The Korea Times

T20 to aid world through tourism

By Lee Hyo-sik There is an old saying: “Give a man a fish he can feed himself for a day, teach a man to fish he can feed himself for life.” This has been a motto for Korea when it comes to aiding underdeveloped countries. Of course, it is also important to provide them with grains and other essential materials for survival. But it is more crucial for donors to transfer the necessary skills and knowledge to help them escape from poverty on their own. South Korea, one of the world’s poorest countries, was able to rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War on the back of international aid, and has emerged as one of the leading economies in the world. With Korea’s transition from an aid recipient to a donor country, many underdeveloped and developing countries view Korea as an economic role model. At the upcoming 2nd T20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, Asia’s fourth largest economy plans to extensively deal with the eradication of poverty in the underdeveloped world as one of the main agendas, urging participants to do more to help poor countries develop their tourism industr

Oct 11, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Travel & Food

T20 promotes tourism as sustainable growth tool

By Lee Hyo-sik Tourism ministers from the world’s 20 largest economies will gather in Buyeo, an ancient capital city of the Baekje Kingdom (18BC-660AD) in South Chungcheong Province, from Oct. 11 to 13 to discuss ways of turning tourism into a new growth engine for the global economy. The so-called T20 ministers will explore potential for the tourism sector to support the world’s long-term transformation to a “green” economy, while promoting the cultural and societal diversity across the globe. They are also expected to touch on the role of the tourism industry in helping developing countries achieve a sustainable growth. The participants of the 2nd Tourism Ministers’ Meeting will issue the “Buyeo Declaration” on Wednesday, calling for the T20, the issue-driven initiative supported by the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), to play a greater role in economic development and narrow the widening gap between rich and poor countries through tourism. The joint statement will also include a range of detailed action pla

Oct 11, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Jecheon promotes Oriental medicine

By Lee Hyo-sik Jecheon city in North Chungcheong Province has emerged as a center for oriental medicine by hosting a large-scale festival promoting acupuncture, medical herbs and other fields of Korea’s traditional medicine, every year since 2002. The 2010 World Oriental Medicine-Bio EXPO opened on Sept. 16 and will run through Oct. 16, and has been attracting tens of thousands of visitors from both home and abroad. Visitors can see and smell hundreds of medicinal herbs used to treat various illnesses and diseases, and learn how they work on humans. They are also able to consult with oriental doctors about their health problems, receive acupuncture and other medical treatments free of charge. Acupuncture, moxibustion and other treatments are also offered as a complimentary service at the Korean Traditional Medicine Clinic. At the Futuristic Korean Medicine Pavilion, tourists can experience the latest treatment techniques and state-of-the-art medical tools, while the nearby Medical Herb Study Pavilion displays not only herbs, but also minerals and animal parts widely us

Oct 10, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Boeing to capitalize on Korean aviation market

By Lee Hyo-sik Boeing, one of the world’s two dominant airplane manufacturers, plans to expand marketing and other business operations here to capitalize on the rapidly growing Korean aviation market, the company’s marketing chief said Thursday. Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that over 7.9 million international visitors arrived in Korea in 2009, while approximately 11.6 million visitors from Korea flew to other destinations, adding air traffic in Asia’s fourth largest economy will continue to show an upward curve for many years to come. “Korea is an important market to Boeing. It has strongly rebounded from the recession and is now growing at a pace well ahead of the global economy. An increasing number of liberalized air service agreements between South Korea and other countries should further stimulate air travel,” Tinseth said in a press conference. He added that Incheon International Airport is well positioned as an Asian gateway and has room for expansion to take on additional flights. The vice president then ment

Oct 7, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Seven Luck to boost ties with clinics

By Lee Hyo-sik Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), the operator of Seven Luck Casino, is seeking to establish stronger business ties with offices of plastic surgeons and other private clinics frequently visited by Chinese and other Asian tourists. The state-run company is looking to expand its customer base with those who come to Korea for cosmetic surgery and other beauty-related operations, mostly Chinese and Japanese women. In recent months, GKL CEO Kwon Oh-nam has been meeting with a number of cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists operating in Gangnam district, southern Seoul, in a bid to attract more customers among foreign patients. The foreigner-only gambling facility has been stocking these clinics with brochures about Seven Luck Casino, written in Japanese and Chinese. “We have been discussing a joint business model with private clinics that attract many foreign patients. We think it is a win-win strategy for both parties if foreigners receive beauty-related medical care during the day and have fun in our casino at night,” CEO Kwon said. He said Las Vegas and Maca

Oct 7, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Sound cannon angers protesters

