Korea-Japan Relations

[Anchor Lead]

President Park Geun-hye met with Representative Katsuya Okada, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, to discuss issues concerning Korea-Japan relations. President Park said at the meeting that she expects the upcoming Abe statement to reconfirm the historical stance of past administrations.

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The first thing President Park Geun-hye did after returning from her summer break was meeting with Katsuya Okada, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, and most well-known pro-Korean parliamentary member in Japan. President Park emphasized that today's Korea-Japan relations are based on Japanese government officials' past historical perceptions described in the Murayama and Kono statements, which expressed remorse for colonization and invasion. She said that she expects Prime Minister Abe to reconfirm such historical awareness in his statement, which he will deliver to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Representative Okada said that he feels sorry and ashamed about Japan's sexual slavery and hopes for good results from the Korea-Japan mid-ranking officials' meeting. He then met with Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Yoon Byung-se in the afternoon and delivered President Park's message about making this year the beginning of better bilateral relations. This year is the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan.

2. Lotte Family Feud

[Anchor Lead]

The Lotte Group family feud is unlikely to subside anytime soon. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin met with his father and brother shortly upon his arrival to Korea, but each side made contrasting comments about how the meeting went, meaning that the conflict is still work in progress.

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Upon his return from a nine-day stay in Japan, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin appeared at the airport bowing in apology.

[Soundbite] Shin Dong-bin(Chairman, Lotte Group) : "I sincerely apologize to the public for this situation."

Shin said he would do his best to settle the conflict and normalize business operations at the Lotte Group as soon as possible. Shin also said that his father's order to fire him had no legal grounds.

[Soundbite] "I do not believe that those papers were legally grounded."

Shin drew the line by saying that commenting on Lotte Holdings's shareholding structure at the airport would be inappropriate. From the airport Shin headed straight to his father and met with him and his elder brother for about five minutes. The family feud in the Lotte Group is showing no signs of abating, with Lotte Group general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho drawing headlines recently for his health issues and each of the two brothers providing contrasting comments on the meeting between the father and the two sons.

3. North Korea Visit

[Anchor Lead]

It's finally been confirmed that former First Lady Lee Hee-ho will visit North Korea on Wednesday. Experts are waiting to see whether North Korea's invitation to the wife of the late President Kim Dae-jung will provide a much needed breakthrough in inter-Korean relations.

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On Monday afternoon, North Korea sent invitations to 19 South Koreans, including former South Korean First Lady Lee Hee-ho. The 18-member South Korean delegation will be headed by ex-Culture Minister Kim Sung-jae and will include Seoul National University Professor Emeritus Paik Nak-chung. The South Korean government is expected to approve their visit to North Korea Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, the delegation will take the direct sea route to Pyongyang over the Yellow Sea. They will stay in Pyongyang for four days until August 8th and plan to deliver mufflers and medicine when they visit children's hospitals in the North Korean capital. However, it hasn't been decided whether they will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Meanwhile, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, who's on vacation, visited the former first lady at her residence in Donggyo-dong, Seoul on Monday. The government said that Minister Hong did not deliver any message to North Korea during the visit, but some North Korean watchers speculate that the meeting was a message in and of itself.

4. Livestock & the Heat

[Anchor Lead]

The recent heat wave is not only making life hard for Korea’s people, but for the livestock as well. Farmers are scrambling to keep their livestock cool in the scorching weather using ice and air conditioners. Here's more.

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Sprinklers operate at full capacity on the roof of a hen farm that's become too hot because of the scorching weather. As the temperature inside the farm surpassed 30 degrees Celsius even after sprinkling water every 20 minutes, the farmer had to deploy an indoor fog sprayer. Hens are particularly prone to the heat because they do not have sweat glands. As a result, they are already eating less and laying fewer eggs.

[Soundbite] Lee Il-won(Hen Farmer) : "Hens die when exposed to temperatures of over 35℃ for just a couple of hours."

Pig farms are also struggling with the hot weather. Farmers have begun to supply ice to their livestock and to turn on air conditioning in pigsties for mother pigs and their piglets to maintain the temperature indoors at 28 degrees Celsius.

[Soundbite] Kim Beom-jin(Hog Farmer) : "The pigsty for piglets is always hot. That's why the mother-pigs also feel hot."

But despite such desperate efforts to keep livestock farms cool, some 34,000 hens and pigs have died in North Gyeongsang Province over the past three days, as temperatures there are hovering over 37 degrees Celsius.

5. Courageous Petition

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Revelations by courageous female teachers have exposed chronic sexual molestation and harassment problems at a high school in Seoul. KBS has recently obtained a petition the victims submitted to the Seoul Office of Education.

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On July 16th, a female teacher and her co-workers submitted this petition to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. It describes in detail how she was continuously subjected to sexual molestation and driven to tears because she felt hopeless and anxious. The sexual molestation and harassment allegations against three teachers in last year alone were also raised in the petition. Apparently, the principal of the school ignored the complaint, saying that the issues were between two consenting adults and could be prosecuted only when the victim filed charges. More shockingly, the teacher accused of sexually harassing a female student was appointed the supervisory instructor of that class.

[Soundbite] Petitioning Teacher(Voice altered) : "Several teachers spoke of their concerns to the principal and warned him. They repeatedly asked for a sexual abuse specialist, but the request was not heard."

KBS has found out that a teacher, who was dismissed about ten days earlier by the education office, was investigated by prosecutors in June. Parents of the students recently visited the education office and demanded a strict and impartial investigation. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education decided to extend its probe on the five teachers suspected of sexual crimes to the schools they previously worked at.

