Japan will face the Taeguk Warriors in the Asian Cup Semi-Final

South Korea reached the last four of the AFC Asian Cup Football after defeating Iran by 1-0. Now, they will face Japan in the semi-final round and fight for a much victory. Substitute Yoon Bit-Garam scored the goal for his team in 105^th minute.

For South Korea, it is going to be a difficult task to face Japan who has won the trophy three times so far. Japan should be looking for their fourth Asian Cup title. Before that, they will have to beat South Korea to ensure their place in the final round.

Japan is now eagerly waiting to face their old cross-strait rivals at the Al-Gharafa Stadium in Doha. The match between these two teams is going to be an exciting and at the same time, the most expected game of this tournament.

Japan became the first semi-finalist team after defeating the host Qatar by 3-2 in the quarter-final round. Both Japan and Qatar are strong team on pen and paper. These two Asian teams have the highest possibility to win the title too.

Both Japan and South Korea are still undefeated. They should want to increase their undefeated form till the end of this tournament. But any of them will have to accept the defeat. Fans are eagerly waiting to see the winning team between them.

Both Japan and Korea faced each other in a friendly match in October. The match ended in a goalless draw. However, Japan was beaten by the Taeguk Warriors twice earlier in 2010.

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AFP

South Korea defeated Iran 1-0 to make place in the semi-final round

After an exciting 1-0 finish, South Korea moved forward to the semi-final round where they will play against Japan on 25^th January 2011. In their knock out stage, they defeated strong team Iran scoring a goal in extra-time.

Yoon Bit-Garam led South Korea to reach semi-final scoring the only goal for this match. He emerged as hero for South Korean supporters after scoring this goal in 105+2' minutes.

Fans could see an exciting match between two strong teams- South Korea and Iran. They both were strong enough to beat each other in the much win competition. Even, most of the fans thought that the fate of the match would be decided through penalty shootout, but the substitute proved himself key player in a very tight contested game held on Saturday night.

South Korean football manager is very much happy for his team’s victory over Iran. With this victory, Korean players showed their ability to play as a team. Now, South Korea needs two more victories to get the sub-continental football trophy.

Neither Iran nor South Korea was in dominant form in the game as they had very few chances to score a goal. South Korea played well in the first-half while Iran showed their good form in the second half.

It is bad luck for Iran as they failed to make their place in the last four of AFC Asian Cup 2011.

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Universal Studios Going to Build $2.7 billion theme park in South Korea

Universal Studios is going to invest nearly 2.7 billion dollar to make a theme park in South Korea. This will be will be the third theme park of the company in Asia and the theme park that is going to be built in South Korea will be the largest this continent. The good thing is that Universal Studios have got some key partners to build the mega project. It will be built in Hwaseong City is near the capital of the country Seoul. The project was first announced in 2007 and since then Universal Studios has been working hard to get some partners for the project.

Now, the good news is that South Korea’s Lotte Group and POSCO have joined with the company with their support. The construction of the project will start in 2011 and it is expected to be finished by 2014.

In the theme park, there will be also Water Park and golf course. So, it will be a good place for South Koreans go hand out and people from other countries will also visit here and enjoy the park and the rich people will surely like the golf course.

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South Korean Economy: The Worst of Economic Recession Over?

I think that the on going global economic recession has been hitting many countries for almost one year. Last year, in September, we heard the news of Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy and then just one after another company started to give us bad news. This caused massive problem for Korean economy because it mainly depends on exporting to other rich countries like USA. Even in Asia, its major trading partners like China suffered from the recession and it became like a Chain reaction. Still, the Korean economy is under pressure and many people in the country are unemployed and worried about their future. The good news is that it may be the worst has already been over. There is new hope for revival.

I found two reports in this regard and I would like you to read them:

S. Korea's economy bottoming out from recessionary phase: KDI

S. Korean economy to recover faster than other OECD nations: report

Of course, it is still quite some time that the economy will become strong again. We now live in a global village and that is why the political leaders of all the countries should realize this matter that all the economies are connected to each other.

Hillary Clinton in South Korea 2009: What do you think?

Earlier today, I was watching some parts of the press conference of Hillary Clinton in South Korea. The visit came at a time when there is a sense of unease among many people in South Korea about a military conflict with North Korea. So, Hillary tried to assure the South Koreans leaders that USA was with Seoul totally. Of course, this was good but I wish that she also talked about global economic recession very seriously.

