Category: Seoul

It seems that South Korea has reached the stage where authorities are quickly reacting to cluster infections of the coronavirus before they become major outbreaks like we saw in Daegu:

Another cluster transmission of the new coronavirus has infected 40 followers of a protestant church in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, municipal government said Monday, raising an alarm bell on the steady spread of cluster infections in the capital area.

The city government of Seongnam said 40 members of Grace River Church, including the pastor and his wife, have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Sunday service about a week ago.

Six other people who had come into contact with the infected church members have also been confirmed as coronavirus patients, it noted.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Despite the drop in Beijing’s pollution levels, it is still far worse than Seoul’s:

Ultrafine dust in the capitals of Korea and China are composed of similar elements, though some of the elements’ ratios differ greatly, a joint research team of Korean and Chinese researchers announced Wednesday.

The Chinese government’s restrictions on fossil fuel emissions seem to be causing the difference, as Beijing’s air quality improves – and Seoul’s does not. 

At this point, however, further analysis is needed to pin down the exact reasons why. 

Korea’s joint research with China was the latest effort by the two neighboring countries to battle ultrafine dust, which Korea often blames China for, even as the latter adamantly denies responsibility for Korea’s air pollution.

Jeon Kwon-ho, a researcher from the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in Incheon, said the fundamental purpose of the recent research was to find out the sources of ultrafine dust in Seoul and Beijing. 

So far, the research team can say that the pollutants causing ultrafine dust seem to be derived from industrial plants and vehicle exhaust emissions.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I guess this is better than the Hitler bars in South Korea:

Tucked away in the dazzling neon of Seoul’s Hongdae nightlife district, a small building bears an image of a North Korean-looking construction worker pointing to the slogan: “Look! It’s the Pyongyang Bar!”

There are no post, telephone or transport links between the two halves of the divided Korean peninsula, but Seoul’s only North Korean-themed pub aims to give its patrons a taste of their nuclear-armed neighbour.

Owner Jang Woo-kyung has never been north of the Demilitarized Zone — the two Koreas are technically still at war and Southerners need their government’s permission to visit — but the bar’s decor is inspired by imagery from across the border.

The premises are festooned with North Korean-style posters, the lime green walls reminiscent of the pastel shades seen on Pyongyang apartment blocks, and slogans painted around the pub are written in a white-on-red script similar to the North’s propaganda.

But rather than praise North Korean leaders, which might fall foul of the South’s National Security Act, the messages proclaim more prosaic goals: “Let’s provide the most cold beer!”

Others combine health regulations with allusions to the North’s uncompromising judicial system: “Execution by firing squad if caught smoking inside.”

– ‘Loyal to capitalism’ –

Even before the business opened, Jang was ordered by authorities to remove portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il — the grandfather and father of current leader Kim Jong Un — from the building’s exterior.

“I have no intention of dignifying or praising North Korea,” said Jang, whose business cards use the South’s English spelling for the North’s capital, Pyeongyang. “I’m just a man loyal to capitalism.”

AFP

You can read more at the link.

Here is what the Korean government plans to do to try and drop real estate prices in Seoul:

The government is facing a severe public backlash following the announcement of its latest measures to curb rising real estate prices in Seoul, which many experts claim skew toward demand-side regulations.

The experts said the government should consider supplying more homes in Seoul’s affluent areas, describing the lopsided policies focusing on taxes and loan control as a violation of free market principles. 

The set of rules announced Monday includes raising property taxes on multiple homeowners, banning mortgage lending on properties worth over 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) and driving down the requirement for the loan-to-value ratio from 40 percent to 20 percent on those valued at 900 million won or higher but less than 1.5 billion won.

While legal and economic experts defined the regulations as unconstitutional and anti-market approaches, progressive civic groups claimed the policies are not effective enough to achieve their intended goals.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but as long as supply of housing is low in the central Seoul area and demand is high, the prices will continue to increase. Here is what the Seoul Mayor wants to do:

He also criticized Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon for his remarks that the government should triple the comprehensive real estate holding tax and the ownership of real estate should be shared among citizens.

So if real estate is shared among citizens does that mean that people can just walk into Lee Myung-hee’s home, that is considered the most expensive in Seoul, and hang out?

This is a neat idea:

Mini-gardens have become synonymous with urban regeneration projects in Seoul. Some, like the new solar garden at Jonggak Station on Seoul Metro Line 1, are popping up underground.

The solar garden ― small but claimed to be the world’s first solar-powered subterranean park ― opened in an underground passageway at Jonggak Station last Friday, placed right in front of the Jongno Book Store and a row of booths selling handcrafted goods made by young artists. 

Mandarin trees and verdant bushes grow under natural sunlight, emitted from eight ceiling apertures connected to light-collecting dishes installed directly above at Jongno Tower Square on the ground. The ceiling is dotted with backup LED lights used at night or on cloudy days. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Another huge building is coming to the ROK:

The Seoul city government said on Tuesday that it has approved the long-delayed construction of Hyundai Motor Group’s new headquarters in the affluent district of Gangnam, which is set to be South Korea’s tallest skyscraper when completed in 2026. 

The 569-meter building will break ground in the first half of 2020, Seoul city said in a statement. 

The approval came more than four years after Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, offered to purchase the site with $10 billion in 2014, more than triple its market price, outbidding Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and sparking a stock sell-off.

The construction, originally scheduled to commence in 2016, was delayed partly due to security concerns raised by South Korea’s air force, which said the building would interfere with radar and military operations, a Seoul city official said.

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes this news that Itaewon is experiencing major economic problems in the aftermath of the relocation of Yongsan Garrison:

Retail businesses in Itaewon area are struggling due to soaring rent and the economic slowdown. Youngsters and foreigners still visit the area for drinks and partying at night, but activity is completely different during the daytime. 

“A tenant store owner asked for the rent to be lowered several months ago. He said his brunch store was losing customers so he couldn’t pay the current rent,” said a Gyeongnidan building landlord surnamed Lee. Gyeongnidan is one of Itaewon’s neighborhoods, known for its cafes, bakeries and restaurants.

“He and I agreed to keep the rent at the current level for now. However, he is likely to shut down his business soon if it fails to attract more customers.”

According to the Korea Appraisal Board, the vacancy rate of medium- and large-sized stores in Itaewon area stood at 26.5 percent as of the second quarter of this year. 

Medium- and large-sized stores here refer to business venues with a gross floor area larger than 330 square meters, and the vacancy rate in Itaewon is the highest among Seoul’s major business districts.

Experts said the Yongsan Relocation Plan to redeploy U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel south to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, was another reason behind the soaring vacancies in the area.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but first of all USFK has nothing to do with the poor economic conditions overall in South Korea. Additionally the way I look at this is that the local government and shop owners in Itaewon have known for years the relocation was coming. If they did not adjust their business models and practices to prepare for that day that is their problem, not USFK’s.