Time for another dump of interesting links about Korean tech and society, this time from the beginning of the year up to now, mid March 2022. from the end of 2021.
Links from January 2022 to March 2022
Special mention
This links to a Reddit thread about the departure of a Korea legend, Steve Hatherly, whose voice has been on the airwaves since I don't know how long. I'm sure I remember tuning in to him when or not long after I arrived here. The end of an era. Good luck to Mr. Hatherly and his velvety smooth, crystal clear Canadian voice that was the default standard of English for so many Korean people.
Link dump
Warning: some of these are likely already out of date, since the requirements for quarentine and QR checkin have changed drastically in the last month. But it's lunch time and I don't want to bother going through and removing them.
American department store chain Nordstrom starts selling BTS merch - Korea JoongAng Daily
[MWC 2022] KT debuts AI coaching app for K-pop dance
Daily Active Users for Roblox Hits 1-year High in S. Korea
Korea Abandons Vaccine Pass Mandate
Naver Band proves popular among teens, early 20s
Metaverse platform Zepeto user base exceeds 300 million
Naver starts dawn delivery with SSG.com and Fredit.
Samsung Encryption Flaw in Over 100 Million Recent Phones
[Seoul Subway Stories] Seoul’s once-thriving red-light district fades into history
Top court says bus companies must provide equipment to board wheelchairs
Gung-Ho YouTuber Flies to Ukraine to Fight
Owners Gearing Up to Sue Samsung for Alleged Performance Limits in Galaxy S22 Series
Late Nexon Founder Remembered for Support of Children’s Hospitals
Samsung Caught Excepting Benchmark Apps From Performance Throttling (Again)
Seoul to scrap 35-story height limit for residential buildings
Hyundai Oilbank unveils virtual energy station in metaverse platform
10원 Tips Naver has a revamped app for WearOS (Android smartphones). Just update your phone's normal Naver app to get it.
10원 Tips "Golden Spoon," Korean Tinder-like app only for rich people, requires bank statements etc as proof of wealth, gets hacked, oops. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/O7XA7X…
10원 Tips Tax breaks and subsidies on LPG or Hybrid cars may be ending in next few years. Only fully-electric and hydrogen may qualify. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/BUEU51…
[INTERVIEW] Bithumb ready for fresh leap in cryptocurrency exchange to win back customers
Street view of approx. 14,000 alleys in Seoul via S-Map
Koo Ja-hong, 75, Chairman of the LS Group
Convenience store chain GS25 to demonstrate fried chicken cooking robot for work efficiency
Urban green space in Seoul to be connected and extended by 2,000-km network of “green paths”
Futures made of virtual humanity? Virtual influencers break into K-pop scene
Operational glitch in advanced maritime navigation service requires modification in equipment
10원 Tips Pretty cool. Seoul City's official map includes a terrain slope layer. Scroll and zoom around in 3D and see the highest and lowest elevations in Seoul. Here's Namsan Tower and Gyeongbokgung smap.seoul.go.kr/m/
10원 Tips The fantastic Clova Note audio recorder and transcriber can recognize and label text spoken in both Korean and English simultaneously. blog.naver.com/clova_ai/22265…
10원 Tips Kakao will provide their professional work apps suite Kakao Work to all Korean public schools for free. Your homeroom's 카톡방 just went pro. zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20220…
10원 Tips Hancom's Linux-based OS "Cloud" (Gooroom, 한컴구름) to be used on several government laptops. Includes managed VPN for gov work, Windows & T-Max OS. zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20220…
Kakao Taxi Selects Passengers Based on Destination: Seoul City Gov’t
Coupang Play shows a 418% MAUs number growth year on year.
Number of Foreigners Obtaining a Ph.D. in S. Korea Quadruples
Naver Webtoon signs MOU with Google Play, Kocca to make games
SK Telecom’s NUGU Most Popular AI Speaker App
Seoul city to provide online street view service of all 14,699 alleys
Hyundai Motor’s Dog Blood Donation Campaign Ends in Success
Self-introduction Letter to be Omitted from College Admission Process from 2024
Korea-New Zealand social security accord to take effect next month
LG axes solar panel business in midst of rising material costs and supply contraints
South Korean Roses
Encounter with Pearl Buck at Yongsan
Danggeun Pay of Danggeun Market will be extended nationwide.
