Big Battle

[Anchor Lead]



The Seoul mayoral race is turning into a preliminary battle between future presidential candidates. Experts say Wednesday’s vote will very likely affect next year’s general and presidential elections.



[Pkg]



Former ruling Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye visits the camp of her party’s candidate for Seoul mayor Na Kyung-won a day before the election. Park went stumping for Na in Busan and Daegu Monday as part of a nationwide tour over the official campaign period.



[Soundbite] Park Geun-hye (Fmr. Chairwoman, Grand National Party): "I’m going to support her so she can work hard and make achievements."



Former software guru Ahn Cheol-soo visited the camp of opposition candidate Park Won-soon to show his support. Ahn urged the people to vote.



[Soundbite] Prof. Ahn Cheol-soo (Seoul National University): "I would like everyone to participate. Isn’t voting the flower and festival of democracy?"



The ruling party reacted sensitively to Ahn’s support for Park Won-soon so late in the campaign period.



[Soundbite] Hong Jun-pyo (Chairman, Grand National Party): "If he wants to enter politics, he should give up his professorship before joining the game of politics."



The main opposition Democratic Party seemed excited in declaring the unification of democratic and progressive forces.



[Soundbite] Sohn Hak-kyu (Chairman, Democratic Party): "Today, professor Ahn Cheol-soo joined us. We’ve finally achieved a grand unification."



The result of the Seoul mayoral election is expected to affect next year’s general and presidential elections, and possibly lead to a revamp of the ruling and opposition camps.



Keeping Pace



[Anchor Lead]



The Korean economy is predicted to grow an average of 3 percent by 2020. The focus now needs to be on continued research and development efforts in order to keep pace.



[Pkg]



South Korea was economically more difficult than Africa right after the Korean War. But Korea achieved rapid economic development called "the miracle of the Han River." However, Korea is facing limitations in continuing growth with its manufacturing industry-centered economy.



Then what’s next on the agenda? A professor emeritus at Harvard University, Dwight Perkins, lauded Korea for having continued economic growth.



[Soundbite] Prof. Dwight Perkins (Harvard University)



But he predicted that Korea’s economic growth rate will drop to the three percent level by 2020. Perkins said that the growth rate slowed down in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, when their gross domestic production reached 13,000 dollars. He said Korea needs to find a new breakthrough to spur its economic growth. Other participants also agree that research and development are the only way to achieve the goal. The international symposium was held to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea Development Institute. International academics and economists attended the conference to discuss the structural changes and tasks of the Korean economy.



Youth Debt



[Anchor Lead]



People in their 20s account for a large portion of applicants for a credit recovery program because of heavy debt. Finding jobs is tough for young people in Korea, and more are experiencing serious financial problems after turning to high interest loans.



[Pkg]



This man is a temporary worker who earns just a little more than 1,000 dollars a month. He’s in his late 20s and has debts of nearly 17,000 dollars.



A combined 144,000 people in their 20s with heavy debt had applied for a credit recovery program as of September. They account for 14.5 percent of all applicants for the credit recovery program. Young people have student loans to repay after graduating college, but cannot find jobs easily. So they borrow money again from non-banking financial institutions at steep interest.



[Soundbite] (College Student (Voice Modified)): "When repayment is delayed, you may become a credit delinquent. And that can downgrade your credit rating. I’m afraid that I might not be able to make my monthly payments."



The Financial Supervisory Service from next year will release a list of loan sharks that illegally charge high interest and brokerage commissions.



Missing Climbers



[Anchor Lead]



Korean mountaineer Park Young-seok and two fellow climbers went missing five days ago while scaling the south face of Annapurna in the Himalayas. Families of the missing have arrived in Nepal.



[Pkg]



Korean mountaineers Park Young-seok, Kang Gi-seok and Sin Dong-min are missing at Annapurna in the Himalayas. A search operation for the three climbers has entered its fifth day. But they have not been found yet. To support the search operation, five Korean professional rescue workers and an emergency medical staffer came to Nepal. Families of the three missing climbers also arrived in the South Asian country. Rescue members explained the families what happened after the three set off to scale the mountain. The families pray for the safety of the missing climbers.



