The Korea Times

Jeju emerges as MICE hub in Asia

By Lee Hyo-sik Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju has emerged as a popular destination for commercial meetings and corporate tour programs as it holds a wide range of international gatherings on the island over the years. To become one of Asia’s top meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) destinations, Jeju has to make more efforts to improve its infrastructure and promote itself overseas, the island’s top tourism official said. In an interview with The Korea Times, Yang Young-keun, CEO of Jeju Tourism Organization, said, ``We first need to host as many international meetings as possible to show the world that Jeju is the perfect place for both business and leisure. The 15th Inter-Island Tourism Policy Form, which took place from Sept. 28 to 30 at the Lotte Hotel Jeju, certainly helped boost the island’s image as an attractive MICE destination.’’ Nearly 200 participants from 11 countries across the globe took part in the three-day meeting. But Yang said Jeju has a long way to go before it becomes a truly popular spot for cooperate meetings. ``The cent

Oct 6, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

No. of Chinese visitors to Jeju hits record high

By Lee Hyo-sik Wherever you are on Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju these days, it is a sure thing that you will run into groups of Chinese tourists. Hotels and other hospitality-related businesses catering to visitors from the mainland are flourishing, earning tens of millions of dollars each month. Some residents there say that the number of annual Chinese visitors will soon surpass the Jeju Island population of 570,000. Given all this, it is not surprising that the number of Chinese visitors to the island has reached an all-time high as of early this month, exceeding last year’s figure. According to Jeju Tourism Organization (JTO), Tuesday, 411,000 Chinese came to the resort island from Jan. 1 through Oct. 2 this year, surpassing the 2010 figure of 406,164. Including, the number of non-Korean tourists visiting Jeju totaled 737,713, up 23.5 percent from the same period last year. ``We are positive that more than 1 million foreign visitors will come here by the end of this year,’’ a JTO spokesman Lee Young-soo said. He said even though the number of Chinese and

Oct 5, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Asiana to upgrade passenger service system

By Lee Hyo-sik Asiana Airlines said Wednesday that it will replace its current passenger service system with one developed by Amadeus, an information technology solution provider for airlines over the next two years at an expenditure of 60 billion won ($50 million). The carrier said when the new passenger system is introduced in November 2013, airline customers will enjoy faster and more reliable reservation and boarding services. ``In partnership with Amadeus, we will invest 60 billion won and mobilize 110 information technology personnel, beginning from December. The whole process is estimated to take about two years. When we are equipped with the envisioned passenger system, we will be able to provide much better customer services,’’ said Ryu Gwang-hee, a director of the airliner’s passenger service division. Besides ticket reservation and boarding pass services, the new system will allow passengers to rent a car and make room reservations at hotels in partnership with Asiana Airlines.

Oct 5, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Conflicts over naval base resurface on Jeju

By Lee Hyo-sik A controversy surrounding the naval base to be built on a small fishing village of Jeju Island seemed to be all but over after the court allowed the Navy to resume its construction in early September. But the recent apprehension of university students and activists who illegally broke into the construction site in Gangjeong Village rekindled the long-standing conflict between those opposing the planned base and the Navy. On Oct. 2, the Seogwipo Police Station arrested 11 university students on charges of hampering civil services after they climbed over a fence set up around the construction site. Four unionized workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries were also detained on the same charge after they assaulted police officers at the scene. The following day, all of them were released as police decided to book them without physical detention. But the Gangjeong Village Union who oppose the construction of the disputed naval base and the Pan-Jeju Committee against the military station on the island claimed that the university students who broke into the construct

Oct 5, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

Korea TESOL to hold conference

KOTESOL (Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Language) will host the 19th KOTESOL International Conference at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul from Oct. 15 to 16. The nation’s largest English language teaching conference is expected to draw over 1,500 people, the organization for teachers of English said in a statement. Under the theme of “Pushing Our Paradigms: Connecting with Culture,” the invited speakers will challenge present a fresh perspective on ELT (English Language Training.) The conference will invite internationally-acclaimed speakers Stephen Krashen, B. Kumaravadivelu and Keith Folse among many others. They will offer insights into the latest teaching techniques, theories and research. The conference will be a forum for educators to share their ideas, innovations, experiences and research findings in the global context. More than a dozen world-renowned speakers and 120 presenters will shed light on the future directions of the profession and on cutting-edge techniques in the age of English as a “global language.” There will also be a nu

