Links from Dec 2019 - Jan 2020

Lost in the craziness of the Christmas and New Year season were some links I had saved from December and most of January. Before I forget again I will push these out before Lunar New Year.

Add them to your offline reading list and enjoy getting updated on some interesting stories while you're stuck in 설날 traffic. On with the links.

Links from December 2019 ~ January 2020

Year End Links

• Pengsoo named 'Person of the Year 2019'
• Top 10 most viewed & liked music videos in Korea & worldwide in 2019 - K-POP, K-FANS
• National changes to be made in Korea in 2020 - K-POP, K-FANS
• [Weekender] A look back at 2019
• [Newsmaker] From new IDs to pension boost, changes due in 2020
• Transport Developments in Seoul and Korea for 2020 – Kojects
• Korea’s largest messaging app runs into server failure on New Year’s Day
• 10 Won Tips - Year in Review roundups 

Society, Culture, Lifestyle, etc. 

• Korea to Clamp down on Driving-License Tourism - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - National/Politics National
• U2 features Sulli at their 'Herstory' Korean concert special ~ Netizen Buzz
• Reason Why You Shouldn't Trust The Comments, Upvotes and Age Demographics on Naver | allkpop
• [News analysis] Plans for Korea’s lunar orbiter were unrealistic and poorly conceived from the start : National : News : The Hankyoreh
• [Reportage] The dire living situation of young Koreans : National : News : The Hankyoreh
• Chun Doo-hwan has shark’s fin lunch to celebrate his coup 40 years earlier : National : News : The Hankyoreh
• Korean Air recognizes lesbian couple as 'family'
• 312 students manage to hack their CSAT scores-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Strengthened school zone punishments draws backlash
• My North Korea: DPRK Gas Station Survey
• Kojects - Posts
• [Korea Encounters] Solemnity vs revelry on Christmas Eve in the 1960s
• Nourished Abroad provides mental health support for expat women
• Korean adoptees can submit DNA to Korean overseas missions in family search : International : News : The Hankyoreh
• Kenny G World Tour Valentine Concert 21 Feb 2020 Songpa gu Seoul - South-Korea - korea4expats
• A South Korean Citizen Reports President Moon Jae-in as a Spy - East Asia Research Center
• KT M Mobile - Number Porting Process : korea
• Seoul City to Turn Old Highway into 7.6 km-long Park | Be Korea-savvy
• Urban residents battle for sunlight
• Binggrae unveils pumpkin sweet potato-flavored milk

Tech, Business, etc.

• AWS criticized for 'abusing' Korean clients
• 119 calls can now be video calls via the 5G network-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• [NEWS IN FOCUS] Go master beats machine and shatters AI dreams-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Naver and Kakao Restructure Their Real Time Most Searched Word Services as the General Election Nears - ETNews
• No-cashier GS25 is operating in Euljiro-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Passage of three data bills is hailed by FSC-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Genie Music Launches New Service Combining VR with K-pop | Be Korea-savvy
• North Korea could use power lines for intranet expansion
• Genie Music rolls out VR albums-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Kakao Pay starts payment service on Google Play, YouTube Premium
• JTBC-NETFLIX INK MULTI-YEAR DEAL FOR HIGH-QUALITY KOREAN TV SERIES
• NETFLIX JOINS HANDS WITH LINE FRIENDS TO CREATE ORIGINAL ANIMATED SERIES
• Kakao’s New Van Taxi-hailing Service Offers Alternative to Tada | Be Korea-savvy
• Kakao starts testing van-hailing service-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Korea’s three biggest food delivery apps merge-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• YouTube
• Samsung to make Baidu's new AI chips | ZDNet
• Gov't approves LG Uplus-CJ Hello merger
• Naver expands audiobook services amid challenges
• Lotte Mart's 50th store in Indonesia
• Naver's online comic arm begins services in French, Spanish
• Daum ends trending keywords-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Microsoft grabs domain names used by suspected North Korean hackers
• Weather App Goes Viral in N. Korea | Be Korea-savvy
• Galaxy phone hackings leave actors and idols exposed to blackmail ~ Netizen Buzz
• Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem
• How To Do Naver SEO: A Complete Guide - Twinword - Medium
• Cafe24 adds TMON and ABLY to sales channel
• Smarts from Seoul: The Maturing Smart Home | Ubergizmo
• The Pervasiveness of Kakao in South Korea | 10 Magazine Korea
• Luggage Start-up "JimCarry" Expanding Services in Busan
• Tada Launching English Ride-hailing Service for Foreign Tourists | Be Korea-savvy
• No more yelling for the waiter as tech takes frustration out of ordering-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Security concerns grow over Samsung smartphones
• SK Telecom forms a U.S. broadcasting venture-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily
• Apple's arrogance angers Korean card issuers
• 한국서 쌓은 '엘포인트', 베트남·인도네시아서 사용 가능 | Bloter.net - Lotte "L" points can be exchanged between similar point schemes in various SE Asian countries.
• SK Telecom, Microsoft to expand cloud gaming service in Korea
• Court orders BBQ to pay W 200 mil. to BHC
• Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho dies at age 99
• 젠틀파이, 롯데쇼핑 AI 스피커 UX 설계 | Bloter.net - Yet another smart speaker assistant device was released to VIP customers by Lotte Shopping. The "Charlotte Home" is similar to the Google Home Hub display and has many of the same functions, conveniently including easy purchasing via Lotte Home Shopping. 
• 네이버 웨일, 1만 PC방 기본 브라우저로 사용된다 - ZDNet korea - Naver's Whale browser to be default browser in 10,000 PC bangs

And speaking of lunar new year traffic, here's a table from Naver showing the portions of highways expected to be the most congested, and how much longer the passage along those routes is expected to take:

Naver's list of the top most congested highway sections during typical Lunar New Year. Expect travel times 3x longer than usual on most sections. pic.twitter.com/Is9JFeKXwQ

— 10원 Tips (@10wontips) January 22, 2020

Stay safe and have a good one folks.