This is all part of North Korea’s pressure campaign leading up to their January 1st deadline to have sanctions dropped:

North Korea said Friday it has successfully conducted the final test of a new super-large multiple rocket launcher with the firing of two projectiles that landed in the East Sea the previous afternoon. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the test-fire of a super-large multiple rocket launcher, conducted by the Academy of National Defense Science, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday. “The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system [MLRS] proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said. “The Supreme Leader expressed great satisfaction over the results of the test-fire.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes news that an increasing number of hotels in South Korea are ditching their name brand:

The Namhae Hilton also changed its name to the Ananti Namhae in January 2018, while the Hyatt Regency Jeju also converted to the Shore Hotel Jeju. 

Two Walkerhill hotels also ditched the brands Sheraton and W of the global hospitality giant Marriott International in 2017 and turned into the Grand Walkerhill Seoul and the Vista Walkerhill Seoul.

Speculation was rampant that Shinsegae Chosun Hotel that operates four Marriott-brand properties ― the Westin Chosun hotels in Seoul and Busan, the Four Points by Sheraton Seoul Namsan and the JW Marriott Seoul ― might part ways with the Westin brand, but it renewed the contract recently to retain the name.

However, the company plans to launch five new hotels by 2023, but it has yet to decide whether to go into partnership with global hotel chains, according to its officials. Last year, Shinsegae opened its first standalone brand L’Escape Hotel in Seoul. 

“The reason more local hotels are ending their relationships with popular global brands is that the benefits of using those brands are not as significant as expected,” a hospitality industry official said.

“In addition, some owners are unhappy about complying with strict instructions from brand headquarters to meet their standards.”

In addition, with online travel agencies (OTAs) gaining a bigger presence in the hospitality sector, local hotels are relying more on these platforms rather than focusing on partnership with global brands.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I know for me the brand is important because of points programs that lead to free stays. That is going to be a major market that will be lost by ditching major name hotel brands.

I hope everyone that celebrated Thanksgiving had a great day. Let us know how it went in the comments section.

A good trend in South Korea is that people convicted of committing rape are at least going to jail now, even popular K-Pop stars:

Two disgraced South Korean singers — Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon — were given heavy prison sentences Friday after being convicted on rape and other charges.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Jung, a disgraced singer and TV personality, and Choi, a former member of boy band FT Island, to six and five years, respectively, in prison on charges of sexually assaulting women in 2016.

Jung and Choi, both 30 years old, were indicted on charges of raping women during drinking parties in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, in January 2016 and in Daegu in March of the same year, together with other members of a mobile chat room.

Jung was given a heavier prison term, as he was additionally indicted on charges of secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the footage with friends on mobile chats.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Should blackmailing someone with sex videos be considered sexual assault? In Korea that may become the law:

The suicide of a popular South Korean singer has prompted calls in the country to overhaul laws on sexual assault and to more harshly punish revenge porn.

Koo Hara, 28, was found dead at her home in Seoul on Sunday. Her last message on Instagram showed her staring into a camera lens from beneath blankets on her bed with a message of “good night.” Police say a note was found at the scene in which she expressed hopelessness.

Many in South Korea were already aware of her past that included assault by a former boyfriend who she alleged was threatening to release a sex video of her. The two most popular hashtags on social media in South Korea this week called for punishment of the ex-boyfriend and for the definition of sexual assault to be revamped.

A petition filed with the president’s office demanding changes to laws had one quarter of a million signatures. Lawmakers said it is time to push forward measures stalled in Parliament that make it easier to impose harsh penalties on those who engage in revenge porn or clandestinely take sexually charged videos.

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link.

Korea’s economic news continues to get worse:

Korea’s exports will likely decline by 10.2 percent this year from the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

The trade lobby said in a report Thursday that it expects outbound shipments for this year to record $543 billion due to global trade friction and tumbling semiconductor prices, making it fall far short of the record milestone the country achieved last year of $604.9 billion.

Exports have recorded on-year declines since December last year.

“Exports will drop by around $60 billion compared to last year, and around $30 billion [of the drop] is due to semiconductor prices that have fallen by 40 percent,” said KITA CEO Kim Young-ju during a briefing at the KITA headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. “On top of this, petrochemical prices fell 10 percent from the previous year due to falling global crude oil prices.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is an interesting read about South Korea’s “Dirt Spoons” that are baring the effects of the poor economy in South Korea:

The sparse rooms, in premises called goshi-won, were previously mostly used by less well-off students to temporarily cut off from the outside world while they studied for civil service job tests.

Now they are increasingly becoming permanent homes to young people like Hwang, who identifies himself among the “dirt spoons”, those born to low-income families who have all but given up on social mobility.

“If I try hard enough and get a good job, will I ever be able to afford a house?” the 25-year-old said in his small, cluttered room where clothes were piled on the bed. “Will I ever be able to narrow the gap that’s already so big?”

The concept of dirt spoons and gold spoons, as those from better-off families are known, have been around for many years but exploded onto the political scene in recent years, undercutting support for liberal President Moon Jae-in.

Moon came to power in 2017 on a platform of social and economic justice, yet halfway through his five-year term, he has little progress to show the country’s youth who have borne the brunt of deepening inequality.

Reuters

You can read more at the link.