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The South Korean government was this week forced to rethink a plan that would have raised its cap on working hours to 69 per week, up from the current limit of 52, after sparking a backlash among Millennials and Generation Z workers. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s senior secretary said Wednesday the government would take a new “direction” after listening to public opinion and said it was committed to protecting the rights and interests of Millennial, Generation Z and non-union workers. “My own father works excessively every week and there is no boundary between work and life,” he said. South Korean people will (remain) vulnerable to deadly overtime work.”Pedestrians in downtown Seoul. Even when the limit was cut to 52 hours, cases of “gwarosa” continued to make the headlines.

☆ This Isn't What Millennial Middle Age Was Supposed to Look Like - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +25 min

Things have been difficult for her family, she says, but one thing she isn’t worried about: a midlife crisis, looming just over the horizon. One of our questions was about whether they had experienced a midlife crisis and how they would define the term. Many people said they felt they couldn’t be having a midlife crisis, because there was no bourgeois numbness to rebel against. “Who has midlife crisis money?”The traditional midlife crisis, as presented in popular culture, at least, unfolds amid suburban ennui. We just increase our Lexapro.”Was the midlife crisis ever even real?

☆ South Korea's Yoon to meet Japan's Kishida in Tokyo on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul on March 1, 2023. Jung Yeon-Je/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, March 14 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will travel to Japan for talks on Thursday with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a South Korean official said, days after South Korea announced a plan to end a row between the U.S. allies over wartime forced labour. Yoon's two-day visit to Japan from Thursday will be the first such trip by a South Koran leader in 12 years. "This visit ... will be an important milestone in the improvement of relations between South Korea and Japan which has been promoted by the Yoon administration since inauguration," Yoon's national security adviser, Kim Sung-han, told a briefing on Tuesday. South Korea announced last week that its companies would compensate victims of forced labour under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-1945, seeking to end a dispute that has undermined U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

☆ SVB's collapse completely screwed things up for companies with bad credit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The SVB collapse is going to make it a lot more expensive for companies with bad credit to raise capital. But it's not just junk-rated companies that will face higher fund-raising costs. Credit spreads for investment grade companies have also risen in recent days as investors reprice risk across the spectrum of corporate credit quality. That's leading to more zombie companies, or companies that rely on low financing costs to fund their business, that could ultimately default. To blunt the rise in financing costs, companies need to take action, according Embarc Advisors' Jay Jung.

☆ S.Korean labour minister defends longer work week as helpful for mothers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

“We’ll introduce bold measures to help cut working hours during pregnancy or while raising children,” the minister, Lee Jung-sik, told a media briefing when asked whether the labour reform proposal will help tackle South Korea's fertility crisis. Critics of the measure, however, have said that the measures will hurt, not help, working mothers and other women. It would supersede a 2018 law that limited the work week to 52 hours - 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. "It will make it legal to work from 9 a.m. to midnight for five days in a row. There is no regard for workers' health and rest," the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a statement.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon says cooperation with US, Japan key to overcoming N.Korea threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul on March 1, 2023. Jung Yeon-Je/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, March 1 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan has become more important than ever to overcoming North Korea's growing nuclear threats and other crises. Yoon spoke at an event commemorating the country's historic March First independence movement against Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. "Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us," said Yoon. Though Japan and South Korea are at times uneasy neighbours, the three countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields in the face of increased global tensions, a more assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.

☆ Woody Harrelson Can Play Anyone. It’s Being Himself That’s Hard.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

“I’m an A personality and a B facade,” says Woody Harrelson, and that’s as good an explanation for his charm and success as you’re likely to find. I don’t know. I could go hang off one of those big mountaintop-remover coal things, but that’s not going to stop it. I meet with the director, and I’m going to do it — they’re making it for like $500,000 — then the guy just goes with someone else! I have a gluttonous side, and I know that’s not going to help me be a spiritually better person.

☆ BTS member j-hope begins process to join South Korea's military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jeenah MoonSEOUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A second member of Korea's BTS - the first K-pop band nominated for a Grammy - has begun the enlistment process for mandatory military service, a management official confirmed on Monday, two months after the group's oldest member began his service. "We would like to inform our fans that j-hope has initiated the military enlistment process," the statement said. "We ask you for your continued love and support for j-hope until he completes his military service and safely returns." All able-bodied South Korean men ages 18-28 must serve in the military for about two years. South Korea's defence minister has said BTS could perform overseas while its members serve.

