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 . More : 40 most beautiful places in South Korea . 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 . T.um , Jung-gu , Euljiro 2-ga 11 , Seoul ; +82 2 6100 0601 . More : 50 reasons why Seoul is the world 's greatest city . 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 . More : 10 things Italy does better than anywhere else . 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 ca n'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 . More : 10 things the U.S. does better than anywhere else . 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 . '' More : Business traveler 's guide to surviving a Korean drinking session . 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 . More : 50 beautiful places to visit in South Korea . Innovative cosmetics . When it comes to makeup and cosmetics , South Koreans ca n'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 . More : Complete Korean cosmetics shopping guide . 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 . More : How to be a Seoul local : 10 tips on faking it . 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 is n'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 . More : 10 things India does better than anywhere else . 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 . More : The real Gangnam Style : Beauty Belt , wedding town , 24-hour culture . 10 . Plastic surgery . Whether it 's a lantern jaw , wide forehead or long teeth , there 's no feature doctors ca n'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 . ''
Crazy stuff leads to surprising superlatives . South Koreans are devoted to cramming for food , smoking , movies and Starcraft . It 's a plastic surgery mecca . Most made - up people ? You 'll find them in South Korea .