Typhoon Looms

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Last year, South Jeolla Province’s Gageo Island experienced heavy typhoon damage, including the collapse of its sea wall. Now, islanders are watching in fear as Typhoon Bolaven approaches.

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Gageo Island, located in South Korea's far southwestern region has yet to feel the effects of the typhoon Bolaven. But winds are gradually becoming stronger and tides higher alarming the islanders. Last year, typhoon Muifa passed nearby the island inflicting serious damage. It destroyed 200 meters of the island's sea wall and swept in a 64-ton concrete structure into the village's fishing area. Islanders are worried that such a calamity could occur again after hearing that typhoon Bolaven is reportedly much larger than its predecessor of last year. Fishing boats weighing more than ten tons have all been evacuated to ports of Mokpo and Heuksan Island and some ten smaller boats have been pulled out of the water and anchored onto land. A temporary dyke has been built at the village entrance; in homes, even water tanks are being used as walls to prepare for the typhoon. But residents are still worried as the the sea wall that was damaged last year was just repaired temporarily and may be further harmed when the typhoon passes through. The Sinan county office and police are keeping close watch on the typhoon's course and is planning to focus all efforts to evacuate residents and minimize casualties.

2. Market Fire

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On Sunday night, a fire occurred at a large meat market in South Gyeongsang Province, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

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Red flames blaze inside a building. As the thick smoke continues to billow out into the open, the fire doesn't die out easily.

[Soundbite] Choe Hwa-cheol (Witness): “The fire broke out just below the middle of the building and kept spreading so it couldn't be put out.”

The fire started at the meat market at around eight p.m. on Sunday evening. Although there were no casualties from the blaze, the fire quickly spread to engulf the entire two-story building. With the structure’s interior and all of the meats stored inside destroyed, the estimated losses from the fire amounts to around 616,000 U.S. dollars in damages. It took the firefighters three hours to put out the fire. They were having a difficult time putting out the fire as the building was constructed with flammable panels.

[Soundbite] Park Yong-wu (Gimhae Fire Station): “Because the building was made of sandwich panels, the fire spread in moments, inflicting larger damage.”

As the meat market was the largest of its kind in the Busan and South Gyeongsang Province region, the local livestock farms are expecting to see big losses ahead of Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday. Witnesses say that the fire first started from a refrigerator inside the building.
However, the police are still investigating the exact cause of the blaze.

3. Campaigns Continue

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The Saenuri Party is urging the opposition Democratic United Party to get to the bottom of alleged irregularities in its presidential primaries. Meanwhile, Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Guen-hye visited a university to garner support from younger voters.

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The Saenuri Party called on the Democratic United Party to thoroughly look into the controversy surrounding the fairness of the main opposition party's mobile voting in selecting its presidential candidate. The ruling party pressured the main opposition party applying the same strict standard it received for its own criticism.

[Soundbite] Rep. Hong Il-pyo (Spokesman, Saenuri Party): “It’s not just a distortion of voters' opinions if a majority of votes for three candidates become invalid; it's dishonest voting.”

The ruling party's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye visited a festival of young independent artists next to a university. She walked around the festival and the college neighborhood with students even buying some items. Park watched street performances, an indispensible part of the festival. She discussed the pending issues faced by the performing arts sector with young artists.

[Soundbite] Rep. Park Geun-hye (Presidential Candidate, Saenuri Party): “I’m going to keep inventing ways to enable artists to fully show off their potential and capacity. I‘ll listen to lots of people working on the scene.”

After becoming the presidential candidate of the ruling party, Park said that she would wear ripped-off jeans if necessary. She also promised to cut college tuition in half. She is focusing on embracing young voters and garnering their support. The ruling party will announce a list of members on Monday for a presidential election task force that will be responsible for setting up the party's presidential election campaigning committee.

4. Patent Battle

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Samsung has lost its latest patent battle with Apple, with an American court ordering it pay over a billion U.S. dollars in damages. Samsung is to submit its formal objection today.