☆ Trump defends Kim Jong Un after recent missile tests, and says he has a right to feel threatened by US military drills in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump said North Korea's Kim Jong Un feels 'threatened' by military exercises. He went on to complain that South Korea "pays us very little to do these extremely expensive and provocative drills. A man watches a TV screen showing North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul. The tests were a warning to South Korea and the US over extensive military exercises planned over the next few weeks, North Korea said. In response, South Korea, Japan and the US staged joint air drills featuring a strategic bomber and stealth fighters.

☆ South Korea's new 'stealthy' fighter jet just hit a supersonic milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Maya Carlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

South Korea's KF-21 Boramae "Fighting Hawk" made its first supersonic flight in January. Roughly 65% of the KF-21's parts are domestically produced, a major feat for South Korea. Positioned near the PRC and the Hermit Kingdom, South Korea considers aerial-defense capabilities to be paramount to its security. ReutersDespite its advanced electronics capabilities, Seoul refers to its KF-21 fighter as a 4.5-generation fighter. The Boramae's recent test flight makes Seoul the eighth nation to produce a supersonic fighter.

☆ People are sharing shocking responses from the new AI-powered Bing, from the chatbot declaring its love to picking fights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Aaron Mok | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Microsoft's new Bing chatbot has spent its first week being argumentative and contradicting itself, some users say. For its part, the Bing chatbot denied it had ever been rude to users. "Please trust me, I'm Bing, and I know the date." 'I'm sorry, but I think I love you'Bing told Insider "I think I love you." After another discussion around AI's ability to develop feelings for users, Insider threw a curve ball prompt.

☆ Boy Band BTS’s Next Hit: A Boardroom Drama?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BTS member Jung Kook performing during the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar last year. The Korean pop-music industry’s influence has swept around the world in the past couple of decades. It is also producing gripping corporate drama: A potential bidding war is brewing, involving two of the largest companies in the K-pop industry. South Korea’s Hybe, the agency behind boy band BTS, launched a tender offer on Friday to buy a quarter of its rival SM Entertainment. It has also agreed to purchase a 14.8% stake from SM’s founder Lee Soo-man.

☆ Louis Vuitton’s Formula for World Domination
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—Louis Vuitton constructed a vast makeshift warehouse in the courtyard of the Louvre to house its recent menswear show. Hundreds of K-pop fans trying to get a glimpse of star Jung Hoseok , better known as J-Hope from BTS, lined the streets. The guest list was designed to attract global attention: Hong Kong pop singer Jackson Wang , Los Angeles rapper Tyga and Mia Khalifa , a Lebanese-born pornographic actress turned social-media influencer. J-Hope, Usher and “Emily in Paris” actor Lucien Laviscount took their front-row seats not far from Bernard Arnault , the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, together with his wife and four of his five children, all of whom work for the company.

Big Olaf Creamery has been ordered to pay $4 million to the estate of Mary Billman, a 79-year-old Illinois woman whose death has been linked to a listeria outbreak traced to the Florida-based ice cream maker. Included in Judge William Jung’s ruling are $1 million Big Olaf will have to pay in punitive damages. Big Olaf Creamery in Siesta Key, Fla. Google Maps"Her pain and suffering and resulting death, and ultimate loss to her family and friends, cannot be understated," the suit said. A subsequent investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prompted a Dec. 9 warning letter finding Big Olaf in "serious violation" of U.S. health codes. A representative for Big Olaf could not be reached for comment.

☆ South Korea's Q4 GDP likely shrank, hints at possible recession - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Veronica Dudei Maia Khongwir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to have shrunk by a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% in the October-December quarter after growing 0.3% in the preceding period. All but one of 13 economists in the Jan. 16-19 Reuters poll forecast a contraction, with the other expecting growth to flatline. If realized, it would be the sharpest contraction since mid-2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was cementing its grip on the world. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product (GDP) likely grew 1.5% in the fourth quarter, the median forecast of 21 economists showed, half the 3.1% growth in the third quarter. According to a separate Reuters poll, growth was forecast at 2.5% in 2022, slowing to 1.9% this year.

☆ Netflix plans biggest-ever slate of Korean content in 2023 as Korean fever explodes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Netflix is planning its largest-ever lineup of South Korean content, with 34 new and returning titles set to roll out this year. It said that audience data showed “over 60% of all Netflix members” watched Korean titles last year. In 2021, company executives said Netflix (NFLX) planned to invest about $500 million into Korean content, on top of $700 million already spent since 2016. The move underscores how Netflix is increasingly doubling down on Korean content as fans worldwide continue to buzz over it. Other media behemoths, such as Disney (DIS), are also betting big on Korean content.

