Balloon Accident

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Twelve Korean tourists enjoying the experience of a lifetime riding a hot air balloon over Turkey suddenly saw it all crashing down, sustaining injuries in a landing accident. Authorities say Korean tourists must take caution when going on these balloon rides in light of several accidents in recent years.

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Pamukkale in Turkey is a favorite sightseeing destination for foreign tourists. Around 6:00 pm on Tuesday, local time, a hot-air balloon carrying Korean tourists fell to the ground while landing. A gush of wind tilted the balloon basket to the side during the landing process. From this accident five Korean tourists suffered fractured bones and seven Korean tourists sustained bruises. They have been treated at a nearby hospital. Hot air balloon ride is a popular activity in the high plateau region of Cappadocia, featuring boulders of otherworldly beauty, and other famous tourist sites in Turkey. However, tourists must take caution in participating in this activity, as hot air balloons are greatly affected by strong winds and other weather conditions, prone to accidents.

[Soundbite] Song Ji-young(Consul, Korean Embassy in Turkey (By phone)) : "Tourists should check the weather before going on a ride and take special caution against accidents."

Last December a balloon plunged to the ground in Cappadocia, killing one Chinese tourist, and a collision between two sightseeing balloons in May, 2013 left two Brazilian tourists dead.

2. Murder in Philippines

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Another South Korean shot dead in the Philippines: a total of five South Koreans have lost their lives in the country so far this year, raising the alert for the personal safety of Koreans living and working in the Philippines.

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On March 3, a body was found on a remote roadside in the Subic Bay area in the Philippines. The dead man was identified as a South Korean national who had a foreigner registration card that had been issued by the Filipino immigration authorities. A fingerprint analysis showed that the man was a 59-year-old identified only by his surname Min. Judging by the traces of bullets in his body, local police presume that he was shot by a gun.

[Soundbite] Park Yong-jeung(Consul, Embassy of ROK in the Philippines) : "There were traces of bullets in his chest, but no traces of a gun or something that would point to the possibility of suicide."

Local police also think that Min was killed either because of business issues or by a burglar. South Koreans are an easy target in the Philippines, a country where about one million illegal guns are in distribution and where assassinations do not cost much money to call. Last month, a 45-year-old South Korean woman was shot to death in broad daylight in the capital city of Manila by a burglar. This year alone, five South Korean nationals fell victim to murders. South Koreans are nearly twice as likely to be killed in the Philippines as the locals, so measures need to be put into place to protect them.

3. Actor Drug Arrest

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Police have arrested TV actor Kim Sung-min for buying an illegal drug called philopon. The actor was on probation for using the same drug a few years ago and the latest arrest took place when Kim contacted a drug dealer himself while serving a suspended sentence.

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TV actor Kim Sung-min was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and four years probation in 2011 for using philopon, a drug banned in Korea. The police have once again arrested Kim for purchasing and using the drug during his probation period. The actor contacted a drug dealer after seeing an online advertisement last December and bought 0.8 grams of the substance. That amount is enough for 16 injections.

[Soundbite] Sen. Ins. Baek Nam-su(Seongnam Sujeong Police Dept.) : "He is a habitual user given the fact that he had purchased philopon and used it during his probation period."

The police plan to request an arrest warrant for Kim and confirm his drug use by conducting a hair test. Kim has apologized for the recent incident, saying that he is ashamed and very sorry. The police also arrested five drug dealers, including a 22 year-old man with the surname Park, for smuggling 150 grams of philopon from Cambodia and selling it to Kim and other drug users.

4. Kaesong Complex Tensions

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South and North Korea have been at odds recently over the North's unilateral changes at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. In addition to raising workers' wages without discussing the matter with the South first, the North is now demanding fees for using the land in the industrial park.

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It's been confirmed that back in November, North Korea demanded that South Korean businesses sign an agreement for payment in using land at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North wants to charge South Korean companies for land use starting this year, because the ten-year grace period, which started when the industrial park was built, is now over.