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Defeated in the U.S. court, Samsung Electronics had its hands full on Sunday. Samsung's key figures, including Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung, President Shin Jong-kyun and Vice President Lee Don-joo, worked the entire day on Sunday to try to come up with countermeasures to the latest verdict. As the corporation is taking a proactive approach to minimize the repercussions of the verdict, Samsung is reportedly planning to submit its appeal to the U.S. court as early as Monday. Samsung plans to take issue with the way the jury reached its verdict. None of the jury members had professional knowledge of the technological aspect of the case. What's more, the jury issued its ruling hastily, announcing it after just 21 hours of deliberation. Sources say Samsung has strong evidence, given the fact that the jury had initially ordered Samsung to pay for damages for products that the jury at first excluded from patent infringements, such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE, but then later corrected their mistake. After hearing the court ruling was in its favor, Apple stepped up its attack even more. Apple CEO Tim Cook strongly criticized Samsung by calling its actions as "willful" theft. On Monday, Apple will reportedly request that all Samsung products be banned from being sold in the U.S. for good. Attention is focusing on whether the banned products will include Samsung's signature products, such as the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note.

[Soundbite] Lee Chang-hoon (U.S. Patent Attorney): “The jury's verdict on infringement doesn’t necessarily mean a sales ban. Samsung can counter-argue that a ban on sales will greatly harm consumers”

Presiding Judge Lucy Koh has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing on September 20 to discuss Apple's request. In the meantime, a verdict is expected to be made on the patent case between Apple and Samsung in Japan on August 31.

5. Free Tuition

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One out of four students attending Chungbuk Provincial University has been pleasantly surprised upon receiving their tuition bills when they found they had nothing to pay.

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Lee Beom-seong was surprised after receiving his tuition notice for the second semester of this year. He is not a full scholarship recipient. But the notice says that he doesn't have to pay any tuition. The school slashed the tuition fees by 30 percent this year and offered scholarships to students with the 790-thousand-plus dollars it received from government incentives.

[Soundbite] Lee Beom-seong (Student, Chungbuk Provincial College): “I couldn't believe it at first. I can study without the financial burden while other students are burdened by these things. I can study more ; it’s a good opportunity for me.”

Two-hundred-43 students, or 24 percent of the total are completely exempt from tuition fees. And 55 percent only need to pay 439 dollars, having received half-tuition scholarships. Some students who already paid tuition fees received 352 dollars back in cash.

[Soundbite] Yeon Yeong-seok (President, Chungbuk Provincial College): “This shows to students that they can realize their dreams at our school if they try and study hard.”

The college's efforts to reduce tuition costs is bearing fruit, allowing students to concentrate on studying without undergoing any financial distress.

6. Battery Life

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Many people buy expensive batteries in the belief that they will last longer than the cheap ones. But a test has shown that performance is not necessarily reflected in the price.

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At a battery section in a supermarket, consumers shop for batteries that will be used in small home appliances.

[Soundbite] “I usually choose expensive batteries because I think they’re better than cheaper ones.”

A Korea Consumer Agency test shows that the consumers' reasoning for purchasing expensive batteries is groundless. The cheapest batteries, which cost only 26 cents per battery, are the best for their prices, when they are used in goods with low power consumption, such as digital door locks, TV remote controllers and toys. Tests show that batteries that were tagged at two dollars and forty cents are only one-point-85 times better than their cheaper counterparts. The poorest-performing batteries in the test were Rocket Power, which was worse than the cheapest ones.

[Soundbite] Jo Gyeong-rok (Korea Consumer Service): “It's better for consumers to choose batteries after considering their purpose, performance and prices.”

However, the test also revealed that the expensive batteries performed better in power-guzzling devices, which eases the burden of frequent battery replacements. The Korea Consumer Agency noted that for devices with high power consumption, such as toys and digital cameras, the use of rechargeable batteries is 120 times more economical than the use of disposable batteries.

7. Military Dorms

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The military is trying to improve the living conditions of the nation’s soldiers by turning its barracks into dormitories.

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As tanks get into formation, soldiers run forward preparing for battle. This is a training session of a mechanized infantry battalion. After a strenuous lesson, soldiers clean up their dormitory room. All the soldiers here are sergeants. Since the bunkmates all have the same ranking and entered the military at the same time, they clean up for themselves not giving or receiving orders.

