Talk Preparations

[Anchor Lead]

The government is busy preparing for the inter-Korean talks slated for tomorrow. A hotel in Seoul has been picked as the venue and a communication line between the two nations has been restored to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

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The upcoming inter-Korean governmental talks will take place at this hotel in Seoul. This venue used to host the last inter-Korean ministerial meeting six years ago - in May 2007. The hotel staff is busy preparing for the important event.

[Soundbite] Hotel Official : "(Are you preparing for the talks because you know that the event will be held here?)That's right. This is the main venue. This will be in the middle, and it will be surrounded on both sides."

Police and security guards have been dispatched to the hotel and the lodging facility for the North Korean delegation to make final checks. The North Korean delegation will depart from the city of Kaesong on the day of the talks and will travel to the South by land via the inter-Korean Immigration Control Office in the Mount Dora area. To ensure its safety, communication between the military authorities of the South and the North has been resumed. The communication line was severed about three months back after the North announced the Korean War cease-fire agreement invalid in March.

[Soundbite] Kim Min-seok (Spokesman, Ministry of National Defense) : "By using the military communication line, we’ll notify each other of the North delegation's arrival in Seoul and will control their arrival, then we’re going to support it."

The organizers of the talks are also revising formalities, as the talks have been renamed from "ministerial" to "government-level talks." President Park Geun-hye has urged unification and national security officials to prepare thoroughly for the meeting. She stressed that the talks must meet the expectations of the Korean public.

2. Civilian Exchanges

[Anchor Lead]

In working-level talks to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting, North Korean officials pushed for civilian-led ceremonies to mark the upcoming anniversaries of inter-Korean joint statements. Here’s a look at why Pyongyang is so eager for such events.

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[Soundbite] "North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland: We’re proposing a joint celebration of the 13th anniversary of the June 15th Joint Declaration and the 41st anniversary of the July 4th Joint Statement with government officials from both sides in attendance."

Upon its acceptance of Seoul's proposal to hold government-level talks on June sixth, Pyongyang mentioned events to mark the 13th anniversary of the June 15th Joint Declaration and the 41st anniversary of the July Fourth Joint Statement. During the latest working-level officials' meeting, North Korea insisted that the two Koreas include those events in the agenda for the upcoming inter-Korean government-level talks. But the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

[Soundbite] Chun Hae-sung (Ministry of Unification) : "North Korea insisted on including all issues from its special statement announced on June 6 in the agenda for the upcoming inter-Korean government-level talks."

Pundits believe that North Korea proposed to jointly celebrate the anniversaries of the inter-Korean statements in order to highlight the achievements made by former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.

[Soundbite] Jeong Seong-jang (Senior Researcher, Sejong Institute) : "North Korea is apparently attaching great meaning to celebrating the anniversary of the June 15th Joint Declaration to show that Kim Jong-un is inheriting his father Kim Jong-il's achievements in dealing with South Korea."

Some analysts say that by adhering to civilian-level exchanges and cooperation projects, North Korea is demanding the easing of South Korea's sanctions in a roundabout way. The South imposed severe sanctions on the North since the regime's torpedoing of a South Korean naval vessel in 2010. Seoul did not include Pyongyang's proposal in its statement, which was announced after the working-level talks on Sunday. But the government is planning to flexibly deal with North Korea's demand, saying that it can be discussed at Wednesday's talks.

3. Parties' Expectations

[Anchor Lead]

Both ruling and opposition parties are expressing high expectations for the upcoming inter-Korean talks. The governing Saenuri Party has called for sincerity in the dialogue, while the opposition Democratic Party has suggested that the talks could even lead to military reconciliation.

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Korea's ruling and opposition camps welcomed the inter-Korean talks, which are slated for tomorrow, June 12th. They asked for reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas. The ruling Saenuri Party emphasized that the inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation should be based on sincerity and gradually expand and deepen.

[Soundbite] Rep. Hwang Woo-yea (Head, Saenuri Party) : "We need to be calm and poised. The talks should proceed with perseverance and one step at a time."

The governing party's floor leader Choi Kyung-hwan noted that a rash and unreasonable push for unified agendas could be detrimental to the talks. He also hoped that the peace between the two Koreas is built up through a gradual trust-building process. The opposition Democratic Party also hoped the upcoming talks would restart inter-Korean cooperation and eventually lead to political and military reconciliation between the two Koreas.