By Lee Hyo-sik The latest plan for police to use a state-of-the-art anti-protest device, “the sound cannon,” to more effectively disperse demonstrators ahead of the upcoming G20 summit has riled up controversy, spurring strong resistance from civic groups and opposition parties. Law enforcement authorities insist that the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) has proven safe to use, stressing the need for it and other high-tech devices to deal with violent protesters before and during the G20 summit slated for Nov. 11-12. But opposition parties and civic groups claim that the police are using increasingly excessive force to clamp down on citizens opposing policies of the Lee Myung-bak administration, urging the government to scrap the plan to use the LRAD and other drastic anti-protest methods. They also say the police should spend more money to prevent violent crimes rather than purchase such an expensive device, reasoning that the use of excessive force by the police makes protesters more violent. On Sept. 28, the National Police Agency said it will revise the rules gov

Sep 30, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

KoreaToday Love for Holland led shy Korean woman to caring Dutchman

By Lee Hyo-sik Just like many young Korean women in their 20s, An Young-jin loved to travel abroad. In December 1996 before she graduated from university, her passion toward overseas travel landed her in the Netherlands. While in the land of tulips and windmills, An went to a party hosted by her acquaintance and there, met the love of her life, Henny Savenije. “I fell in love with him at first sight. Later, he told me the same. I always wanted to go to the Netherlands and interact with people there. Falling in love with a man like Henny, who is so caring and knowledgeable about everything, turned my life upside down. It never felt so special in my life,” the 37-year-old An said in an interview with The Korea Times. They decided to get married in February 1997 and live in the Netherlands. But they soon met with strong opposition from An’s parents. “Particularly, my father was really mad at me. He even came all the way to the Netherlands to forcefully take me home. But I refused to do so. We did not talk to one another the following two years.” But An continued to try to r

Sep 29, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Court rules in favor of change in English on passport

By Lee Hyo-sik A court ruled Wednesday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade should reissue a passport to an individual who wants to change the English spelling of their name. The Seoul Administrative Court said the ministry’s refusal to renew the passport with a different English spelling of the name was unlawful. “The ministry said it did nothing wrong in refusing to reissue the passport, citing a range of restrictions on the reissuance. But when the individual’s passport expires, it is not subject to such regulations,” it said. It then said the ministry enforces a wide array of restrictions toward the reissuance of a passport to prevent misuse. “But when an individual needs to renew his or her passport after it expires, their application should not be rejected just because they seek to change the spelling of the name in English,” the court said, stressing it constitutes a violation of one’s human rights. When the passport expired in June last year, a Korean national applied for reissuance, requesting a change in the English spelling to “Yeon” from “Youn.”

Sep 29, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

University tuition hikes to be capped

By Lee Hyo-sik It is unlikely Seoul National University and other universities here will be able to raise tuition fees by more than 5 percent next year as part of government efforts to ease the financial burden on students and parents. Students and parents will also be allowed to have a say when universities decide tuition-related policies, making it more difficult for schools to increase the costs of higher-education. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Tuesday that it will make these and other changes to the rules governing university tuitions. It plans to finalize the revision before November when universities begin to discuss tuition fee hikes for the first semester of 2011. “University tuition costs have increased at a relatively fast pace over the past two years despite strong opposition from students and parents. Until now, schools had raised education costs by close to 10 percent every year. We think if students and parents participate in the tuition decision-making process, an excessive tuition fee hike can be prevented,” a ministry officia

Sep 28, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Less educated women more likely to be obese

By Lee Hyo-sik The less educated Korean women are, the more likely they are to be overweight, according to an OECD health report. In the report, which examined the worldwide obesity trend and projections across its member countries, the Paris-based organization said a large socio-economic imbalance in obesity exists in Korean women. “Women with poor education are five times more likely than more educated women to be overweight,” it said. In contrast, less-educated men did not show a high tendency toward obesity, it noted. Korea’s obesity rate is staying at low levels in the OECD, but has been heading upward steadily over the years. “Currently, about 4 percent of the nation’s adult population is obese and about 30 percent are overweight (including obese),” it said. The OECD expects overweight rates to steadily increase in the years to come due to Koreans’ changing eating habits and decreasing physical activity. Child obesity rates are relatively high in Korea, particularly in boys, the organization said. The OECD said children raised by obese parents are f

Sep 27, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

T20 to aid world through tourism

T20 promotes tourism as sustainable growth tool

Jecheon promotes Oriental medicine

Boeing to capitalize on Korean aviation market

Seven Luck to boost ties with clinics

Sound cannon angers protesters

KoreaToday Love for Holland led shy Korean woman to caring Dutchman

Court rules in favor of change in English on passport

University tuition hikes to be capped

Less educated women more likely to be obese

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