Dokdo Claims

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Guidebooks for Japanese middle and high school textbooks will carry Japan’s sovereignty claims over South Korea’s Dokdo islets, provoking Seoul at a time of strained bilateral relations.

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Japan's Ministry of Education decided to announce the Dokdo islets as Japanese territory in a new version of guidebooks for middle and high school textbooks. In 2008, Japan described the controversy over Dokdo with South Korea in a guidebook to middle school textbooks. Dokdo is referred to as Takeshima in Japan. Japan will call the islets as part of its territory in textbook guidebooks for the first time. Textbook guidebooks are not legally binding, but they do contain detailed guidelines on issues that must be taught in school. So they have great impact on educators and the process of reviewing and approving textbooks. The decision is in line with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government's right-wing actions to strengthen Japan's sovereignty over Dokdo.

[Soundbite] Hakubun Shimomura (Japanese Education Minister (Jan. 15)) : "This is not targeting South Korea and China. It's that we must include that the Takeshima islets (Dokdo Islets) and the Senkaku islands are Japanese territory. "

Japan revises its textbook guidebooks every ten years. The latest revision will come sooner than the original schedule set in 2016. The South Korean government called in the Japanese ambassador to Seoul to strongly protest Japan's move.

2. Financial Remedies

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Starting next month financial authorities will be able to stop the operation of phone numbers used in illegal loan advertisements. Additionally, new measures could help block spam text messages.

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Many people receive spam text messages regarding illegal loan opportunities on a daily basis. Last year, the Financial Supervisory Service received more than 25,000 cases where people reported damages stemming from illegal loan offers by phone. The public's anxiety surged recently due to a massive leak of personal information by credit card companies. Starting next month, the authorities will be able to suspend phone numbers used in illegal loan scams within a week. When the Financial Supervisory Service notifies the police with damage reports caused by the illegal loan scams, the police will request telecom providers to suspend the reported numbers immediately without investigating them.

[Soundbite] Yang Hyeon-geun (Financial Supervisory Service Official) : "Police investigations take too long, which puts other people at risk. So the new measures seek to prevent damage as early as possible."

The government is also considering having the Korea Communications Commission immediately block suspicious phone numbers that are presumed to be used for acts of financial fraud. Currently it takes telecom companies more than four months on average to block suspicious phone numbers because of mandatory police investigations.

3. Tracking Bird Flu

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The migration route of a species of duck believed to the cause of recent outbreaks of avian influenza has been detected by Korean GPS. It’s part of efforts to stop the spread of bird flu.

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A satellite transmitter that weighs 9.5 grams and with a long antenna is attached to the back of a Baikal teal. The bird was caught near the Dongrim Reservoir in North Jeolla Province, where a flock of migratory birds was recently found dead from avian influenza. Thanks to the transmitter, the authorities were able to find the location of Baikal teals just one day after using the device. The birds were 56 kilometers away near the Geum River. It's the first time that the authorities captured the birds' migration route using a GPS device. It will also help keep tabs on the quarantine measures, as their routes can be traced every 12 hours.

[Soundbite] Han Sang-hun (National Institute of Biological Resources) : "Baikal teals move in big flocks, so just one bird can tell us where the whole flock is moving."

Two helicopters are spraying disinfectants into the air. The government launched several of these as efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly bird flu virus hit a snag. They are targeting farms located in the proximity of migratory birds' stopover areas where bird feces and dead birds have been discovered.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-won (Min. of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs Official) : "Migratory birds start arriving from Russia in October. In March, the ones from China and Southeast Asia arrive. That's also a dangerous period."

The government also plans to deploy seven unmanned helicopters to stop the spread of avian influenza caused by migratory birds.

4. Patent Agreement

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IT behemoths Samsung Electronics and Google have announced that they will cross-license each other’s patents. Existing patents and those made in the next ten years fall under the agreement.

