The Korea Herald

Seoul's Seocho office eyes 'Korean wave districts'

Feb 11, 2014

A Seoul district government said Tuesday it will push to create special zones for K-pop and classical music in a bid to further promote the "Korean wave," or the global popularity of Korean pop culture.Under the envisioned project by the Seocho-gu District Office, the so-called K-pop district will be established surrounding the Riverside Hotel in Jamwon-dong, where a concert hall reserved for K-pop performances will be built.The special zone is expected to be the venue for diverse festivals and
S. Korea completes construction of 2nd research base in Antarctica

Feb 11, 2014

The government will push to expand the coverage of unemployment insurance from as early as 2016 in an effort to better protect jobless non-regular workers, the labor ministry said Tuesday.In a 2014 policy report to President Park Geun-hye, Minister of Employment and Labor Phang Ha-nam said the measure will benefit particular types of irregular workers such as insurance agents, tutors and golf caddies as well as artists.Workers of six non-regular jobs -- insurance agents, tutors, golf caddies, p
S. Korean gov't to expand benefits under public health insurance

Feb 11, 2014

The South Korean health ministry said Tuesday it will add more benefits to the public health insurance program that will expand medical services for the elderly while reducing medical expenses for all patients.The move, however, will likely lead to a rise in insurance premiums as it is expected to cost up to 4.6 trillion won ($4.28 billion) over the next four years.In an annual report to the president, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will expand medical services to include not only th
Heavy snow disrupts traffic, schools

Feb 10, 2014

Over a hundred schools were temporarily shut down, farm facilities were destroyed and roads were blocked on Monday as days of snow nearly paralyzed eastern parts of Korea.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, provinces along the east coast have been hit with 100 centimeters or more of snow since last Thursday. Gangwon Province received the heaviest blow, with coastal cities Gangneung and Sokcho receiving 107.5 centimeters and 72.5 centimeters of snow, respectively. Jinburyeong ―
Heavy snow hits eastern Korea

Feb 9, 2014

The heavy snowfalls affecting the country’s east coast are to continue until the early hours of Monday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Sunday. The eastern part of Gangwon Province, which continued to be under the heavy snow advisory throughout Sunday, is expected to be hardest hit, with some areas receiving as much as 30 centimeters of additional snow. Eastern areas of the country in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces have been affected by heavy snow since Thursday.Gangwon Prov
Pope may stay as long as week in Korea

Feb 9, 2014

Pope Francis may hold a special Mass dedicated to North Korea during his visit here this summer, a news report from the Vatican said Sunday. According to AsiaNews, a Vatican-affiliated missionary news agency, it is highly likely that the pope will travel to South Korea for the Aug. 10-17 Asian Youth Day event and that the visit could last as long as a week.Among the events being planned for his Korean journey is a special Mass for North Korea in a direct appeal to the reclusive communist state f
Two more cases of AI confirmed

Feb 9, 2014

Two more cases of bird flu were confirmed on Saturday despite quarantine efforts, raising further concerns over the virus spreading, officials said.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, more than 10,000 fowl at two farms, in Yeongam-gun, South Jeolla Province, and Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, were found to have been infected with the highly pathogenic strain of H5N8. The virus suspicions were reported last Thursday from the two farms after a large number of poultry wa
Seoul citizens see noise among worst environment issues

Feb 9, 2014

About 1 in 3 Seoul citizens considers noise to be one of the worst environmental problems in the city, a report showed Sunday. According to Seoul Institute’s survey conducted on 1,032 citizens, 33.6 percent picked noise as the second-most serious environmental issue after air pollution. By type, traffic noise led with 42.4 percent, followed by noise from apartment neighbors and from construction, with 23.1 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively.A total of 1,271 cases of loud sounds heard from up
Public firms' spending on welfare remains high despite heavy debt: data

Feb 9, 2014

Twelve debt-ridden public organizations in South Korea have spent more than 300 billion won ($279.3 million) over the past five years on providing welfare benefits, including financial support for health and education, data showed Sunday.According to the data offered by government information portal Alio, the most indebted public firms, which include LH Corp., Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Coal Corp., spent a combined 317.4 billion won from 2009 to 2013 on four major welfare benefits.The
Cheap labor costs, low rent key advantages of Kaesong complex: poll

Feb 9, 2014

Cheap labor costs and low rent are some of the advantages associated with the inter-Korean business complex in Kaesong, a poll conducted on 215 foreign investment companies in South Korea and overseas firms showed Sunday. The survey carried out by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) showed 33 percent of the respondents saying the competitive labor cost is the top attraction of the industrial park, located just north of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Ko
Korea's airlines to reduce Japan-bound flights due to declining passengers

Feb 9, 2014

South Korea's major airlines plan to suspend or reduce their flights bound for Japan as the number of passengers visiting the country is declining, company and industry sources said Sunday.Asiana Airlines Inc. plans to suspend its twice-a-day flights linking the southeastern port city of Busan to Osaka starting on Feb. 21. It recently received approval from the transportation ministry for the flight suspension, according to the sources. An Asiana Airlines official said that the decision was made
[Weekender] Rise of sharing economy

Feb 7, 2014

In the wake of the financial crisis in 1997, a frugality campaign swept the country under the motto of “anabana,” or “save, share, swap and reuse goods.” The movement spread through flea markets, charities and local communities, helping reduce the pains of the economic meltdown and change the mindset and behavior of consumers. About fifteen years later, the grassroot movement is being revived magnificently. A myriad of enterprises and organizations are jumping on the “sharing economy” bandwagon,
[Weekender] Seoul eyes shareable metropolis

Feb 7, 2014

More and more Seoul citizens are engaging in a new lifestyle by sharing everything from their talent to parking lots to houses.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon introduced the “Share Seoul” project in September 2012 to provide better welfare and services to people at a low cost. The movement is not only aimed at helping people save money but also to solve environmental and employment problems and bring community spirit to modern life.“Calls for better welfare, a cleaner environment and more jobs are soa
[Weekender] Social media network boosts knowledge exchange

Feb 7, 2014

On Wisdome, a social networking site, people can open offline classes to provide their knowledge, experience and skills for a small fee. Lectures on a range of topics like overseas travel, calligraphy, asset management and cookie-making are offered by practitioners eager to share their know-how and time. “What changes one’s life is not advice from famous figures on TV or somewhere else, but advice from people around us including family members, colleagues and friends at school,” said Han Sang-ye
[Weekender] Sharing economy drives sustainable development

Feb 7, 2014

The sharing economy can contribute to sustainable development and has plenty of room to develop further in diverse fields of business, society and life, says Harald Heinrichs, a leading sharing economy theorist. The professor of sustainability politics at Luneburg University in Germany offered his views on a range of issues regarding the sharing economy in a recent email interview with The Korea Herald. The following are excerpts from the interview.Korea Herald: What are the possible benefits of