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Han-gil (Head, Democratic United Party) : "This is not the time to protect each ego. I'm stressing that, as the two Koreas share a common fate, it's time to seek common ground through mutual respect."

Democratic Party Floor Leader Jun Byung-hun hoped the talks could help restore the foundation for joint prosperity as well as resolve pending issues, such as the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Park, tourism to Mt. Kumgang, and reunions of separated family members. The Saenuri Party expected the talks to resume parliamentary-level exchanges between the two sides, and the Democratic Party wished to help inter-Korean relations by forming a council for bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

4. Prostate Cancer Rising

[Anchor Lead]

Stomach cancer has been the most frequent cancer among Korean men. But a new study shows that prostate cancer will be number one by 2020.

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Doctors remove a tumor from a patient's prostate. The number of prostate cancer patients who undergo surgery has jumped recently at this hospital.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jeon Seong-su (Samsung Medical Center) : "Ten years ago, about 50 prostate cancer surgeries were conducted a year. The number surpassed 400 last year and has increased eight-fold over the past ten years."

An increasing number of patients are being diagnosed with prostate cancer after medical tests reveal that they have a high level of prostate-specific antigens in their blood. A study by a research team at Sungkyunkwan University's medical school found that prostate cancer will be the most prevalent form of cancer in Korean men by 2020, up four notches from the illness’ current ranking at fifth place. Analysts believe that the rising number of prostate cancer cases partially stems from the Korean people's westernized diet.

[Soundbite] Prof. Park Jae-hyeon (Sungkyunkwan Univ. School of Medicine) : "Prostate and colon cancer are closely linked to lifestyle. It’s predicted that prostate cancer will be more common than stomach, because many are getting fatter by consuming a lot of meat and fatty foods while not exercising."

To prevent prostate cancer, it is best for men to exercise regularly and reduce their fat intake. More than 90 percent of prostate cancer cases are cured with surgery. Men 50 years old or older are advised to take regular blood tests to make sure they can see if they have prostate cancer, and if so, catch it while it’s still in the early stages.

5. In-House Childcare

[Anchor Lead]

One of the biggest headaches for working moms and dads in Korea is finding a daycare center that works with their busy schedules. To help such people out, the government has decided to make more businesses establish in-house childcare centers, and will be providing subsidies to help things along.

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This company has a childcare center in its building. It's a godsend for working parents, as they can drop their children off on their way to work and pick them up when they are done. The law mandates that such on-site childcare facilities be established for a company with more than 500 full-time workers or 300 female employees. However, only 39.1% of the mandated companies have their own on-site childcare centers. The rest have skirted the obligation by paying their workers with allowances for childcare or commissioning other centers to take care of the children. Starting next year, such alternatives will be banned and the names of the companies that do not have a childcare center on site will be disclosed to the public. Instead, the government will increase its subsidy. When a company builds a childcare center, the government will exempt the area of the childcare facility from the floor area ratio restrictions placed on new and remodeled buildings. Also, the rules mandating that a childcare facility be placed on the first floor and have an outdoor playground were scrapped. Small and medium businesses also stand to receive more subsidies for building a childcare center.

[Soundbite] Cho Yoon-sun (Gender Equality & Family Minister) : "The government has greatly upped the subsidy for smaller companies, which had high childcare demands but faced difficulty in establishing them. This allows joint opening of childcare centers."

The government will pay up to 90% of the construction cost for a childcare center inside an industrial park with more than ten businesses. Military bases located far away from the cities will also build some 100 childcare facilities in their vicinities by 2016.

6. No-Smoking Zones

[Anchor Lead]

Since last year, smoking has been banned in most public areas in Korea such as bus stops and airports. But many smokers are still lighting up in such places, and there aren’t enough officials to make sure the rules are followed.

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At a bus terminal in Busan, a man smokes while walking by a non-smoking sign. This man smokes near a restaurant where other people are eating their meals. More than 20 smokers were caught red-handed in a matter of 30 minutes. Smoking is banned near a subway station, which is 20 meters away from the bus terminal. However, people still light their cigarettes.

[Soundbite] "{You have to pay a fines of 20,000 won (US$17) under Article 34 of the public health promotion law.} Please let me off. I didn't know that."

The situation is the same at Gimhae Airport. Even though there are two smoking areas in a building, people still smoke in non-smoking zones despite the clearly visible non-smoking signs seen inside the building. In Busan, three-thousand-300 areas were designated as non-smoking zones in accordance with the public health promotion law and the local government's ordinance. Busan plans to ban smoking in more areas. However, there are virtually no officials who are tasked with cracking down on those smoking in public areas.