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Samsung Electronics and Google have signed a global patent cross-licensing agreement. The two companies have already been collaborating in the smartphone sector. The deal will cover the existing 150-thousand patents owned by Samsung and Google around the world. The two companies will also cross-license 100-thousand more patents that will be filed over the next ten years. Under the agreement, Samsung will be able to share Google's experiences in software development while Google will have access to Samsung's advanced hardware technology.

[Soundbite] Park Gang-ho (Analyst, Daishin Securities) : "It’s a key patent deal for Samsung Electronics by sharpening its competitive edge and increasing its future share in the IT market with Google's Android system."

The deal will enable the two tech giants to get a head start in markets for next-generation IT devices, such as wearable computers. The deal shows the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes. Industry watchers are now shifting their attention to what innovative effects the Samsung-Google cross-licensing deal will have.

5. Mascot Creator

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The Amur snow leopard is among the three animals chosen as mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The design comes from a Russian artist of Korean descent.

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Olympic mascots are sold at parks and gift shops in the Russian coastal city of Sochi, which is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games from February 7. The three animals are the Polar bear, the European hare and the Amur snow leopard, which are popular among Russians and tourists. The Amur snow leopard mascot was created by a Korean-Russian named Vadim Pak. Pak gained fame after appearing in a 2011 live TV competition for selecting Sochi Olympic mascots.

[Soundbite] Vadim Pak (Mascot Designer) : "The Amur snow leopard symbolizes the athletes' courage and victory."

When the vote to choose the Olympic mascots was under way, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed his support for the Amur snow leopard. Pak's ancestors were Koreans who were relocated to unpopulated areas during the times of the Soviet Union. He gave words of encouragement to the South Korean Olympic team.

[Soundbite] "I hope the Korean athletes will win and succeed in the Olympic Games."

The mascot created by an ethnic Korean will be a symbol promoting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

6. Inheritance Revision

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Eighty percent of citizens support a revision to Korea’s inheritance law, due after the Lunar New Year Holiday. Illustrating the country’s changing attitudes about inheritance, a recent KBS poll digs into the details.

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Eight out of ten respondents said they agree that when a person dies, 50 percent of the assets should be given to a surviving spouse. More women, at 85.2 percent, agreed with the law's revision than men, which recorded 75.7%. By profession, stay-at-home wives outnumbered all others. The poll also revealed a generation gap. While only 60 percent of those in their 20s were in favor of the revision of the Inheritance Law, nearly 90 percent of the respondents in their 50s and 60s were for the change. Most of the respondents said more than 50 percent of the couple's assets should be given to a surviving spouse. They were trailed by answers citing 40-50 percent range and 30-40 percent range. Seven out of ten respondents said taxes should not be levied on the assets inherited by a surviving spouse. Most of the respondents from high-income households were against such taxes. About 83 percent of the respondents said that it's okay for a surviving spouse to receive less than 50 percent of the couple's assets if he or she re-marries later in life. Only six out of ten respondents agreed that a surviving spouse's share must be protected by law even if there is a will that states otherwise. Only about half of those polled agreed that spouses should share assets that they had inherited during their marriage. Four out of ten were against that. The poll was conducted on January 21-22 on 1121 adults nationwide via the Internet.

7. Historic Photos

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A special photo exhibition hosted at Seoul City Hall is giving visitors a look into how people lived in Seoul in the 1960s, a time of revolutionary industrialization and urbanization. Let’s take a look back in time.

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These babies were crowned the healthiest in Seoul during a time when no one had enough to eat. It's odd seeing such babies, when today everyone, including kids worry about obesity. Baby boomers packed into classes and a school made from a single tent. These serious-looking students are taking a beautician licensing test while these people try to beat the heat at a shower facility on the Han River. These Koreans survived through the tough times with their resilience and work ethics. No one could have imagined how this bus terminal in Sinchon and bus station in Namdaemun would change over a few decades. This photo exhibition was organized to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the Seoul Citizens Hall.

