flickering pictures

I spent a bit of time in South Korea last year, and if you could sum the place up in one word — which you can’t — it would be “busy.” South Koreans work an average of 2,390 hours a year, compared to 1,777 in the U.S.A., 1,717 in Canada and 1,652 in the U.K. Koreans work almost twice as much as the Dutch, who somehow punch in for just 1,309 hours a year, or about 25 hours per week, and still have the 9th highest per capita income in the world.

Anyway, South Koreans are so busy — and recently, so wealthy — that a little cottage industry has sprung up around “instead-men” (and women) who, for a price, do unpleasant tasks so you don’t have to. No time for shopping? Toss him your car keys. Too tired for school? He’ll take notes. Don’t feel like roach-hunting around your apartment? Pass him the Raid.

GlobalPost reports:

Inching toward his mid-30s and with an ill father, Mr. Kim had a problem. He had no girlfriend and no intention of getting married, but his parents insisted he find someone and settle down. As his father’s condition became worse, so did the pressure from his parents about marriage, until one day Mr. Kim found himself letting a little lie pop out: He told his parents he was seeing someone.

But the harmless lie, which was supposed to give Kim temporary freedom, suddenly turned against him. He somehow ended up promising his parents he would visit them with his fiancee. […] So as most South Koreans do when in need, he turned to the internet, and it did not fail him.

Kim, who declined to give his full name for fear of his parents finding out, found a company that offered to do anything for him. With the help of that company, Kim will soon head down to the countryside with a “nice woman” in her early or mid-30s posing as his potential bride.

No word on whether she’ll fake the wedding too — or the honeymoon…

Image via Crowdhacking.

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