[2중급용] Seoul Wants Overland Trip to Pyongyang for Roh
Seoul Wants Overland Trip to Pyongyang for Roh
Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung leaves after a weekly briefing at government house in Seoul on Thursday. /AP Intelligence Chief Arranged Inter-Korean Summit Few South Koreans Expect Results From Summit Big Powers Welcome Inter-Korean Summit Two Koreas to Hold Second Summit in Pyongyang The governemnt wants President Roh Moo-hyun and his entourage to travel overland to Pyongyang for the second inter-Korean summit later this month. Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung on Thursday said Seoul will ask North Korea to agree. Lee was chairing the first meeting of a government taskforce preparing the planned summit. He suggested that preparatory talks for the summit should be held in the North Korean border city of Kaesong on Aug. 13. Lee told reporters he expects the North to accept the proposal given that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recently visited North Korea by the overland route. While Lee did not elaborate, the most likely option is the reconnected Gyeongui railway linking Seoul and Shinuiju in the North, which had a symbolic test run in May. Some commentators speculate that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il would come down to Kaesong to meet Roh for a visit to the inter-Korean Industrial Complex there. For the historic first inter-Korean summit in 2000, president Kim Dae-jung flew to Pyongyang by a direct air route over the West Sea and North Korean leader Kim greeted him at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang. Asked if the two Koreas will discuss the agenda for the summit at the preparatory meeting, Lee said the principles for discussions should be set first and the two sides have yet to talk about the agenda. The first working meeting of the two sides will deal with the size of delegations, the schedule, transport and the dispatch of an advance team, he said. The three-man South Korean side will be led by Vice Unification Minister Lee Kwan-se. (" rel="nofollow"> ) Sohn Hak-kyu Declares Presidential Candidacy Former Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu declared his intention to run for president on Thursday at a ceremony at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul. /Yonhap In a World of Their Own New Progressive Party in Breakneck Launch Sohn Hak-kyu Gains Ground in Uri Camp The former Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu officially registered with the National Election Commission as a presidential candidate on Thursday, some four months after he defected from the Grand National Party on March 19. Sohn is the hopeful with the highest approval rating in the broad ruling camp. In a ceremony at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses in Yeouido, Seoul, Sohn set out three goals for building a "new creative nation" -- an advanced economy, a unified society, and a peace framework. "I solemnly declare my intention to run for the 17th presidential election to give you a hopeful Republic of Korea,” he said. He vowed to acknowledge the achievements of both the “industrial and democratic forces”, read governments of Right and Left, “but rectify what was wrong to use this legacy as the basis to create a new history." He called for an end to divisions that are “based on a prism of ideologies and loyalties." In a nod to his new political home, Sohn stressed the need for North Korea policies “that will creatively develop the Sunshine Policy” launched by the Kim Dae-jung administration, “which has contributed greatly to the inter-Korean reconciliation and exchanges.” He promised to help boost the “northern market” by putting forth a “10-year win-win economic program for the Korean Peninsula” and helping rebuild the North Korean economy. Sohn plans to organize his campaign committee next week and invite lawmakers into his camp. Polls rank Sohn top among presidential contenders within the ruling camp, but his approval ratings hover at the 6 to 9 percent level. He is also under fire from the other presidential contenders within the ruling camp. They have already begun launching offensives on him, focusing on his background in the GNP. Among the other ruling-camp contenders only ex-Uri chairmen Chung Dong-young and Shin Ki-nam attended the ceremony. A Sohn aide said, "After Aug. 19 when we have a campaign committee, and the GNP primary, we're sure we’re going to have a much bigger organization and public recognition of Sohn Hak-kyu will prevail." (" rel="nofollow"> ) Banks Tighten Rules for Foreigners Why Are Foreign Investors Turning Away From Korea? Foreigners Have a Hard Time in Korea -- Report Banks to Cut ATM Limits in Fight Against Scams Number of Foreign Residents Surges 35% Foreign residents will find it more difficult to open bank accounts in Korea as banks adopt stricter guidelines this month. To open an account foreigners will now need ID such as a foreigner registration card in addition to their passport. They will also need an employment certificate to use automated teller machines or Internet banking. The rules were initiated by the Korea Federation of Banks which says they are aimed at preventing foreigners from perpetrating financial fraud. Foreign fraudsters are reportedly calling up victims and telling them to wire delayed pension or credit card payments to their