Praise a Korean's English skills and get media space

Is this news? Sometimes I wonder....

Two foreign bank chiefs said in unison that new Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Kim Choong-soo’s English is excellent, with one of them saying that Kim would prove to be competent enough to preside over the central bankers’ meeting as part of the G-20 meeting to be hosted by Korea.
Their assessments came during a get-together Wednesday at the BOK.
The former ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) greeted bank CEOs. They included Larry Klane of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) and Richard Hill of Standard Chartered First Bank.
The head of the BOK exchanged greetings with the two. Klane said in Korean, "I am the CEO of KEB.’’ Kim responded in English and had no problem in making himself understood.
The chief executive of SC First Bank praised Kim’s English skills. "He was perfect. His English is top class. I’m sure he is the right person to lead G-20 meetings,’’ Hill told The Korea Times.
"As I know, his English is quite advanced. He was a Korean ambassador to the OECD, so I am sure that he can chair international meetings in English,’’ Jung Hee-sik, director general of the press office at the BOK, said.
Kim was selected to succeed Lee Seong-tae as the BOK governor starting in April and some said that his selection was partially based on his international expertise ahead of the G-20 summit to be held in Korea in November.

Just goes to show how obsessed the Koreans are with English!

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Ajumma to the rescue

The much maligned Ajumma- hot-tempered, married woman sporting loose floral print pants and tight perms- has her uses.
As this blogger so aptly puts it:

Ajumma can apply to any Korean woman over 30. By the mid-fifties, because they've "paid their dues," I guess, some behave a little less politely than most other Koreans, and care a little less about the general courtesies that are either the grease that keeps the wheels of society turning, or the B-S- that keeps people from acting out who they really are.
... ajumma is the one most likely to shove you as she dives for a seat on the subway; she's the one most likely to be rude to you in a restaurant, to touch your white skin, poke your curly hair, grab your love handles (out of sheer curiousity -- look at how big those cheese-smelling foreigners get!), comment that you're writing in your journal with the wrong hand (I'm a lefty), and you'll sometimes do what they say, however unnecessary, just so they'll leave you alone. This is the impression many foreigners get of Korean ajummas. Some of us carry a downright bitterness and resentment of the mature set.

Although the butt of jokes among the expat community here, the government has different ideas.
As this news article  notes, the government is hoping that the friendly faces of thousands of middle-aged women will improve the public response to this year’s national census.

Statistics Korea will concentrate on hiring women in their 30s and 40s to conduct the door-to-door surveys in November, the state-run agency announced yesterday. The preference for ajumma, as middle-aged women are known in Korea, reflects the belief that people feel more comfortable opening their doors to female strangers rather than males, while middle-aged women tend to be more persuasive in dealing with households that are reluctant to respond.
The national census, which takes place every five years, will be conducted from Nov. 1 to 15, with 95,000 census takers asking households simple questions about their living conditions.
Hiring for the survey agents will begin in August, with each paid 42,000 won ($37.39) a day. They will be required to wear state-issued identification tags.
“It has become harder to make people open their doors and respond because of so many crimes happening out there,” said one Statistics Korea official.
In previous years, census takers had typically been young college students and housewives hoping to earn extra money by taking temporary work.
But officials believe that the ajumma will prove more effective.
“The college students give up as soon as a household refuses to let them in. But these ajumma are more persistent, trying harder to persuade a homeowner to open the door and answer questions,” said the Statistics Korea official.
“People feel that ajumma are more approachable and so they tend to be more willing to answer their questions.”

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Red Star Operating System

More news on North Korea’s N. Korea's 'Red Star' operating system.

North Korea's new "Red Star" computer operating system is mainly designed to control the flow of information on the Internet tapped by users, a review by a state-run think tank said.
The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) said a detailed technical analysis of Red Star version 1.1 shows it is a Linux-based operating system with low-end options similar to those found in products that reached the market in the early 2000s.
It added that while it is similar to the ubiquitous Windows OS, emphasis has been placed on meeting security and other local requirements. There is only one Korean-language version of the system and due to the limited number of compatible applications there is little likelihood of its being put to wider use.
STEPI's study is the first technical analysis of the Red Star OS that was first developed in 2002 by the North's Korea Computer Center. Prior to its introduction, Pyongyang used the English versions of Microsoft Windows.
A Russian student in Pyongyang recently purchased an updated version of the Red Star and introduced it on his blog, though this was not a specialized review.
"The review was needed to get an estimate of how far North Korea's OS software has progressed," the STEPI report said. It added that Red Star represents North Korea's attempt to overcome the country's isolation in the computer field while at the same time coping with security concerns.
The communist country maintains close tabs on information and data into and out of the country and does not permit its people to freely surf the World Wide Web, with particular emphasis on prohibiting visits to South Korean Internet sites.
The institute under the education and science ministry said there is almost no political content and that developers have continuously updated the Red Star OS over the years.

