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.
There’s something unsatisfying about making a traditional complaint. As you’re filling out the form, you can almost see the government bureaucrat crumpling it up and throwing it away a few days later. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just yell at the pencil pushers directly? In Seoul, you can.
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After several years of flying around Asia for tourism and business we decided to give our summary of the best airports in the region.
1. Changi International Airport- Singapore
Asia’s most convenient airport; connect to downtown Singapore by MRT or taxi in less than 30 minutes.
An awesome place to stay in transit with plenty of places to eat, chill out and shop with the option of easily exploring the city-state if you have more time. Clean, calm and comfortable with three well designed terminals that let you experience the charms of the Garden City.
Whether or not Singapore was the destination or just a stop over we are always happy to fly in and out of Changi.
2. Incheon International Airport- South Korea
Less than an hour to central Seoul by train, getting to and from Incheon Airport is cheap and easy. Shuttle buses and taxis also provide affordable alternatives.
For those visiting Seoul for business or contacting friends, consider renting a phone from the Airport to use during your trip, prices are very reasonable and it takes no time to apply (took me less than 5 minutes!).
If you have some time, energy and Won to spare, take out your pre-flight stress at the driving range or 72-hole golf course, spin around at the ice rink or catch the latest Korean blockbuster at the CGV movie theatre.
If you’re stuck in transit then also check out the airport sauna and spa; open 24 hours a day where you can forget about your long stop-over and flight delay.
Incheon Airport ensures that any trip to Seoul begins and ends in style.
3. Hong Kong International Airport- China
Asia’s second most convenient airport; get to central Hong Kong by express train in 25 minutes, alternatively take a shuttle bus or taxi which will deliver you to any destination in the SAR in less than an hour.
The most scenic airport in Asia! Located on Hong Kong’s largest island, Lantau the airport’s location makes take off and landing feel like taking an aerial cruise (just be lucky with the weather).
Lantau Island is also home to the Asia Expo Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Disney Land, Tai O fishing village and the Ngong Ping 360 Cable car experience which takes you to the famous Big Buddha statue. These attractions can be easily accessed from the airport and are a great way to spend several hours in transit.
Gateway to China; various buses and ferry routes also connect you easily from the airport to Macau and Mainland China, meaning that you can make Hong Kong part of your greater China experience.
We hope you enjoy flying in and out of these awesome Asian airports as much as we did!
In this year’s Bloomberg’s Innovation Index Korea was ranked 2nd, whilst Japan came in at 6th place. Given the fact that Korean firms have made inroads in the industries that Japanese companies used to dominate such as consumer electronics, communications hardware and automobiles it is probably no surprise that Korea was ranked ahead of Japan.
Image via Osen
However in a separate, more in-depth report compiled by INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Global Innovation Index ranks Korea at 21st place, yet still ahead of Japan at 25th.
Singapore was also ranked competitively at 7th place by Bloomberg and 3rd by INSEAD.
When discussing the innovation of countries in contrast to companies it is necessary to go beyond the overall rankings and scrutinize the criteria since innovation is difficult to quantify without subjective results.
Bloomberg’s study examines data from 96 countries or regions and ranks them based on a scale of 0 to 100% on seven factors:
1- R&D intensity (20%), 2- Productivity (20%), 3- High-tech density (20%), 4- Researcher concentration (20%), 5- Manufacturing capability (10%), 6- Tertiary efficiency (5%), 7- Patent activity (5%).
Image via seoulrythm.com
Based on these criteria Korea came out well on R&D intensity (5th), high-tech density (3rd), manufacturing capability (3rd) tertiary efficiency (4th) and was ranked number one for patent activity. Although productivity was ranked 32nd which is not surprising considering the extremely long working hours endured by most Koreans as it is hard to perform well when you are always exhausted.
Japan came in second place for patent activity, 4th for R&D intensity and 6th for researcher concentration but much lower on the other criteria compared to Korea.
INSEAD’s Global Innovation Index was compiled from 141 economies and analysed five input pillars that represent aspects of the economy which enable innovation: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. In addition to two pillars which capture actual evidence of innovation outputs: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.
One of the tools on the Global Innovation Index website allows you to compare the results of two countries. Bellow is a graph depicting a comparison of Japan and Korea based on the criteria I selected:
The chart above supports the rankings of the Bloomberg and INSEAD reports which shows that Korea is ahead of Japan on many competitive aspects of its economy. But does this really translate into overall innovation since so much of Korea’s economy is controlled by the Chaebol or mega-corporations such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai?
Of course these companies have been successful in developing products to sell in global markets in contrast to Japanese corporations which relied for too long on the strength of a shrinking domestic market and the competitiveness of the yen.
Last time I checked PSY’s Gentleman MV had almost 330 million views on youtube and Gangnam style had more than 1.6 billion. That’s a lot of exposure for a song that is sung in Korean, about a neighborhood in Seoul by an artist that pretty much no-one outside of Korea had heard of this time last year.
So what does that mean about the influence of Korean culture, the image of Korea and the popularity of Korean artists worldwide? Are the viral videos of PSY a testament to Korean soft power? Or reflective of the changing landscape of new media in which hundreds of millions of netizens decided to share this humorous music video by a ‘funny Asian guy’ with their friends?
Soft Power is the ability of states to influence others through means of attraction rather than coercion by using their cultural resources, values and institutions. The term was coined by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye and since then has become the preoccupation of many countries such as the United States, Japan, China, Britain, France, Germany, and of course Korea.
Many Korean music groups, TV dramas and celebrities enjoyed massive popularity in the early 2000′s especially across Asia in the phenomenon known as Hallyu, or the Korean Wave. This trend increased interest in learning Korean, visiting Korea and transformed Korea’s image from just a manufacturer of cheaper high-tech products into a cultural powerhouse that challenged the predominance of Japanese pop culture across Asia.
