2014년 12월 30일 화요일

Foreign tourists to South Korea surpassed 14 million in 2014.


On Dec 29th, the number of foreign tourists to South Korea surpassed 14 million this year.
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization held a welcome ceremony on 29th at Cheongju International airport where 14 millionth foreign tourists entering the country.

Official at Korea Tourism Organization said "It is a landmark accomplishments for Korea despite of negatives effects on tourism industry such as Sewol ferry accident and weakening Japanese yen in 2014."

For the 11-month period between January and November this year, number of foreign visitor has increased 16.6 percent from the same period last year, the highest growth rate in ten years.

In terms of nationality of the visitors, Chinese was number 1 with 5.71 million. This is up 40.9 percent from last year. By the end of the year, the number of Chinese tourists is estimated to break the 6-million visitors mark. For Chinese tourists, Korea has become the third most favored tourist destination after Hong Kong and Macau.
Following Chinese tourists, Japan (2.11 million) and the United States (720,000) took the No. 2 and 3 spots respectively.

In terms of growth rate, Hong Kong took the No. 2 spot (500,000) with 39.4 percent, followed by Thailand (420,000, 25.2%) and Russia (200,000, 24.0%). As the number of visitors increases, the Korea Tourism Organization estimated, the tourism income is estimated to be $17.6 billion.

Meanwhile, a competitor in East Asian tourism market, Japan is expected to attract more than 13 million foreign tourists for the first time this year due to weaker yen.


2014년 12월 26일 금요일

Jindo Sea-Parting Festival was awarded as “Most Excellent South Korean Festival” for 2 consecutive years,


On 26th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has selected the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival as the “Most Excellent Festival” of 2014 from a list of 42 annual top festivals in Korea.

Jindo Island in Jeollanam-do Province presents one of the most miraculous natural phenomena in the world, called the Korean version of the Moses Miracle. The water between the main land Jindo and a nearby island Modo split and expose a causeway 2.8 klilometers long and 40 meters wide. The path lasts for around an hour allowing people to walk through the sea and meet halfway from the both places. Some people go to Modo before the sea road open by boat so that they can cross the sea in a less crowdedness. Walking through the water requires a pair of long lubber boots, a plastic rain coat in case of raining, and a small container to put your clams, small fish, or sea tangle on the way round.

This amazing event was unknown to the western world until 1975, when a French ambassador to Korea, Mr. Pierre Randi visited Jindo, witnessed the miracle first-hand and introduce it as "the Korean version of the Moses Miracle" in the French paper. Since then it became growing popularity from all over the world and the locals organized a festival to celebrate the miraculous event in 1978.
The number of tourists is growing each year reaching around 530,000 including 82,000 foreign visitors in 2014, according to Jindo county statistics.
In the Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival, one can enjoy display of fireworks, traditional music and a remarkable performance by Korean shamanists.

Next year, Jindo Sea-Parting Festival will be held for 4 days from March 20 to March 23.






2014년 12월 23일 화요일

12 million tourists visited the Jeju island in 2014.


According to Jeju Tourism Association, number of all visitors to the island this year would reach 12 million on 22nd, Monday.
(3.264 million foreign tourists, 8.728 million local tourist until 21st)
This is 13%( 1.4 million people) increase over the same period last year.
Among foreign tourists, Chinese tourists(2.814 million tourists) had especially noticeable growth which saw 57.4% increase over last year.

In 1966 only 100,000 tourists came to the island in one year. By 1983 that had increased to 1 million and by 2005 that number had increased further to 5 million.
Within half a century or so Jeju has seen a remarkable progress in tourism development.

Many factors attributed to Jeju’s global rise in awareness include the UNESCO triple crown (with three UNESCO World Heritage sites, World Network of Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks Network).
Jeju also received a New7Wonders of Nature designation in 2011.

More direct flights and cruises to the island attracted tourists as well.





2014년 12월 18일 목요일

Young ladys between the ages of 16 and 25 are the biggest fan of K-pop in America.


According to a 2014 survey conducted by the Korea Creative Content Agency(Kocca), young woman aged from teenager to 20's were the majority of K-pop fan group in United States.
Kocca has announced survey "K-POP US market consumer research" on 18th.
This internet survey was conducted on Nov 3~13 by the Kocca US Office and 1540 people who visit K-POP community site participated.

