Vaccines open for pregnant women, Son Heung-min does it again, and Squid Game subtitles cause a stir
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K-NEWS BITES
Sat 2021-10-09 (KST)
Seoul announces incentives for undocumented immigrants who want to voluntarily leave Korea after vaccination (1 min read)
“The government will waive fines and suspend reentry restrictions for fully vaccinated illegal stayers choosing to voluntarily depart from South Korea between next Tuesday and Dec. 31 this year, the ministry said. The latest measure is part of the Seoul government's efforts to boost the COVID-19 vaccination rate among migrant workers here who are reluctant to get the jab due to fears of a possible crackdown.”
S. Korea raises level of greenhouse gas reduction goal from 26% to 40% (1 min read)
“South Korea on Friday drastically raised the level of its greenhouse gas reduction goal from 26.3 percent to 40 percent by 2030, as part of its broader aim to slowly phase out conventional resources and go carbon neutral by 2050.” This decision was made “following the passage of a related law in August, dubbed the climate crisis response act, mandating over a 35 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”
Vaccine Reservations to Open Friday for Pregnant Women (1 min read)
“According to the state vaccine task force, reservations for about 136-thousand pregnant women will open on Friday from 8 p.m. The applicants may make appointments on the vaccine reservation website (ncvr.kdca.go.kr) after providing certain information on their pregnancy such as due date. The women will receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at medical institutions across the nation from October 18. The government is advising pregnant women and people in close contact with them to get vaccinated, citing a significantly higher risk of hospitalization and death among pregnant women infected with the virus.”
New cases in 2,000s for 3rd day; resurgence in wider Seoul worrisome (2 min read)
“South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for a third straight day Friday, following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,176 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 327,976, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).” The fatality rates stands at 0.78 percent after “the country added 10 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,554.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
Singapore and South Korea to jointly launch quarantine-free travel for vaccinated travelers (1 min read)
“Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and South Korea will start from Nov. 15 for vaccinated travelers… The two countries agreed to launch a so-called ‘vaccinated travel lane,’ which allows vaccinated travelers to enter Singapore from South Korea, and vice versa without serving quarantines. Instead, travelers will have to take Covid-19 tests to ensure they are not infected with the virus.
It is the ‘first of its kind between two major aviation hubs in Asia,’ the press release said.”
Squid Game lays bare South Korea’s real-life personal debt crisis (4 min read)
“The total amount of debt run up by ordinary South Koreans exceeds GDP by 5%... In individual terms, it means that even if you saved every single penny you earned for an entire year, you would still be unable to repay your debt. And the number of people with debt problems is rising at an exponential rate.” As illustrated in Squid Game, “a sudden redundancy, a bad investment or simply a run of bad luck can force people to turn to high-risk lenders just to keep their heads above water.” The article includes a sad but all-too-common example of a small business owner overwhelmed in debt, due to the impact of COVID-19 who says, ““You have to pay to watch it [Squid Game] and I don’t know anyone who will let me use their Netflix account… In any case, why would I want to watch a bunch of people with huge debts? I can just look in the mirror.”
North Korea accepts COVID aid from WHO amid border shutdown (2 min read)
“The COVID-19 medical supplies sent by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies have reached the North Korean port of Nampo, an apparent signal that the reclusive regime is easing its strict border lockdown and welcoming outside help.” The shipment included “medicines and medical supplies such as personal protective equipment, gloves, masks and COVID-19 test reagents.”
US supports humanitarian aid for N. Korean people: State Dept. (3 min read)
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday, "Even when we disagree with a particular regime, we believe that we must work to the best of our ability to do all we can to alleviate the suffering of the people… and so we continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the DPRK.” Ned Price also noted “the US would support humanitarian assistance for the North even if its efforts to denuclearize the country do not move forward.”
NCSOFT accused of covering up sexual harassment of female employees (1 min read)
“NCSOFT is under fire for allegedly covering up several sexual harassment cases that forced female victims to leave the firm. The controversy ignited after the allegations first surfaced on Blind, an online community forum for office workers. According to sources in the game industry, the post was titled, ‘Reasons not to work for NCSOFT Entertainment's business division,’ on Blind.”
An NCSOFT representative said. "... We have strict standards regarding this issue, are taking the matter seriously and will swiftly proceed with the corresponding procedures.”
Hyundai Glovis deep dives into green energy businesses: Announces a new brand “ECOH” (2 min read)
“[One of Korea’s] largest logistics firms, Hyundai Glovis, is all set to launch its eco-friendly brand “ECOH” to promote sustainable business areas. The new brand will operate in hydrogen and electric vehicle (EV) and their battery production businesses. The name ECOH is derived from ‘Eco’ (Environment) and ‘Human,’ the firm explained in the launch announcement made on October 4th. As the name suggests, the subsidiary will focus on green energy products, while Hyundai Glovis also plans to strengthen its logistics business through the new brand.”
Son Heung-min finds new gear in World Cup qualifying win for Korea (2 min read)
“Son's 89th-minute winner helped South Korea squeeze past Syria 2-1 in their latest World Cup qualifying match Thursday at Ansan Wa Stadium in Ansan, 40 kilometers south of Seoul…. [jetlagged] Son, who by that point could barely run, found another gear in the dying moments. It was South Korea's second straight victory, following a 1-0 win over Lebanon last month in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. South Korea, which opened the campaign with a scoreless draw versus Iraq, now sit atop Group A with seven points.”
Lost in translation? 'Squid Game' subtitles cause a stir (3 min read)
“Korean American comedian Youngmi Mayer posted on Twitter last week that the English translation for the series changed the meaning of the original lines.’I watched 'Squid Game' with English subtitles and if you don't understand Korean you didn't really watch the same show. The translation was so bad,’ she wrote. ‘The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved.’”
As her tweets and video went viral, “many fans agreed with the ‘poorly translated’ subtitles from the series.” One user wrote: "I don't even speak Korean, but I've watched a lot of Korean shows. Even I could tell that the translation was bad after picking up on a lot of little honorifics and common phrases not getting translated in any way."
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