[Soundbite] Cho Nam-je (Sin’s Brother-in-Law): "They’re working hard to find the three climbers. We can’t ask for more."



[Soundbite] Park Seong-woo (Park’s Son): "I believe you’re alive, Dad. I know it’s freezing, but hang in there."



Rescue workers hired twelve new Sherpa guides and held meeting with them as part of their efforts to find the three climbers. They moved to the south face of Annapurna to launch a full-scale search operation.



Bag Thief



[Anchor Lead]



A Peruvian national has been arrested on a charge of stealing a sleeping passenger’s bag on the subway. The bag contained gold and cash worth around 62,000 U.S. dollars. Surveillance camera footage shows the suspect making off with the bag.



[Pkg]



A foreign man enters a subway station carrying a small backpack. He runs out of another station holding a bigger bag. The stolen bag contained items worth around 62,000 dollars including 850 grams of gold and cash of more than 5,000 dollars. A jewelry merchant had placed the bag underneath her seat and the man stole it while she was asleep.



[Soundbite] (Victim): "When I woke up, I felt something was missing. I asked if anyone had seen my bag; people said a guy took it."



The Peruvian man is known to have arrived in Korea last month and rode subway trains all day to steal passengers’ bags. He was caught on surveillance cameras in subway stations running away with stolen bags. Police used the footage to track him down.



[Soundbite] Sen. Pol. Choe Nam-uk (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency): "We found a number of handbags and used cell phones. We’re investigating for additional crimes."



Tired passengers who are likely to fall asleep on the subway are vulnerable to theft.



Around 8,000 crimes have occurred on subway trains over the past three years. The rise in such crimes has prompted police to recommend installation of surveillance cameras inside subway trains.



Outdoor Alert



[Anchor Lead]



Many people enjoy spending time outdoors in fall. But caution is required because cases of tsutsugamushi disease, also known as scrub typhus, are on the rise.



[Pkg]



This 50-something woman has tsutsugamushi. She has a black scab on her neck. The tsutsugamushi bacteria entered her body through mite bites.



[Soundbite] "I touched flowers outside and I came back home. Ten days later, I got a small boil and my lymph nodes swelled up, as if I had a bad cold."



The bacteria spread inflammation all over the body through blood vessels and lymph nodes when a person is bitten by mites. A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that cases of tsutsugamushi have surged since last month. In the first week of this month alone, 44 people contracted the disease, the highest this year. That’s because many people spend time outdoors by climbing mountains or visiting cemeteries, and because the number of tsutsugamushi-affected mites soars in fall.



[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Hong-bin (Seoul National Univ. Bundang Hospital): "It’s easily mistaken for a cold. If it’s left untreated for a long time, it may develop into pneumonia. It may cause other serious complications, resulting in death or critical condition."



Lying on lawns or leaving clothes on fields must be avoided. It’s also recommended to spray an insect repellant before going outside and wear long-sleeve clothes and socks.



Favorite Foods



[Anchor Lead]



Foreigners have selected their favorite Korean foods in a poll conducted by the Seoul city government. Grilled pork belly called samgyeopsal tops the list, followed by kimchi and the spicy rice cake dish ddeokbokki.



[Pkg]



This Filipina wraps Korean-style grilled pork fatback called samgyeopsal in greens. She says this is her favorite Korean food.



[Soundbite] Angela Apostol (Filipino)



Samgyeopsal eaten with lettuce and grilled kimchi is a hit with the international community.



[Soundbite] Kaoru Ishi (Japanese): "The meat is good and you can enjoy a lot of vegetable. I like it because it’s good for you."



[Soundbite] "Soju and samgyeopsal go perfectly together."



Certain foreigners are even shooting and posting videos to introduce samgyeopsal to the world.