In the US, K-pop has a lot of fan base from a wide range of races and regions, and showed a high loyalty.
Age group of respondents was the highest in the 16 to 20 year old(49.4%). Followed by 20-25 years old(27.2%), 26-30 years (7.6%), 31-35 years (4%).
Especially women amounted to 90% of the total respondents. The core consumer groups in the US K-pop market is a young woman in their late teens to mid-20s.

Among racial group of respondents, Asian (such as China, the Philippines and Vietnam) is the most common at 33.8%, Hispanic 21.4%, Caucasian 20.6%, African 7.5% and Korean was only 2.9%.
81.5% of respondents used Youtube, followed by iTunes 8.3%,, Pandora 3.3%, and other media sources such as apps, downloads 4.3% to enjoy their favorite K-pop songs and videos.

American K-pop fans were sensitive to local music trends as well.
Their top 5 favorite K-pop singers in 2014, Bulletproof Boy Scouts, EXO, Vixx, Winner, Got7 are all groups that debuted within 3 years.


2014년 12월 16일 화요일

South Korea's Daedunsan mountain in winter


Daedunsan mountain(878m) has reputation of being a superb place to observe both autumn foliage and winter snow.
Daedunsan is a small provincial park located in Jeollabuk-do. Its main draws are its elaborate rocky peaks which protrude high into the sky from the land below. This sets the scene for some breathtaking trips up staircases bolted onto mountain sides and a hair-raising bridge suspended over two peaks.

Daedunsan is easily one of Korea's most dramatic and memorable mountains to climb. Its collection of craggy peaks are joined together by a network of steep and narrow hiking trails set amongst almost impossible rock obstacles such as ravines, pinnacles and huge outcrops.
A cable car hastens the trip to (near) the top, providing stunning vistas of the picturesque and intimidating summit Macheondae 마천대. Once you've disembarked, a torturous route takes you to the top (follow our DDN01 course for the shortest trip to the top), passing through two of the most famous hiking obstacles in the country – the shaky Geumgang bridge and the intimidating Samseon stairway.
And yet, Daedunsan is relatively obscure in Korea, and largely unknown to foreigners - bar long term residents or hiking enthusiasts. This is a crying shame given the fact that Daedunsan is one of the best mountains to visit in the Korea.

It can be little dangerous in winter time especially when snow is falling due to numerous dangerous rock obstacles, the slippery rocky paths, and the Samseon stairway so most people are paying extra attention to where they are putting their feet and so accidents here are few and far between.
On the staircase you can see an awful long way down through the metal grid steps. There are enormous views either side.




2014년 12월 12일 금요일

Lee Hyori has once again stated her strong stance against fur.


Singer Lee Hyori conveys the reason to wear faux fur instead of real fur through EBS documentary "Our Sole Earth: your winter coats, alpaca and Raccoon" which will be aired on 12th.
EBS said on 11th "with interview with celebrity like Lee Hyori who declared not to wear fur since several years ago, we want to think the uncomfrotable truth about fur through this program again."

Lee Hyori has spoken out against the torture and murder of animals in the name of fashion several times before.
Also Lee Hyori is well-known for having a soft spot for animals, and has also campaigned for helping abandoned animals


2014년 12월 8일 월요일

Koreans drink 1.3 cups of coffee daily on average.


Korea is one of the biggest coffee-drinking nation in the world according to recent survey.

The staple food of the Koreans is changing from "rice" to "coffee".
Last year, food that Korean adults eat most frequently per week was coffee.

Koreans consume more coffee than rice, according to a '2013 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey' conducted by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


The average Korean drinks coffee 12.3 times a week, or 1.8 times a day. Next is kimchi (11.8 times), followed by multigrain rice (9.5 times) and white rice (seven times).


In 2012, Koreans drank coffee 12.1 times a week, but kimchi and white rice consumption have declined since.
It's change that appeared in 120 years ever since coffee was first introduced in Korea in 1895.


A KCDC spokesman said, "Although it is difficult to evaluate coffee consumption in terms of nutritional benefits, it is unhealthy to drink coffee with too much sugar and cream."

2014년 12월 2일 화요일

U.K singer Connie Talbot delivered message of consolation for the families of sewol ferry victims


U.K singer Connie Talbot visited Korea again and delivered message of consolation and hope for the families of sewol ferry victims on Dec 1st.

Connie talbot recently came to Korea and said in an interview with the YTN "I am at a loss for words but i hope they do not lose hope and courage and something good will happen in future."