accounts. They then withdraw the cash from an ATM and flee Korea. The federation has been asked several times by the Financial Supervisory Service and the National Police Agency to tighten qualifications for foreigners who want to open accounts. Expatriates are unhappy with the new rules. An English teacher in Jongno said, "Does this mean that all foreigners are potential criminals? There are bound to be bad people of any nationality." "Steven", a Chinese-British banker said, "The rules flies in the face of the government's plan to make Korea into a global trade and business hub." Korean-Chinese and migrant workers from Southeast Asia will face problems as many won't be able to deposit their earnings with banks. Most of them are non-regular workers at small Korean firms and therefore have no identification other than their passports. The effectiveness of the rules is also in doubt. A police official said, "Criminals will just look for other ways if they can't open an account." (" rel="nofollow"> ) The Headaches of High-Definition TV High definition TV, when it arrived, appeared to be a boon to the broadcasting industry, with pictures five or six times clearer and more detailed than the blurry images we’re used to. Alas, too vivid and clear a picture brought its own problems: audiences can see the glue spots that hold the fake beard on a general’s face in a historical drama in place, and even the most beautiful actresses have enlarged pores. In fact, HD TV has proved a headache for directors, makeup artists and actors who work in the medium. ◆ Trailblazing porn The U.S. pornography industry has always enthusiastically embraced new technologies, from video in the 1980s to the Internet in the 1990s, and successfully capitalized on them. With HD DVDs, it may have gone one step too far. The actors’ wrinkles and plastic surgery scars are seen much more clearly in HD DVD porn, and there are so many more to see. Stars are worried. Some in the adult entertainment business say a clearer picture offers more “presence”, but not all viewers are convinced they wanted to see quite this much. ◆ Digital cosmetics Few moviegoers would thank filmmakers for revealing every pore and tiny hair on an actor’s face on the big screen. That’s why there is increasing emphasis on computer graphics and digital interpolation after shooting movies. The industry says digital interpolation work costs a whopping W50-100 million (US$1=W923) in Korea, and that’s a country where digital work is relatively cheap. ◆ Lighter makeup Many makeup artists say it has been getting harder to look good in the HD era. With ordinary TV, heavy makeup is a silver bullet: even though actresses look on set as if they had put plaster on their face, on screen their complexions appear transparent and flawless. Now, Kim Sang-in, a team leader with a professional makeup company Aria Beauty, says, “When actresses wear heavy makeup as they did in the past, they look awful on HD TV screens, where pores and wrinkles are seen clearly. Today, makeup artists apply only light makeup to actors with special airbrush foundation for HD screens from the U.S. and apply the final touch with pore-cover cream from Japan.” ◆ New tricks for the HD TV era The glue used to put fake beards on actors’ faces can be a problem when shooting a historical drama on HD. Ham Yoon-soo, a division leader with MBC, said, “We’re developing techniques that prevent the glue from glistening when mixes with sweat.” The set also needs to be more sophisticated. “That pushes up the art cost for HD program 1.5 times higher than dramas for standard resolution,” Ham adds. Directors now tend to avoid close-ups. An HD TV’s screen ratio is 16:9 and a standard TV’s 4:3. Since the HD TV screen is wider than a standard TV’s, when directors shoot a close-up, they have to bring cameras very close indeed to actors and actresses in order not to leave a space on the left and right of the screen. That can look plain weird, since an actor’s eyes, nose and a mouth seem to protrude, quite apart from revealing every wrinkle and nasal pore. Not surprisingly, middle-aged actors and actresses dislike such close-ups the most. Japanese broadcasters have longer experience with HD, and have been able to offer some sage advice. “When we asked about problems with HD production, an NHK staffer answered it was spiraling fees for actors,” a KBS staffer recalls. Many Japanese acting stars demand their increasing makeup and fashion expenses to look good on HD TV. Then there are problems with repeats of standard TV programs. “Past programs were made for 4:3 screen ratio, so when they’re aired on HD TV with a 16:9 screen ratio, the characters look chubby and small,” the KBS staffer says. Young actors and actresses are especially upset by such bloated and stunted representation. The only areas that clearly benefit from HD are nature documentaries and sports programs. HD TV’s strength, high clarity and definition, is a boon for such programs. KBS producer Lee Seo-ho says, “World nature heritage series that were broadcasted recently had more than 10 percent audience rating on average, mainly because audiences liked HD pictures that show an animals’ every strand of fur clearly as if viewers were watching from just a meter away.” As of the end of last year, 24.4 percent of total households have HD TVs in Korea. (" rel="nofollow"> )
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