A Seoul city government poll has found that 28 percent of foreigners pick samgyeopsal as their favorite Korean food. Next came kimchi and foods made with the spicy condiment like kimchi stew and kimchi pancake. Rounding out the top five were ddeokbokki, or rice cake with spicy sauce; bibimbap, or rice mixed with hot sauce and toppings; and samgyetang, a type of Korean chicken soup. Other favorites mentioned were street foods like soondae, or stuffed and steamed pig intestines, and hotteok, or pancakes with a syrupy sugar filling. The city government will develop more tourism items to attract the foreign palate based on the study’s results.



Musical Season



[Anchor Lead]



A series of foreign and domestic musicals are taking to the stage in Korea these days. Let’s have a look.



[Pkg]



The music and dynamic movements fill the stage. Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been reborn as a rock musical. It was first staged in 1999 in Czechoslovakia and has drawn more than 10 million people to theaters. The show is being performed by Korean actors.



[Soundbite] Yun Gong-ju (Actress, “Hamlet”): "Fun choreography and beautiful staging have been combined to focus more on beautiful love rather than the tragedy,"



The musical Zorro is drawing attention, featuring popular actor Jo Seung-woo. In addition to the hero’s adventures, flamenco dance and action scenes are to draw the audience’s attention.



The Korean musical about the Joseon Dynasty’s last empress is also going on stage. It’s to compete with foreign works.



The musicals are targeting the year’s end season. Much attention is drawn to which show will sell more tickets.



Baby Girls



[Anchor Lead]



Koreans have longed to put a heavy emphasis on having a son to continue the family line. But these days, more and more couples prefer girls to boys. Let’s get a closer look as to why.



[Pkg]



This is an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Gyeonggi Province. The pink light in front of the labor room comes on to show that a baby girl has been born.



[Soundbite] "A daughter, as I’ve always wanted. I’m so happy. Isn’t she pretty?"



Some couples these days say they don’t need a son, but would rather have a daughter.



[Soundbite] Dr. Choe Seok-tae (Obstetrician): "These days, more couples prefer daughters when having just one child."



What’s so good about having a daughter?



[Soundbite] "They’re like friends. They understand my pain and we can share secrets like friends."



Parents-to-be were asked if they preferred a baby boy or a baby girl. The majority said they wanted a girl. Some of the reasons people gave are that daughters light up your life, daughters get you on an airplane while sons demand an airplane, and that raising a daughter is simply more enjoyable than raising sons.



To get a closer look at how it is to raise boys, we visited a woman with two sons.



[Soundbite] "You’ll get grumpy and mean."



The boys cause havoc and don’t clean up, leading to more housework for mom.



[Soundbite] "I heard (daughters) cleaned up on their own and helped their mothers, like folding the laundry together."



We wanted to know how big the difference between the behavior of a boy and a girl actually is. So, we put some kids in pedometers to measure their activity during play time. The pedometer records show a difference of nearly three times.



[Soundbite] Lee Hae-ji (Day Care Center Teacher): "Boys are more active and they like more active play like stacking."



Hwang Geum-sun lives in the same neighborhood as her eldest married daughter. They visit each other several times a day. Hwang also talks with her younger daughter over the phone every day. They have so much to talk about often an hour isn’t enough.



[Soundbite] "Let’s talk again tomorrow. (Okay.)"



Then what about her son?



[Soundbite] "Hey, it’s me. (Yeah, mother. I’m kind of busy right now.) You’re busy? So it’s hard to talk with your mom? (Yes, I’m working. I’ll call you later.) You call me later?"



[Soundbite] "Sons are all so curt like that."



Hwang says her daughter and son-in-law bought her trip abroad recently.



[Soundbite] "My two daughters help a lot. The daughter beside me helps quietly without a word. Is it okay to say this?"



It’s the daughter that buys her parents new clothes every season. This mother feels that the female nature is more reliable.



[Soundbite] "Doesn’t this color suit me? Can’t I wear clothes like this?"



[Soundbite] "It doesn’t suit you. It’s too dark and overall it isn’t you."



[Soundbite] "She buys me clothes. My daughter!"



The times are changing in Korea, and the preference for sons is becoming a thing of the past.