On April 23, Talbot held her first successful concert in Korea and donated all of profits from the concerts towards the ferry accident.

Connie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the first series of Britain's Got Talent.

2014년 12월 1일 월요일

Korea's Top 5 movies in admissions 2014


The Christopher Nolan film, "Interstellar" is about to hit 10 million admissions mark in South Korea.

The film "Interstellar" has garnered more than 8.3 million admissions as of Monday, according to the Korean Film Council's KOBIS database.
It remains at top of Korean box office chart ever since its release on Nov 6th.

This film is likely to hit the 10 million admissions mark in Korea by mid-December.
In financial terms, Interstellar has so far earned more than $58.59 million. This ranks the film fifth this year in Korea in terms of admissions.

Korea's Top 5 movies in admissions 2014 is "Roaring Currents" (17,61 million), "Frozen" (10,29 million),"The pirates'(8.66 million), "Miss Granny" (8.65 million), followed by "Interstellar" ranked in 5th.

2014년 11월 28일 금요일

South Korea's Best places to bike in late fall

The Korea Tourism Organization presented a list of the best places to bike in Korea for a late fall retreat.

The 42.2km bike ride in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, is famous for its scenic ride along the “Sanso-gil,” a riverside road that passes the small Bungeo Island to Mireuk rock and other famous local places.
Bicycles can be rented at the entrance of Bungeo Island from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm for ₩ 10,000($10) and you can return it by 5:00 pm. They give you vouchers(₩ 10,000) when you rent bicycle so that you can try speciality foods of Gangwon Province such as buckwheat crackers, chaesojeon and Makguksu for free.



Seonyudo island is about an hour and a half from Gunsan in South Jeolla province. This area is picturesque and Seonyudo is the best of the best. With many beaches, forests and cliffs to explore, there is something for everyone.
Visitors to the island can also see Munyeodo, Jangjado and Daejangdo nearby in one trip as there are bridges linking the four islands.
There are three bicycle courses in Seonyodo island.
Course A is the most popular course which goes all the way to Daejangdo, which you can take a good view of Seonyudo at a glance.
Cars are not allowed on bike paths, enabling cyclists to fully enjoy the unique landscapes.



Bukdo-myeon in Ongjin-gun, Incheon, allows bike rides between islands. The course that goes around three islands takes about three to four hours, offering extensive views of mudflats on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.


Upo Wetland in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, ranks as the largest natural marsh in Korea. The wetland, which spans some 2.3 sq.km, has a high ecological value and bears traces of ancient times, with fossils dating back a staggering 140 million years discovered there. At this time of the year, visitors can enjoy the sight of migratory birds, oceans of reeds and stunning scenery.
Visitors can choose to see the sights by walking or cycling along various trails, but the latter is recommended in winter as the sun sets earlier. Riding too quickly can startle the birds, so be careful and go slowly even on a downhill road.

It is important to pick up a map of the area from one of the information offices before setting off in order to have a clear picture of all the tour routes. Regular and tandem bikes can be rented for W3,000 (US$1=W1,061) and W4,000, respectively, for two hours of use.
For more information, visit the website at http://www.upo.or.kr/main.



To find out more about these places on the list, go to visitkorea.or.kr.


According to recent survey, fewer Korean believe that marriage is necessary

Korean appear to have less traditional views on marriage nowadays, with fewer young people believing that marriage is necessary.

According to Statistics Korea's social consciousness survey conducted on 37,000 Korean over the age of 13, only 57 percent said marriage is a must-do thing in life.
It fell more than 10% than in 2008, this is the first time that declined to the 50% range.

The increasingly flexible view on marriage comes at a time when the number of newlywed couples is on the decline. In addition, more people are delaying marriage due to a combination of factors involving financial stress and the emotional burden.

Statistics Korea survey also revealed korean’s perceptions about support for old parents.
The percentage of the Korean who think family should take care parent's last days ceased to 32%.
Also, the percentage of the sons and daughters who is living with their old parent fell to 31% this year from 38% in 2008.


2014년 11월 24일 월요일

Korean drama hook over 18 million viewers in US

Recent online survey conducted by US office of Korea Creative Content Agency revealed that Korea drama has a lot of fan base from a very wide range of ages and races in the United States.

According to survey conducted through the web for 2 weeks from Oct, 16th, 2304 people answered that they watched the Korea Drama (English subtitles) at least once.

