Links for March 2018

It's time for another link roundup. Stuff I read in March that interested me. A whole lot for you this month.

Links for March 2018

General Tech stuff

• Naver Ahead in AI Recognition Technology Battle | Be Korea-savvy - No surprise that Naver's AI understands Korean speech better than Google's, but interesting is apparently their speech synthesis of English is better than Google's? If you're curious, Naver's Whale browser has a built-in Text-to-Speech function that works in English. Try it out. It does sound good. I just plain don't like the default Google female voice. Sounds bitchy for some reason. 
• South Korea to map major cities for safe autonomous driving | ZDNet
• Kakao to introduce music curation app for KakaoTalk - Looks like we're seeing the fruits of the Kakao-Melon merger. I'm sure we'll get freemium music streaming straight in KakaoTalk via Melon's library soon, which can then be cast to your Kakao Friends smart speaker.  
• ​Kakao to start closed beta test for AI open builder | ZDNet
• ​Kakao adds voice calls to AI speaker | ZDNet - This has been a hugely requested feature. Curious to see how well it works. 
• [Photo] Floating solar panel farm begins operations on Gangwha Island : National : News : The Hankyoreh - Neat. Take that, plankton! The sun's energy is for us now, you hear! 
• No Ground for Scrapping 2G: 2G Phone Users Create Dilemma for Telecom Carriers ahead of Beginning of 5G Era | BusinessKorea - They need to just release a few models of 5G-enabled phones that look exactly like a 2G phone and only make calls/texts. Like that "Wine" flip phone a few years back. Those business owners have a point though. They should be allowed to port their numbers over to the new service. In this day and age, who cares about assigning prefixes anymore. Sidenote: I wish I'd gotten in on one of those "unlimited 3G" deals when 4G was all the rage. I'm on Wi-Fi 20 hours out of the day, and don't stream much video anyway (download, sideload, enjoy). 3G speeds would be plenty fast for me. Until they kick me out to expand for 6G. 
• Naver Labs joins hands with Foursquare Labs for POI search engine - 매일경제 영문뉴스 펄스(Pulse) - Interesting. Foursquare surely has a lot of place data just sitting around since literally no one uses it anymore. Splitting into Swarm was a terrible move, coinciding with everyone moving over to Google Maps for their reviews. I still miss Google Latitude though. Wonder how up to date this location data is though. Just another example of Naver looking for partnerships with groups who have a vested interest in sticking it to Google. 
• 80 individuals caught in drug ring bust that used bitcoin - Oops.
• Microsoft's Cloud Computing Sales Triple in 2017 | Be Korea-savvy
• Baseball Team to Bat Away Bad Air with Artificial Rain | Be Korea-savvy - Whoa. 
• Customized Smartphones Targeting Lower-Level Elementary Students Climb in Popularity | Be Korea-savvy - Some of these "kids" phones would work great for your parents/grandparents. 
• Korean researchers develop ‘OLED patch’ that heals wounds using light - Neat.
• 'Train to Busan' to be Made into VR Content | Be Korea-savvy - Oh I would definitely be interested in this. Great idea. 
• Open Software Development: Korean Gov’t to Speed Up Open SW for AI, IoT and Cloud Computing | BusinessKorea
• My Experience with Azar: The Korean Video Tinder | 10 Magazine Korea - This person's review is tame. Azar, from what I gather, is just Omeagle/ChatRoulette for mobile, where 80% of users are trolling for nudity. 
• Popular Subway Free Phone Battery Service Shuts Down | Be Korea-savvy - I never used this (wouldn't be caught dead without my spare battery), this sad to see this convenient service go. 
• YouTube trumps KakaoTalk, Naver as South Korea’s longest-used app - Saw a guy streaming a muk-bang show on the bus one night, nearly licking his lips. Felt sorry for him, and his wallet. Must have been 90 minutes of 4G video streaming... every night? Yikes. Must be on the 80k won/month plan. 
• Seoul offers subsidies for foreign-invested companies that created new jobs
• How South Korea's AmorePacific Became One Of The World's Most Innovative Companies - not tech exactly, but neat look at this company. 

