Korea to launch ‘Spring Tourism Week’ in MayThe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch its second Tourism Week program for the spring season nationwide next month.The program, in partnership with some 3,000 tourism companies and operators, will run in 17 regions from May 1-14.Companies such as resorts and hotels participating in the state-led tourism program will offer a variety of programs with discounts at tourist attractions, in accordance with the regions’ culture and landscape.

Travel April 10, 2015

Companies promoting their products and services through art sponsorships and cultural events are often frowned upon in Korea. But Park Sam-koo, chief of Kumho Asiana Group, has questioned why.Park, who has recently taken up the chairmanship of the Korea Mecenat Association, said it can be a “win-win situation for both enterprises and the artists,” during his first press conference in Seoul on Thursday as chief of the association, a local advocacy group for corporate sponsorship of the arts. Comp

Culture April 9, 2015

South Korea’s consumer prices continued anemic growth for the fourth straight month in March, the state-run Statistics Korea said Wednesday.Consumer prices increased just 0.4 percent last month from the same period a year ago, marking the slowest growth in 15 years and eight months. Consumer inflation increased 0.3 percent in July 1999. In February, the consumer price index gained 0.5 percent on-year.Inflation has stayed below 1 percent since October 2013 when the rate stood at 0.9 percent, and

April 1, 2015

South Korea’s industrial production expanded in February due to increasing demand over the Lunar New Year holiday, Statistics Korea said Tuesday.Industrial output grew 2.5 percent in February over the previous month, marking the highest monthly increase in three years and 11 months, according to data by the state-run statistics agency.The monthly rebound, which was mostly attributable to increased production demand for automobiles and semiconductors ― the country’s two key export items ― came af

March 31, 2015

South Korea’s gross national income surpassed $28,000 per capita in 2014, in part due to a strong Korean won against the U.S. dollar, while the economy expanded 3.3 percent, well below its 4 percent target, according to data from the Bank of Korea Wednesday.In a revised report released by the Korean central bank, the loss of 3.8 percent on the won-dollar foreign exchange pushed the GNI per capita up to $28,180 last year from $26,179 the year before.This marked the fifth straight year for the cou

March 25, 2015

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Tuesday that South Korea’s economic conditions were improving, but the country is still facing uncertainties stemming from increasing oil prices and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s expected rate rise in the near future.In a meeting with economic researchers and professors in Seoul, the top monetary policymaker said such external factors would increase volatility, and Korea would face short-term uncertainties.“Volatility could increase on (rising) oil prices and the

March 24, 2015

The nation’s flagship carrier Korean Air became an official sponsor of the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, according to company officials Wednesday.The ceremony took place at Lakai Sandpine Resort in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The official partnership entails that Korean Air will provide passenger flights for the organizing committee and national athletes, and freight services necessary for smooth operation of the sporting events.  Cho Yang-ho (right), head of the Pyeo

Social Affairs March 19, 2015

This is the first in a four-part series featuring IBK’s support for cultural content. ― Ed When director Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” was released worldwide in 1992, the blockbuster about genetically-engineered dinosaurs going rampant in a pilot theme park was a wake-up call for South Korea’s economy.The movie, which was based on Michael Crichton’s bestselling science fiction novel of the same title, earned some $850 million at the global box office that year. This was equivalent to Hyunda

March 19, 2015

South Korea’s unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage point to 4.6 percent in February, marking the highest monthly rate since February 2010 when it was 4.9 percent, the state-run Statistics Korea said Wednesday.With the holiday season including Lunar New Year and school breaks in February, the jobless rate increased on-year, the statistics bureau said. Also, companies do not usually start recruiting new employees or college graduates in the same month.In the same line, the country’s youth un

March 18, 2015

The Bank of Korea cut its key interest rate to a record low of 1.75 percent on Thursday to prevent deflation, despite growing concerns over household debt.The Korean central bank’s unexpected 25-basis-point rate cut opened the era of 1 percent interest rates in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Korea joins some 20 economies that are pursuing easy monetary policies to combat low growth and compete for weaker currencies.The record-low rate ― which a majority of analysts expected the BOK to freeze ― c

March 12, 2015