This article is by Sarah Chea and read by an artificial voice.

Ever heard of "sushi on wheels?" It's a funny little meme floating around in Korea - people joke that with so many white and black cars on the road, driving here sometimes feels like watching a line of sushi plates rolling by.
If you ever take a close look at Korean roads, you'll get the joke right away. Almost every car you see is some shade of white, black or gray - a sea of neutral tones gliding through the streets.
White, in particular, completely dominates. You'd be hard-pressed to spot those punchy reds or deep blues that pop up so often in Europe.
In fact, a whopping 76 percent of all cars sold in Korea in 2024 were painted in achromatic shades such as white, black, gray or silver. White alone accounted for 33 percent, outpacing Europe's 25 percent and even the global average of 31 percent, according to a recent color popularity report from auto tracker Axalta.
Gray came in second at 26 percent, also higher than the global average of 23 percent. That figure even topped North America's 20 percent, Japan's 11 percent, and Europe's 24 percent.
So why do Koreans seem to have such a love affair with neutral-colored cars? Is it somehow linked to the old Korean nickname of "land of white clothing?" Or simply because white has become the most common choice by default?

Cars aren't just rides - They're assets
Koreans tend to see a car not just as a ride, but as an asset. The moment they buy it, they're already thinking about its resale value down the line.
When it comes to buying a car, Korea might be the only country where dealers openly discourage customers from choosing colorful vehicles, citing resale depreciation as the reason.
In fact, colorful cars in Korea actually take longer to sell and lose value faster than neutral ones. For example, pre-owned neutral-colored Genesis G80s took about 60 days to sell last year, while colorful versions lingered for around 65 days, according to data from Encar, Korea's largest used car platform, collected on the request of the Korea JoongAng Daily.
When it comes to price, G80s in neutral hues dropped roughly 16 percent from their original registration price, compared to 17 percent for their colorful counterparts.
Likewise, in the case of neutral-colored Kia K5s, these were resold in 40 days, while colorful ones took 51 days to find a new buyer. Price-wise, neutral cars saw a 14 percent overall drop from their original registration price, compared to 21 percent for colorful variants.
Imported cars demonstrate a similar pattern. It took an average of 46 days for neutral-colored Mercedes-Benz E-Class models on Encar to sell, while colorful models took around 51 days.
"High-chroma colors in today's used car market are immediately discounted, which also means that if your car isn't a neutral shade, its value as an asset drops," said Suk Hyeon-jeong, an industrial design professor at KAIST, who also researches color psychology.
"The trend began to show in the 1990s. Choosing a neutral-colored luxury car is widely seen as a rational asset purchase, so individuals may hesitate to stand out with a bold color."
Suk, who once bought a secondhand orange-colored Sportage SUV, ended up selling it for about 10 percent less than the same model with similar specs in white.
"Europeans generally regard cars as nothing more than a means of transportation. That's why they don't pay much attention to color or smaller sizes," said a source at a German auto brand.

But perhaps there are more fundamental reasons?
Culturally, Koreans have long been a people who prefer not to stand out, shaped by Confucian values, which tend to favor modesty and conformity - even when it comes to choosing a car.
It could also be linked to an old nickname for Korea, "land of white clothing," as historically, Koreans favored wearing white, a color associated with purity, sacredness and brightness.
This differs from places like Europe, where a freer, more individualis...

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