Age group of respondents was the highest in the 16 to 20-year-old 35.9% (827 people). Followed by 21~ 25 years old 22.6% (521 people), more than 46-year-old is 10.3% (238 people), 26 ~ 30 years old was 9.9% (227 people).

Among racial group of respondents, Asian (such as China, the Philippines and Vietnam) is the most common in 29% (669 people), Hispanic 18.9% (435 people), African-9.0% (209 people). Korean was only 4.4% (99 people) among the respondents.

55.7% (1283 people)of respondents used DramaFever, which claims to be the largest importer of prime-time Korean drama, followed by Viki 25.7% (591 people), Hulu 4.2% (97 people), Netflix 1.7% (38 people).

Favorite Korean drama 'Top 5' among respondents was 'Boys Over Flowers" (KBS2), "You who came from the stars (SBS)", "Secret Garden (SBS)", "Coffee Prince" (MBC), "Master's Sun"(SBS).

US office of Korean Creative Content Agency analyzed that over 18 million American viewers are watching Korean drama considering the percentage of American users on Internet streaming sites.

2014년 11월 20일 목요일

Chinese media reported "Kim Soo Hyun succeeded at losing weight."


While the actor Kim Soo Hyun has made his lastest appearance at certain health advertising brand promotion event held in Shanghai, China on 19th, the Chinese media stated that he had succeeded with his diet.

Chinese media, guojizaixian reported "Kim Soo-hyun took photos with fans on the stage wearing a gray suit in the event and he has again regained his sleek look of the original and seemed like he was successful on a diet."

Prior to this, multiple Chinese media captured the look of Kim Soo-hyun's swollen face in previous event and issued a malicious reports, such as "many of his Chinese ad has been canceled due to gain weight.", "diet is an urgent need".



2014년 11월 6일 목요일

81% of foreign tourists and visitor think "Traveling in Korea is Safe"


In a survey of 1218 Korean and 704 foreign tourists carried out from July to October 2014 by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, 81.4 percent of foreign tourists considered Korea as safe country to travel, while 61% of Koreans responded that traveling in Korea is safe.

Foreign tourists were most concerned about the security of accommodation, pickpocket, theft, etc before coming to Korea, however, after the visit these concerns were reduced significantly.
In contrast, various concerns about traffic accidents such as car, bus, motorcycle, ships, subways, etc, showed a similar rate both before and after the visit.

On the other hand, 61% of Koreans answered that domestic travel is safe, while only 25% of Korean considered traveling abroad is safe.
Among big disaster and accidents that happened recently, 'Ebola virus', 'Japan radiation leaking', 'Malaysian aircraft shot down' had a negative impact on the destination selection for Korean.





2014년 11월 5일 수요일

Korea is the 25th in the Best Countries to Live In 2014 report


South Korea is the 25th most prosperous country out of 142 countries around the world, according to a prosperity index report released by the British-based Legatum Institute on Nov 4th.

Korea ranked the fifth in Asia laged behind Singapore (18th), Japan (19th), Hong Kong (20th place), and Taiwan (22).

This report by Legatum Institute is measured in terms of economy, personal freedom and opportunity, education, health, safety and security, and social capital.

South Korea occupies the upper ranks in six categories, but ranked 59th and 69th in personal freedom and social capital categories respectively.

On the other hand, 72.2% of Korean answered "Yes" to the question "Are you satisfied with the standard of living"

Norway topped the list for the sixth-consecutive year.

2014년 11월 3일 월요일

James von Klemperer, "Lotte World Tower will become new symbol of Seoul"

"Lotte World Tower is the sixth highest in the world and it would be a symbol to show off the competitiveness of Korean economy and technological strength to the rest of world."

KPF design principal james von klemperer described Lotte World Tower as vertical city in a Korean newspaper interview on Oct 30th.
"The building is more than 500m which is rare even worldwide. Lotte World Tower is not just office tower nor building with only office and hotels. It is the vertical city with increasingly diverse elements."

Lotte World Tower is made ​​up of eight parts, such as hotel, office, cultural, commercial and entertainment area and it is virtually multi complex city performing various functions.

Sinkholes in the vicinity of the site had caused concern to developers and residents of the city alike, but it appears that construction will press ahead as the tower climbs towards its total height of 555 meters. work on the ‘lotte world tower’ is currently at the 78th floor, with a further 46 stroreys to be completed before the tower’s scheduled 2016 opening. once finalized, the project will stand as one of the world’s tallest buildings, rising 10 meters above new york’s world trade center.




