Trade reliance makes Korea vulnerable
The government’s efforts to expand domestic demand have failed, letting its dependence on exports and imports surge over the past years. This may likely open the economy up to great shocks, if the current eurozone crisis gets worse and takes on global proportions. Recent data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) show that the country’s […]
Macquarie deal up for revision
The contract between Seoul City and investors in the capital’s subway line 9, including Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund (MKIF), is being reexamined and should be amended, if found to contain unfair and improper elements, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said, Monday. “It appears that investors including Macquarie have failed to keep some parts of the agreement; […]
Torture allegation raises concern about Korean detainees
Calls are mounting for the government to send a stern message to China that any abuse against hundreds of Koreans serving prison sentences there are not be acceptable. The concern about Korean detainees was raised after freed activist Kim Young-hwan disclosed his suffering at a detention center in the northeastern city of Dandong in great […]
Police investigate firms after snakes found in western Seoul
Police said Wednesday that they plan to investigate companies making products advertized as stamina food containing snake-based ingredients, in an effort to find where a number of snakes caught and sighted in Sinwol-dong, western Seoul, came from. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that investigators will enter businesses located in the area to determine whether […]
Korea strikes FTA with Turkey
Korea signed a free trade agreement with Turkey, one of most promising nations in Europe, Wednesday, paving the way for brisk business transactions. Under the pact, Turkey is also expected to serve as a stepping stone for Korean firms to tap into fast growing Middle East and African markets, trade experts said. Korea’s Trade Minister […]
Animal marketing
Department stores open small zoos to attract customers Inside its glass tank a big turtle creeps toward a child tapping the glass as the animal sits down and closes its eyes. In the next cage an iguana is clinging to a dried piece of wood flicking its eerily long tongue in and out. Nearby a […]
Toyota’s breakthrough
Japanese automaker aims to be pioneer in local hybrid market The past three years may have been the most challenging period for Toyota Motor Korea CEO Tommy H. Nakabayashi since he took office in January 2010. From the end of 2009 to early 2010, Toyota Motor was hit hard by massive recalls across the world. […]
Sex criminals banned from driving taxis for 20 years
Murderers, rapists and those convicted of other serious crimes will not permitted to drive a taxi from now on as part of government efforts to prevent offenses committed by cab drivers against female passengers. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday that a revised law concerning the operation of passenger transport vehicles […]
[Indonesia Report] Jakarta, world’s most active twitter city
Jakarta, Indonesian capital city, is home for the most active “tweeps” and “twitterian” in the world. Semiocast, a French based social media monitor company published a survey on July 30, saying that Jakarta is the city with most number of posted tweets. Tweep is a Twitter user who is a novice by virtue of their […]
Han Bi-ya: “I enjoy my work as a relief worker”
Han Bi-ya, a Korean, is better known as a travel books writer and relief worker. She first inspired young people of the world through her books titled “Daughter of The Wind, Three and A Half Times Around The Globe On Foot.” The four-volume book was published based on her seven-year long travel around the world in 2007. She also wroted four other books thereafter including “Han Bi-ya’s […]