Samsung UHD TV Keep Leading North American Market with 59.7% Market Share

Samsung Electronics exceeded 50% UHD TV market share last year and recorded highest ever market share in North America.
On 5th, according to a market research group NPD Display Search, Samsung Electronics’ market share reached 59.7% this year, took over half of the UHD TV market in North America.

Samsung posted market share of 51.0% in last January and maintained its top spot for 10 consecutive months.
Last year the total flat-panel TV market share also increased by 4.0% to 36.4% over the previous year.

Samsung is planning to strengthen its market leadership in the region with 'SUHD TV' this year.
Samsung held the North America Dealer Summit event from 2nd to 5th, March(local time) in Orlando Hilton Hotel and introduced new products, including the 2015 line ups of SUHD TV. The event was attended by 500 people, including more than 230 major US dealers.

Hot Korean actors to watch out for in 2015

Hottest new Korean actors such as Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Woo-bin, Song Joong-gi, Lee Jong-seok are all taking some time off from acting now.
However, there is heightened anticipation for new dramas and movies after the recent reveal that these actors are candidate for the lead role.

Kim Soo Hyun is currently considering his next drama project, lead role in the upcoming KBS drama "The Producer." and lead role in a supernatural MBC drama titled "Night Strolling Scholar."
It has been sometime since his mega hit drama “My Love From The Stars,” ended so fans have been anticipating his next project.
However, Kim Soo-hyun agency Keyeast Entertainment hasn't confirmed whether Kim would take the role or not.

Kim Woo Bin has officially been offered the leading roles in the upcoming Hong Sisters drama, tentatively titled Jeju Gatsby.
If Kim Woo Bin accepts, it would be his first full-length drama since Heirs in 2013. Since that time, he has acted in three movies (Friend 2, The Technicians, and the upcoming Twenty), and he had a cameo in the fun web series Love Cells.
The Hong Sisters, known for writing quirky romantic favorites like The Master's Sun, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, You're Beautiful, and Greatest Love, have only stated so far that the upcoming series will be a romance set on Jeju Island.

Lee jong seok's past dramas including “Pinocchio.” “School 2013,” “I Can Hear Your Voice,” and “Doctor Stranger” have yielded positive ratings making him a desirable star in the Asian market.
According to Sports World, a source within his agency thinks that Lee may be interested in Chinese dramas.
In the Sports World report, the source stated, “Lee Jong Suk has recently received many offers of work in Korea and China.”
The source went on to explain that interest in the actor has greatly increased in China, where he is currently receiving offers for movies, dramas, endorsements, and fan meetings.

Song Joong ki (Nice Guy, Wolf Boy) will be out of the army on may 26th, 2015 and is already looking at projects to return to drama scene.
He’s reportedly been offered the leading role in Kim Eun-sook’s newest drama 'Descended From the Sun', her first non-SBS show, to be directed by PD Lee Eung-bok of Secret and co-written by Kim Won-seok (Queen’s Classroom).

Among even the hottest new stars, fans are most curious about Won Bin's next project.
He has yet to announce his comeback project. His last work was the 2010 blockbuster hit film “The Man from Nowhere.”

Seoul in world’s top 10 most expensive cities to live

Seoul and Hong Kong ranked 9th in the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the world list.
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in a new survey, 2015 marks the debut of South Korea's capital on the list as its cost of living now matches that of Hong Kong.

In particular, the price of clothes and groceries in Seoul turned out to be the highest in the world.
CNBC reported that Seoul hold the highest price tags for everyday food items. For example, 1 kilogram of dried pasta costs $4 on the website of popular Korean supermarket Homeplus, double the price on American retailer Walmart.
The report found that a 750㎖ of wine in Seoul cost an average of US$27.66, compared to US$2.70 in Singapore, while a one-kilo loaf of bread in Seoul cost an average of US$13.91, compared to US$3.54 in Singapore.

Reporter also said "The clothing price of Seoul is 50% more expensive than New York, This is the most expensive place in the world for cloth along with Singapore."

Singapore retained its title as the world's most expensive city for the second consecutive year while weaker yen pushed Tokyo to 11th spot, which was traditionally one of the top 10 most expensive cities.

Top Five Tablet Vendors Worldwide in 2014

According to figures published by International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide tablet shipments recorded a year-over-year decline for the first time since the market's inception in 2010.
Although the fourth quarter witnessed a decline in the global market, shipments for the full year 2014 increased 4.4%, totaling 229.6 million units.

"The tablet market is still very top heavy in the sense that it relies mostly on Apple and Samsung to carry the market forward each year," said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst, Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. "Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249, it still wasn't enough to spur iPad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iPhones. Meanwhile, Samsung's struggles continued as low-cost vendors are quickly proving that mid- to high-priced Android tablets simply aren't cut out for today's tablet market."

"Despite an apparent slow-down of the market, we maintain our forecast about tablet growth in 2015," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, Research Director, Tablets. "Microsoft's new OS, a general shift towards larger screen form factor and productivity focused solutions, and technology innovations such as gesture interface that could be introduced in tablets will help the market maintain positive growth in 2015."


Apple's efforts to maintain iPad momentum have fallen flat so far as the latest generation of the iPad Air and mini offer very minimalistic upgrades over their previous versions. Cannibalization at the bottom from the iPhone and at the top from the Mac appear to be a serious issue for the iPad.

Samsung was able to achieve its goal of 40 million tablets in 2014, up 1.1% from 2013. Samsung's Tab 4 series has been well received and its recent announcement to focus on mid-high tier tablets should help the bottom line though market share will likely continue to struggle.

Lenovo (4.8%), ASUS (4%), and Amazon (2.3%) rounded out the top 5 although only Lenovo managed to grow annually when compared to Q4 2013. Lenovo maintained its tight grip on the Asia/Pacific market thanks to its massive scale in the PC business and the success of its low-cost tablet offerings

Once-famous foreign family restaurant chains are rapidly disappearing in Korea.

American family restaurant chain Outback Steakhouse has closed 34 stores over the past three months, reportedly due to quality control plans.

"We came up with plans to focus on store quality and developing menus rather than business expansion," a company spokesman said.

But industry experts blamed the closures on the prolonged recession, the increasing number of single households and changing dining habits.

As the Korean consumers are swayed by health and wellbeing trend nowadays, Korean salad bar buffet with seasonal vegetables and green foods are replacing high-calorie foods rich in family restaurant chains.

Outback Steak House, established in 1987, entered the Korean market in 1997.

Other major family restaurant chains such as T.G.I. Friday's and Bennigan's have closed down more than 50% of their stores in 2013.
Its competitors Marche and Sizzler, the first generation of family restaurants in Korea, recently went out of business as well.