[Soundbite] Park Su-jin(Vice Spokeswoman, Unification Ministry) : "A North Korean official visited the South Korean management committee and offered to sign an agreement on land fees."

The price proposed by the North is one euro per square meter of land. The South and the North are expected to clash over the price and land size as the proposed fee is higher than the rents charged at international industrial complexes in Vietnam. The North has already raised workers' wages by 5.5 percent without discussing the matter with the South first, and enacted a new stipulation on detaining entrepreneurs at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Seoul is poised to respond strongly to the North's unilateral measures by sanctioning businesses that agree to raise wages for their North Korean workers.

5. New KTX Route

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The Honam High Speed Railway is set to open on April 2nd, six years after construction began in 2009. It will take the Honam KTX train only an hour and 30 minutes to go from Yongsan Station in Seoul to Songjeong Station in Gwangju in southwest Korea.

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The Honam High Speed Railway will go into full operation on April 2nd, postponed by controversy over whether the railway should stop by Seodaejeon Station. The Honam High Speed Railway starts in Yongsan Station in Seoul, and makes stops in Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province, Osong in North Chungcheong Province, Gongju, Iksan, and Jeongeup before reaching Songjeong Station in Gwangju. The Honam KTX train takes one hour and 33 minutes to travel from Seoul to Gwangju. That's an hour less than the current travel time. On weekends, 48 KTX trains will run on the Seoul-Songjeong line, and 20 trains on the Seoul-Yeosu line, an increase of six trains overall. Advance ticket sales will begin on Friday. Previous KTX services to the southwestern region used the high-speed railway only between Seoul and Daejeon, and traveled on the existing tracks for the rest of the way. It took more than two and a half hours to get from Yongsan Station in Seoul to Songjeong Station in Gwangju, causing the express service to be criticized as being a high-speed railway in name only. Meanwhile, the Pohang KTX line linking Shingyeongju Station and Shinpohang Station of the Gyeongbu High Speed Railway will go into operation on April 2nd as well. Once the Pohang KTX line is opened, the travel time from Seoul Station to Shinpohang Station in southeastern Korea will be shortened by an hour to two hours and 15 minutes.

6. Daegu Textile Exhibition

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State-of-the-art textiles that keep the body warm or won't burn in fire are reinvigorating the market. An international textile exhibition that's under way in the city of Daegu brings together innovative fabrics and even so-called super fabrics for industrial use, drawing the international spotlight.

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This innovative fabric is called "wearable cosmetics." Just wearing it can keep the skin moisturized and firm. The secret of this fabric lies in the tiny capsules containing nano-sized cosmetic substances.

[Soundbite] Jeon Jae-woo(Team Manager, Dyetec) : "This fabric enables users to save time by wearing it in their daily lives. Such products have been growing fast in popularity Europe recently."

Super fabrics are used widely for industrial purposes, such as in bullet-proof military uniforms, explosion-proof gas cans and non-corrosive water pipes.

[Soundbite] Kwak Sung-hyun(Korea Textile Development Inst.) : "These fabrics are used almost in all kinds of industries from bullet-proof suits to firefighters' turnout gear."

The international textile fair, called Preview In Daegu has brought together 340 textile companies from Korea and abroad, which showcased their latest products. The textile industry has emerged as a high value added industry with the production of super fabrics in Korea surging from one-thousand tons in 2009 to 7,000 tons last year.

7. Baseball is Back

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Baseball season is back. The KT Wiz is the newest addition to the South Korean professional baseball league this year, raising the number of teams to ten. Here is a preview of their new ballpark.

