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Category Archives: Statistics

Another industry in which Korea leads the world

07-Oct-07
We all knew Korea had some world-beating industries: ships, chips, LCD screens. Add to that the manufacture of condoms, where three Korean companies - Unidus, Dongkuk Trading and Hankook Latex - account for 30% of the global market, according to the Chosun. Maybe there's a big domestic demand - for example for high school field trips - but presumbaly like most Korean manufactures the majority of production is destined for the export market. According to the Chosun article there's currently an international condom expert convention in Jeju Island - the favorite honeymoon location for newlyweds - at which size and strength will be under discussion. Update, 24 June 2008. Over at the Korea Times, a photo of a publicity stunt advertising the ...
Also filed in Tabloid | | Comments (0) »

Round-up of recent business stories

10-Jul-07
Some recent stories I don't want to lose. Mercer's annual cost of living survey for expats has recently been published. Seoul, last year's number 2, has been pushed to number 3 by London. Moscow stays top of the list. Tokyo is fourth. Korea is also slipping in the GDP rankings. Bank of Korea data shows that in 2005 Brazil overtook Korea in notional GDP terms, while earlier this year it was reported that Russia and India had also overtaken Korea. Latest World Bank statistics are here. As if to rub salt in the wounds, Deutsche Borse has launched the DAX Emerging 11 Index, to track the so-called "Next-11" group of emerging market countries, who, after the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and ...
Also filed in Business, Hanwha, In the news, Samsung | | Comments (0) »

S. Korea’s birth rate inches up

16-May-07
Whether it's the auspicious influence of the year of the Golden Pig, the outcome of Bada's awareness-raising concert, the result of Shin Dong-jin's efforts as head of the birth-boosting campaign, or a combination of all the above, Yonhap announces an increase in the birthrate in 2006. KBS gets all technical about the potential astrological reasons: 2006 was a lucky "ssangchun year," because there were two "ipchuns," or first days of spring that fell within one lunar calendar year. Many couples chose to get married last year in the belief that the "double spring" year was lucky. Some experts attributed the hike in childbirths to the increase in marriages in 2006. However, many of the couples who tied the knot last year ...
Also filed in Bada | Tagged | Comments (0) »

What makes Juche bigger than Judaism?

13-May-07
In a rather strange survey, adherents.com have produced a ranking of major "world" "religions". Let's take a look at the list. 1. Christianity: 2.1 billion 2. Islam: 1.3 billion OK so far. Let's carry on. 3. Secular / Nonreligious / Agnostic / Atheist: 1.1 billion Sorry? "Secular / Nonreligious / Agnostic / Atheist" is a world "religion"? Oh well, I suppose there's got to be a bucket for the "don't knows". Let's skip to number 10: Juche. So what makes Juche a religion? From a sociological viewpoint Juche is clearly a religion explains the website, without further elaboration. The site elsewhere explains what qualifies as a religion for the purposes of the list: We are using the groupings most described used in contemporary comparative religion literature And ...
Also filed in DPRK, Religion | | Comments (0) »

Seoul lags as an international financial hub

20-Mar-07
The Corporation of London has just launched a new index: the Global Financial Centres Index. It's a way of ranking various cities that aspire to being recognised as international financial services centres. It was launched in Cannes last week at MIPIM, the international property industry boondoggle. The occasion provided the opportunity to update the City's report on the leaders and laggards in international finance. Here's a bit of background from the report. We believe that this categorisation identifies four types of financial centre: Leaders: obviously London and New York, but also centres with strong sub-sectors and strong domestic markets; Minor: cities that are not rated as highly, and are unlikely to improve in the near term. It is interesting to note that Rome, ...
Also filed in Business, Seoul | | Comments (0) »

