Pension Overhaul

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The government has finalized a draft on basic senior pensions; that was one of President Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledges. Pensions for most seniors 65 years of age or older will more than double.

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The monthly income of this 70-year-old widow is around 370 U.S. dollars, which consists of a survivor's annuity and a salary from her public-sector job. Currently she receives 89 dollars a month from the government, but starting in July next year she will be eligible to receive a monthly pension of 185 dollars. This is because the government has decided to provide the basic pension to seniors 65 years and over of the bottom 70-percent income bracket. But seniors from the top 30-percent income bracket will not receive anything. Currently those of the bottom 70-percent includes the elderly living alone whose monthly income is less than 770 dollars and elderly couples whose monthly income does not exceed around 1200 dollars. Eligibility for the basic pension will be determined by how long they contributed to the National Pension Fund. Of all those in Korea who are 65 and over, 63 percent of them will receive around 185 dollars in monthly pension, while 7 percent will receive between 92 and 185 dollars a month.

[Soundbite] Yang Seong-il(Ministry of Health and Welfare) : "National pension recipients have a higher recognized income than those who don't receive it. So those who already do get it will inevitably receive less in basic pension. "

At first, the Park administration promised to provide all seniors in the nation who are 65 and more with basic pensions, but those from the top 30-percent income bracket were eventually excluded due to a lack of funding. To implement its plan, the government will have to pay 36 billion U.S. dollars over four years. That's about 16 billion less than what the government had originally planned.

2. Korea-Japan Meeting

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Amid some tensions between the two neighbors, foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan are slated to meet tomorrow in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

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Korea and Japan will hold a foreign ministerial meeting, reportedly at the request of Japan. Seoul believes that Tokyo is planning to make it an opportunity to hold a summit meeting in the near future. The move is being seen as Japan's tactic to escape global isolation. Meanwhile, Japan has openly expressed hopes of holding a summit meeting. Seoul, on the other hand, is sticking to its condition stated at the ASEAN security forum in Brunei back in July. At the time, Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Japan's distorted historical view was affecting its relationship with Korea.

[Soundbite] Cho Tae-young(Spokesman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sept. 24)) : "There are fields where we can't compromise. We'll deal with such matters separately while cooperating on other issues."

A summit meeting will likely not take place unless Japan changes it's attitude on disputed historical issues between the two countries. Japanese Prime Minister Abe is expected to give a speech at the UN right before the bilateral ministerial talks. Analysts say not much progress is likely to be seen during the meeting as it will only last for half an hour. A high Korean government official said that reaching a major agreement at a multinational event, such as the UN general meeting, will be difficult and that more emphasis should be placed on the two states strengthening their communication.

3. Military Reshuffle

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For the first time in Korean Military history a navy general has been named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as the Park Geun-hye administration administers its first military reshuffle.

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Considered to the most appropriate figure to bring balance and cooperation between the army, navy, and air force! President Park Geun-hye nominated Navy Chief of Staff Choi Yoon-hee as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He led the navy's 5th destroyer group and also took office as head of the Naval Academy. Choi was also appraised for his handling of emergency situations as navy commander during the Cheonan sinking in 2010. General Kwon Oh-sung, the deputy commander of the Combined Forces Command, was appointed as the Army chief. Hwang Ki-chul, head of the Naval Academy, was appointed as the new Navy chief, while Park Seon-woo, head of the JCS operations division, was tapped for the post of deputy CFC commander, and Shin Hyun-don, head of the JCS military support division, was named the new commander of the 1st Army.

[Soundbite] Park Dae-seop(Ministry of National Defense) : "We selected the most appropriate candidates considering their joint commander abilities and strategic insight."

The Ministry of National Defense says no regional or academic preferences were taken into account. Five of the eight military commanders were replaced while Air Force Chief of Staff Sung Il-hwan, 2nd Operations Command Commanding General Kim Yo-hwan, and 3rd Army Commander Kwon Hyuk-soon kept their posts.

