Mythbusters

By way of the study of economic development, Korea is a rather remarkable country.

Beginning in 1961, President Park Chung-hee pushed the rapid development and industrialization of Korea, for which he was probably under appreciated due to his autocratic style...which led to his assassination in 1979.

He rebuilt Korea's infrastructure and turned Korea from one of the poorest countries in Asia into a world economic player. It is now the 12th largest economy in the world. According to Wikipedia, it has the "third most broadband Internet users and is a global leader in electronics, digital displays, semiconductor devices, mobile phones, and the ship building industry." Additionally, the general public is highly educated and driven to succeed.

Korea has morphed into a modern society very quickly, and to outside observers, the only vestiges of its ancient heritage lie in well-preserved temples and ancient people selling roots in the middle of busy sidewalks. However on closer examination, many people cling to antiquated, silly claims, many involving health and daily habits, which in light of the highly educated and modern populace, seem a bit ridiculous.

These little gems of ingenuousness used to be endearing, but now they mostly elicit eye rolling. So for the next few posts, I have chosen to highlight and debunk each of these myths in a systematic and scientific way. And also to make fun of them.