Those who opt out are considered rude or hopelessly boring.

Yes, Japan and a few other countries can stake reasonable claims to this title, but South Korea has stats to back up the barroom brag.

Jinro soju was the world's best-selling liquor last year, for the eleventh year in a row, with its home country accounting for most of the sales.

The South Korean distilled rice liquor manufacturer outsold Smirnoff vodka, which came in second by 37.48 million cases.

5. Innovative cosmetics

When it comes to makeup and cosmetics, South Koreans can't stop experimenting with ingredients or methods of application.

Snail creams (moisturizers made from snail guts) are so 2011.

Now it's all about Korean ingredients such as Innisfree's Jeju Island volcanic clay mask and fermented soybean moisturizer.

At VDL, Korea's latest trendy cosmetics line, products change monthly.

Right now, they're pushing "hair shockers" -- neon tints for hair -- and nail polish with real flowers in it.

Just as Korean men are less wary of going under the plastic surgery knife (see point 10) than their foreign counterparts, they also snap up skincare products and, yes, even makeup, namely foundation in the form of BB cream.

South Korea is by far the largest market for men's cosmetics, with Korean men buying a quarter of the world's men's cosmetics -- around $900 million a year, according to Euromonitor.

6. Female golfers

The Economist posed a million-dollar question in 2013.

"Why are Korean women so good at golf?"

The rankings were staggering.

Of the top 100 female golfers in the world, 38 were Korean.

Of the current top 25, 9 are Korean (10 if you count Seoul-born Lydia Ko, who calls New Zealand home).

Inbee Park, 25, is the second-ranked player in women's golf and was the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open.

In January, Ko, 14, set the record for the youngest woman to ever win a professional golf tournament.

Chalk it up to crazy Korean competitiveness or to the Tiger Mom/Dad theory (golfer Se-Ri Pak's father is infamous for making her sleep alone in a cemetery every night to steel her nerves), but the phenomenon certainly begs study.

Widely thought to be a response to Korean domination of the sport, the U.S.-based LPGA passed a requirement in 2008 mandating that its members must learn to speak English, or face suspension.

7. Starcraft

One country's hopeless nerds are among another's highest earning celebrities.

Starcraft is actually a legitimate career in South Korea, with pro gamers raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings in addition to endorsements.

Since the game launched in 1998, nearly half of all games have been sold in South Korea, where boys, girls, men and women drop by for a night of gaming in giant video game parlors.

There are cable channels devoted solely to the games, and the culture has led to approximately 14% of Koreans between ages 9 and 12 suffering from Internet addiction, according to the National Information Agency.

To try to crack down, the government passed a ban dubbed the "shutdown law" or "Cinderella law" two years ago, prohibiting anyone 16 and younger from game websites. The ban has been widely ignored.

8. Flight attendants

Flight attendants from airlines around the world come to Korean airlines' training centers to learn proper airborne charm.

Ask anyone who's ever flown a Korean airline and dare them to say the service isn't the best they've ever had.

It's not just the sweet smiles that greet every little request, but the almost comical looks of suicidal despair when they somehow run out of bibimbap in the row before yours.

9. Blind dates

"When's your next sogeting (blind date)?"

That's one of the most frequently asked questions of any Korean single.

The standard answer is the epic horror story that was the last blind date, often involving a crippling Oedipus complex or intolerable physical flaw.

Followed immediately by a chirpy, "Why, do you know someone you can set me up with?"

Due to the high volume of blind dates, when Korean make up their minds, they move quickly.

According to data compiled by South Korea's largest matchmaking company, Duo, the average length of time of a relationship from the (blind) first date to marriage is approximately 10.2 months for working people, with an average of 62 dates per couple.

In a survey conducted by Duo, working singles interested in marriage say they typically go on two blind dates a week.

They should know. Of the top four matchmaking companies in Korea (there are 2,500 companies in the country), Duo has a 63.2% marketshare.

10. Plastic surgery

Whether it's a lantern jaw, wide forehead or long teeth, there's no feature doctors can't beautify in the Asian capital for cosmetic surgery.

Russians, Chinese, Mongolians and Japanese flock to South Korea on plastic surgery "medical tours," not only for the skill of the surgeons, but for the good deals.

"An average -- not excellent -- face-lift in the United States will set you back about $10,000," Seoul National University Hospital plastic surgeon Kwon Seung-taik told CNN. "But in Korea you can get the same service for $2,000 or $3,000."