[Soundbite] Heo Mok (Busan Sasang District Health Center) : "We have to crack down on smoking in many areas, including restaurants, Internet cafes and places of entertainment. We have an insufficient number of officials to implement the law."

The Busan city government will begin a full-scale crackdown on smoking in public areas starting next month. However, it doesn't have a sufficient number of officials to do the job.

7. Secretly, Greatly

[Anchor Lead]

“Secretly, Greatly,” an action comedy about North Korean spies is breaking records and topping domestic box office charts. Critics attribute the film's success to the acting of its star, Kim Soo-hyun, and the fresh take on inter-Korean relations from the online cartoon that the movie is based on.

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The mission for North Korea’s top spy to South Korea is to play the village fool. This good-looking idiot is breaking almost all the box office records, drawing 430 thousand moviegoers on the first day alone and an astounding 910 thousand the following day.

[Soundbite] Gang Ja-yun (Audience Member) : "I saw it as an online cartoon first. The movie isn’t boring at all; it's very exciting."

The acting of the film's young star Kim Soo-hyun, who plays both the fool and the highly trained spy, is helping the film notch up ticket sales more quickly than other huge blockbusters like "Iron Man 3" and "The Thieves." The success of the film can be attributed to the thawing relations between South and North Korea and the originality of the online cartoon that took a fresh look at the hostile relationship through the eyes of the spy-slash-idiot.

[Soundbite] Gang Yu-jeong (Film Critic) : "The film used the online cartoon like a storyboard. The fresh element lent a more cartoon-like feel to it."

The film is expected to draw not only four million moviegoers in the shortest time in Korean film history, but also to win back the domestic movie lovers' attention, which had been diverted to Hollywood films for the past two months.

8. Building Makeovers

[Anchor Lead]

Once urban blights, old, abandoned sites are being remodeled into attractive new spaces that don’t lose sight of their history. Here are some former eyesores that have been made new again.

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This park, now filled with plants, used to be a closed-down water facility.

[Soundbite] Son Sun-gyeong (Resident) : "It was a filtration plant and the surrounding areas were filled with the homes of plant workers."

The water filtration plant used to supply water to the adjacent areas, but it was closed down and left to rot in 2003. Once destined to become an urban eyesore, the plant underwent a rebirth in 2009 as the only ecological lake park in Seoul. Although it's now an ecological haven, if you look closely you can still see some traces of the place's past.

[Soundbite] Choe Sin-hyeon (Lake Park Landscape Designer) : "If we utilize a location's historical value, we can make a park that's inviting, eco-friendly, and inspiring."

Parts of the old water plant, like the crumbling concrete walls and building debris, are blended into the park's natural surroundings.

[Soundbite] Lee Gyeong-mi (Resident) : "Although the old buildings remain as they were, they don't look ugly and they harmonize well with nature. They’re strangely appealing."

Local residents, who don’t have much other green space nearby, welcome the new park as a great place to relax. The park also has an interesting feature. The water fountain turns on automatically when an airplane flies overhead, toward the nearby airport, helping drown out the noise.

[Soundbite] Han Jeong-suk (Resident) : "Airplane noise used to be a big headache. But now we wait for a plane to pass by. It’s an amazing idea."

This factory once stood neglected in the middle of the city. But it’s also undergone a makeover. You can still see the relics from its industrial past. But now, it’s something totally different.

[Soundbite] "This is a barbecue restaurant."

This facility was a print shop for 30 years. The owners sought to tap into the location’s past.

[Soundbite] Lee Jeong-jin (Restaurant Owner) : "By showing the beauty of the past years, we can offer customers a taste of the building's bygone memories and nostaligia."

Now, it’s bustling with customers who are attracted by the location.

[Soundbite] Hong Hyeon-seung (Customer) : "I come here once or twice a week. This place is old and new at the same time. The unbalanced surrounding is its appeal."

[Soundbite] "Boss, here it comes!"

The restaurant put some industrial features to new uses. The conveyor belt for the food, waiters' armbands, and even the order forms resemble those of a real factory. Given that the print shop didn’t have a good ventilation system, the restaurant owner even developed a smoke-less grill.

[Soundbite] Park Hyeong-jun (Customer) : "This place is more unusual and interesting than typical restaurants, and the food is delicious, which is why I come here often."

Although older architecture can often be lost to speedy development in Korea, some people are starting to see the value of updating what’s already here.