NK’s “Arduous March”

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Following a series of highly threatening statements in response to tough international sanctions, North Korea made its first official reference to a possible second "Arduous March," or period of severe economic hardship. The North Korean media have also been stressing the country's resolve to defend its leader.

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This is a North Korean documentary film about young North Korean storm troopers during the first "Arduous March" in the mid-1990s. The movie claims to have overcome the crisis brought on by Kim Il-sung's death and natural disasters by undergoing an arduous march under the direction of Kim Jong-il.

[Soundbite] Korean Central TV(N. Korea) : "His faith in our young people and their mettle was what made it possible for us to endure the Arduous March."

Having countered the United Nations' sanctions with various threats of provocation and economic campaigns, North Korea made its first reference about the possibility of a second "Arduous March" through an official channel. The North Korean media remarked that the road to revolution is long and tough, and that North Koreans may have to go on another Arduous March in which they have to chew on plant roots. The media source said that the hardship is a way to fiercely defend the top leadership and demanded that North Koreans swear loyalty to Kim Jong-un. Experts believe that North Korea's recent actions are groundwork to harness the feelings of crisis pervading the country, by idolizing Kim Jong-un ahead of the 7th Workers' Party Congress in May.

2. Pyongyang Rhetoric

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North Korean media claims that if war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul residents would flee while South Korean soldiers would commit suicide. This pattern of behavior and rhetoric from the North is reminiscent of its reaction to mine explosions near the DMZ in August last year.

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This video was posted by North Korea on "Uriminzokkiri," or "Our Race Alone," a website which acts as an outlet for propaganda aimed at South Korea. The video contains sped-up footage of passengers at a train station. Its purpose is to make it appear as if Seoul residents are fleeing the city in the face of North Korea's threats.

[Soundbite] N. Korean propaganda website 'Uriminzokkiri' : "We have found that South Korean residents are fleeing the city of Seoul."

The North also used footage regarding a South Korean reserve soldier being shot last year to produce a preposterous video about widespread suicide among South Korean troops.

[Soundbite] N. Korean propaganda website 'Uriminzokkiri' : "Suicides have been on the rise in the horror-struck puppet military."

The North produced similarly doctored videos about chaos in the South triggered by the fear of war the day after its land mine provocation in August last year.

[Soundbite] 'Uriminzokkiri'(Aug. 2015) : "People flocked to a department store in Incheon early in the morning to stock up on instant noodles, beverages, and cooking oil."

Analysts say North Korea's absurd propaganda represents the growing anxiety in the regime as a result of mounting pressure from the international community.

3. Counterfeit Chinese Bills

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A counterfeit 100-yuan banknote has been discovered for the first time since the bill was newly issued in China last year. North Korea has long been accused of counterfeiting American dollars, and is now suspected of counterfeiting the Chinese banknote.

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This is a counterfeit of the new 100-yuan banknote found at a bank in the city of Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, China.Worth about 15 U.S. dollars, the newly issued 100-yuan banknote is the highest denomination bill in Chinese currency. The counterfeit was found just four months after the new banknote went into circulation last November.

[Soundbite] Jiangxi Province Satellite TV : "Counterfeit 100-yuan bills have been discovered. This is the first counterfeit of the new banknote seized by a local financial agency."

It is still unknown how the fake note was made or circulated. Nonetheless, some have risen the possibility that the bogus bill was made in North Korea. Previously, the Chinese police have said that circumstances indicate that North Korean-made counterfeits have been in circulation secretly in Inner Mongolia, Dalian in Liaoning Province, and Tongzhou in Jiangsu Province since 2011.Chinese law enforcement authorities said at the time that the North Korean forgeries were hard to distinguish even with a commercial counterfeit detector, much less with the naked eye.Police warnings are being circulated on the Internet again, stoking the suspicion that North Korea may be behind the new counterfeit Chinese banknotes.

4. Competitive Market

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The global consumer electronics market has been seen sweeping changes due to the rise of China. Korean makers of consumer electronics that once dominated the market have embarked on more aggressive marketing to make their products stand apart from Chinese competitors.

