Friday, August 03, 2007

[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] Half of Korean Preschoolers Online

More than half of Korean children aged three to five use the Internet, a survey has found. It was also discovered that the best-selling items at online shops are clothing, footwear and sporting goods.

According to the survey by the Ministry of Information and Communications and the National Internet Development Agency of Korea on Thursday, 51.6 percent of children between three and five are web surfers.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] KTF to Launch Traffic Watch for Mobile Phones

KTF announced on Thursday that it will offer a mobile traffic service enabling subscribers to view the traffic situation across Seoul and all national highways on their cell phones.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] 'D-War' Breathes Fire on Opening Day
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] Gov't to Build Smart Highway by 2016

The government says it plans to build a high-tech "smart highway" by 2016. ... The four phase project will develop technology to allow roadways to communicate with automobiles.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] The Monster Movie Model of Wealth Creation

...

From the viewpoint of wealth creation "D-War" is a big event because it's Korea's first entry in the global market of sci-fi blockbusters. "D-War" will be released throughout the U.S. next month, opening squarely in the center of the global entertainment market, not its peripheries like Southeast Asia or China.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 3 2007] Actress Jeon Named Leading Lady of Entertainment

On the heels of her win as best actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in May, Jeon Do-yeon has been named among the 50 most influential women in the entertainment industry by U.S. magazine "Variety".
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 2 2007] SK Telecom Offers Plans for Disabled, Seniors

SK Telecom on Wednesday introduced a more affordable cell phone calling plan for the deaf and elderly.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 1 2007] Gov't Efforts to Limit Media Access Continue

Around 100 journalists at the Foreign Ministry briefing room at the government complex in Sejongro, Seoul dropped their heads when they heard news that the body of the second hostage was found in Afghanistan. As this was happening, the areas surrounding the briefing room was filled with the noise of construction busily under way. It was the sound of hammers and other construction equipment being used to tear down the old facilities and build a new briefing room as part of government efforts to block journalists from contacting government officials. The government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province is also spending W11.5 billion (US$1=W919) to tear down a perfectly fine conference room and build a new briefing facility.
[The Chosun Ilbo, August 1 2007] Samsung to Develop Phone With Adidas

Samsung Electronics is in talks to develop a mobile phone jointly with the sportswear giant Adidas. According to German web portal AreaMobile last Friday, the Adidas Phone will calculate exercise distance and spent calories and have an audio player that plays to the user’s heartbeat. A Samsung Electronics public relations official commented, "It's true that we're holding talks with Adidas but we're not yet in the development stage. We're trying to confirm where the photo and specification of the Adidas phone released on the Internet came from."
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 31 2007] Navteq to Supply Hyundai-Kia Navigation Maps

Navteq, the world's leading digital map provider, will supply its products for navigation devices for cars from Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 31 2007] Internet Portals to Be Fined for Obscene Videos

People who post pornographic material on Internet portals such as Naver, Daum and Yahoo and portals which fail to prevent them are looking at fines of up to W100 million (US$1=W923). Portals that manipulate the ranking of popular search words will be slapped with a maximum fine of W30 million.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 31 2007] True Stories Offer Hope of Rebound for Korean Cinema

Shaky, unstable and overshadowed -- these are a few words to describe the overall mood in Korea's film industry during the first six months of the year.

...

Critics in Korea say films based on true stories will remain hot continuing a trend that caught on earlier this year.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 30 2007] Samsung Ranked 21st in World's Top 100 Brands
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 30 2007] Bora Yoon Plays Music in the Key of Mobiles

"A cell phone is as good an instrument as a piano," says Bora Yoon, a 27-year-old Korean-American who is becoming famous for playing the portable phone as a musical instrument. On Friday Yoon performed at the Time Warner Center's Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, the dream stage for aspiring jazz artists.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 27 2007] NASA: Worker Sabotaged Computer Bound for Space Station
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 27 2007] Crying Wolf

International news agencies run down the hill crying unconfirmed reports about the Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan. The confused Korean onlookers ask, “Should we take them seriously?”
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 27 2007] DongA Ilbo Resists Prosecution Raid

The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday raided the DongA Ilbo newspaper in their investigation of a leaked report on corruption allegations against the late Rev. Choi Tae-min, who was close to Grand National Party presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye. But DongA reporters at the paper’s head office resisted the raid and investigators went home empty-handed.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 27 2007] Martial Arts Comedy 'Jump' Going Off-Broadway

A popular Korean non-verbal show is going Off Broadway this fall.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 26 2007] KBS and the 2002 Presidential Race

The front page of Wednesday’s edition of the Chosun Ilbo newspaper carried two articles about people who determined the course of the 2002 presidential election. One of those articles was about a court order for Kim Dae-eop to pay W10 million (US$1=W913) in compensation to a police investigator for defaming him. Kim divulged false information about military draft dodging by the son of a Grand National Party presidential candidate and later served 22 months in prison for the slander.

The other article was about Prof. Kim In-kyu of Sungkyunkwan University, the former political editor and editor-in-chief at KBS. ... Kim and KBS took center stage during the 2002 election, and it is no exaggeration to say that they made Korea what it is today.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 26 2007] Hollywood Flicks Rule Korea's Summer Box Office

...

The success of American movies in Korea is a big concern for Chungmuro, Korea's Hollywood, but more distressing is the diminishing number of moviegoers in general.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 26 2007] The Rising Political Power of YouTube

Late last year, a young man was stabbed to death in a parking lot after a hip-hop concert in Canada. ...

...