Cosmetic surgery to get tax breaks

25-Feb-07
As if there wasn't enough plastic surgery in Korea already, the Government has just made it tax deductible. According to the Chosun: The costs of plastic surgery, cosmetic tooth reshaping, corrective laser eye surgery, and "boyak", or traditional Korean health supplements, will be eligible for income deductions in the year-end tax adjustment from this year. Costs incurred last December and this January will be retroactively eligible. The government passed a revision of the enforcement ordinance for the income tax law, including the new items, in a cabinet meeting Tuesday (20 Feb 07). Not content with trying to make Busan the logistics hub of Asia, can we soon expect a government initiative to make Seoul the Botox capital of Asia? Maybe this is all ...
Also filed in Business, Han Ye-seul, Tabloid | Tagged | Comments (1) »

Bugger Seoul, I’m off to Paris

22-Feb-07
Another recent article in the JoongAng Daily reports on the Korean long-hours culture. I experienced this first-hand during my recent trip to Seoul. I thought I'd call in at the office, and maybe encourage my colleagues out for a beer or two. I was due to turn up at around 6pm, but because I spent rather too long buying books at the Royal Asiatic Society, it was more like 6:45pm by the time I showed up. It was Friday evening, and I felt terrible that Yon-sook and others would be staying unnecessarily at the office waiting for this tedious foreigner to show up. I need not have worried. The office was still packed, and far from being ready for a ...
Also filed in Business | | Comments (0) »

Condom sales, motel bookings surge after DPRK nuclear test

26-Oct-06
The Chosun reports a surge in condom sales and in love motel bookings in the days and weeks following North Korea's nuke test on October 9th. I hope the world's not going to end quite yet. Related posts:DPRK Nuclear test Readers may wonder why on a day when the news...Korean speakers wanted to test Korean version of IT application Just received We are looking to employ 2 Korean students...More DPRK art in London This is proving to a bumper year for North... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in In the news | | Comments (0) »

Korea has OECD’s top suicide rate

02-Oct-06
Korea's National Statistics Office recent report was picked up by Yonhap and the Chosun. "The high suicide rate in South Korea seems to reflect a surge in social conflicts, including feuds between the sexes, economic hardship and domestic violence," an NSO official said according to Yonhap. The Chosun article focuses on the "prolonged economic slump and loss of jobs" as the cause. If any sociologist has picked up on the story, I'd be interested in hearing how feuds between the sexes have contributed to the suicide rate. The Chosun does the simple maths, and comes up with a pretty impactful statistic: in 2005 on average, every day 33 people took their own lives. One of those 33 on 22 February 2005 was sadly ...
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Seoul’s working hours

22-Aug-06
Seoul has the world's longest working hours, according to the Chosun: People in Seoul work the longest hours per year in the world, says a study by the Swiss financial group UBS. In its report "Prices and Earnings," the Swiss financial group UBS says Seoulites spend more than 2,300 hours at work each year. That's the longest among 71 world cities surveyed. Based on a 42-hour workweek, the average Korean worker puts in about 60 days a year more than their peers in Paris who spend just 1,480 hours on the job, the world's lowest. It comes as no surprise to me that Seoul is up there with the most macho when it comes to working hours. But in the organisation which ...
Also filed in Business | | Comments (0) »

Seoul the most expensive city after Moscow

04-Aug-06
A story from the Chosun from a few weeks ago. I know from experience (the paying end, rather than the receiving end, more's the pity) that expat employees are a good deal more expensive than locals. It's all the additional perks. Who knows, maybe some of the costs which make Moscow top of the list might be personal security, not just accommodation costs. Anyway, Seoul is now Asia's most expensive city: Related posts:Seoul lags as an international financial hub The Corporation of London has just launched a new index:...Seoul’s working hours Seoul has the world’s longest working hours, according to the...Korea Business Reception at London City Hall By Peter Corbishley On Monday 15th January the glitterati... Related posts brought to you ...
Also filed in Business, Seoul | | Comments (1) »

Bada and the birthrate

29-Jul-06
I wish I was in Seoul today. I recently posted about Anna Fifield's article on Korean family planning, and in particular the government's plan to spend $30 billion over the next 5 years to try to boost the birthrate. Here's a story about how some of that $30 billion is going to be spent: a live gig by Bada today at which people with 2 kids will get a nice crisp 10,000 won note. I wish I could be there. Even if I were Korean, I wouldn't qualify for the cash handout, but (not that I'm an expert) I think Bada is one of the best K-pop stars around, and I'd love to hear her live. I'm just stockpiling a few CD ...
Also filed in Bada, Celebs, Music: K-pop | Tagged | Comments (1) »