Well, I think that for people living outside of Korea, economic recession is now more important than Korean conflict. She is next in China and I guess that she will request Chinese leaders to put pressure on North Korean government.

South Korean manufacturers' confidence hits the lowest point

In a survey conducted by Bank of Korea in Seoul, it has been found out that South Korea’s manufacturers’ confidence has hit its lowest point in more than three years. Conducted over 1554 manufacturers, the survey showed that rising cost of fuel, increasing cost of raw materials and worldwide economic slowdown has shaken up the manufacturers of Asia’s third largest economy. In addition, domestic problems such as US beef import controversy, truck driver and factory workers' strike have made the situation more critical.

An index measuring business expectation for July fell from 88 to 77. This is the weakest score since February 2005. A score lower than 100 means there are more pessimists than optimists.

It is not only South Korea but all the countries around the world experiencing the problem. Rising fuel cost, coupled with high price of raw materials are eroding consumers’ confidence and eating up company profits. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index has dropped 11% this year. It will take a more than miracle to turn around South Korea’s condition now.

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Bloomberg

Now Hyundai Motor Co. workers are planning to go on strike

After the truck drivers and the people of South Korea, now it is the workers of Hyundai Motor Co.(SEO: 005380). More than 50% of the 44,757 workers of the Hyundai Motor Co. decided to go on strike in demand for higher pay and protest against government policies. Hyundai spokesman, Chang Kyu, said that the plan was backed by majority of the workers at Hyundai. However, the worst is yet to come; workers of the all four largest South Korean automakers are planning to go on strike. Bloomberg reports:

Hyundai Motor workers will today decide when to stage stoppages. The union is seeking an 8.9 percent raise in base pay and wants the automaker to distribute 30 percent of annual net profit as employee incentives.

The carmaker's workers last year agreed to a pay accord without striking for the first time in 10 years. The package included a 5.8 percent increase in base pay.

It looks like South Korea, the fourth largest economy of Asia, is heading toward a dark future. Already, protest over the US beef import and nation-wide truck drivers’ strike has become a big problem for the government of Lee Myung-bak. Now, this new protest is arising. I hope, Mr. Lee Myung-bak and the automakers work out to solve the problem as soon as possible.

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More people join 'Beef Protest' in South Korea as the delegates extended their discussion in the USA

South Korean delegates headed by Trade Minister, Kim Jong-Hoon, have extended its discussion with the USA over the beef issue. Earlier, South Korean Foreign Ministry informed that the two parties have failed to reach any kind of agreement and Seoul’s chief delegates were leaving a day early. Few hours later, news of extending the meeting came from Washington. Upon the request of the USA, for more ministerial-level talks, Kim Jong-Hoon, and Susan Schwab, the US trade representative, will hold further meetings.

As negotiation between South Korea and the USA is going on, things are growing worse. Large number of South Korean construction workers has joined beef import protest. Guardian reports:

To make matters worse for Lee, who took office in February, the latest talks with the US to resolve a row over beef imports faltered overnight without progress.

Lee's decision to lift restrictions on American beef imports in April triggered his sharp fall in the public opinion polls. South Koreans accused Lee of putting relations with the US ahead of public health concerns amid fears of mad cow disease.

South Korean President, Lee Myung Bak, decided to lift up the ban on US-beef and start import from April this year which started a row of serious protests and dealt a big blow to the popularity of the president, who took office in February following his landslide victory in the election.

What South Korea wants now is to stop importing meats of cows older than 30 months for they carry a high risk of mad cow disease. Other countries also do not import older American beef. Japan allows meat of cattle younger than 20 months. In their latest statement, South Korean ministry said that the two-sides had agreed to cooperate in seeking a mutually satisfactory solution but more time was needed to come up with practical steps.

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NTT DoCoMo will market LG PRADA in Japan from June

One of the top Japanese mobile phone companies, NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (TYO:9437) will market LG’s PRADA Phone in Japan from June. Wireless Design Asia reports:

Handset features include an intuitive, full-size touch screen with vibration touch to improve usability. This function activates whenever users touch screen icons to make a call, use e-mail, take and view photos or listen to music. The 2 megapixel camera is equipped with a German-made Schneider-Kreuznach lens and auto-focus capability.

High-speed 7.2Mbps data transmission makes it easy to enjoy i-mode and to download Chaku-Uta Full and other large files, while full 3in browser compatibility enhances the mobile Internet experience.

Currently, PRADA Phone is found in Europe and other countries. The The Laclede Group, Inc., popularly known as LG, is the second largest electronic company of South Korea and third largest in the world.