The Grand National Party is now reportedly planning to introduce a YouTube-style TV debate. This means another new and creative way for ordinary people to participate in politics. But we also should be wary of Korean politics swayed by the impulsive whims of Internet users.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 25 2007] SK Telecom Looking Into IPTV Business

SK Telecom, Korea's leading wireless operator, is considering launching an Internet television service.

The company said on Tuesday that it set up a task force last week to review an Internet protocol television (IPTV) unit. "The team will study the feasibility of the business, set out the direction and report the results to senior company officials," SK Telecom said.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 25 2007] Hostage Crisis Fuels Anti-Christian Sentiment Online

While Korean netizens are analyzing the rights and wrongs of Evangelical churches sending missionaries to Afghanistan, most of them wish the 23 Korean hostages there a safe return. However, some are fanning the flames of anti-Christian sentiment by posting insults to the victims and their families on the web.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 24 2007] U.S. Presidential Candidates Answer Questions Submitted to YouTube
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 24 2007] More Consumer-Friendly Telecom Rules Promised

The government will permit the resale of communications services when a business has over 50 percent market share, like in the mobile and wired telephony market, or when market entry barriers exist, Minister of Information and Communication Roh Jun-hyong announced Monday. Resale means a new business sells the products of existing communication service providers by proxy or sells independent products through networks borrowed from existing service providers. Once the ministry has put the legal framework into place, corporation groups without a communication service affiliate such as Samsung or Hyundai Motor can enter the communications market, increasing the number of service providers and, it is hoped, lowering telecom charges.
[The Chosun Ilbo, July 24 2007] Intn'l Media Outlets Closely Following Korean Captives
[The Hankyoreh, August 1 2007] Go green

The Green Map Campaign, an environmental campaign co-organized by Green Korea and SK Telecom, was launched in Seoul on July 31 and will be held on beaches across the nation for 10 days starting August 1.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

[The Hankyoreh, July 30 2007]

Shim Hyung-rae, a South Korean comedy icon of the 1980s, used to captivate local children by playing all kinds of foolish characters. But now, Shim has reinvented himself as director of a science fiction blockbuster.
[The Hankyoreh, July 29 2007]

S. Korea's national soccer coach offers to resign amid media woes

Pim Verbeek, South Korea's national soccer team coach, has offered to resign amid media criticism over his ability to effectively lead his squad, a soccer official said Sunday.
[The Hankyoreh, July 28 2007] [Editorial] “May 18” brings unforgettable history back to life

Korean film has not been doing so well this year. It has actually been something of an embarrassment. Part of the industry’s poor performance can be attributed to repeated offensives by big Hollywood films, but it has also been for a lack of movies that give either artistic or entertainment satisfaction. May 18, which opened just a few days ago, has straightened out the wrinkled pride of Korean film a little. It is the first Korean film to sell the most advance tickets in 13 weeks, that honor having previously been taken by foreign films.
[The Hankyoreh, July 28 2007] Three Korean companies among world’s top 100 brands

Samsung’s ranking slips a notch, while Hyundai improves and LG comes down a bit from last year
[The Hankyoreh, July 27 2007] Celebrity mother’s revelation calls attention to a growing trend

Heo’s choice to declare that she is a single mother highlights change in traditional definitions of family

41-year-old TV celebrity Heo Su-gyeong announced to local broadcaster SBS television on July 26 that she had become a single mother through artificial insemination. ... Heo’s revelation marks the first time a celebrity has made this kind of story public.
[The Hankyoreh, July 27 2007] Teen phone bills almost match those of adults

Parents need to teach children about responsible mobile phone use

The average mobile-phone bill paid by South Korean teenagers were 24 percent higher than their monthly allowances and similar to bills paid by adults, a survey showed.
[The Hankyoreh, July 26 2007] Liberals propose mobile voting to promote party primary

Will casting votes via mobile phone invigorate the party? Doubts and hopes on both sides of the debate

Will it be possible for the general public to participate in the primary vote using their mobile phones? As various factions of liberals, or the so-called pan-ruling party circle, have agreed to form a new unified party, the question of whether or not to introduce “mobile voting,” which was proposed as a possible way to hold the party primary, is attracting people’s attention.
[The Hankyoreh, July 26 2007] Mobile phone bill controversy flares again

Civic groups say S.Korea’s phone bills are still among the highest in the world

Controversy is brewing again between the government and the telecommunications industry on the one side, and consumer-led civic groups on the other, over whether the price of mobile-phone bills in South Korea is appropriate or not, when compared with the prices in other countries.
[The Hankyoreh, July 25 2007] Existence of new technology raises questions

Government investment in development of nano sensor technology could all be for naught

Prosecutors have launched a probe into whether Single Carrier Modulation Photo Detector (SMPD), the nano technology-based image sensor developed by a local research institute, really exists as its commercial use has been long delayed. The probe comes amidst prior charges raised on stock manipulation and false disclosure.
[The Hankyoreh, July 24 2007] Korean martial arts comedy 'Jump' to make bow in Off-Broadway

The Korean martial arts comedy Jump will make its off-Broadway debut this fall with an open-ended run after successful tours in Europe and Asia.
[The Hankyoreh, July 24 2007] E.Land dispute escalates after crackdown on sit-in

KCTU boycott aims for zero sales at E.Land outlets, E.Land management says it was trying to increase efficiency

There is a media war going on, and things are heating up. After the government moved to end sit-in strikes by the unionized workers of E.Land Group, E.Land’s union and management are locked in a very public battle as they try to make their respective cases.