20 Korean words added to the Oxford English Dictionary, pet insurance, and those rancid ginkgo berries
K-NEWS BITES
Wed 2021-10-06
Korea moving to introduce state-run health insurance for pets (3 min read)
“... Calls for offering state-run health insurance for pets are gaining momentum, with the number of pet owners here reaching nearly 15 million… Various bills related to animal medical expenses have been proposed at the National Assembly, including one… which seeks to start a state-run insurance program to cover some treatments. Currently, some local governments, including Seoul and Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, provide financial support for residents' purchase of dog insurance from private insurance companies, but this is the first bill proposing to have the central government cover treatment costs for pets.
S. Korean Education Minister Urges Staff Not to Force Vaccinations on Students (1 min read)
“Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae has urged her staff not to force the administration of COVID-19 vaccines on students and to make sure no one suffers any disadvantage over vaccination… Vaccinations for students aged 16 to 17 will begin from October 18, and for those aged 12 to 15 on November 1. Reservations open from 8 p.m. Tuesday.”
Travelers with Quarantine Exemption after Vaccinated Overseas to Receive Incentives (1 min read)
“Travelers [both Korean nationals and foreigners] who enter the country with a quarantine exemption document after being fully vaccinated overseas will be able to benefit from vaccine incentives starting Thursday… The certificate can be issued either on paper through public health centers or electronically through the government vaccination certification mobile app ‘COOV.’”
New cases slightly under 1,600 on fewer tests, holiday-linked (2 min read)
“South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,600 on Tuesday on fewer tests during an extended weekend, but new infections may rise down the road due to increased tests.The country added 1,575 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,557 local infections, raising the total caseload to 321,352, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)... The country added 11 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,524. The fatality rate stood at 0.79 percent.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
K-beauty, hallyu and mukbang: dozens of Korean words added to Oxford English Dictionary (2 min read)
“The Korean culture wave has swept through the editorial offices of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which has added more than 20 new words of Korean origin to its latest edition.” New word added include: hallyu, bulgogi, chimaek, hanbok, Hangul, aegyo, mukbang, and surprisingly: skinship. (if you don’t know what some of these mean, definitions are included in the article). “The OED said the inclusion of so many Korean words was recognition of a shift in language usage beyond the English-speaking world.” (note: K-pop was added to the OED in 2016).
China's refined oil supplies to N. Korea hit 13-month high in Aug.: UN report (1 min read)
“China supplied about 12,000 barrels of refined oil to North Korea in August, the largest monthly [shipment] in 13 months, a UN report showed Tuesday.… Those declared figures are still far below 500,000 barrels, an annual import ceiling imposed under a UN resolution adopted in 2017 following the North's launch of a long-range missile. The resolution calls for member states to declare the amount of their refined oil shipments to North Korea every month.”
‘North rehearsed submarine attacks on South during 2018 peace talks’ (2 min read)
“The North deployed its submarines to rehearse attacks on the South about 150 times in 2018, the highest number since 2014, when such drills took place about 120 times. Excluding 2018 from 2015 to 2019, Pyongyang held the drill 87 times a year on average.” In contrast, the South Korean navy, “held submarine drills with the US only eight times, spending two weeks in total running them in 2018, while in 2016, the allies spent a little over a month holding them.”
Korea dismisses possibility of toughening rules on big tech firms (3 min read)
On Tuesday, when Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Chairwoman Joh Sung-wook, was asked “if the KFTC was considering plans to enhance sanctions against big tech companies to the level that the United States does,” she said, "... in that regard, I don't think regulations will solve everything… Countries can have differences over the method and level of the measures to be taken depending on their market situation. Given the role and significance of the big tech firms, it is too early to take strong measures as observed in the U.S."
Samsung finally removes ads from its default apps (2 min read)
From October 1, Samsung removed ads to some of its first party applications, specifically: Weather, Health, Samsung Pay and Theme. One of the reasons cited as motivating this was, “Ads in the company’s devices had become a controversial subject that had led to several complaints by its users [and employees]. Since some of the Samsung smartphones and devices cost more than $1000, it was unfair to have ads disturbing the screen and spoiling the experience.” It remains to be seen if more of the company’s first party applications will have the same thing applied.
[Seoul Struggles 12] Ginkgo berries, the bane of autumn (3 min read)
“Autumn is here, and so are the minefields of rotting ginkgo berries. Ginkgo trees are the most commonly found trees lining Seoul’s streets… While their berries are troublesome, civil servants have.. [been] planting ginkgo trees since the 1970s. Ginkgo trees are almost entirely free from insects and diseases, they are usually deeply rooted and highly resistant to wind and snow damage.” The Seoul city government has been “installing nets and dispatching workers with equipment to collect them in bags… yet people say these efforts are not enough, as ginkgo berries can still be found, leaving stains on shoes and tires.”
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