"City life changes in South Korea since the 1950's have led to a rapid increase in the proportion of city dwellers. South Koreans are attracted to cities because of the opportunities there. Factories and businesses provide jobs. The cities have colleges and universities, better health-care facilities, and a variety of entertainment.Many high-rise apartment buildings and modern houses have been built in Seoul and other large South Korean cities. But it has been difficult to meet the rapidly rising need for housing, and many people must live in distant suburbs. The rise in population has also strained such public services as water, sewerage, and transportation. The crime rate in the cities has increased sharply. In addition, as South Koreans have become more prosperous, the number of automobiles has increased. Traffic jams are frequent, and major cities suffer from a severe pollution problem."-World book
"Rural life. Many South Koreans, including those in rural areas, live in houses made of bricks or concrete blocks, with roofs of cement tiles and slate. Many houses are two or three stories high, though such houses are less common in rural areas than in the cities. Most houses have ondol—floors of thick stone slabs covered by oiled papers or mats. Traditionally, channels under the floors carried hot air from the kitchen or an indoor fireplace to heat the rooms. In many homes today, pipes carry heated water under the floors to provide heat. In the cities, many ondol are heated by electric coils. Almost all rural homes also have electric power."
-World book
"All Koreans speak the Korean language, which is often classified as one of the Altaic languages, has affinities to Japanese, and contains many Chinese loanwords. The Korean script, known in South Korea as Hangul (Han’gŭl) and in North Korea as Chosŏn muntcha, is composed of phonetic symbols for the 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Korean often is written as a combination of Chinese ideograms and Hangul in South Korea, although the trend is toward using less Chinese. A large number of English words and phrases have crept into the language—either intact or modified by local usage—as a result of the American presence in the country since 1950."
-Encyclopaedia Britannica
"Rural life. Many South Koreans, including those in rural areas, live in houses made of bricks or concrete blocks, with roofs of cement tiles and slate. Many houses are two or three stories high, though such houses are less common in rural areas than in the cities. Most houses have ondol—floors of thick stone slabs covered by oiled papers or mats. Traditionally, channels under the floors carried hot air from the kitchen or an indoor fireplace to heat the rooms. In many homes today, pipes carry heated water under the floors to provide heat. In the cities, many ondol are heated by electric coils. Almost all rural homes also have electric power."
-World book
"All Koreans speak the Korean language, which is often classified as one of the Altaic languages, has affinities to Japanese, and contains many Chinese loanwords. The Korean script, known in South Korea as Hangul (Han’gŭl) and in North Korea as Chosŏn muntcha, is composed of phonetic symbols for the 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Korean often is written as a combination of Chinese ideograms and Hangul in South Korea, although the trend is toward using less Chinese. A large number of English words and phrases have crept into the language—either intact or modified by local usage—as a result of the American presence in the country since 1950."
-Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sports
Among the traditional sports that have been revived in modern times, the martial art of taekwondo is widely practiced around the world and is the only Olympic event originated in Korea. Ssireum is a form of wrestling in Korea that has been a sport slowly revising itself, becoming a sport with professional teams engaging in regular tournaments although its popularity has declined as people prefer more hardcore types of foreign fighting sports.