Flood Damage

[Anchor Lead]
Heavy rain has caused a retaining wall around a Seoul apartment building to tilt, forcing an evacuation of residents. An elderly man has been rescued from a stream, while stores in an apartment complex have been flooded amid the downpour. Here's a look at the fresh toll the rains have inflicted.

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The retaining wall behind an apartment is covered with thick waterproof cloth. The entrance on the first floor is closed. Sixty residents were evacuated in an emergency move Sunday because the wall behind an apartment near Mount Gwanak in Seoul tilted. The district office took safety measures for two days. But residents of the apartment building's first, second and third floors were evacuated for safety

[Soundbite]
(Police Official): It's still dangerous; you can't go inside the building. (To the third floor?) Yes.

Rescue workers saved a man from a stream with rope. The 72-year-old man was stranded due to rising water level while taking a walk near the Ui Stream. Firefighters rescued him in 20 minutes.

[Soundbite]
God, it's raining again.

A road is covered with brown muddy water. Residents urged authorities to devise effective measures to prevent floods, saying torrential rains always result in flooding every year.

2. Recovery Effort

[Anchor Lead]
Amid delayed recovery support, many flood victims are being injured trying to clean up on their own. But the helping hands of volunteer workers are trying to bring them solace.

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This is a temporary clinic tent set up on a road that has been drained. Flood victims continue to visit the tent for treatment despite the continuous rain. Most people are suffering from skin diseases. Symptoms also include cuts and itchiness. Around 200 to 300 flood victims get treatment at such makeshift clinics where doctors are volunteering.

[Soundbite]
Kim Yeong-chan (Director, Uijeongbu Hospital): Some people are suffering pains in their heads and stomachs, feeling depressed about why such things happened to them.

Kitchen appliances are finally being washed three days after the rainwater was dried. It took more than six hours for ten female volunteers to finish the dish washing. What's most urgent for this store is having the walls painted. The wall and floor papers are removed and the walls are coated with water-proof paint. It's steaming hot inside because of the heat fan turned on to dry the paint faster.

[Soundbite]
Ji Yeong-hui (Volunteer): Those who saw damage must be heartbroken; we can't complain about the heat for the moment.

Around one hundred volunteers from KBS helped victims in Dongducheon clean up the mud and fix home appliances at the flooded areas.

3. Career Prep

[Anchor Lead]
Universities are helping their graduates get jobs through supplementary programs and measures. Certain colleges have opened English boarding schools or offered free language study abroad to raise English proficiency scores.

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Classes start at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. In the evening, students gather in groups for additional study. This is the daily timetable for a four-week English study program.

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Kwon Su-hyeon (Student, Konkuk University): We get ten assignments a day. We study more at the dorm and go to bed early in the morning.

Thanks to this spartan program, around 1-hundred students that participated last semester raised their scores on the Test of English for International Communication by at least 200 points. The school pays the class and dorm fees of 1,144 U.S. dollars per student. Any student of the university can sign up for the program without special qualification.

[Soundbite]
Kim Jin-uk (Faculty Member, Konkuk University): Among those who finished the program, seniors landed jobs in the financial sectors with conglomerates.

Certain students have received school support to get six weeks of language training in China.

This university provides free classes on tips for job interviews. The advice students receive include how to dress and apply makeup.

[Soundbite]
Gu Yun-mo (Student, Hanyang University): Many lecturers come to help us develop our abilities to express ourselves more efficiently.

The employment rate of graduates of four-year universities in Korea is 52 percent. So more schools are likely to start such programs to help their graduates land jobs.

4. Bear Farms

[Anchor Lead]
More than one-thousand bears are currently raised in Korea for their gallbladders. Only Korea and China allow such farming of bears, whose bile is used in traditional medicine, and the two countries are facing calls for a ban on the practice.

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Two Asiatic black bear cubs are in a cage. Asiatic black bears are designated as one of the first-class endangered animals. The one-year-old twin bears will be killed in several years after giving away their gall bladders. The farm began raising bears in the early 1980s, since the government encouraged bear farming as a new income source for farmers. More than one-thousand bears are currently raised in Korea for gall bladders. In 1981, the government encouraged bear farming, expecting that the animal would be a good export item. The international dealings of endangered animals were fully banned in 1993. So it became impossible for Korea to export bears. In a bid to help bear farmers, the government has allowed bear slaughtering only for collecting bear bile for medicinal purposes.

[Soundbite]
Choe Seung-guk (Green Korea United): Bears are placed in cages and raised in very poor conditions. They’re killed for their bile. It’s really cruel.

Political parties are urging the government to purchase all the farmed bears and protect them. They have submitted a related bill to the National Assembly.

5. Snack Boom

[Anchor Lead]
K-pop is said to be also popularizing Korean cookies and snacks worldwide as well as Korean music. They’re the top Korean items foreign tourists buy as gifts.

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This video posted on YouTube is titled "Shopping Spree by Japanese Tourists." Japanese women fill their carts with cookies and snacks. All three carts are filled with cookie boxes but they move on to another snack aisle.

What Japanese tourists buy most at this large discount store in Seoul is not dried laver or kimchi but cookies and snacks.

[Soundbite]
(Japanese Tourist): I got some as a gift from a friend and had tasted Korean cookies and they were delicious.

Exports of Korean cookies and snacks are increasing as well. This snack is more popular in Russia than in Korea.

[Soundbite]
Lee Heung-bok (Factory Manager, Food Company): As Russia has no coastal areas; the main reason that they’re widely loved is that they’re shaped like crabs.

The snack Chocopie is sold in more than 60 countries. Korean companies have built plants in China, Russia and Vietnam and marketing strategies are customized for each country.