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The former Suwon Baseball Stadium was renovated for one and a half years and has become home to the KT Wiz. The remodeled ballpark seats 20,000 spectators with an open, unhampered view and has a giant, high-definition electronic scoreboard. For those who want more dynamic close-ups of the game, there is a booth called the "Exciting Zone" near the field. Other special facilities for spectators like the 'Barbecue Zone' are also available. Most of all, the KT Wiz Park will serve baseball fans, using state-of-the-art information technology. The official team mobile application, called "Wizzap" allows spectators to search for players' records in real-time and order snacks from the stands, all from their smartphones. The Wi-Fi network allows all the 20,000 spectators to access the Internet simultaneously.

[Soundbite] Lee In-won(PR Manager, KT Wiz) : "After remodeling the Suwon KT Wiz Park has become a new fan-friendly ballpark full of entertaining elements."

South Korea's tenth pro baseball team, the KT Wiz is now ready to make their debut. They will hold their first exhibition game this weekend.

8. Entertainment News

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Veteran singer Han Dae-soo is known as a pioneer of Korean folk music field. His new album will feature new songs and tributes by other singers. Here’s today's showbiz news.

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Singer Han Dae-soo will release a commemorative album entitled "Reverse/Rebirth" in April to mark the 40th anniversary of his debut. The new album will feature a new song entitled "My Love," which is about his ex-girlfriend he met at the music cafe "C'est si bon." It will also include Han's hit songs remade and re-sung by other singers like Jeon In-kwon, Yoon Do-hyun and Kang San-ae. To commemorate the release of the album, Han will hold a concert in late April at the LG Arts Center in Seoul. Idol girl group "Red Velvet" now has five members with a new addition. It brought in "Ye-ri" as a new member and will release an album entitled "Ice Cream Cake" on March 18th. With its digital single "Happiness," Red Velvet last year won the rookie of the year awards at major music award ceremonies. The Super Junior D&E' first album "The Beat Goes on" has topped the iTunes album chart in Hong Kong and seven Asian nations like Thailand and Singapore. It is also enjoying explosive popularity at home, as seen in its dominance of South Korean major album sales charts.

9. Medicinal Herbs

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Oak trees are quite common, and many medicinal herbs grow on them. Some have excellent properties in treating arthritis and muscle pain. Here's more.

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Deep in the mountains in Damyang, South Jeolla Province there's a special plant called mistletoe. It's hard to find because it only grows in high-lying sunny areas.

[Soundbite] Lee Jung-ku(S. Jeolla Prov. Resident) : "There's mistletoe up there."

Mistletoe is known for its excellent cancer fighting properties. It's regarded a herb of immortality in countries around the world.

[Soundbite] Kim Su-beom(Oriental Medicine Doctor) : "Mistletoe is known to help make the bones stronger, improve circulation, alleviate back pain, and help treat vaginal bleeding in women during pregnancy or after giving birth."

Mistletoe can be consumed as tea. Just put 50 grams of mistletoe into two liters of water and boil for 30-40 minutes. To make mistletoe liquor, fill about 40 percent of a jar with dried mistletoe and pour in some liquor. Then leave it to ferment for one year in a shady area. Here's another medicinal herb that grows on oak trees. It's gastrodia elata, also known as gastrodia root. It's planted in early spring and takes two years to grow. This root helps alleviate the symptoms of paralysis.

[Soundbite] "It's effective in treating paralysis in the arms and legs, speech impairment, dizziness and epilepsy caused by brain disorders."

Gastrodia roots are often confused with yams. Unlike yams, which belong to the family of tuberous plants, gastrodia roots comes from the orchid family. Therefore, their areas of use and medicinal properties are profoundly different from those of yams.

[Soundbite] Yoon Sun-ok(N. Jeolla Prov. Resident) : "You can't eat gastrodia roots raw because they stink too much."

One of the best ways to eat gastrodia roots is by grinding them up with fresh fruit. You can also grind raw gastrodia roots and mix them with wheat flour to make pancakes. You can use the same dough to make chewy dough flakes. These two herbs growing on oak trees and offering multiple health benefits are perfect for improving your health at the end of the winter.