6. Nano Sensors

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Korean researchers have developed a technology that can enhance the particle detection rate of nano sensors 100 fold. The technology is expected to be used widely in nano bio sensors to diagnose disease in the future.

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This device was developed by a U.S. firm to detect bacteria and viruses. The core of the clinical diagnostic technology lies in a nano sensor attached to the device. Smaller gaps between metal nano particles allow for more accurate detection of particles and disease diagnosis. Researchers led by Professor Kang Tae-wook from Sogang University and a team of researchers from the University of California Berkley have succeeded in enhancing the detection rate by narrowing the gaps between metal nano particles to one nanometer. The researchers covered metal nano particles with dielectric shells and allowed the particles to be arranged freely. They then removed the shells using sodium hydroxide. In this way, the researchers were able to improve on the drawbacks of existing technologies, such as high costs and low efficiency. The researchers hope that the new technology will help enhance the technological performance of diverse nano bio-sensors such as next-generation disease diagnostic systems and devices for monitoring environmental pollutants in real time.

7. Anti-Smoking Campaign

[Anchor Lead]

Anti-smoking web comics and videos created by users are appealing to young smokers with their candid and down-to-earth approach. Let's take a look.

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This is a popular web comic series urging youths to quit smoking. The protagonist meets a girl on whom he has a crush. The boy decides to quit smoking because the girl declares that she hates smokers. The anti-smoking comic was produced by a cartoonist who enjoys huge popularity among youths for his work satirizing excessive lookism, which refers to the preferential treatment of handsome people.

[Soundbite] Park Tae-joon(Web Cartoonist) : "I directly used the word "anti-smoking" in the title to provoke readers' interests. I thought young people would enjoy the cartoon if I drew it in an appealing way."

An anti-smoking video clip produced by youths appeals to young smokers without preaching vague moral values. The video leads young smokers to realize the harms of smoking by describing how teeth become yellow from lighting up. This anti-smoking campaign is based on the fact that 76 percent of youths have smartphones and enjoy web cartoons or video clips on their phones. The anti-smoking web cartoon has been drawing positive responses with its first episode having been viewed by nearly two million people so far.

8. Entertainment News

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First-generation idol girl groups, like Wonder Girls and Tiara, have made a comeback with retro-style songs. This and more coming up in today's entertainment news.

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Idol girl group The Wonder Girls have made a comeback with their third full-length album, "Reboot." The lead single "I Feel You" is a dance song in a retro 80s style. In their latest album, The Wonder Girls chose to boast their instrumental talents, instead of the crowd-pleasing dance routines staged by most girl groups. Girl group "Tiara," in their seventh year since their debut, will release a new mini album at noon, Tuesday, joining the fray with rival artists. The title track "So Crazy" is a retro-styled, funky dance song to accompany impressive disco dance moves by the members. Breaking a long hiatus, singer PSY will return to the stage to help boost the domestic tourism market, which was hit hard by the recent MERS epidemic. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that PSY will appear in the 2015 Summer K-pop Festival, to be held at the plaza in front of Seoul City Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The concert is part of the ministry's efforts to stimulate domestic tourism. In addition to PSY, top idol groups like Infinite and Got7 will also perform at the concert.

9. Samgyetang Varieties

[Anchor Lead]

The Korean chicken stew called Samgyetang has been a leading summer health dish since time immemorial. It's said to help prevent our bodies from getting cold and to boost the appetite. Today we introduce varieties of samgyetang that can bolster your energy in the summer heat.

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This restaurant in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province is known to sell a special kind of the samgyetang chicken soup. See, the pot is filled with seafood. How can this be?

[Soundbite] "It now turns into "samgyetang.""

Customers enjoy a bountiful taste of the sea including live octopus, lobster and skewered seafood. After the seafood is devoured, a plump chicken then appears. The surf and turf rendezvous takes place in the kitchen. Seafood is layered in the pot. Then go in the aromatic vegetables and boiled chicken. A key ingredient of the whole dish, lobster, is taken out of the water tank and goes immediately into boiling water for 13 minutes. Slice up some lobster meat as it garnishes the stew along with the other seafood and chicken, and the "lobster samgyetang" is ready.

[Soundbite] Yun Seon-joo(Customer) : "Seafood plus chicken gives us a double dose of healthy boost."

Here at this restaurant in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province. A huge pot of all kinds of veggies and chicken is put on the stove. After an hour or so, holes are put into the chicken using a chopstick. It's said to be a secret to the flavor of the final dish.

[Soundbite] Lee Gyeong-suk(Owner, "Chogyetang" Restaurant) : "The chicken cooks faster, removing the fat to give a savory taste."

The chicken meat is also ripped up into bit size slices. After all the preparations are complete, the chilled chicken soup called Chogyetang is finally ready. Chogye means chicken seasoned with vinegar and mustard. The lingering taste of vinegar and mustard is pungent and refreshing.

[Soundbite] Kim Sun-ja(Customer) : "Delicious "chogyetang" cools me all the way to my bones."

We can't spot anything unusual with this third samgyetang dish except for its pinkish soup.

[Soundbite] "Does the soup contain adzuki beans?"

The soup's pink color comes from a particular type of rice, Hongguk rice. Hongguk rice is made by fermenting aspergillus, the fungus. It's known to be effective for lowering cholesterol levels. The sizzling heat wave has kicked in. Protect your health and boost your appetite with special samgyetang dishes you haven't tried before.