This Korean Life

• Fellow Expat Blog Shoutout to The Makkoli Hunter | Sampling and reviewing some of Korea's regional makkoli- 전국막걸리맛보기 – 매주 월&금 업데이트함 - Foreigner guy keeps a blog where he just straight up drinks various Makkoli, assigns a a rating out of 5, and that's it. No pithy commentary, just straight up ratings and a pic of the bottle. Relaxing minimalism. Via What is this beverage called? Its delicious! : korea
• Seat belts to be compulsory for all passengers on all roads - Long overdue
• 조선시대 영어교재 실사판 -  Neat look at an English textbook from Joseon times. Includes Japanese translations (plus in Korean) and Hanja, with pronunciations. Not bad. Via Saw a cool post on 네이버 showing what a Choson-Era English textbook looked like! Thought I would share it here. : korea
• Red Velvet confirms 'Red Taste' and 'Bad Boy' for Pyongyang ~ Netizen Buzz - Netizen comments here are hilarious. My favorite is "북돼지" which I will mentally translate as "The Pig of the North"
• Parents of Foreign Spouses Can Stay Until Grandchild Enters Primary School | Be Korea-savvy - Had no idea Korea has this allowance. Mixed race couples: the child's foreign grandparents are allowed to stay in Korea for YEARS to care for the child. 
• Donkeys in Korea - Another cute history post from  Robert Neff. Money quote at the end: "The hypocritical mocking of Korean folk remedies by the Western missionaries merely proves not all asses in Korea had four legs."
• First commercial VR film to hit local theaters
• Rich Live Longer in Every South Korean City | Be Korea-savvy - Shocking news here for sure. 
• Koreans flock to mobile weather apps to battle fine dust
• Sign-up Page for getting Air Quality warnings via SMS in English from Seoul City Government, via Kojects on Twitter: "Sign up here for Seoul's new air quality SMS service for foreigners which begins operating tomorrow. https://t.co/dHoGzWtUtd (The service is free.)"
• Andy Tebay on Twitter: "A little while ago @Seoul_gov sent out its first air quality text (since I've signed up anyway). Tells people to refrain from going outside and that it is taking emergency measures, though it fails to mention what these are.… https://t.co/jwMa1F2vAL" - Example of the kind of SMS you'll receive if you sign up. 
• Seoul city starts English SMS service on air quality info - More on that service. Eh, just use an app. 
• One of Your 500 Won Coins May be Worth a Lot of Money - I wish. 
• Hit by high rent, Insa-dong loses its identity - Yeah Insadong has become just a place to buy K-pop souvenirs lately. Sad to see its identity go, but then again this is what the people want. I guess. 
• Seoul Metro installs scream detection system in women’s bathrooms - Ladies, just remember to scream into the mic while you're being stabbed. I mean I can see why this seems like a compromise since you can't put CCTV in there, but it seems like security theater more than anything. I'm waiting for an AI facial recognition system to detect men entering the ladies' room, then the hilarious backlash when a woman gets identified as a male. Sad that we even need this kind of system. I'd say station more staff near the bathrooms. Some bathrooms are far from the staff office and fully unmonitored. At least a staff presence nearby could deter perverts and psychos. 
• CU branch gets first meat machine-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily - Yum. 
• Pwag, zoobs? Naver’s English dictionary contains nonsense, questionable definitions - TLDR: this is what happens when you use Urban Dictionary as a legitimate source of English definitions. But it does speak to the desire to understand the constantly evolving English slang from movies/songs/Facebook posts. 
• Kenny G to Perform at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang | Be Korea-savvy - Too late now, but Kenny G was here. 
• Alcoholic gets jail sentence reduced to fine in animal abuse case - This story is disgusting and pretty NSFW (text). This is a case where an "eye for an eye" would do well. Give him the same treatment. See how he likes it. 
• ‘Black Panther’ statue toppled in Busan - Aww. 
• Police to investigate death in live broadcast - Terrible news here. Pray for her and her family. 
• Continual Rule Changes for Foreign KBL Players Irritating Fans | Be Korea-savvy
• South Korea to Begin Enforcing Law that Bans Drinking on Mountains this Month – ROK Drop - Good luck with that. 
• Today's #MeToo roundup (March 7) - You know things are bad when you need a roundup of who's been outed as a sex criminal this week. 
• S. Korean Baseball Adopts No-pitch Intentional Walk to Speed up Games | Be Korea-savvy - Agree, I like a day at the ballpark but long stretches of inactivity require more booze or I'm getting bored. It's not like back home where at least there are some good plays in between down times. Sorry, KBO, but you're no MLB. 
• Seoul city bans food and drinks from buses-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily 
• Native English teacher fired for alleged sexual molestation - The Dokdo reference is funny here, but what isn't funny is that, if the details of this story are right, I don't know if I'd call this guy a sexual molester. Made some stupid choices as a teacher, yes, but doesn't seem right to label him a sex criminal. Too chummy and flirty; needs a discipline warning or something, not his life dragged through the muck. Unless maybe there was more to this story? 
• Airbnb Could Wipe Out 70% Of Its South Korea Listings By Next Month - TLDR: because most are in officetels which have different rules 
• President Moon's Photo Used as a Murder Suspect on Turkish TV - Ah the classic "world leader is a killer" blunder. 
• Natural gas fire now a tourist attraction - Wasn't there a Simpsons episode with this same plot?
• Seoul streetcar becomes 'electric guillotine' - Another classic history tale from Robert Neff
• Dog farmer dies from sepsis after being mauled - Hard to feel sorry for him.
• Vet caught handing off stray dogs for dog meat - Somewhat easier to feel sorry for him. I mean, he's right. They were doomed anyway. You might even say his actions were ethical. 
• Tumblr Under Pressure Amid Growing Adult Content | Be Korea-savvy
• Kakao Mobility Introduces Paid Features to Taxi App | Be Korea-savvy
• Kakao Taxi seeks monetization with addition of paid taxi-hailing options
• [Yongsan Legacy] A new language? - Apparently "same old same old" originated among GIs in Korea? Not sure I buy that, but cute history story anyway. These Yongsan Legacy pieces are a great time capsule into a Korea that seems so long ago but not that long ago. 
• [Graphic News] Sexual abuse in Seoul schools on sharp increase - Another mind-tripping graphic from the Herald. Where does this guy get the inspiration for these things? Someone give him an award. 
• Female student awarded for helping arrest flasher - He picked the wrong schoolgirl to flash his drunken dingaling at. 
• Mapo district launches English news program for foreign residents - I watched the first episode. It's like if Arirang News somehow became even more Arirangy. 
• Daegu residents file petition for statue removal - Nearly filed this under "LOL" I mean look at that thing. I wouldn't want to wake up to that outside my window each morning either. 
• Professional wrestler John Cena confirms he's an ARMY for BTS | allkpop.com - I decided I'd give a listen to the songs John Cena picked out as his favorites, and I have to say I was impressed. I can see now why this BTS group is so popular abroad. I'm going to put them up there with Childish Gambino in terms of bringing true artistic skill and a refreshing sound to genres already saturated. Via  Professional wrestler John Cena confirms he's a BTS fan : korea
• A day in the life of a disabled man in Seoul - YouTube - Interesting looking video, which I'm ashamed to have stuck in "Watch Later" and never touched. Via A day in the life of a disabled man in Seoul : korea
• From blather and seductive images to the pursuit of truth in Korean journalism - Dang, this was a rollercoaster. Never say the Korea Times is just a bunch of fluff pieces. This one will smack you over the head. 