[Soundbite]
Kang Gi-myeong (Confectionery Chinese Branch): In order to penetrate deeply into the Chinese consciousness, we're adopting a "benevolence" marketing strategy.

Korean cookies and snacks have attracted fans worldwide and are emerging as a new engine of the Korean Wave.

6. Mini Satellites

[Anchor Lead]
When you think of satellites, you usually think of something large and complex. But some are small and are built with beverage cans or boxes. Korea will begin full scale development of miniature satellites later this year.

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A rocket soars into the sky in the middle of a U.S. desert. A satellite attached to a parachute descends to the ground level and begins to explore the surroundings.

Researchers from a Korean university developed the satellite with the idea to explore Mars. Students can personally assemble the components and communicate with a ground station.

[Soundbite]
Jo Jae-min (Student, Seoul National University): I can touch the devices and learn about them. It helps me to develop more interest in my major and makes me realize it’s my calling.

Weighing less than 20 kilograms, miniature satellites were first produced in the U.S. more than a decade ago. They look small on the outside but they are equipped with all major devices, including central processing units and solar panels. So far, 47 miniature satellites have been launched around the world, including the U.S. and Japan, to observe the Earth.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Jeong In-seok (Seoul National University): This might be an opportunity to expand the market thanks to low prices despite the low precision.

Korean will give full support to the development of miniature satellites for space observation starting later this year with the first launch slated for 2015.

7. Sugar Balance

[Anchor Lead]
Korea has more than three million diabetics. Most of them focus on keeping their blood sugar level low but this also poses a risk of excessively low levels.

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A 40-something man has fallen unconscious due to low blood sugar shock and is rushed to the emergency room. A woman in her 70s is admitted to the emergency room for the same reason the next day. They are both diabetics.

[Soundbite]
Han Jang-su (Diabetes Patient): I have a headache and sweat a lot. Things all become yellow; I can't see anything.

A university hospital conducted a study on patients who had low blood sugar levels and were treated at its emergency room. The number of patients with low blood sugar levels was 185 in 2009, a rise of 2.8 times over the past five years. One patient with a blood sugar level lower than normal had to go to the emergency room every two days. Blood sugar levels were especially low among patients with unhealthy kidneys due to diabetes complications.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Kim Jin-taek (Eulji Medical Center): For diabetes patients with kidney failure, blood sugar levels frequently drop very low. It's because the effects of insulin or diabetes medicines get stronger than usual.

Diabetics risk dementia if their blood sugar levels repeatedly drop under the normal range. To prevent their blood sugar levels from falling too low, diabetics should immediately eat food containing sugar when the initial symptom of perspiration appears. They must also not skip meals.

8. Thrifty Trips

[Anchor Lead]
These days many people are pondering how to make their vacations memorable and affordable. Here are some ways to have a special and thrifty summer vacation.

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A family is rowing a boat and gliding across the silvery, glittering lake under the sun. Rowing classes are given for free to make the enjoyable experience.

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I thought it was difficult at first but after trying a couple of times, I think I can do it. It's fun.

White igloos float in the blue sea water. A night in the pension on sea makes a special memory.

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I've never been on a boat before because I live in the city. I like the rolling of the boat. I’d be exciting to spend a night there.

While the children lose track of time playing in the water, adults prepare a meal. For less than ten dollars, a family can rent a camping site and camp out in the cool forest.

At this seaside village, tourists can try out catching fish the traditional way. Special and thrifty family vacations are rising in popularity in the nation.

9. Airport Hot Spots

[Anchor Lead]
With the vacation season in full swing, many travelers end up spending time at the airport, whether they want to or not. A long airport wait can be tedious, so today we're going to show you some things you can do at the Incheon International Airport to make the time pass more quickly.

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Incheon International Airport is bustling with vacationers. There’s almost always time to spare before getting on the plane.

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It's annoying and I get impatient. Sometimes I wait for more than 20 minutes.

But at Incheon, there's no need to just sit around because there are plenty of things to do. At one side of the airport, there is a garden.

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(Chinese Tourist): It's amazing to see a garden in an airport. The trees and plants are beautiful.

Children are fans of this place.

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(What do you like most?) That tree over there.

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He says it's awesome.

Right next to the garden, there's a spot where you can watch the airplanes take off and land.

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I'm so excited to see the planes. The sight is so refreshing. The air is fresh and good.

These ladies are headed for the public bath. If you’ve got some time to kill, a soak in the hot tub can get you nice and relaxed for your flight.

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…

If you still have some time left, you can even get a massage.

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Lee Man-sun (Massage Shop Staff Member): You can sleep better on the plane and those who transfer after relieving fatigue here say they really like it.

A foot massage can loosen up your feet for the walking tours of new places ahead.

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I think my trip will be very comfortable. I feel invigorated.

This event has the cameras out in full force.

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His Royal Highness!

It's a performance introducing Korea’s traditional culture.

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(Did you expect to see this at the airport?) No! It's very beautiful.

Traditional Korean tunes can be heard around the airport. There are special programs and events for visitors to take part in.

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…

This couple had to rush to the airport right after their wedding.

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You had all these pins in? How could you go with then in? (You can take them out for me.) How can I?

This salon takes care of the pins from the bride's hair. You can also get your thick wedding make-up washed off.

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We had to rush to the airport right after the wedding and we don't have much time left until our flight. It's great to get this kind of service here.

[Soundbite]
Now we're off on our honeymoon.

You can also take care of all of your last minute medical needs at this clinic. With so many things to do, you may even want to get to the airport a little earlier than usual.