Condoms as a lucky charm

11-Jul-06
The FT's Seoul correspondent, Anna Fifield, had a busy week last week. Head office would have been wanting her to divine what is going on in the brains of the DPRK's leadership - not an easy task, and everyone's got something to say on the subject. Fifield's piece in Saturday's FT was one of the more interesting contributions to the debate last week, made all the more distinctive by devoting the first two paragraphs of her article to my favourite US film of 2004, Team America - World Police. I'm not going to quote from her article because to pick out one article on last week's events out over so many is a bit unrepresentative, and also because I don't want ...
Also filed in Historical | Tagged , | Comments (0) »

Korean driving

24-May-06
Anyone who has been in a taxi in Busan will understand completely how Korea can be second in the OECD car accident rankings. (The mystery is: why only second, and how come there are any cars left on the road?) It must be something in the blood. Thanks to Tom Coyner for circulating this image from a New York newspaper. The caption is "Police report that no injuries were sustained by the drivers, Mr Kim and Mr Park, both from Queens." Tarik, my New York correspondent, thinks that this is the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Related posts:Korean man victim of Tokyo bum-slasher Even if there wasn’t a Korean involved in this story...The fate of North Korean returnees “The only way I’m going back ...
Also filed in Motoring, Pictures, Strange but true | | Comments (0) »

Mixed marriages

24-Apr-06
As mentioned a few days ago, the appearance of Dan Hines in Korea recently provoked a certain amount of debate. As it happens, statistics published in the Korea Times say that 14% of Korean marriages in 2005 were international, while attitudes are getting more positive. However, there is a darker side to this -- with marriages of convenience with Chinese immigrants on the increase (cf the weepy film Failan), and rather sordid marriage agencies operating in Vietnam. Related posts:A new Korean export opportunity? With Japan’s supplies of cheap disposable chopsticks coming under threat,...Buying Vietnamese brides The Chosun article I spotted a week ago in this...S. Korea’s birth rate inches up Whether it’s the auspicious influence of the year of the... Related posts ...
Also filed in Bloggers and newspeople | | Comments (1) »

Korean protests baffle Belgians

23-Mar-06
I can't put it better than the Chosun Ilbo's own headline. One of the more peculiar stories. In fact today's Chosun is packed with entertaining stories: Britney Spears's songwriters accuse Lee Hyo-lee of plagiarism; and a sex survey by pharmaceutical company Bayer finds Korean men the most selfish in bed. Related posts:Fourth most desired female rear belongs to a transsexual Sorry to be a bit tabloid, but I just had...Korean art the latest hot investment Elton John made a shrewd 80% profit in one...60% of Koreans can’t use chopsticks Another choice item from the Chosun Ilbo. ... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Celebs, Lee Hyolee, Music: K-pop, Strange but true | | Comments (0) »

60% of Koreans can’t use chopsticks

02-Dec-04
Another choice item from the Chosun Ilbo. Related posts:Fourth most desired female rear belongs to a transsexual Sorry to be a bit tabloid, but I just had...Koreans and sport #2 Korea has now crashed out of that international baseball tournament,...Koreans and sport #1 They’re doing very well in some baseball tournament or other,... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Strange but true | | Comments (0) »

Fourth most desired female rear belongs to a transsexual

17-Oct-04
Sorry to be a bit tabloid, but I just had to preserve this article from the Chosun Ilbo, which illustrates the Korean obsession with plastic surgery. Related posts:Cosmetic surgery to get tax breaks As if there wasn’t enough plastic surgery in Korea already,...A date with Rain? I’d rather have my hair done “Sorry, I’m washing my hair that night” is the familiar...Kim Ki-duk mistaken for a tramp Another great tabloid item from the Chosun, and it’s true.... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Celebs, Ha Ji-won, Harisu, Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Hyolee, Strange but true | Tagged | Comments (0) »