Korean News Links

Interesting articles that I couldn't find English versions of.

• 카카오모빌리티, 김포공항 주차장 서비스 제공 - 지디넷코리아 - You can check parking at Gimpo via the Kakao T app. It will guide you right to your personal reserved spot and can process the payment for it automatically. Neat and once you get it working could be very convenient and a time saver. 
• 카카오 항공권 검색 '가격 추적' 서비스 오픈 - 지디넷코리아 - Kakao is basically adding another piece to their ecosystem: tracking and buying plane tickets and even full tour packages. 
• 카톡서 비행기표 실시간 비교·예약카카오‘항공권 by kakao’출시 - More on above
• YouTube Korea Blog: 방탄소년단의 리얼 성장 다큐멘터리 ‘방탄소년단: 번 더 스테이지’, 유튜브 레드로 만나보세요 - YouTube Red made some documentary of BTS. I just don't see the Red catching on here but who knows. 
• 네이버, 키보드앱 '스마트보드'에 편집기능 추가 - 지디넷코리아 - Naver's SmartKeyboard app gets more Gboard like, with stickers and predictive emoji and keywords blah blah blah
• 갤S9 자급제폰 '카카오프렌즈 패키지' 출시 - 지디넷코리아 - Adorable custom version fo the Galaxy S9 all decked out with Kakao Friends accessories and custom UI theme. 
• 카카오톡으로 병원 대기 순번 확인한다 - 지디넷코리아 - Let Kakao tell you when it's your turn to go see the doctor. 
• 넷플릭스, 시사뉴스 TV쇼 제작 시동 - 지디넷코리아 - Netflix will team up with Sisa News to make a Korean version of 60 Minutes basically. 
• 카카오, 오픈소스SW 저작권 침해했나 - 지디넷코리아 - Guy makes open source software, Kakao uses it, fight ensues. This gets technical and I'm not up to it. 
• LGU+, AI·카카오프렌즈 담은 '키즈워치' 출시 - 지디넷코리아 - Adorable kids' smartwatches from Kakao Friends
• 공공기관 문서 hwp 독점 어떻게 생각하나요 - 지디넷코리아 - Royal bitchfest against HWP and Hangul Office. 

Shelly!

This adorable robotic turtle, named SHELLY (zomg), deserves his own category.

• 네이버랩스 거북로봇 ‘쉘리’...“로봇 괴롭혀서 개발” - 지디넷코리아
• Robotic Turtle Teaches Kids to Keep Their Hands to Themselves - Geek.com
• Robotic Tortoise Helps Kids to Learn That Robot Abuse Is a Bad Thing - IEEE Spectrum

Headline Gore

• Annual Roadkill Massacre Underway as Toads Return to Breeding Sites | Be Korea-savvy 
• Baby got bok, or an attempt to aesthetically separate hanbok from the Korean body (Part 1)

And finally, something mildly interesting I saw one day:

Mildly interesting: this soft drink vending machine in the subway station has 3 slots for "random" beverages. I'm tempted to try my luck. pic.twitter.com/c0h0PbXcHW

— 10원 Tips (@10wontips) March 26, 2018

Whew, that was a lot of links. Wonder if anybody even finds this useful. Think I ought to cut down and focus on just a few key links each time.

Anyway, thanks for reading and see you again next month.