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Ultra high-resolution televisions that are thinner than smartphones. Refrigerators that become translucent when a user taps on them and open their doors when the user's foot is held close by. The combined price of the television and refrigerator surpasses 17,000 U.S. dollars, similar to the price of a passenger car. These high-end products were unveiled recently by LG Electronics.

[Soundbite] Ahn Seung-kwon(President, LG Electronics) : "We believe we have ushered in an era of high-end consumer electronics. We will help consumers enjoy a higher standard of living."

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics unveiled a pricey refrigerator costing up to 6500 dollars that was developed with the help of famed chefs. Just one year after their release, 20 thousand refrigerators were sold. The operating profit of low-cost electronics is about 4 percent, but the figure rises to over 9 percent for high-end products.In other words, the operating profit for an 80 cent product is just 4 cents, whereas it is as high as 90 cents for every 8.5 dollar product.This means that selling one high-end product is more profitable than selling 20 low-cost ones. What's more, the premium television and refrigerator market continues to grow exponentially. Experts say that by raising brand value through higher quality, it will be easier for Korean manufacturers to outperform their Chinese rivals in the low-cost product market.

5. Unmanned Farm Tech

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An increasing number of cutting-edge unmanned equipment is being introduced to the Korean farming sector. These easy-to-use precision machines are expected to boost farming output in rural communities with largely elderly populations.

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A drone flies over expansive wheat and barley fields. A near-infrared ray camera affixed on the drone takes detailed photographs of the field from 150 meters up. These images provide a sweeping look at crop growth conditions.The area marked green indicates crops rich in chlorophyll with fast-growing leaves. The reddish area implies that it is in need of fertilizer or water.

[Soundbite] Na Sang-il(Researcher/Nat'l Academy of Agricultural Science) : "Objective and scientific studies can boost the reliability of crop information and contribute to stabilizing the food supply by creating periodical crop data."

This tractor is operated without a driver. Upon entering a course, the unmanned tractor is capable of tilling the fields with GPS signals received in real-time. It is so precise that the margin of error is only 2 centimeters. There is equipment that harvests only ripe, red strawberries by distinguishing the right color. North Jeolla Province is subsidizing R&D projects to commercialize cutting-edge farming robots. They're also reviewing a group purchase option to lower the priceof acquiring automatic farming equipment.

6. Tourism from China

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More than 6,000 Chinese tourists came to Incheon in a single tourist group. Korean pop culture certainly played a role in bringing them to Korea. Take a look at a chicken and beer party that the Chinese guests enjoyed on Wolmi Island.

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A 300-meter section of the Wolmi Island coast in Incheon is packed with tables. This is a venue of a so-called "chicken and beer" party that was organized for some 4,500 Chinese tourists. The tourists sample Korean cuisine, take pictures and enjoy Korean culture that they had previously seen only on TV.

[Soundbite] Chinese Tourist : "I want to recommend to my family and friends to visit Incheon and try its fried chicken and beer."

Six thousand employees of a Chinese cosmetics company traveled to Korea last weekend. They are by far the largest single tourist group to visit Korea, and they are breaking multiple records. The party involved 1,500 fried whole chickens. More than ten restaurants in Incheon had to fry at least 100 chickens each to fill the order. More than 4,500 cans of beer were delivered to the party.
If piled up, their combined height would reach 760 meters, or 1.6 times as high as Mt. Mani on Ganghwa Island. The tourists were escorted by 300 tour guides, transported in 140 tour buses and stayed in 1500 hotel rooms. The Korea Tourism Organization expects the Chinese tourists to spend approximately 23 million U.S. dollars during their stay in Korea.

7. 3D Camera Trend

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Three-dimensional virtual reality images are the hottest thing in not only photography, but also in advertisements and music videos. Previously, 360-degree cameras were known to be quite cumbersome and expensive, but they’re shrinking in both size and price to make them a more versatile tool in many areas.