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Bill Gates in South Korea

On his Asia tour, last Tuesday, Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), met with the President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak. Mr.Gates forecasted a vast shift in Internet technology in the next ten years. In a press conference before the meeting with the President, Mr. Gates told the reporters that the people around the world are moving toward the second decade of the digital age. The internet had been operating for ten years and the second ten years will be different. After 2001, this is Bill Gates’ first tour in South Korea. International Herald Tribune reports:

The Blue House said in a statement that Microsoft, the South Korean government and South Korean companies will invest a total of US$313 million (€202 million) in information technology for vehicles, games and education.

Earlier, Microsoft Corp. and automakers Hyundai Motor Inc. and Kia Motors Corp. announced a deal whereby the South Korean companies will use Microsoft's in-car software, which allows people to control personal music players and telephones with voice commands.

The companies also said they planned to set up an automobile IT innovation center. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia together form the world's sixth-largest automotive group.

South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak mentioned Bill Gates as member to his Global advisory committee. The projects declared during this visit will have major impact on South Korea’s economy. Microsoft also announced its plan to invest $280 million to build a research and development facility in Beijing and double the R&D staff to 3000 within three to five years.

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Bank of Korea's governor forecasts a stall in the country's economic growth

Lee Seongtae, Governor of the Bank of Korea, forecasted an economic slow down in the current fiscal year. Last year, the economic growth was at 5%. Earlier this year, it was said that the country will have a GDP of 4.7%. In a recent news conference, Lee Seongtae told the reporters that the economic growth would not surpass more than 4.5%, rather, it could go below the level of 4.5%. Forbes.com reports:

The bank earlier announced that it would keep its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged for a ninth straight month due to soaring import costs and looming signs of an economic slowdown. The outcome, at a monthly policy meeting, was widely expected.

The government has repeatedly expressed its hope for a lower interest rate to fuel domestic demand after plans for a 4.9 trillion won ($4.7 billion) supplementary budget were postponed.

But the central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged due to high inflation. Seven of 11 economists recently polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the central bank to hold steady; the other four had forecast a reduction of 25 basis points.

The economic slow down in USA, along with the rising cost of fuel,food, and raw materials have adversely affected the global economy. Like Korea, other big Asian economies -China, Japan, India are facing such economic slow down. To survive such conditions, the Asian countries should come together and take up various programs.

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Forbes.com

Housing Price Growing in South Korea

It seems that the price of everything is growing in the world now. We know about global increase in food price because of a shortage. In South Korea, housing price has increased nearly one percent in April 2008 compared to March 2007. Compared to one year ago, the increase was 3.8 percent. This is not a good scenario at this moment. The focus of the people is on the increasing food price. Yesterday, in this blog we wrote that South Korean companies are companies are importing GMO corn or biotech corn. I just hope that South Korean government and the banks and the people can find a good solution to this housing problem.

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South Korea 2008: Bad News for Trade Surplus

South Korea is one of the richest countries in Asia and it has a very strong and vibrant economy. It is more than a decade when South Asian economy suffered a lot during 1997 Asian economic crisis. In ten years, South Asian economy has amazingly bounced back. In 2007, company that trade surplus of the country was 14.6 billion dollars. However, 2008 does not seem to be a very rosy year when it comes to trade surplus. Korean government is expecting that this year the economy of the country will grow at 6 percent.

Yoo Choonsik wrote:

Shin also said the government's 2008 economic growth target -- set far above market expectations at 6 percent -- was not unrealistic, although he conceded it may be difficult to achieve under current conditions of a slowing global economy and sharply rising prices for food and energy.

"The situation is now that we can't expect a sharp drop in oil prices, and so the trade surplus in 2008 will probably fall sharply to around $7 billion from last year's $14.6 billion," Shin said in an interview of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting, held this year in Spain.

This is the not bad, but when you compare with India and China this is a bit slower. However, the main problem Korea is facing at this moment is that the price of oil in international market is increasing and this creates a lot of pressure for the country. In fact, South Korea imports totally imports all of its oils and it does not have any energy source. This is not a good thing for any country in this age. So, another problem is that the country does not invest any money on the alternative energy resources. The Korean people love to have a very consumer and luxurious life. So, it is creating a lot of pressure on the economy and it is hearting foreign trade of the country. In fact, this year it is expected that the trade surplus will become half and will become just nearly seven billion dollars.