Oct 5, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

Student Corner SAT cheaters

By Cho Choong-yeon A famous SAT teacher in Korea was caught illegally discussing what was on the exam. He used the time difference between the United States and other countries to tell his students what will be on the test. As students talked after the test, some of them, without noticing, told others that they had known what was going to be on the exam. Since SAT scores are based on percentages, the other students felt this was unfair and reported the incident to the College Board. All the tests taken in Korea were voided and the efforts of those who actually worked hard came to naught. However, the worst part starts here. As more and more people found out about the SAT teacher, more and more parents tried to send their kids to him so their children could attain high scores. It is shocking that some parents care more about children’s short-term goal of getting into a good college instead of looking to the distant future of their children. There is another incident that has made colleges distrust Korean students. One of the foreign language high schools faked its stu

Oct 5, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Jeil Savings head arrested

By Lee Hyo-sik The chairman of Jeil Savings Bank, suspended from operating for six months due to its poor financial condition, has been arrested on charges of embezzling customers’ money. A joint team investigating the scandal-tainted savings banks said Tuesday that it had taken Jeil Chairman Yoo Dong-chun, 71, into custody Sunday for illegally taking out loans, creating a slush fund and spending customers’ money for his own purposes. Yoo is also the bank’s major stakeholder. Jeil is one of seven lenders suspended by financial regulators on Sept. 18, due to a poor capital adequacy ratio as a result of illicit lending and other irregularities. Investigators said an arrest warrant has been sought for Yoo. The team, set up following the suspension of the secondary banks, comprises of 80 members from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the National Police Agency, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. ``We detained Yoo at 6 p.m. Sunday and questioned him about a range of illicit activity in which he

Oct 4, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

SLS Group chief summoned again

By Lee Hyo-sik A businessman claiming to have provided funds and entertainment to former vice culture minister and other aides to President Lee Myung-bak has turned himself in to the prosecution Monday. SLS Group Chairman Lee Kook-chul appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul, carrying a suitcase and a briefcase. He said the two bags contain evidence that will support his allegations against Shin Jae-min, former vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, and other confidants of President Lee. A day before presenting himself to the prosecution, Lee held a press briefing to state fresh allegations that his broker bribed Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin last year in exchange for business favors. Lee said he hired a businessman in Daegu, also surnamed Lee, as an adviser to one of the group’s subsidiaries in April 2010 and had him contact politicians and influential figures. At the time, the train parts and vessel maker was under a debt workout program. Lee said he decided to hire a “lobbyist” after concluding that the current ad

Oct 3, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Debate over Yanghwa Bridge heats up

By Lee Hyo-sik Yanghwa Bridge, which has been under renovation to allow large ships to pass under it, has emerged as a contentious issue, pitting candidates in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-elections. Renovating the bridge, which connects Mapo-gu on the north side of the river to Yeongdeungpo-gu on the south side, is one of the “Han River Renaissance” projects spearheaded by former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Oh representing the governing Grand National Party (GNP) resigned from the mayoral post late August after failing to attract enough votes to nullify a free school lunch program. Waste of taxpayers’ money? Park Won-soon, a lawyer-turned-activist from the liberal camp, opposes the reconstruction scheme, demanding Seoul city immediately halt it. He said the project destroys marine environment on the Han River and is financially infeasible. In contrast, Na Kyung-won, the GNP’s Seoul mayoral contender, sides with the city government, saying that the scheme should continue in order not to waste the tens of billions of won in taxpayers’ money already spent to change the stru

Oct 3, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Calls growing against ’Hope Bus’ rally

By Lee Hyo-sik Residents in Busan are mounting calls on labor activists to stop holding a protest rally in support of dismissed shipbuilding workers this weekend when the southeastern port city hosts the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Labor activists, civic group members and citizens have held the so-called ``Hope Bus’’ rallies four times so far and the organizers plan the fifth round of protest on Oct. 8-9 during which Busan hosts the film festival. The internationally-renowned film festival will begin on Oct. 6 and last through 14. The rallies have been organized in protest of massive layoffs of unionized workers at Yeongdo shipyard by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) in the port city. They are gathering in Busan to support Kim Jin-sook, a former Hanjin Heavy worker and member of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who has been staging a sit-in protest atop a 35-meter giant crane at its shipyard since January. However, protest organizers, including members of KCTU and the Democratic Labor Party, are facing growing opposition fro

Oct 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

Jeju emerges as MICE hub in Asia

No. of Chinese visitors to Jeju hits record high

Asiana to upgrade passenger service system

Conflicts over naval base resurface on Jeju

Korea TESOL to hold conference

Student Corner SAT cheaters

Jeil Savings head arrested

SLS Group chief summoned again

Debate over Yanghwa Bridge heats up

Calls growing against ’Hope Bus’ rally

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