Civic Coalition to Urge Legislation of Basic Law on Overseas Koreans
‘Life is But a Dream’ – Director Park Chan-wook Brings his Unique Style to Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ Series
10원 Tips Naver Mail now has a "smart mailbox" that sorts incoming emails (SNS, bills, newsletters, etc) to different inboxes, like G-mail's default. Opt-in for now, default (opt-out) later. blog.naver.com/nvsmartdiary/2…
10원 Tips Naver Dictionary will close the older version of the English dictionary next month. Only the newer will remain active. Here are some old-new comparison shots for posterity.
Director Yeon Sang-ho to create new universe with gaming company Smilegate
Hardships of Disability in Korea
Kakao has become a traffic hijacking target for overseas ISPs.
Long-Term Exposure to Fine Dust Linked to Hearing Loss
LG's AI-based Artist ‘Tilda’ Debuts at New York Fashion Week
Songpa District Launches Senior E-scooter Supporter Program
Tottenham Hotspur to Play in Coupang Play Series in Korea This Summer
Gov't Approves Online Graduate Degree Programs at General Universities
Apple shares short film by South Korean director Park Chan-wook shot on iPhone 13 Pro
KT's AI Voice Recognition Solutions to Be Used for Mercedes-Benz Vehicles
App Monitoring Isolation of Int'l Arrivals to No Longer be Used
Park Chan-wook and Apple team up for short film 'Life is But a Dream'
Samsung Electronics Abandons Own Chipset for Galaxy S22
Korean Corporations Encouraged to Use Private 5G
South Korea has ended contact tracing. Then what are QR check-ins for?
KT Adds Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service on its AI Speakers
Ban on Leaflets Bound for North Korea Reveals Government’s Hypocrisy
On the road to autonomous driving, a good map helps
KT adds Amazon's Alexa voice service on its AI speakers
[Weekender] What the Korean dictionary says about society
10원 Tips In case anyone was using the Kakao Project 100 app (motivational goal/habit tracker), it is being shut down. project100.kakao.com/notice/52
10원 Tips Korean telecom carriers' "PASS" app will be used as officially valid mobile ID card. As usual, tied to a phone number in your name. bloter.net/newsView/blt20…
10원 Tips KT's Giga Genie AI smart speakers will have full English language Amazon Alexa support. GigaGenie 3 support soon, models 1 & 2 coming. Gives access to Audible audiobooks and Alexa Skills. bloter.net/newsView/blt20…
10원 Tips Naver Map app had an alert today saying it can show locations of Rapid Antigen Test (신속항원검사) sites. But when I tried, seems like it's showing leftover vaccine locations. Odd.
Kia Rolls Out One-seat Ray Minicar
10원 Tips KRAFTON demos their "virtual humans" for games, metaverse. Promo vid, looks slick: youtube.com/watch?v=G2nhL3…
10원 Tips Some guy ran a power cord from his parked camper van to a public restroom outlet. You can get 5 years in jail for this "theft." Wonder if the "I was drunk" defense would hold up here. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/EW6S5L…
10원 Tips Thief steals safe, lugs it up Hallasan to open with blowtorch, caught red handed by random patrol, flees, crashes car, leaves ID in car, caught. Bonus: safe was empty all along! Not this guy's lucky day. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/SOBC48…
KT to work with Savills Korea to establish submarine cable in Asia-Pacific region
New Cyber Security Act Likely to Undermine Domestic ICT Sector
Tighter Dog Leash Rule to Go into Effect as Grace Period Ends
10원 Tips Anyone good at Korean version of Wordle? nakosung.github.io/wordle/ I am terrible. It's a struggle knowing if the green tiles in the middle are syllable-enders or syllable-starters.
10원 Tips Kakao's crypocurrency-related service KLAYswap was hacked, coin stolen, and related Kakao functions (QR code checkin, KakaoMap, etc) were affected. English: medium.com/klayswap/klays… Korean details: zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20220…
Disney Plus sees a sharp decline in users causing concern
10원 Tips Apple features special discounts on content in Korea for Lunar New Year etnews.com/20220130000021
10원 Tips Blast from the past. What the Korean internet looked like on feature phones. I remember navigating through links with the arrow keypad and its big middle "enter" button.
