Koreans Are Born To Be Odourless? 한국 사람들은 냄새가 안 난다고? 정말?

Summer is the season which Koreans anticipate the most among all the four seasons. They are always disciplined to make themselves look good and fresh. However, many people question why they love summer as it makes everyone drenched in sweat and it stinks. Maybe it's because it is said that Koreans do not have body odour. Is this true? Read more to find out!

1. The Worry 고민 아닌 고민

Summer (여름) is right around the corner and for most parts of the world, people are quite worried about body odour (냄새). As it is always scorching hot during summer, sweating is something very normal. Usually, sweaty armpits (겨드랑이) will cause unfavourable odour if not treated with deodorant or anti-perspirant! Surprisingly, most Koreans do not face this issue and they are said to be born odourless.

2. Why? 어째서?

According to a few researches (연구), results have shown that Koreans have something special about them. It is said that they are “genetically mutated”. This proves that they have less of a sweating (땀) problem compared to people from other countries.

3. Research 연구 결과

Based on the research from a university in England, only 0.006 percent among the Korean population (인구) are born with the ABCC11 gene (유전자). This gene is the main cause behind the odour problem.

4. What is it? 뭐야 그게?

The research of the ABCC11 is based on a gene database designed by Yale University. It is called the Allel Frequency Database (ALFRED). Results have proven that the ratio (비율) of Korean people having that gene is the lowest in the world.

5. About this gene 유전자와 관련

This gene is the only determinant (결정자) of whether you will have underarm odour or not. A genetic epidemiologist (전염병학자) had stated that around 2 percent of Europeans (유럽인들) lacked the smelly gene, and most East Asians (동양인들) especially Koreans lack this gene.

Do you think this is true?