2014년 10월 31일 금요일

Type of Business in Korea, Up & Down

In South Korea, fast food restaurants, convenience stores, mobile phone retailer stores have increased and stationery, PC room, bookstore have turned out to be reduced for the past five years.

On 27th, the IRS has updated information about self-employed people's present situation of change in 30 businesses which is close to Korean's daily life for the past five years.

Last year, fast food restaurants increased 64% and convenience store increased 56% compared to 2009, during the same period of time, stationery decreased 21%, PC cafe(room) has been reduced by 19%.

30 business operators's age group had a higher proportion of 40s to 50s.
40s was 32% and 50s was 31%.


2014년 10월 29일 수요일

Korea's favorite MC' Yoo Jae Suk's watch is gathering the attention of netizens.


Korea's favorite MC' Yoo Jae Suk's watch is gathering the attention of netizens.

After MBC 'Infinite Challenge' Special 400th episodes 'Begin Again' aired on 25th, the watch that Yoo Jae Suk wore while traveling with Jung Hyung Don in this episode was sold out at offline and online shop in Korea.

The watch worn by Yoo Jae Suk in this episode was so-called "coffee bean watch" from Moment Watch, Australian brand which donate 30% of their proceeds to support projects related to orphans and poverty, such as Philippines typhoon disaster victims and Mongolian orphanage.

This brand showcase newly designed watch every week releasing 52 different watchs per year.
Price of Yoo Jae Suk's "coffee bean watch" is about $40 (about 40,000 won).





 




2014년 10월 26일 일요일

Korean, Chinese, Japanese: physique and strength comparison 2013

According to recent data, Korean adults have better physique than Japanese and Chinese but inferior in physical strength.

Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released the data "2013 National Physical Fitness Survey" on 24th.
The survey has been conducted every two years since 1989.

When looking at these data that surveyed 4,000 people(adult men and women)nationwide from August to October in 2013, the average height of Korean men in the early 20s(19-24 years) is 175.5㎝ (Japan 171.7㎝, China 171.1 cm), late 20s(25-29 years) is 175.8㎝ (Japan 171.9㎝,China 170.7㎝)
With the exception of the early 50s age group, Korean men were taller than Chinese and Japanese men.
Korean Women's height were taller than Chinese and Japanese women in all ages.

The average weight of Korean male in early 20s is 72.2㎏(Japan,China 65.6㎏) and late 20s is 75.6㎏ (Japan 66.8㎏, China 68.7㎏)
In the case of women, Korean women were heavier than Chinese and Japanese counterparts from the early 20s till early 30s.
Chinese women were heaviest among 3 countries since late 30s.

Even though Korean saw improvements in their physique in recent years, their quality of strength, stamina has decreased as well.

In a survey of test to measure the grip strength of the hand, Korean men and women in all ages fell behind the Chinese and Japanese counterparts.
In a 20m round trip long running test, Korean male in early 20's marked average 53.3 times while Japanese male in early 20's recorded 72.7 times.
Korean women in early 20s has record of 30.7 times while Japanese counterpart has record of 38.9 times in this test as well.



2014년 10월 22일 수요일

Jessica Alba at '2015 S / S Seoul Fashion Week'

Actress Jessica Alba attended at '2015 S / S Seoul Fashion Week'in METROCITY collection show held at the Jung-gu, Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza on 21st.

The Seoul Fashion Week celebrates its 14th anniversary this year, and it will hold shows for 6 days from October 17th to 22nd.
The event is jointly organized and sponsored by Seoul city, Seoul Design Foundation and Korea Fashion Designers Association.

Many K-pop Idols and actresses grace the red carpet and fashion runway for the various events held during the 2015 S/S Seoul Fashion Week. The celebrities get to either watch the models catwalk in designer brands or get the chance themselves to walk down the runway.



2014년 10월 17일 금요일

Red Cliffs at Hwasun city finally revealed its stunning scenery after 30 Years


Hwasun Red Cliffs (화순적벽), designated as monument No.60 of Jeollanam-do, has been shaped by natural forces and is part of the Changrangcheon stream of Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do.

It includes smaller and larger cliffs along a 7km stretch of the Changrangcheon stream at the beginning of the Dongbokcheon stream. The most prominent of these are the Norumok Cliff upstream of the Dongbok Reservoir, Mulyeom, Bosan and Changrang Cliff.
To enter the Norumok and Bosan cliffs,s special permission was required from the authorities and it was off limit to the public for 30years, as the area was protected by the Gwangju City Local Government in an effort to preserve the quality of the water since 1984.

Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do and Gwangju City has decided to open these sites to public for coexistence development and to attract more tourists.
They will have limited public grand opening at Red Cliff festival on Oct,23th.

2014년 10월 16일 목요일

Sevit island, an artificial island in the Han River was opened to public on 15th.


Sevit Dungdungseom (Floating Island) next to Banpo Bridge at Han river has changed its name to Some Sevit and had grand opening in Seoul, South Korea on 15th.

The 20,382-square-meter landmark was built in September 2011 as part of former Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s Hangang Renaissance Project.

Located near the southern end of Banpo Bridge, the 139 billion won ($128 million) artificial island consists of three sections for conventions, art exhibitions and recreational activities.

Its opening was suspended as the city failed to find an operator and construction of its bridge was delayed.

Seoul Metropolitan Government and the largest investor, Hyosung, recently reached an agreement to revise the contract rules.

The english name of sevit island is also very distinctive.
It is written as "Some Sevit" in english and its notation differs from the correct english 'Sevit Island'.
Word 'some' of  Some Sevit come from word "Awesome" which has meaning of excellent.
'Some' also means island in Korean.

English name of Sevit island was also determined in consideration of the foreign tourists.
English name "Some Sevit" is similar to the pronunciation of Sevit island in Korean which is "Sevit Some" so foreign tourists can feel more familiar.


2014년 10월 15일 수요일

Kim Tae Hee's recent fall photoshoot


Recently Kim Tae Hee showed off her flawless radiant beauty at fall photo shoot wearing outfits by famous thai designer 'Marihon'

She looked great with retro style dresses and revealed superior visual wearing golden floral tube top dress.
Her make-up is minimal to go with fancy and gorgeous dress. Choose a natural nude makeup only to emphasizes visage while looking elegant and graceful.

Designer Marihon praised highly on Kim tae hee's photos saying "angel from Korea" on her SNS as well.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-hee has landed the lead female role in a 40-episode Chinese drama "Wang Xizhi," and currently filming in China.
In the drama "Wang Xizhi," she will play the supportive wife and assistant of the great calligrapher.

Release date of "diving bell",controversial film on the Sewol ferry disaster, was confirmed


A South Korean film about the Sewol ferry disaster which caused stir at the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has been set for 23rd October release in Korea.

The film drew a record number of people at its world premiere at BIFF on October 6, even though reportedly due to its sensitive nature the film festival organizers came under pressure to withdraw the film.

The film questions rescue operations during the Sewol ferry tragedy – arguably the most tragic event that ever happened and traumatized the entire Korea – on April 16 that claimed more than 300 lives, most of whom were high school students on school trip. This documentary was made to reveal the truth that many cameras ignored during the rescue operations and to remind people of the disaster that should not be forgotten.

Director Lee Sang-ho of “Diving Bell” said, “I want this film to become a tool to bind all of us Koreans together like the very moment when the disaster occurred.”

Cinema Dal, Diving Bell's distributor also released main trailer for film on 14th.


2014년 10월 13일 월요일

Smartphone Replacement Rate in South Korea Tops Among OECD Countries

According to the data released by Strategy Analytics (SA), Korea is still number one in smartphone replacement rate and replacement cycle in the world.
In particular, it is estimated that average replacement cycle of smartphones in Korea is 15.6 months, meaning Koreans are virtually replacing their phones every time the latest models from Samsung and Apple such as the Galaxy and new iPhone is released.

United States was third place at replacement rate 65.8%, replacement cycle 19.2 months followed by England in fourth with 60.2%.

Korean smartphone users changed their phones more frequently than in any other country last year. The figure indicates more than two-thirds of users bought new phones. The report covered a total of 88 countries.

In Korea, most consumers sign a two-year contract with mobile carriers who subsidize their smartphones. Given that consumers tend to change their phones after the contract ends, the replacement rate could be expected to be about 50 percent. The higher rate of replacement means a large number of Korean consumers switch to a new phone even before their contract expires.

Some experts pointed out that, "Korean's frequent smartphones replacement rate is due to Korea mobile carriers and manufacturers benefited in a way that induces an expensive plan by concentrate government subsidies to the latest smartphone"
"This causes over-consumption of smartphones which brings waste of resources and increased household communication expense."


