Return to normalcy in 3 stages, N Korean leader sheds weight, and KT outage disrupts the nation
Happy Belated Dokdo Day! (for Monday)
K-NEWS BITES
Tue 2021-10-26 (KST)
Young workers not entirely happy with 'return to normalcy' (2 min read)
Some aspects of the planned gradual return to normalcy are not entirely welcomed by some. “For young workers, after-work dinners that often involve binge-drinking, or ‘hoesik’ in Korean, are one such undesired past practice.” During the COVID-19 restrictions, “they have instead had increased personal time in the evenings with family or for their hobbies… Nearly 45 percent of workers in their 20s and 30s said they want their companies and colleagues to refrain from having company dinners even after the pandemic is over.”
S. Korea to raise need for int'l discussions on Japan's Fukushima plan in IMO meeting (1 min read)
“South Korea will once again call for international discussions on Japan's plan to discharge radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean at this week's international maritime gathering.” Earlier this month, “Japan finalized plans to start discharging… more than 1.2 million tons of tritium-laced water… into the Pacific Ocean in 2023… Japan has insisted that the matter is not subject to discussions under the Protocol. But many nations and international organizations have voiced concerns.”
Korea to open up in stages from Nov. 1 (2 min read)
Starting Nov 1, “Social distancing restrictions and other public health precautions will be lifted in three phases. Each phase will last four weeks, with a grace period of up to two weeks depending on metrics such as hospital bed availability and intensive care patient counts... Access to hospitals or other health care facilities is reserved for patients with severe to critical illness.” Most businesses will no longer close their doors by certain hours. Wearing face masks and scanning QR codes containing resident registration and vaccination status will still be mandatory before entering a public place. Please refer to the article for more details.
Infection rates continue to trend downward with S. Korea hitting vaccine milestone (1 min read)
“South Korea reported 1,190 new cases Monday, bringing the total caseload to 353,089, continuing a sustained decline in the number of coronavirus cases as its vaccination rate reached the milestone of 70 percent over the weekend.The death toll came to 2,773, up seven from a day earlier.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
The Foreign Policy Outlook of South Korea’s Ruling Party Presidential Candidate (4 min read)
“South Korea will elect its 20th president on March 9, 2022. Lee Jae-myung, the current governor of Gyeonggi province, was recently selected as the presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea… On North Korean denuclearization, Lee asserts that ‘snapback’ sanctions – the automatic reimposition of sanctions to punish noncompliance – and simultaneous step-by-step action are ‘realistic and practical for both North and South Korea’ because a ‘big deal’ or a grand bargain is unlikely to succeed.” In terms of broader foreign policy, Lee “emphasizes that competent diplomacy should aim to make both Washington and Beijing seek closer cooperation with Seoul.”
Media reports of N. Korean leader's sister staging coup not true at all: spy agency (1 min read)
“South Korea’s spy agency… the National Intelligence Service (NIS) dismissed reports that claimed Kim Yo-jong ousted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after a coup... Speculations about Kim Jong-un's well-being have been brought up by the media regularly since last year. In July, the NIS dismissed rumors over Kim Jong-un's health problems as ‘groundless.’”
North Korean leader's weight loss leads to diverse speculation (1 min read)
Japan's Tokyo Shimbun speculated last month that the North Korean leader seen at the Sept. 9 event [marking the 73rd anniversary of the country's founding] could have been a double, focusing on how different he looked from previous pictures,” as he seems to have lost 10-20 kg.“While the drastic loss of weight coupled with his absence from public view have led to rumors that he could have been seriously ill” South Korea’s spy agency “reported to lawmakers that he seems to have shed weight for health reasons.”
KT communication services disrupted across country (1 min read)
“KT's services, including the internet, payment and phone call services, were disrupted at around 11 a.m. KT appeared to have recovered most of its internet services by noon, though disruptions continued in some regions… The ministry is conducting an in-depth investigation to find the cause of the problem and the Police cybercrime investigation team have launched an investigation.”
Apple TV+ to launch service in Korea on Nov. 4 (1 min read)
“Tech giant Apple announced Monday that it will begin service for Apple TV+, Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV app service in Korea starting in November, in partnership with local internet service provider SK Broadband.... The monthly subscription fee for Apple TV+ in Korea is priced at 6,500 won ($5.50) and allows up to six users… with a free seven day trial period.” Apple TV will release its first Korean original series, “Dr. Brain,” to mark the launch. Another anticipated Korean show from the platform is ‘Pachinko.’
VANK, Yi Je-seok launch campaign to correct names of Dokdo, East Sea (1 min read)
“On the occasion of Dokdo Day, local civic group Voluntary Agency Network of Korea has developed an online campaign in collaboration with advertising guru Yi Je-seok to encourage the public to check and report errors of names of Dokdo and East Sea in maps on overseas sites. The campaign aims to bring about revisions to the names on websites… The models for this campaign are independence activists, Ahn Jung-geun, Yun Bong-gil and Ryu Gwan-sun… [who] were reborn with humorous expressions and gestures through computer graphics.” The article contains pictures of some examples of these.
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! 🙇