Get your new year off to a healthy start

People often make New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking or start regular exercise to improve their health. However, many fail to keep to their resolutions for even a month. Everyone knows how to keep healthy, but it is no simple task to hold back on things you want and do things you do not like. It is very difficult to keep to your goals without a special motivation when you are tired or busy. If a friend of the same age as you dies suddenly or is diagnosed with a serious disease unexpectedly,

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013

Won’s rise causes concern

The Korean won has been gaining against the U.S. dollar since the second half of last year, raising concerns among policymakers about whether the exchange rate will break the psychological threshold of 1,000 won per dollar.Korea has maintained its policy, even through currency intervention, for a weak won as a means to support exports, the country’s main growth driver, as a strong won makes Korean products more expensive overseas.Should the won show signs of gaining further, the government is mo

Jan. 3, 2013

Hyundai slashes prices on flagship models

Hyundai Motor has decided to lower the prices of its larger flagship models by up to 1 million won ($940), bucking a seasonal trend of other carmakers that have already announced new price hikes this year. Hyundai said Thursday it will offer 10 versions of its five brand models, including the Sonata, Genesis and Santa Fe, at discounted prices from Jan. 1, with no change made to their specifications. The price of the best-seller sedan Sonata has been lowered from 26.5 million won to 26.28 million

IndustryJan. 3, 2013

KT to separate divisions’ accounting

KT, the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier, is undergoing big changes to establish an independent financing system for each division that will improve efficiency and enhance the financial transparency of the firm.A key KT executive recently told a pool of reporters that the company was in the process of running a new financing system for its three divisions ― Telecom & Convergence, Customer and Global & Enterprise.The divisions currently are headed by three different chiefs ― Pyo Hyun-myung for T&C,

IndustryJan. 3, 2013

Duty free shops set to open outlets in small cities in Korea

Duty free shops will open in nine cities for the first time this year after the government approved the plan at the end of 2012.The Korea Customs Service licensed nine small and medium companies to run duty free shops in major cities ― Daegu, Incheon, Daejeon, Ulsan, Suwon, Cheongju, Suncheon, Gyeongju and Changwon ― to help local cities attract more foreign shoppers and boost their local economies. Currently, duty free shops only exist in Seoul, Busan and Jeju. The licensees, ranging from local

IndustryJan. 3, 2013

Steel industry bets on business diversification

The nation’s major steelmakers are diversifying into non-core businesses such as energy, construction and agriculture to shore up falling profits. POSCO, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker by output, has cut its number of subsidiaries to 46 from 70 as of Jan., 1 mainly by merging those with overlapping businesses, the company said in a press release. The number of POSCO’s affiliates surged after takeover deals for the past few years, including Daewoo International, a trading company specializ

IndustryJan. 3, 2013

Kakao Story hits 1 billion postings

Kakao Story, a mobile social network service in South Korea, said its number of users reached 32.5 million, with more than 1 billion postings uploaded. Kakao Story, launched in March 2012, has gathered users rapidly thanks to its affiliation with Kakao Talk, Korea’s biggest mobile messenger. Kakao Talk contains a link to Kakao Story and users can automatically send their friends a message recommending its affiliated SNS service. Kakao Story sports a friendly user interface and simplified functio

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013

New online game ArcheAge garners mixed reviews

ArcheAge, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, officially launched its open beta service on Wednesday, generating mixed responses from Korean gamers.ArcheAge, produced by Korean game company XLGames, made its long-awaited debut after 6 years of development in which over 40 billion won was invested. The game is one of the most anticipated blockbuster titles in 2013, instantly drawing more than 250,000 local gamers who applied for an advance character registration service ahead of the

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013

Study: A few extra pounds help you survive

Moderately overweight people are less likely to die than people of normal weight, a U.S. government study published Wednesday indicates.Being substantially obese, with a body mass index of 35 and higher, does raise the death risk 29 percent, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s National Center for Health Statistics said in the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.But overweight people with a BMI of 25 to 30 -- who make up more than 30 per

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013

KT to establish self-supporting accounting system

KT, the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier, is undergoing changes to establish a self-supporting accounting system that will improve efficiency and enhance financial transparency of the firm.A key KT executive recently told a pool of reporters that the company was planning to run the new self-supporting accounting system for its three divisions -- Telecom & Convergence, Customer, and Global & Enterprise. The divisions currently are headed by three different chiefs -- Pyo Hyun-myung for T&C, Seo Yu-y

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013

Zodiac may look to buy STX Pan Ocean

Zodiac Maritime Agencies, a global ship owner and manager, could be interested in acquiring STX Pan Ocean, Korea’s leading operator of bulk carriers, industry sources said.The London-based ship management company, owned by the Ofer family, is believed to have emerged as "one of the potential overseas candidates" to purchase a controlling 36.8 percent stake in the Korean shipping company, the sources claimed.The 36.8 percent is held by STX, the parent holding company, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding,

IndustryJan. 3, 2013

Study: Babies learn language in the womb

Babies start learning language in the womb and at birth can differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language, U.S. scientists say.Researchers at the University of Washington and Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma report unborn babies are listening to their mothers talk during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy and at birth can demonstrate what they‘ve heard.That’s because sensory and brain mechanisms for hearing have developed by 30 weeks of gestation, they said.“The

TechnologyJan. 3, 2013