Youn Yuh-Jung named among TIME's 100 most influential people, 70% of Koreans get first COVID shot, and Bye-Bye Chanthu
K-NEWS BITES
Sat 2021-09-18 (KST)
National News
Typhoon Alerts Lifted as Chanthu's Sphere of Influence Exits S. Korea (1 min read)
“Typhoon Chanthu is on its way out of Korean territory, causing no major damage to regions beyond Jeju Island...The 14th typhoon of the year dumped a massive amount of rain on Jeju, inciting flood damage in the early hours of Friday when the storm was closest to the island. The KMA lifted a typhoon alert issued in the three sea areas near Jeju as of 4 p.m., with Chanthu expected to pass through the Korea Strait before midnight.”
70% of Koreans have received first COVID-19 vaccine dose: President (1 min read)
“President Moon Jae-in announced Friday that 70 percent of Korea's 52-million population have received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine... It represents the fastest pace among OECD member states, except for Iceland with a population of 340,000, he noted. He thanked the public and medical workers for such a speedy vaccination program.”
Coronavirus
Korea shortens list of foreign arrivals subject to 2-week mandatory isolation (1 min read)
“Beginning next month, the mandatory quarantine policy will be applied on arrivals from 20 nations, down from the current list of 36 countries, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Zambia and Djibouti were newly added to the list, while 18 countries, including Russia, India, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, were removed. South Korea has been allowing arrivals who have been fully vaccinated abroad to enter the country without going through the two-week self-isolation.”
New cases over 2,000 again amid post-Chuseok holiday resurgence woes (2 min read)
“The country added 2,008 COVID-19 cases, including 1,973 local infections, raising the total caseload to 281,938… Daily cases have stayed above the 1,000 threshold for more than 70 days amid the fast spread of the more transmissible delta variant nationwide.The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,389. The fatality rate was 0.85 percent.”
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
From The Rest of the World
The Real Reason Why Filipinos Are Obsessed With Everything Korean (6 min watch)
A 5 minute 34 second video about how Korean culture became so popular in the Philippines. Reasons stated are also similar for other countries, hence relevant well-beyond the Filipinos!
Send Tory ministers to Seoul to learn about mask-wearing | Letter (1 min read)
“In South Korea, there is not a soul without a mask… All offices, schools, shops, restaurants, museums, train stations and airports have entry requirements. There are units taking your temperature and sanitising your hands before you can enter. One gets used to it and it means things go on pretty well as normal… The numbers of Covid cases and deaths are minimal there compared with ours [the UK]...”
North Korea
Infographic: North Korea, South Korea missile programmes compared (5 min read)
“In the infographic series… Al Jazeera explains North Korea and South Korea’s missile programmes and their military capabilities.”
Inter-Korean Foreign Ministers' Meeting Unlikely at Upcoming UN Assembly (1 min read)
“A meaningful high-level meeting between South and North Korea on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this month is unlikely as Pyongyang is reportedly planning to send an ambassador-level diplomat to the annual event… North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song is scheduled to make a speech at the UN on September 27, the final day of the 76th General Assembly slated to open in New York on Tuesday next week. It marks the third consecutive year Kim addressed the UN Assembly.“
Sci-Tech
Boston Dynamics' robot dog on safety patrol duty at Kia factory (X min read)
“Hyundai Motor Group… said Friday that the robotics company's factory safety service robot has started pilot operations at a Kia factory here. Hyundai Motor Group bought the U.S. robotics firm [Boston Dynamics] from Japan's SoftBank in June 2020… [it] is able to detect people around it, monitor high-temperature situations and potential fire hazards thanks to its thermal camera and 3D LiDAR sensor. The robot can be remotely controlled, enabling engineers to observe various remote industrial areas. Using an AI technology-based navigation feature, the robot autonomously moves through its designated patrol area at the sites.” A picture of the robot is included in the article.
Epic Games asks Apple to reinstate Fortnite in South Korea after new law (1 min read)
“Epic Games has asked Apple to rejoin its Fortnite developer account in South Korea as the U.S. game maker plans to re-release Fortnite on iOS in South Korea, offering both Epic and Apple payments side-by-side, it said in a tweet. This request comes after South Korea passed a bill, the updated Telecommunications Business Act, in late August that will force Apple and other tech giants to let developers use their third-party payment systems.”
Apple said in its statement, “As we’ve said all along, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else. Epic has admitted to breach of contract and as of now, there’s no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account,”
Miscellaneous
Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung named among TIME's 100 most influential people (2 min read)
“South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung, who won an Oscar earlier this year for her role in the immigrant film "Minari," has been named one of the 100 most influential people of 2021 by American weekly magazine TIME… along with Korean American actor Steven Yeun, U.S. President Joe Biden and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, among others. Youn and Yeun, co-stars of "Minari," were listed under the categories of titans and artists, respectively.”