One bright side to this is that atleast the country is not shackled to Microsoft like South Korea.

"In short, South Korea is a sad example of a Microsoft monoculture where the course of history and the lack of anti-monopoly oversight have created a nation where every computer user is a Windows user and banking or ecommerce or any secure transaction on the Internet with South Korean entities must be done with Internet Explorer on a Windows OS."

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Was Obama Checking Out This Girl's Butt?

Well, apparently not.

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Interview: Mr. Brian Newman, Founder & CEO, Green Cities Asia Ltd

Established in London, Green Cities Asia Ltd has chosen Seoul, Korea as the corporate base for its Asian property development expansion. The company’s founders – Mr. Brian Newman and Mr. Jason Ahn – are merging their international property development, investment financing and real estate marketing experience with some of the world’s leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development to give Green Cities Asia Ltd unparalleled capacity to deliver world-class projects for governments, investors and stakeholders.
As noted by Mr. Newman who is also the CEO, Green Cities Asia Ltd is a response to a growing need in Asia for real estate companies who understand the unique complexities of large-scale urban development.
We are a leader a leader in sustainable urban development thinking and practice. Our projects will set new standards for large-scale property development in Asia. GCA is positioned at the cutting-edge of green city development – innovative, intelligent, market responsive and sustainable,” he said.
Mr. Newman has gained over 20 years senior executive experience in the field of large scale urban development having worked for industry leading organizations in Australia, North-East Asia, South-East Asia and the Middle East. His academic qualifications include a degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
He brings a unique blend of private and public sector experience and knowhow to his work. As CEO of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority he led the post-Olympic transformation of Sydney’s Olympic precinct to create a new urban township that embraced the same commitment to sustainability that gave Sydney its international ‘Green Games’ reputation.
In an exclusive interview, he noted that whilst the implementation of a more environmentally friendly, carbon neutral approach to urban development is an effective response to the issue of climate change, there is a need for city development to address a broader range of environmental issues. Broader still is the important concept of sustainability.
Green Cities Asia Ltd is committed to a four pillar approach to practicing strategic sustainable urban development. As developers, our challenge is to help make cities more economically efficient, more comfortable, more socially equitable, culturally rich and environmentally sustainable, he said.
Mr. Newman noted that today we exist in a world where 50% of the earth’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this figure is forecast to reach 70%, as the world’s population grows from 6.8 billion to 9.1 billion. Cities are known to consume 75% of the world’s energy. By the year 2030 over 5 billion people are likely to live in cities, contributing over 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. Ecological foot-printing shows that the planet is consuming 25% more renewable resources every year than it can replenish.
Cities are the engines of global economic growth. The quality of the living/working environment within cities is a major factor in determining the flow of investment capital and of human resources around the world.
It is therefore imperative for economic and environmental reasons that city leaders promote green cities, towns and urban villages that are planned, designed, built and managed with a view to minimizing their environmental footprint and provide a strong sense of well-being for their communities, he said.
GCA recognizes the responsibility it has to contribute to society by developing environmentally sustainable communities that enunciate a new consciousness to the development of our urban environment, creating exciting new places and spaces in the process. The company has the knowhow and experience to meet the challenge of developing city interventions that improve a city’s quality of life.
One of our key business objectives is to work with governments (national, regional and city governments) and our private sector partners to develop new urban communities that demonstrate what ‘sustainable living’ is about and how an improved quality of life can be offered to communities of all social levels. This is achieved within a framework of qualitative and quantitative performance measures,” he said.
These communities have been referred to as green cities, eco-towns, green villages etc. They are exemplified in existing urban development projects such as Hammarby Sjostad in Stockholm; the Augustenberg and Western Harbour precincts of Malmo, Sweden; Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia; Curitiba in Brazil; and in the concepts behind new international urban development projects such as Masdar in Abu Dhabi, Elephant Castle in London and Magok-Dong in Seoul.
In the end, sustainability is about Quality of Life - this notion goes to the core of our company’s philosophy. We believe development is not just about building buildings, it is about creating places for people.”
GCA’s urban communities are characterized by a strong sense of place that are sustainable economically, socially, environmentally and culturally and offer a high Quality of Life for their communities.
Speaking on the competitive advantages of the company, he noted that first and foremost is the knowledge/expertise in the field of sustainable urban development including master planning, eco-design, green building practice, social strategies. The company also has the ability to define unique project concepts that create new product categories in the marketplace.
Our ability to source foreign direct investment (FDI) and international joint venture participation and our commitment to creating great places through every step in the property development process also place us ahead of our competitors,” he said.

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