Tag: Seoul

At least it appears that Korean traditional markets are not selling bat meat which is what is believed to have caused the coronavirus outbreak in China:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a rare inspection of restaurants in the city’s three major traditional markets, Wednesday, for the possible illegal consumption of bat meat, as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of a coronavirus, according to city officials.

On Wednesday, three additional cases of infection were confirmed here, putting the total number at 19. 

The inspection team consisting of city officials overseeing hygiene matters, police and consumer rights activists looked into restaurants in Daerim Central Market in Yeungdeungpo, Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun and Joyang Market in Gwangjin; areas that are frequented by Chinese immigrants and tourists.

The selling of bat meat is illegal here, but the inspection was carried out on suspicions that small quantities could potentially be brought to those venues from China. The officials said that so far they had not found any irregularities. 

Korea Times

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.