[Soundbite] Choe Jeong-pil (Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture) : "The photos mainly show the people's lives in the 1960s."

These are photos of snack stalls, which appeared along the riverside for the first time in 1989. Some photos show the fast-disappearing alleys in 25 districts in Seoul. Most are nearly gone. The nostalgic photos featured at the exhibition can be viewed online at the homepage of the Seoul Museum of History.

8. Entertainment News

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In today’s entertainment news, K-Pop group Big Bang has wrapped up a concert tour spanning Korea and Japan, while Disney’s “Frozen” is the solid box office leader for the second week.

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Fans went wild at a Big Bang concert, where the five members regrouped as a boy band after a long hiatus. Big Bang's agency said that roughly 770 thousand people came to see the group's concert tour at Japan's six largest domes. The dome tour began in November of last year and has just wrapped up on January 13. Also, some 36 thousand people attended the band's concerts held in Seoul from last Friday to Sunday. Until recently, the Big Bang members were pursuing their individual careers for around two years. Now they are coming back together as a group to release their third album sometime this summer. Disney's fantastic animation film "Frozen" has topped the Korean box office for two weeks in a row. The Korean Film Council reported that more than 1.24 million people saw "Frozen" last weekend to record 3.12 million in accumulated ticket sales.

9. Jecheon Charms

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Icy temperatures keep many of us indoors over the winter, but the lake and mountains of Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province offer an incredible winter destination you won't want to miss.

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Jecheon in North Chungcheong Province is famous for its picturesque landscape. The slopes of the mountains have served as natural ramparts for Jecheon for thousands of years. The slopes are now part of a well-known trekking course: Jadeurak Gil.

[Soundbite] Hwang Geum-ja (Tour Guide) : "Jadeurak gil refers to a narrow path made on low hills. The 58-kilometer path is around the Cheongpung Lake. It consists of seven courses. It’s not steep and is very good for people to walk along."

A ten-kilometer path along Goegok rampart is a favorite among tourists, thanks to its unspoiled nature and the fact that its not too rough.

[Soundbite] "While walking along the mountain path, I felt as if my soul was enriched and healed."

The walk along the mountain path makes people feel as if their souls have been healed. At the end of the trekking course is an observatory overlooking the Cheongpung Lake. Tourists are wowed by the picturesque scenes they can take in here. The lake flows and stretches under the Oksun Bridge. It is really beautiful. You cannot help but bring out your camera to take photos.

[Soundbite] "Everywhere is beautiful. Korea is really marvelous and beautiful."

Jecheon produces 80 percent of the medicinal herbs sold in Korea.

[Soundbite] Choe Sun-yeong (Restaurant Owner) : "These medicinal herbs are produced in Jecheon. Pork is cooked with seven herbs."

A medicinal herb market has operated in Jecheon since the Joseon Dynasty era. This rice was cooked with milk vetch roots, a specialty of Jecheon. Wild greens picked at a nearby mountain stimulate people's appetites. It does look great. The dishes captivate the taste buds of the people who come here.

[Soundbite] O Su-jin (Visitor) : "We‘re excited to make a trip and get refreshed. We feel really good to have a healthy experience and eat healthy foods in Jecheon."

In Jecheon, there is a unique facility that runs interactive traditional culture programs. For use, you must make reservations in advance. Some middle school students are participating in a traditional archery program. The arrow flies 145 meters to hit the target. Shooting the arrow is not easy. But the experience of hitting the target is thrilling.

[Soundbite] "I hit the target. Wow! I hit the target. I didn't know I’m good at archery. I feel like I’m a prodigy at archery."

On an icy pond, students spin tops and sled. As they compete or play together with these traditional games, it sure looks as if they've forgotten about the cold for a while.

[Soundbite] "This is the first time I sledded since I was in kindergarten. I recalled the days when I was young. I want to come back."

Visit Jecheon if you are looking for a good destination for a winter trip. You won't regret it.