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This man whose pasttime used to be bicycle-riding now has a new hobby. He travels around the country to take 3D pictures and videos with his 360-degree camera and posts the images on his social networking sites.

[Soundbite] Yun Tae-yong(3D Photographer) : "It was boring to shoot flat pictures, but now that I have a 360-degree camera, it's more fun to see the whole thing."

Three-dimensional images have been flooding online sites recently. One-person media has cropped up, following music videos and ads produced by a single person. Moreover, attempts have been made recently to even produce news with 3D images. In the past, several cameras had to be connected in order to shoot a 360-degree image, but nowadays all you need is a single camera with advanced features. Plusit's smaller in size and lower in price. The global virtual reality market is expected to exceed one trillion dollars by 2020. As virtual reality technology is regarded as a new growth engine, the competition among tech companies is growing fiercer to take a bigger chunk of the lucrative market.

8. Entertainment News

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Movie posters play a big role when it comes to promoting films. The competition for creating more eye-catching posters is intensifying amid fierce competition in the film industry. Here’s more in today’s entertainment news.

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A photo shoot for a movie poster lasts more than ten hours. A team consisting of more than 30 experts creates hundreds of candidate posters.The team works all night long to come up with a single main poster. Posters for movies starring famous actors tend to emphasize the characters and feature large images of the cast's faces.

[Soundbite] Yoon Seon-young & Yeo Kyung-hwan(Seoul Residents) : "It's easy to guess from the posters what a movie is about even before watching it."

Sometimes movie posters are customized according the viewers' needs in each specific country to ensure the movies' success overseas.

[Soundbite] Min Kyung-ho(Movie Poster Production Company Executive) : "Posters targeting global audiences do not emphasize the actors as much. We made adjustments because of opinions that the focus should be on the actors."

Comical retro-style posters that were introduced by a multiplex theater on April Fool's Day last year received rave reviews from viewers. A humorous meme based on the poster for the movie "The Himalayas" inspired the public to try the trick with other posters as well. Competition to produce eye-catching movie posters continues to intensify in the film industry.

9. Spring Fashion Trends

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Spring is in the air, and many people are starting to pay more attention to what they are wearing and how they look. Today we take a look at the spring trends in the world of fashion and makeup.

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Dongdaemun in Seoul is known as a haven of fashion. The apparel stores are full of items featuring bright colors. Let's find out more about the latest fashion trends this spring. The most eye-catching trend is large flowery patterns.They are bigger and bolder this year.

[Soundbite] Choi Jin-woo(Fashion Designer) : "Women with skinny legs should wear skirts with extravagant floral patterns, while those with skinny upper bodies should wear floral tops."

White shirts matched with wide pants are also in vogue this spring. A white shirt helps accentuate the waistline, and you can spice up the look in various ways. As to the pants, they are even wider than last year. Finally, the third trend that rules the fashion scene this spring is folded fabrics, especially pleats and frills.

[Soundbite] "Pleats refer to fabrics folded by a machine. Frills are decorative folds made by hand."

Pleated skirts made of light fabrics are perfect for creating a vivacious look befitting the coming spring. Frills can be used anywhere - on the neck, shoulders, chest and pockets. Now, let's take a look at the latest makeup trends.

[Soundbite] Kang Mi-sook(Makeup Artist) : "In spring and summer strobing makeup is popular because of its bright and light look."

This is so-called "strobing makeup." It originates from strobe lights used in photography. First of all, apply some makeup base to make your skin look even. Next, fill in the empty spots in your eyebrows with eye shadow, but don't overdo it. Then apply a lipstick or a tint to your lips to make them look as natural as possible. The highlight of the strobing makeup is, naturally, highlighting. Mix some oil balm or vaseline with glitter powder at 2-1 ratio. Highlight your face not only in the T zone but also from your eyebrows and down to your cheekbones in a semi-oval shape.This will make your face look slimmer and fresher.

[Soundbite] "Your strobing makeup is done."

With these tips, you can create a stylish and fresh look this spring.