[Soundbite] Sgt. Kim Yeong-do (Korean Army): “Though I'm a sergeant I try not to be lazy and act like a new recruit to set a good example.”

Soldiers of this unit began to use the same room with bunkmates of equal ranking six months ago. Since seniors and juniors are separated, violence has decreased and soldiers are given more freedom.

[Soundbite] Pvt. Jang Bae-seok (Korean Army): “Since I’m in the same room as those I feel most comfortable with, I think I’m adapting to military life a lot quicker.”

Facilities have also been modernized. For younger soldiers more accustomed to beds, individual single beds are provided instead of the former large wooden ones, and IPTVs are installed as well. There is also video phone so soldiers can talk with family and friends face to face. The Ministry of National Defense has submitted an application to the National Assembly for an additional budget of 176 million U.S. dollars for next year to provide for more such dormitories.

8. Kids Come First

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Because all parents want to give their children the best the market in kids’ products seems to be recession proof. This year alone, the market has seen growth of nearly 20 percent.

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An expo for children’s products is crowded with young parents from early in the morning. The event displays a variety of expensive items, including a baby carriage that costs around 2,640 U.S. dollars. Many expensive imported brands for children’s products are opening shops in department stores to target young Korean parents.

[Soundbite] “I think it's certainly safer to buy famous products that are a bit more expensive.”

Unlike the mere four percent rise in the department stores’ total sales this year until July, the sales of children’s products increased nearly 20 percent. In particular, expensive imported brands have seen an increase of more than 20 percent each year for the past decade, resulting in the growth of the domestic children’s product market.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-hyeok (Samsung Economic Research Institute): “The number of children per household has decreased but parents are willing to reduce other expenses while spending more on their kids and upgrading the quality of baby care products.”

Analysts speculate that the prominent growth of expensive items in the market for children’s products stems from the parents' desire to give their children the best, which is what these companies are targeting.

9. Special Markets

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Today we’re going to check out some of Korea’s unique markets, some of which are put up and taken down before many of us are even out of bed.

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At dawn, stalls are being put up at this park in Daegu.

[Soundbite] “(What are you doing at the park so early?) I came to sell things.”

[Soundbite] “(Isn't it too early?) No, there's no spot left if you come late.”

The Dalseong Park market began in 2000 and is run by around 250 merchants. It opens every day at dawn. At sunrise, the market is crowded with customers. Lots of great deals are on offer. The regulars keep coming back for the cheap but quality items like clothes, living goods, vegetables and prepared foods.

[Soundbite] “I come here to watch people and to taste food. Isn't that what life’s all about?”

This is a public parking lot in Wonju, Gangwon Province. It transforms into a farmer’s market every morning at dawn. Farmers come to sell their crops here, but only until eight a.m.

[Soundbite] Lee Seong-seob (Parking Lot Market Organization Committee): “Farmers who produce on a small scales have no channels to sell their crops. Those who sold crops on the streets gathered to start the market at the riverside. Farmers joined in one by one and this market was formed.”

The market has lots of customers who flock in to get deals on the freshest produce.

[Soundbite] “At other markets, the tofu has been produced on a large scale so you don’t know whether they’ve used domestic or imported ingredients. But this man makes the tofu by himself so I can trust the quality.”

Everyone has their own reason for coming.

[Soundbite] “I'll give you extra. That's what's so fun about these places.”

[Soundbite] “I come to the morning market for this.”

As the morning passes, farmers close up and leave to prepare for the next day.

[Soundbite] “(Have you sold everything?) Yes, everything. I feel terrific.”

There's also a Filipino market in Seoul known as Little Manila which opens only on Sundays .

[Soundbite] “Low prices!”

It’s filled with dishes popular among Filipinos who miss the taste of their homeland. The market was started by Filipino immigrants attending mass at the Catholic church in front of the market.

It has a huge array of goods from the Philippines, including vegetables and fish.

[Soundbite] “I've never been abroad. So it's amazing to be here. I'd like to go abroad once. I want to go to the Philippines.”

These markets are becoming more and more popular not only for their deals, but also for the experience of going to them.