Category: Korea-General Topics

The tit-for-tat between South Korea and Japan continues:

South Korea said Friday that it will remove Japan from its list of trusted trading partners in an escalating trade war between the two neighbors, in what could be its latest salvo against Tokyo’s expanded trade restriction.

“We will take the step of strengthening export controls by excluding Japan from the whitelist,” Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said in a joint news conference.

Currently, Japan and 28 other countries are on Seoul’s whitelist. South Korea said it will create a new category in its export controls and put Japan in that category.

Sung Yun-mo, minister of trade, industry and energy, declined to elaborate on how many items could be affected by South Korea’s removal of Japan from the list.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is in response to Japan removing the ROK’s favored trading status due to the Moon administration trying to forcibly seize the assets of Japanese companies in South Korea.

This is the only legally cultivated marijuana in #SouthKorea … A lemon haze hybrid with about ~10% thc. Grown with an R&D licence so it must be destroyed when mature. This could be just the start of exciting things here (hint)! pic.twitter.com/LxnznJMG5i

— Matt Lamers (@matt_lamers) July 31, 2019

I learn something new every day, the importation of sex dolls in South Korea used to be illegal until a recent Supreme Court ruling allowed their importation. Now activists are protesting to stop their import:

More than 200,000 people have signed a petition against the import of life-size sex dolls into Korea.

As of Wednesday, more than 210,000 people signed the petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website, a month after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to allow the import of such dolls.

“They are not ordinary sex toys,” the petitioner wrote. “A life-size sex doll resembles a woman’s body in every detail. It can even be customized to fit an individual’s needs for hairstyle, facial structure, birthmarks or anything.

“Nowadays, deepfake celebrity porn videos can easily be found online. There’s no guarantee that sex dolls won’t be used for such purposes. People may be shocked to find sex dolls that look just like them. If that happens, who will take responsibility for the damage?”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

A 2% drop in air travel to Japan is really not that impressive, but airlines are getting themselves prepared in case it gets worse:

Korean airlines are suspending flights and reducing the size of planes on Japanese routes as demand for seats plummets in the wake of a diplomatic-trade dispute between the neighbors.

Asiana Airlines said Tuesday that it will use smaller airplanes on flights to three major Japanese cities – Osaka, Okinawa and Fukuoka – due to the growing boycott in Korea of things Japanese. 

While Airbus 330 planes were used on those routes, the smaller Airbus 321 or Boeing 767s will be used starting mid-September, the company said. 

“While A330 planes can carry some 290 passengers, A321 planes offer 174 seats,” a spokesperson for Asiana said. “Reservations for flights to Japan have fallen by roughly 2 percent year on year at this point, but we decided to change airplane models in case the [diplomatic-trade row] lasts longer.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

According to the article more South Korean women are foregoing marriage and having kids which is contributing to a population decline:

Baeck Ha-na works in accounting during the week. On weekends, she’s a YouTube star in South Korea, promoting the “live-alone life.”

Baeck, whose YouTube channel in English is called “Solo-darity,” objects to being called a “mi-hon” — someone who is not yet married. She’s part of a growing and determined group of Korean women rejecting marriage and motherhood.

Such decisions are intensifying demographic and economic challenges for the government as the country faces one of the world’s lowest birth rates and a shortfall in pension funding that is getting harder to close with fewer workers joining the labor force.

“Society made me feel like a failure for being in my 30’s and not yet a wife or a mother,” Baeck said. “Instead of belonging to someone, I now have a more ambitious future for myself.”

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link.

Moon's son-in-law bought a house in Seoul in 2010. #MoonJaein & his wife move in 2012-16. Moon moves in 2016 to another house. The son-in-law gives the house to his wife, Moon Da-hye, also Moon's daughter. 3 months later, Da-hye sells the house. Why such complex transactions? https://t.co/eBzbJBypsH

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) December 29, 2018

It looks like it is still a tough job market for younger and even middle aged Koreans. More part time work to older people and retirees is contributing to the the tight job market:

Korea has been losing its economic vitality as the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to boost employment have led to more part-time jobs for retirees and fewer full-time positions for young jobseekers, according to economists here and overseas, last Friday. 

Criticizing the government for its short-sighted labor policies, the economists urged the administration to devise long-term strategies for the country’s sustainable growth.

“The government’s labor policy is more like a measure to help senior citizens maintain their incomes,” said Lee Phil-sang, an economics professor at Seoul National University. “The economy lacks the ability to create jobs. It has lost the ability since the nation’s key industries have lost their global competitiveness.”

According to Statistics Korea, the number of employees in their 30s and 40s in June 2019 dropped by 32,000 and 182,000 respectively from a year earlier. The number of workers aged between 15 and 29 also decreased, by 4,000.

In addition, 66,000 people lost manufacturing jobs ― the number of workers in the sector has fallen for 15 straight months.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like more gas stations in Korea are going to become more like their counterparts in the U.S.:

Gas stations are soon to become something very different, as charging units and hydrogen compressors are added across the land. But there’s more, as operators in the business look to diversify and make the outlets more profitable.

They are adding a wide range of goods and services, including maintenance centers, convenience stores, fast food restaurants and even coffee shops. Parcel delivery is also on the list.

Such changes come as gas stations struggle under intense competition. On average, 170 of them are driven out of business annually, forcing the adoption of new strategies to survive.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Found this picture by chance. It seems about right. pic.twitter.com/i2KRRvGZqS

— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) July 25, 2019

Weekly Chosun says the current friction btwn ROK and JPN is the one btwn ROK politicians who are incompetent and ideology-oriented and JPN officials who are experts in their work. https://t.co/91QZr4nzGX

— bmk218 (@bmk218) July 24, 2019