South Korean government allows cab rides on mobility platforms for the first time in 40 years.
Magpies Account for 70 pct of All Bird-led Blackouts over 3 Years
10원 Tips Say 새해 복 많이 받으세요 in KakaoTalk today and your chat room background will temporarily change to a pink animated GIF of KakaoFriends bowing.
Femicide in South Korea: Data
[Seoul Subway Stories] New subway names with corporate links, another pandemic effect
Drivers in Seoul, Daejeon Eligible for Mobile Driver’s License from Thursday
Gov't to Build Underground Expressways to Ease Congestion in Metro Area
Korean Air’s Hanjin starts Metaverse Logistics on ZEPETO.
10원 Tips Naver MYBOX (Naver's version of Google Drive) continues to add Google Photos-like features. Now an option to choose full size or "optimized" size for photo uploads. blog.naver.com/myboxteam/2226…
10원 Tips "Wish," famous as the cheaper, lower quality Amazon, will soon have more Korean sellers. Good? zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20220…
Kakao Mobility to Introduce Taxi-hailing Service for Pets
‘Ghost Subway Platform’ Designated as Seoul’s Future Heritage
Driver's Licenses Go Mobile
Korea launches mobile driver's license trial
Government to Allow Robots to Move on Sidewalks Beginning from 2023
Apple TV+ announces release date for big-budget international series ‘Pachinko’
Smuggled drugs hit record high in 2021 amid pandemic
Best and Worst Places to Recharge Electric Cars in Korea
S. Korea Set to Permit Online Sales of Unifocal Glasses
Lotteria sells this monstrosity called "지파이" which I interpreted as "Z Pie" but actually comes from a popular Chinese streetfood "鷄排" ("shaped chicken"?). It's just a huge chicken nugget. 3,400 won. You're welcome.
SK Telecom's "NUGU" AI speaker will have Amazon Alexa functionality. SK also owns 11st (11번가) shopping website that recently partnered w/ Amazon for Prime-like shipping to Korea. Hmm... koreabizwire.com/sk-telecom-rol…
Hyundai to add support for Apple NFC car keys
KT teams up with Russia’s Yandex to debut delivery robots
SK Telecom Rolls Out Latest AI Speaker with English Option
Convenience stores' parallel postal service keeps growing
Yanolja defines the Year 2022 travel trend as “TIGER.”
‘Speed Watching’ Booms on Streaming Platforms
Samsung Applies for a Patent for Multi-Foldable Laptop
Brick Models of Korean Military Arms to be Released
Best and Worst Places to Recharge Electric Cars in Korea
Virtual human' Wooju struggles to gain traction despite 'Cha Eunwoo' looks
Samsung's in-memory computing could replace processor
Korean singer Kang Chang-mo (KCM) seems like a pedo if you Google Translate this article. What he actually said is "9살 연하한테 장가 가요" i.e. he will marry a girl 9 years younger than him. Always be weary of sensationalist AI-translated headlines.
Korean researchers develop gate-free contactless smart ticketing solution
Mobile Carriers Launch Authorized Notification Text Messaging Service
S. Korea approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Gangnam's economy 22 times larger than Gangbuk: data
Cars stopping at crosswalks: STOP & wait for pedestrians to cross, whether their light is green/red. If peds present, must stop & wait for them. In special safe zones (school etc), stop & wait whole ped green even if no kids seem present. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/D2IIMQ…
In Korea (elsewhere too?) you can customize the name of the sender when wiring money. Viewer promises streamer $500 to shave his beard, lists name as "$500" but sends 1 cent, streaming sees "$500" and does it, now wants to sue. Epic troll viewer. lawtalknews.co.kr/article/CRHQFF…
Virtual influencer Reah Keem signs contract to debut as singer
Samsung to Offer Trade-in Credit Even for Used LG Products
KT's IPTV services suffer disruption due to power supply glitch
Gyeonggi Prov. to Introduce Tagless Bus Fare System
Apparently location sharing app Zenly is popular among Korean GenZers. sphinfo.com/googlemapsnzen…
How to Set up Your COOV App
Happy reading.
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