Korea has undergone rapid change over the last century, with Seoul metamorphosing from the first East Asian city to light its royal palace with electricity to arguably the most modern city in the world. Photographer Sungseok Ahn captured change by setting up a screen and projecting the old on top of the new.
The Korean news agency Yonhap News reports that a carbon dioxide leak in a Samsung plant in southern Seoul has killed one of its workers.
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No propaganda can hide the stark contrast between South Korea and North Korea as seen from orbit. A buzzing megalopolis and a bright constellation of cities versus a sea of nothingness and a capital that looks miserable despite the fact that it houses 3.26 million people.
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A few weeks ago, I was in Seoul, South Korea, to attend VIP Asia Awards 2013, an event held in the Seoul Ritz Carlton by Aving, a Korean media company known for its industry events coverage worldwide. I’ve known them for many years and this time Ubergizmo was a media partner to promote the event (like we do with MWC or IFA), but I was also invited to talk about wearable technologies (WT) on behalf of Ubergizmo at the ceremony. This is a topic that we truly excited by at Ubergizmo and the audience made up of Korean executives seemed very attentive at what could be the next boom in consumer technology. (more…)
VIP Asia 2013 In Seoul: Photo Gallery And Overview original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Mr Kang Kyong Seog, Manager of the Smart Content Center in Seoul/Korea
I have visited the Smart Content Center in the G.Square building In Seoul: it is a South Korean government-supported incubator that helps startup by providing a low-cost working space (rent is free for successful applicants) that comes equipped with a well-furnished mobile testing lab, a video-editing studio, along with logistical and marketing support. Startups are still responsible for securing enough funding to pay its employees and other expenses of course.
At the moment, the Smart Content Center is operating at near capacity with 45 startups out of a maximum of 50. Each startup gets its own space (“rooms” as they say here), which seemed enough to host between 3-4 to 7-8 people (or more), depending on the size and cubicle layout. Most of the companies that I’ve met are software or web companies, which is not surprising since these categories represent the bulk of startups worldwide. I also talked to Kang Kyong Seog, the manager of the Smart Content Center (he’s in the above photo), about how this entity works, since I wanted to know how different things were when compared to the privately held incubators that we have here in Silicon Valley. (more…)
Smart Content Center: A Government-Supported Incubator In Korea original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Based on what we have heard in the past, purchasing items in-game can lead to a pretty hefty bills. In fact kids have accidentally racked up thousands on dollars on their parent’s credit card because they thought that items were free, and let’s not forget how Candy Crush was reportedly earning its developers a staggering $633,000 a day in in-app purchases. This is why it is no surprise that a man in South Korea was reported to have actually taken out a loan of $7,300 just to buy items in a game! This was revealed during a Korean television show called Hello Counsellor, where the man’s wife was asking for help on how to help her husband overcome his gaming addiction.
According to the husband, he believes that the $7,300 is an investment of sorts, where it will help him farm for even better items. He claims that one item, if found, is actually worth $10,000 which he would then be happy to part with for $8,000-$9,000. Not very business savvy but we guess that’s his prerogative. Of course there’s no telling if this is a genuine problem or if it was simply scripted just to garner interest for the show and that particular episode, but either way it is not as rare as you might think. What do you guys say?
Man In South Korea Takes Out A $7,300 Loan For In-Game Purchases original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Samsung clearly thinks the flip-phone is here to stay. After all, why else would it launch two new clamshells in a matter of weeks? Today, the tech giant debuted the Galaxy Golden, which is strikingly similar to the Folder that leaked under an almost identical model number just prior to the Hennessey’s official arrival. The Golden sports dual 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screens, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and an 8MP camera. There’s a slew of features aimed at older folks too, like an “easy mode” that can optimize the home screen, a pedometer that works with S Health, a business card recognition function and even an FM radio. Koreans in their golden years with a spare 790,000 won (if Google Translate is to be trusted), or just over $700, might appreciate these tailored features, as they’ll probably be on-board with the aging form factor, too.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung Tomorrow (Korean)
Satellite TV in Ultra HD quality is no longer just a dream: following a successful test broadcast this week, KT Skylife has unveiled a roadmap for offering 4K TV to its subscribers. The Korean provider plans to trial one channel of UHD content in the efficient H.265 (HEVC) video format next year, with a full commercial launch due in 2015. Widespread availability will depend on KT Skylife’s ability to clear regulatory hurdles, CEO Jae-chul Moon says. The real challenge, however, may be finding customers with Ultra HD TVs. While prices are falling quickly, there’s no guarantee that 4K sets will be commonplace in two years’ time.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: The Korea Times
Korean manufacturers Samsung and LG often match each other in product introductions, but today they were together in announcing cheaper options for some of their latest TV technology. Samsung is dropping the price on its new 55-inch curved OLED (above) and LG rolled out two lower priced versions of its 55- and 65-inch 4K TVs that sacrifice a few premium features. In Samsung’s case, the price is dropping by 34 percent, from 15 million won ($13,500) to 9.9 million ($8,910). While we’d heard the KN55S9 will arrive in the US mid-August for $15,000 there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but Value Electronics is promising more details on the 14th.
For LG, the new LA9650 (pictured after the break) variant of its 65-inch UHDTV drops to 8.9 million won ($8,010) compared to 10.9 million ($9,810) for the original LA9700, while the 55-inch is 5.9 million won ($5,310) compared to 7.4 million ($6,660). In the US the original models sell for $7,999 and $5,999, respectively, while retailer B&H already has placeholders for the new models with US prices of $6,999 and $4,999. If the listing is accurate, we could see these versions ship in the US around October 23rd. These new models give up a few creature comforts like the bottom-mounted motorized 4.1 speaker and camera, but keep the pixel count along with fixed 2.1 speakers and 16GB of memory for DVR functions.
According to the Korea Times, Samsung’s price cut came as a result of improved manufacturing yield, and customers that already purchased one will be refunded the difference. Of course, these prices are hardly mass-market or challenging value priced entries from Chinese manufacturers Seiki or TCL, but is remarkable to see OLED technology dropping below $10,000 so quickly.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung, LG
There is always a first time for everything, and today, we have word that the first road-powered electric vehicle network in the world has just turned itself on in South Korea. What you see in the image above depicts an OLEV in South Korea, which is all set to drive over an electrified strip of road, now how about that? This particular network will comprise of specially constructed roads that come with electrical cables installed right below the surface, and it will be able to transfer energy wirelessly to electric vehicles using magnetic resonance.
Road-powered electric vehicles could be the future as they require small batteries, which means their overall weight and energy consumption is reduced sharply from a normal electric vehicle. Of course, there is also the benefit of not having to recharge your ride, which means distance should no longer be an issue. Right now, this road-powered electric vehicle network comprises of just 24km, and two Online Electric Vehicles (OLEV), namely public transport buses, are the only ones that will work on this road.
Many other factors will still need to be taken into consideration before it can be implemented worldwide – the cost of a government doing so would be astronomical, as all roads in the city would require an overhaul, and how many people are willing to change their rides to road-powered electric vehicles? It does seem that a Mass Rapid Transport system like trains would still be able to get the job done better at this point in time.
Road-Powered Electric Vehicle Network In South Korea Debuts original content from Ubergizmo. 
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
