Unpiloted urban maglev train at Incheon International Airport will be opened to the public on Feb 3.

Unpiloted urban maglev train which links Incheon International Airport to its surroundings will be opened to the public on Feb 3.
Anyone can use this public transport free of charge.

Government funded development of maglev technology started in the late 80s and the Incheon line is the first trial line in the Center for Urban Maglev Program which was established in 2006.

After 25 years of developing its own urban “maglev” train consisting of homemade components, the country is set to introduce the world’s second maglev in Feb.
Japan launched the world’s first urban maglev in Nagoya in 2005.

The urban maglev train, with a maximum speed of 111 kilometers per hour, runs the 6·1 km route with six stations linking Incheon International Airport with Yongyu.
This first domestically-developed urban maglev line will run every 15 min from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm everyday.

Incheon International Airport Corporation will operate the urban maglev railway line for free of charge as a pilot route for now.
However, Incheon International Airport Corporation can start charging according to future demand in consultation with the Ministry of Transportation and Incheon City.

Top Five Tablet Vendors Worldwide in 2015

Demand for electronics devices is weakening due to global recession, tablets, meanwhile, saw the most severe decline in shipments in 2015.
According to TrendForce. The global market research firm’s latest tablet shipment report shows a total of 168.5 million units of tablets were shipped last year representing a 12.2% drop from 2014.

“The saturation of the tablet market, the long life cycles of tablets themselves and the abundance of substitute devices were major factors that contributed to the large shipment decline,” said Anita Wang, notebook analyst for TrendForce. “Tablets were challenged by many large and small devices during 2015, from smartphones sized 5 inches and above to 2-in-1 PCs. Their demand diminished as a result.”

Apple retained its title of top tablet brand worldwide in 2015, but iPad shipments fell by as much as 22% year on year, from 63.4 million units in 2014 to 49.6 million in 2015. The decline in Apple’s annual tablet shipments exceeded the market average, and the brand likewise saw its worldwide market share shrank from 33% in 2014 to 29.4% in 2015. Wang noted that Apple’s lead in tablet shipments meant that the brand got hit the hardest by the impacts of the slowing global economy and the weak tablet demand. The increasing competition from rival brands also made it very difficult for Apple to hold on to its market share.

Samsung was again the No. 2 tablet brand worldwide in 2015. While the South Korean company saw its tablet shipments fell 18% annually to 33.5 million units, its market share fell by just 1.5% over the year to 19.9%. Product strategy played a large part in Samsung’s ability to keep its portion of the tablet market. Major changes were made to the product lines, including adjustments in specs and sizes. Furthermore, Samsung used its advantage in manufacturing small-size OLED panels and released several new tablets featuring this display technology.

No. 3 tablet vendor worldwide in 2015 is Lenovo followed by Amazon and Asus.

Hallyu Go Global, G-Dragon and Rap Monster's Khip-hop

The growing popularity of Korean Wave, which had initially started in Asian countries, has been now spreading to other regions of the world in recent years.
 According to global hallyu report 2015 published by the Korea Foundation (KF) on 26th,  the number of enthusiastic fans for Korean culture and food last year increased 63 percent to be 35.59 million over the previous year's number of 21.82 million.
Also, the number of hallyu fan clubs rose to 1,493 last year in 86 countries, a 21 percent up from the previous year's 1,229.

Among idol singers, especially 'Big Bang' including the G-Dragon, enjoyed massive international popularity in 2015.
BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys emerged as the hottest new K-pop group last year as well.
In particular, G-Dragon and BTS's Kim Nam-joon, better known as Rap Monster has led the spread of Korean style of hiphop, called "K-hiphop last year.


Big Bang has received wide attention in the United States, Japan and Europe.
G-Dragon sets another record and became the first Korean solo singer to hold concerts at four of Japan’s Domes for three consecutive years attracting over one million Japanese fans.
KF report also stated that Dr. Ute Fendler of University of Bayreuth evaluated "G-Dragon doesn't make his video just to look cool. You also need to look at his creativity, or the depth of his understanding in humanities. European music videos cannot compete with his," at the Third World conference for Hallyu in Dubai last November.


Bangtan Boys (BTS) has broken into Billboard's Top 20 Best K-pop Songs and the 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2015 and they have topped Japan’s Oricon Single chart for the first time since debut with their fourth single, “For You,” as well.

As the K-hiphop was so popular recently, tickets for Korean rappers such as G-Dragon, Rap Monster and Block B's Zico were even sold out in many performances in Europe, the report said.

Among the girl groups, 2NE1 gathered the most attention last year.
US Fuse TV has included 2NE1 and BIGBANG on a list titled, ‘AMAZING PERFORMANCES OF 2015’
Among the artists recognized on the list are Katy Perry, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna and so on.

"Running Man" star Lee Kwang Soo tops the list of new millionaire stars

On January 25th, tvN show "List of Names 2016" published list of this year’s rising “millionaire” stars.
"Running Man" star Lee Kwang Soo has overtaken actor Kim Soo Hyun as the Korea’s new richest star on the list.

According to the list, Lee Kwang Soo kickstarted his career after becoming a regular on hit entertainment program, Running Man, earning great popularity in China.
Lee is loved throughout Asia, including China, Hong Kong and has made on the list of china's top ten most beloved stars as well.
Lee is earning millions of dollars from his varity programs and CF in China.

Meanwhile, following Lee Kwang Soo on the list is actor Kim Soo Hyun on second and Girls’ Day’s Hyeri in third place.

List of millionaire star - 2016 (TvN)

1. Lee Kwang soo

2. Kim Soo Hyun

3. Girls Day Hyeri

4. JYJ Junsu

5. Jessica

6. Rapper Toki

7.SISTAR Soyou

8. SNSD Taeyeon

The 10 Best Rest Stops food in Korea

On Jan. 13th, Korea Expressway Corp. has selected Top 10 best representing foods of highway rest areas, reflecting the opinions of cutomers and food experts.

Dolsot Bibimbap at Geoncheon rest stop in Gyeongju City was overall winner in this award.

Pork Kimchi Stew (hwanggan rest stop, Seoul) was the best rest stop dish chosen by rest stop users and beef soup (mannam rest stop, Seoul)was picked as most delicious rest stop dish by food experts.