2014년 10월 11일 토요일

Reason for Success of Korean Coffee Franchise in China

Coffee culture of Korea struck China with Hallyu boom.
Korean franchise coffee shops are giving Starbucks, number one coffee franchise in China, a run for its money with feminine interior, customized menus and services and fine-tuned marketing and sales strategies.
Korean coffee chain stores has emerged as a new force in the Chinese market while have captured the hearts of consumers in China.

In a report, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Monday that more than 1,000 Korean franchise coffee shops will be operating across China by the end of the year.

"They still fall behind Starbucks from the United States and UBC from Taiwan, but Korean coffee stores will be able to narrow the gap quickly with growing brand power and management experience and knowhow," the report said.

Their strongest selling point is the range of available sugar and caffeine boosters. While U.S. and European franchises boast at most 40 items on the menu, Korean franchises offer an average of 76, from ice cream to waffles.

Feminine interior of many Korean coffee shops is what differentiated from Starbucks stores in China as well.
When Starbucks entered the Chinese market in 1999, most of their customers were businessmen so Starbucks has strong business atmosphere interior. On the other hand,"Korean coffee chain stores have captured the woman custmer's heart with feminine interior and relaxed atmosphere," experts said.

Korean coffee chain store's unique management system is their reason for success too.
There are 700 stores as of September. Most of them are running on a master franchise contract, in which the the owner of the brand name hands over control of franchising activities in a specified territory to a person or entity, called master franchisee.

Korean coffee chains avoided downtown areas of big cities opening 69% of their shops at suburb, where competition is less fierce, and opened 87% of their shops at downtown areas in smaller towns where rent is cheaper.

Also with plenty of Korean Wave or Hallyu star employed to promote their brands to Chinese consumers as a PPL (indirect advertising in K-drama) has received well as good marketing plan in China.

However, some experts pointed out that some of Korean coffee shops in China are depending on Hallyu wave too much while ignoring the quality of the coffee.

2014년 10월 8일 수요일

"GANGNAM 1970" starring Lee Min-Ho & Kim Rae-Won coming out next month


Gangnam 1970 is a noir action film written and directed by Yoo Ha, who is well known for his 2 other hit action films "Once Upon a Time in High School(2004)" and "A Dirty Carnival(2006)".

This movie stars Lee Minho and Kim Raewon.
It is an action noir film about the turmoils surrounding the Gangnam district's real estate craze in the 1970s.
Lee Min Ho plays Kim Jong Dae, who gets caught up in the power struggles and ends up in a battle against his childhood friend Yong Ki, played by veteran actor Kim Rae Won.
Gangnam 1970 has officially completed shooting in September.
Movie is set to come out in Korea on November 2014 and is currently in post-production.


2014년 10월 4일 토요일

Public places with hanok style(traditional Korean housing) in Seoul

With more Korean seeking hanok, or traditional Korean housing, the public buildings that anyone can go which were made of Hanok style has increased recently in Seoul.

Going public
At Tongin Market in central Seoul near Gyeongbokgung Palace, a Korean traditional gazebo-inspired structure has been erected. A wooden pillar holds up traditional-style wooden rafters, and the glass roof implied a modern touch. It received the Korean Public Design Award in 2012.


The main gate of Tongin Market in central Seoul,
inspired by the Korean traditional gazebo (Courtesy of doojin hwang architects)

“The main entrance of the market that has decades of history was hardly seen from the boulevard. In order for it to be noticed by the passersby and the neighborhood, I pulled out one shaft to the middle of the street,” said Hwang Doo-jin, the architect of the gate.

“It was also a marriage of Korean and Western architecture, which is very tricky,” said the architect, who is famous for a series of hanok and hanok-inspired buildings.





Dodam Dodam Hanok Children’s Library is the 14th Lovely Library branch (pictured above). It occupies a hanok, or traditional Korean home, in Sungin-dong on the eastern side of Jongno. Dodam dodam is a Korean phrase for “children growing up without much trouble.”

Matching its hanok setting, 20 percent of the library’s 2,889 children’s books are related to Korean traditional culture. In addition, the library runs educational programs for children that teach them Chinese characters and calligraphy.



The Gahoe-dong Catholic Church near the Bukchon Hanok Village, is known as the place where the country's first mass was held by Father James Zhou Wen-mo in 1795.
This catholic church has adopted hanok style and has nice Korean style garden as well.
On the first floor of the church, an exhibition hall showing the history of the Roman Catholic of Korea is installed.