Presidential candidates ‘wife risks’, S Korea raises world’s unhappiest children, and N Korea bristles at the EU
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Wed 2021-11-10 (KST)
Starting this week, we will trial a change in the frequency of K-News Bites to 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri). The hypothesis is that you’ll get more interesting articles, reduced repetition, and some extra help with the information overload we all have to deal with on a daily basis!
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Both ruling, opposition presidential candidates face 'wife risks' (3 min read)
“Kim Hye-gyeong, 55, the wife of Lee, and Kim Kun-hee, 49, the wife of Yoon, are both preparing to start their public appearances soon in a bid to support their husbands, but the two could also pose risks to their husbands' election chances due to past and ongoing controversies surrounding them. Kim Hye-gyeong was embroiled in a huge controversy in 2018 over suspicions that she owned the Twitter account @08_hkkim, which spread damaging statements for several years about her husband's rivals within the party… Kim Kun-hee is alleged to have been involved in a stock manipulation case with Deutsch Motors… [and she is] expected to be summoned by prosecutors soon.”
Why US is sitting on appointing ambassador to Seoul (3 min read)
“‘America is back, diplomacy is back,’ Biden said in February, distancing himself from his predecessor Donald Trump who made ‘America First’ his main policy. However the message hasn't sunk in yet as about half of U.S. ambassadorial posts still remain vacant ― with South Korea being one of them… Experts agreed that diplomacy has not been given top priority in the Biden administration, but no name coming up for the South Korea post for such a length of time is causing concern that it is not taking Korean Peninsula issues seriously.” Former President Trump also took 17 months to nominate an ambassador to South Korea.
Govt. to place emergency controls on urea water solution amid supply shortage (1 min read)
“South Korea plans to place emergency controls on production and provision of urea water solution (UWS)... in a move to ease the supply crunch of the material used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles. A government notice that allows public authorities to command urea water solution makers' production, shipment and sales is expected to be approved at the Cabinet's extraordinary meeting on Thursday and come into force no later than this week… The government previously issued emergency controls on production and provision of certain goods last year when the country faced shortages of face masks following the outbreak of COVID-19.”
Korea to get COVID-19 pills ‘no later than February’: vice health minister (2 min read)
“South Korea plans to bring oral antivirals against COVID-19 to the country by January, the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Yoo Geun-heag told reporters Tuesday, in addition to the 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that will be purchased for the third year of the pandemic… The secured budget would allow Korea to purchase enough medicines for roughly 404,000 people from companies like Merck and Pfizer, he added. ‘We don’t expect antivirals to solve COVID-19, but they will certainly help bring down severe outcomes from the disease,’ he said.
New infections below 2,000 for 2nd day amid eased virus curbs (1 min read)
“South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but health authorities remain on alert over a possible spike in new infections under eased virus curbs. The country reported 1,715 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 383,407… The death toll rose by 18 to 2,998 on Tuesday. The fatality rate came to 0.78 percent… The number of fully vaccinated people came to 39.49 million, or 76.9 percent.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
I tried making the dalgona candy popularized worldwide by 'Squid Game' and TikTok, and it was surprisingly easy (3 min read)
“In the dystopian thriller, ‘Squid Game,’ debt-laden contestants are forced to compete in deadly children's games for a $38 million cash prize, and in one episode, must etch out shapes stamped into a brittle dalgona candy with a needle and are immediately executed if the candy cracks… I was able to carve out two candies stamped with circle shapes easily, but the dalgona I stamped with a complicated snowflake design splintered into pieces almost immediately after I started carving it.” The article also steps through how to make the dalgona candy.
South Korea Is No Country for Young People (6 min read)
“For the past two decades, [South Korea] has had the highest suicide rate among developed nations: 24.6 suicides for every 100,000 people in South Korea in 2019, compared to 14.5 suicides in the United States in 2017… The number of people in their 20s experiencing depression has nearly doubled over the past five years. Yet seeking therapy is difficult in a culture that sees it as a sign of weakness... Then there’s the constant pressure and endless competition like the brutal educational race that begins in kindergarten... South Korea nearly tops the ranks in raising the world’s unhappiest children. The article also describes some ways the mental health system and support for youth in Korea could be improved.
'Deal with your own human rights issues': North Korea bristles at EU over UN resolution (1 min read)
“North Korea on Tuesday slammed the European Union (EU) for leading a U.N. resolution condemning its human rights situation, calling the move an act of hostility based on ‘false and fabricated’ documents… ‘We have long rejected this slanderous 'resolution' full of false and fabricated documents to blindly defame our human rights policy and situation,’ an official at a North Korea-EU association said in a commentary posted on the North's foreign ministry website… ‘The European countries with the worst records of human rights should do their job first, which is to deal with their own human rights trashes,’ the official added.”
US lawmakers call on Biden to declare formal end to Korean War (2 min read)
“A group of US lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week, urging his administration to quickly engage with North Korea and discuss declaring a formal end to the Korean War, an activist group said Monday. The letter was also sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to the Korean American Public Action Committee (KAPAC)... The letter, dated Nov. 4, was signed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and 22 other lawmakers here, according to the KAPAC.” The article contains an image of the letter.
State spy agency says it has foiled 14 hacking attempts from abroad this year (1 min read)
“The NIS added it has prevented a total of 89 hacking attempts on the country's industry technologies since 2017, and that the proportion of those targeting chip and display related information has increased from 30 percent in 2017 to 50 percent this year.Such attempts, when undetected, could have cost South Korean companies around 19.4 trillion won [$16.5 billion], the agency said.”
Navy unveils 3D rendering of envisioned light aircraft carrier (1 min read)
“South Korea's Navy has unveiled a three-dimensional rendering of an envisioned light aircraft carrier in a show of its resolve to build the warship by 2033 amid lingering doubts over its feasibility and necessity. After five months of preparations, the Navy posted the six-minute clip depicting the carrier strike group on its YouTube channel Monday as part of an annual program to mark the 76th anniversary of its founding, which falls on Thursday.” The article contains a link to the mentioned video.
Bill to allow singles to be eligible for full adoptions announced (1 min read)
“The ministry said it plans to submit the bill to revise the current civil law to allow singles 25 and older capable of supporting the well-being of an adoptee to become eligible for full adoptions. …. The ministry explained the revision was sought in order to address concerns that the current full adoption ban for singles could infringe upon the freedom and equality rights of singles hoping to form a family without a partner.”
Sleet falls in Seoul but is not defined as first snow of season (1 min read)
“Some sleet was witnessed on the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul on Tuesday due to a sudden drop in temperatures but fell short of being recorded as the first snow of the season, the state weather agency said… The agency said the first snowfall of the season in Seoul is declared only when weathermen can see snow with their own eyes on the premises of the KMA's branch in Songweol-dong in the center of the capital. Official records show light rain fell on and off at the KMA's Seoul branch in the morning.”
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