4. Vitamin-D Deficiency

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If you suddenly find yourself experiencing cold-like symptoms, you may not be spending enough time outdoors. A new study links Vitamin-D deficiency with a disease called allergic rhinitis. Here’s how to avoid it.

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This 30-something year old woman had to seek medical help because her allergic rhinitis symptoms got worse this month. She cannot sleep well at night because of her runny nose and sneezing. A study conducted by a university hospital shows that Vitamin D deficiency raises the risk of allergic rhinitis by 1.5 times. Allergic rhinitis is caused by the body's hypersensitivity to antigens, such as pollen. But Vitamin D helps to suppress the body's hypersensitivity. In autumn, the number of allergic rhinitis cases usually soars because of weed pollen and the dry weather, which causes irritation in the nasal mucosa.

[Soundbite] Prof. Gang Hye-ryeon(Seoul National University Hospital) : "Vitamin D influences the regulatory T cells, which suppress unnecessary hypersensitivity. It prevents the body from having an excessive immune reaction."

Some foods, such as fatty fish, contain Vitamin D, but the best way to supplement the body with Vitamin D is by the body's direct exposure to the sun. Vitamin D deficiency is common these days because modern-day people tend to spend too much time indoors and apply lots of sunscreen when going outside. Experts recommend minimizing the use of sunscreen and spending about 20 minutes a day outdoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

5. College Start-ups

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Many of the world’s most influential companies today were started by college students. But running a business and keeping up with studies is a tough balancing act. New government measures are designed to help.

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This movie is about how Steve Jobs invented the world's first personal computer during his college years. Both the hugely popular Facebook and Windows operating system were also inventions of bright and young college students. Hwang Hui-chan is preparing to open his own business this year after graduating from university himself. He is already had success as a businessman during those years but he had give it up to keep up with his studies.

[Soundbite] Hwang Hui-chan(Young Founder) : "In class I'd keep my computer on and often have to walk out of class to take business calls."

In fact, many students running startups say the biggest obstacle they faced were having to keep up with their studies. The government has drawn up some measures to help them out. Under the system, students are allowed up to two consecutive years of a leave of absence to run businesses and such activities will also be recognized as credits. But experts say more fundamental measures are needed to vitalize student startups. Some say new specialized courses on such entrepreneurial businesses should be established like those in foreign universities.

6. Online Precautions

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You’ve heard of the “right to free expression,” or “anonymity” on the internet, but how about the “right to be forgotten.” That is, how long should pictures or posts you put on the internet be available for the world to see? New technologies can help users keep old posts under wraps.

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When Internet users post pictures on their blogs, they can set the time when they want the pictures to be deleted for good. When the scheduled date and time arrive, all of the files, whether they are originals or duplicates, disappear. Some services enable bloggers to tailor their privacy settings so that only certain people can view their pictures on the Internet for a certain period of time.

[Soundbite] Park Jeong-hwan(College Student) : "I used to feel uneasy because all my information was floating around on the Internet but thanks to this application I can now protect my privacy."

In other countries there are services that allow users to retrieve and delete their old postings and images. IT industry insiders say the so-called "right to be forgotten" has emerged as a promising business area.

[Soundbite] Park Hyeon-su(KT Advanced Institute of Technology) : "Demand for technologies catering to “the right to be forgotten” will continue to grow because they prevent data abuse and reduce the costs that are associated with discarding information."

New technologies designed to protect the materials under the "right to be forgotten" are receiving more and more attention these days as a new growth engine and privacy protection device.

7. Flexible Display

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Samsung Electronics has announced it will introduce the world’s first smartphone with a curved display next month. Flexible displays make this possible, and handset makers around the world are scrambling to introduce their own.

