Living with COVID starts, N Korea breeds swan meat, and deaths continue to outnumber births in Korea
K-NEWS BITES
Tue 2021-11-02 (KST)
Office workers, students struggle to return to in-person life as 'living with COVID-19' kicks off (2 min read)
“Major public transportation services in the capital were inundated with commuters and students returning to workplaces and schools, respectively, beginning early in the morning… as office workers and students resumed their in-person lives under the government's ‘living with COVID-19’ scheme aimed at bringing the nation gradually back to pre-pandemic normalcy.” However, this is not welcomed by all, as one office worker voiced, “I have been very happy working from home, without having to be face to face with my boss every day and getting to spend time for my health and personal advancement.”
At G-20, Moon pledges to complete phaseout of coal power plants by 2050 (2 min read)
“President Moon Jae-in on Sunday pledged that South Korea will compete the phaseout of coal-fired power generation by 2050 and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality on a global level… Scientists said the timing of the 1.5 C rise in the earth's temperature is very likely to come before 2040, a decade faster than an earlier prediction, if greenhouse gas emissions remain at current levels. The G-20 summit is seen as a precursor to next week's bigger UN climate conference called the COP26. South Korea's decision to reduce emissions will be reported during the COP26 talks, officials said.”
1,289 caught breaching virus rules at Halloween celebrations: police (1 min read)
“A total of 1,289 people in violation of anti-COVID-19 rules were caught in the past three days at Halloween parties and private gatherings across the country, police said Monday. The National Police Agency said 630 people were discovered violating antivirus protocols, food sanitation rules and music-related regulations Saturday, followed by 400 on Sunday and 259 on Friday.“
New infections fall below 2,000, eased virus curbs begin (2 min read)
“South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the first time in five days on Monday as the country began its ‘living with COVID-19’ scheme meant to phase out coronavirus restrictions amid the rising rate of vaccinations… South Korea reported 1,686 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,666 local infections, raising the total caseload to 366,386… The death toll rose by nine to 2,858 on Monday. The fatality rate stood at 0.78 percent.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
A 4-day week pilot is underway in Ireland. Organizers hope that it will act as a template for trials elsewhere (2 min read)
So far, 20 companies [in Ireland] have signed up to the six-month pilot, which will involve them trialing a reduction of working hours from February 2022. It's being coordinated alongside a similar pilot in the US and Canada, starting in April 2022… Boston College and University College Dublin will support research into the impact on carbon emissions, productivity and wellbeing, compared with a standard five-day work week… The momentum behind calls for the reduction of working hours is growing at both business and state level… Lee Jae-myung, a presidential candidate in South Korea, suggested to voters that he would implement shorter working weeks, should they back him.
China grows more isolated as Asia Pacific neighbors start living with Covid-19 (7 min read)
“From Australia to South Korea and across Asia Pacific, the final bastions of ‘zero-Covid’ are easing restrictions and opening borders as the region prepares to live with the virus -- except for one major holdout… Despite fully vaccinating more than 75% of its population, China is sticking to its stringent zero-Covid strategy, including closed borders, lengthy quarantine measures for all international arrivals and local lockdowns when an outbreak occurs.” It is believed reasons for this include: the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress in November where President Xi Jinping is expected to cement a third term in office.
North Korea is breeding black swans for people to eat, as the reclusive nation faces a crippling food shortage (1 min read)
“North Korea has started breeding black swans to slaughter for their meat as the country battles to solve a crippling food shortage. The secretive nation has long struggled to maintain its food supplies, but the crisis has recently worsened after typhoons wiped out crops and the country shut its borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19… ‘Black swan meat is delicious and has medicinal value,’ the official government newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an article published Monday.“
Moon seeks papal visit to NK, but will Pyongyang play ball? (3 min read)
“Seoul believes a rare papal visit to the closed-off country could play a critical role in reviving the peace process on the peninsula, which has been stalled since the collapse of the Hanoi summit in 2019. No pontiff has ever visited North Korea, a country known for severe crackdowns on religion, and in the past the Vatican has said no papal trip to the North could take place unless the regime agreed to allow freedom of religion and accept Catholic priests.”
Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Galaxy S21: All the biggest differences based on rumors (7 min read)
“So far, we've heard that the Galaxy S22 could offer a thinner design with new color options, 45- watt fast charging support for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, as well as camera, processor and battery upgrades, all for a similar price as the Galaxy S21. Although the exact launch date for the Galaxy S22 is still unclear, Pulse New Korea speculates that the new phone lineup could be arriving in January.” The article goes into an interesting deeper dive on potential cost, design, colors, camera, processor, charging, based on leaks/rumours to date. The article also includes two renders of what the S22 could look like.
KT to Credit 15 Hours Worth of Service Fees after Network Disruption (1 min read)
“Telecommunication giant KT Corporation has announced it will deduct service fees for 15 hours of use from customers’ bills, which is ten times longer than the time its wired and wireless services were disrupted last week due to a network routing error. The company said on Monday that services subject to the compensation are wireless, internet, IP phone and business products.Small businesses that suffered damage will receive an amount equal to ten days worth of service charges. The sum is set to be automatically deducted from November charges, which are claimed in December.”
[News Focus] Deaths outnumber births in 22 of recent 23 months (3 min read)
“A continuous decline in the working age population, those aged between 15-64, is likely to undermine national competitiveness in the coming years and decades. Of the entire population, the size of the working age population has dipped to the lowest in 25 years at 71.1 percent… This is an unprecedented situation since the nation started compiling the relevant data… Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] showed Korea has fallen far behind the average of its 38 members and some nonmembers in fertility rates.” The article contains a graph comparing South Korea’s low fertility rate to other countries.
[Graphic News] Portion of ranking female public officials hits high of nearly 10% (1 min read)
“According to the 2021 report released by the Ministry of Personnel Management, the ratio of women among ranking civil servants at the central government’s ministries and agencies stood at 9.3 percent as of the first half of this year. The number marks yet another record high after the corresponding ratio hit 8.5 percent, or 132 women, for 2020 and 7.9 percent, or 122 women, the previous year, both of which were also new highs at the time.” The article contains a graphic depicting the proportion of high level female public officials from 2017 to 2020.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends! (or hit the share button below).
If you’re new to K-News Bites, you can subscribe by hitting the button below:
GamSaHabNiDa! 🙇