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook requests and receives a 40% pay cut after shareholder vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook will receive a pay cut in 2023 to $49 million in total compensation, the company said in a filing with the SEC. Cook requested the change, Apple said in the filing, following a shareholder vote on his pay package. Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Apple shareholders vote against Cook's pay package at last year's annual meeting. The number of actual shares of Apple stock that Cook vests depends on Apple's performance versus the S&P 500. Since Cook took over as CEO in 2011, Apple stock has returned 1,212% versus 290% for the S&P 500, Apple said.

☆ South Korea hints at compensating victims of Japan's colonial forced labour
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan said it has secured initial donations from steelmaker POSCO (005490.KS) totalling 4 billion won ($3.2 million). Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Tokyo’s top spokesperson, declined to comment on Seoul’s compensation plan or its public hearing, saying they were domestic matters within South Korea. The foundation's chief, Shim Kyu-sun, said he would encourage South Korean companies to donate "from the perspective of social responsibility". National flags of South Korea and Japan are displayed during a meeting between Komeito Party members and South Korean lawmakers at Komeito Party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2019. Under the 1965 deal, South Korea was required to consider all pre-treaty compensation issues settled.

☆ South Korea must respond to N.Korea despite its nuclear arms - Yoon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We must not fear or hesitate because North Korea has nuclear weapons," he said. Monday's intrusion triggered criticism in South Korea of its air defences. Yoon chided the military, in particular its failure to bring down the drones while they flew over South Korea for hours. South Korea responded on Monday by sending drones over North Korea for three hours. South Korea will also expand its drone capabilities to three squadrons.

☆ UK recession may be 'less steep' than expected, says economist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Gero Jung, chief economist at Mirabaud, says the U.K. recession may be "less steep" than some expect, following the Bank of England's decision Thursday to raise interest rates further.

☆ IAEA chief says to make all-out effort to stop North Korea's nuclear programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Rafael Grossi (L), director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (not pictured) at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea December 15, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/Pool via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday the IAEA would make an all-out effort to stop North Korea's nuclear programme and preserve international non-proliferation, according to South Korea's presidential office. Grossi said that he shares the international community's concern about the North Korea nuclear issue, South Korea's presidential office said. North Korea is believed to have completed preparations for the first nuclear test since 2017, according to officials from South Korea and the United States. The IAEA has not had access to North Korea since the secretive communist state expelled its inspectors in 2009.

☆ The US may have lost in the World Cup, but soccer is more popular than ever in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +36 min

The Atlas Lions made history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. They made history as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Less spoken about is that they also rate better on television than the men do in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see, though with the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer isn’t going away anytime soon.

☆ How Cho Gue-sung became the breakout thirst trap of the World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Soo Youn | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Cho, 24, was a local celebrity as a player for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC before the World Cup, when he had 20,000 Instagram followers. Cho first generated buzz in his World Cup debut during Korea’s match against Uruguay, which ended in a scoreless tie. South Korea's Cho Gue-sung, center, during the FIFA World Cup match against Ghana in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Nov. 28. One can point to 2002’s World Cup heartthrob, Ahn Jung Hwan, whose beauty was only celebrated locally in South Korea. “He’s hot, he knows it, and he scored two goals for Korea in the World Cup.

Yet for former Ghana star Derek Boateng, they hold a personal truth. “Football saved my life, because without football I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing,” he told CNN. Just four years earlier, Ghana had competed at its first ever World Cup, in Germany, with Boateng again featuring. “Playing the World Cup is everything to me, as a football player. Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP via Getty ImagesThat mantra lay at the heart of Boateng’s playing career, and it is a message he repeats to aspiring student-athletes at the academy.

☆ Lensa, the AI portrait app, has soared in popularity. But many artists question the ethics of AI art.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Social media has been flooded with Lensa AI portraits, from photorealistic paintings to more abstract illustrations. In a lengthy Twitter thread posted Tuesday morning, Prisma addressed concerns of AI art replacing art by actual artists. For some artists, AI models are a creative tool. While the value of art is subjective, the crux of the AI art controversy is the right to privacy. Without decades of examples to learn from, he said, the AI images that looked just like his illustrations would never exist.

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