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This display bends like a sheet of paper. You can fold it 90 degrees and it doesn't break. Because of the curved edges, users don't need to open the cover to read incoming messages, since they just appear on the side. Samsung Electronics unveiled its flexible display smartphone in an IT show earlier this year. The company will release them in the market starting October. The new display is made of thin plastic and is thus resistant to shocks and very difficult to break. This also allows for phones to be made in various designs. LG Electronics plans to release a similar smartphone later this year while Apple has applied for a patent for its own flexible design.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jeong Ji-hun(KASIT) : "We can use the technology and produce smartphones with wearable and bendable designs. It's significant in that it's bringing great changes to the monotonous designs of handsets."

It will likely take two or three more years for consumers to see these next-gen devices hit the markets. However, since some producers already possess the technology to even make bendable batteries, such phones could arrive earlier than expected.

8. Remembering Choi

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Influential novelist Choi In-ho died of cancer on Wednesday at the age of 68. Let’s take a moment to remember the life of a writer who consoled so many Koreans with his heartwarming works.

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Choi In-ho was born in 1945. He made a debut as a novelist by winning a writing competition sponsored by a domestic daily in 1963 when he was 18. In 1973, he earned fame after writing the bestseller "Hometown of Stars." The novel vividly depicts the lives of the people during the nation's era of rapid industrialization. It sold more than one million copies. The same-titled movie based on the novel drew over 500-thousand people. Choi appealed to readers with his distinctive writing style, which wove together short and simple sentences. He became a literary legend by writing large-scale historical novels like "The Emperor of the Sea."

[Soundbite] Choi In-ho(Writer) : "People with mature minds are happier than those who are rich or have won first place. It’s an unchangeable truth."

With his firm belief that writers get unhappy when they are not writing, the novelist kept writing, continuing to produce quality works while battling cancer. Readers will remember and find consolation in his heart-warming works even after his death.

9. Kid-friendly Clinics

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For kids, hospitals are scary. They're associated with pain or getting flu shots and generally are not a fun place to be. But some hospitals in Korea are adopting a more kid-friendly approach, as you'll see here.

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Emergency rooms are generally packed with patients of all ages. This hospital has an ER exclusively for youngsters. It's profoundly different from your average emergency room. The waiting room is nicely decorated, the beds have roofs and windows, even the lamps are fun, making children feel at ease. This ER has a permanent doctor on staff who specializes in young patients. A visit here will cure most kids of their fear of hospitals. But shots always hurt.

[Soundbite] "I want to draw pictures."

[Soundbite] "Sure, let's go draw."

The children can read books and draw pictures in a playroom located right inside the ER. They can forget about the pain in no time because there's so much to do here.

[Soundbite] "Let's go home."

[Soundbite] "I don't want to go home."

As with any ER, this place does see emergency situations. This child tripped and fell face down into the corner of a coffee table. Luckily his injury isn't that serious. This place employs tools specifically designed for children. And parents seem to like it, too. When children are hospitalized, they have to skip school. For kids, this is usually good news at first, but they soon grow bored on extended stays. That's why some hospitals provide educational programs. Patients can take classes on music, English or art Monday through Saturday. And everybody here is eligible to take these classes free of charge. So, there's no time to get bored.

[Soundbite] "I'm done!"

For some classes, attendance is recognized by the Ministry of Education. Elementary, middle and high school students who take such classes can apply for attendance recognition.

[Soundbite] Park Bo-gyeong(Patient) : "It's fun. And there's no homework. I used to have lots of homework at school. My class attendance here is also recognized at school. So I can move on to the next grade without any problems."

Some of the children's hospitals provide programs that help young patients to resume their studies at school after a long period of hospitalization. Their teachers and classmates are invited to the hospital to spend time together. They bond in no time.

[Soundbite] Yu Ye-seon(Patient) : "I’m grateful to them and I'd like to see them again. I want to recover fast so that I can play with them."

These hospitals no longer arouse fear in children thanks to sincere efforts to make kids feel at home while receiving treatment.