However in contrast to the clean-cut image associated with many K-pop groups and male idols from the Korean Wave PSY emerged as a comic, satirical and less-than handsome figure (who some mistook for a spoof of rotund North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un) who gained a massive fan-following and cult status.
Gangnam Style ridicules the lifestyle and aspirations associated with living in the upper class Gangnam district of Seoul, a reference that most non-Korean viewers did not get. Instead for the vast majority, the video challenges the stereotype that Koreans (or Asians in general) take themselves too seriously.
Although does PSY’s popularity really result in a better global image and influence of Korea? Has Gangnam style or Gentleman encouraged more people to learn Korean or visit Seoul?
Coverage of the Korean Peninsular in mainstream global media is still dominated by reports on North Korean’s nuclear ambitions and the threat of crisis and less about what’s going on in South Korea.
Many Koreans are proud of PSY, Korean media often report on PSY’s growing popularity and he has even become the the official tourism ambassador for Korea yet is this really the image that Korea wants to promote to the world? Should the Korean government and tourism agencies really be pushing PSY’s videos as a product of Korean culture to boost soft power?
Also how can one man really represent all the desirable aspects of a nation that wants to promote itself internationally? PSY probably represents Korea in the same way that Jackie Chan represents China. Both became famous around the world for culturally neutral, visual humor, the only difference is that Jackie Chan’s Chinese song’s did not become global hits.
I mean if you are American would you really want Zach Galifianakis to be designated an official tourism ambassador, responsible for spreading American soft power?
PSY’s limited impact in Japan reflects the lack of Korean soft power spread through these music videos. For one thing most Japanese regarded the videos as stupid rather than funny and so were less inclined to share it with their friends, the fact that PSY was a relative no-body before the video went viral meant Japanese would not be interested and finally there are enough slap-stick, satirical comedians in Japan everyday on TV for Japanese people to care than much about PSY.
So the fact that PSY was Korean, probably had nothing to do with the limited reception in Japan.
Transparent LCD is a very interesting and effective way to mix LCD graphics and physical objects.
We saw a very interesting display of this technology by JNM Display Co., Ltd. at the Display 2013 (9th International FPD Expo) section of the 23rd FINETECH JAPAN at Tokyo Big Sight yesterday.
Transparent LCD operates by using ambient light without internal backlight. It enables you to look through the display glass on an exhibit to view content on the LCD and the product behind it.
As the LCD uses ambient light, the power consumption of the device itself is less than 90% compared with conventional LCDs of the same size.
This technology is very effective for signage and advertising for products in places with high physical traffic like shopping malls, airports, casinos, gaming areas, etc.
JNM Display Co., Ltd. is a company from Seoul, South Korea.
Having lived and travelled around different parts of Asia we thought it would be good to give a round-up of how things operate in these very distinct markets. From Thai tuk-tuks to doily-adorned Japanese cabs, Asia has a wide variety of options for getting from A to B. This is Part 1!
1-Hong Kong
Image via flickr
Overview: Fast, convenient and cheap; it is easy to hail a taxi from almost anywhere and you wont have to stop at an ATM to pay for the rest of your fare. An affordable and quicker alternative to public transport especially for first time visitors!
Price: HK$20 ($US2.6) for the first 2 kilometers and then HK$1.50 (US$0.2) for every subsequent 200m.
Hong Kong’s red, green and blue taxis service different locations in the territory. Image via HK Transport Department.
Bonuses: Most Hong Kong cabbies are friendly, chatty and speak some English and very patient considering all the drunken, vomiting and rowdy people they have to deal with coming back from Lan Kwai Fong (the party district) in the early hours.
Pimped up HK Taxi Driver’s dashboard. Image via shanghaibutter.com
Warnings: It is illegal for a Hong Kong cab driver to refuse to take you somewhere unless they have a valid excuse. That said you can probably always find another cab quite soon.
Hong Kong Cabbie. Jus’ Chillin’ image via Geographically Yours
Average price of a taxi from Hong Kong Airport to Central (downtown): HK$300 (US$39) and takes just less than an hour.
2- Singapore
Image via onsingapore.com
Overview: Singapore is small, so if you don’t have much time just take a taxi!
Price: between SG$3-4 (US$2.4- 3.2) for the first kilometer depending on which type of taxi you take.
Bonuses: Since Singapore is small you are unlikely to ever rack up a crazy taxi fare unless you get the driver to ride around in circles all night. Very talkative and opinionated drivers will ensure an enteraining ride; I recommend checking this out humorous and insightful blog by Singapore cabbie James Lim.
Singaporean Cabbie who returned $1m found in his taxi. Image via Jakarta Globe.
Warnings: If you are staying or visiting just outside the downtown/business district of Singapore then be aware that since cab drivers can get an extra three dollars picking someone up from inside the business district they are unlikely to stop for you. So you will have to walk the extra block to get a cab.
An average taxi journey from Changi Airport to downtown Singapore: ranges from SG$18.00-38.00 ($US14-30) and takes about 30 minutes.
3- Seoul
Seoul International Taxis (Image via Seoul.go.kr)
Overview: Getting around Seoul by taxi can be a cheaper and quicker option than by public transport and there are a variety of taxi types on offer including the deluxe taxis and International Taxis which speak English and Japanese.
Price: Seoul Regular taxi fares begin at ￦2,400 (US$2.15) for the first 2 kilometers and go up by ￦100 (US$0.9) every additional 144 meters.
Seoul Taxi. Image via Seoul Navi.
Bonuses: You can pay using t-money, credit card and cash, drivers are direct but friendly and you don’t have to speak Korean.
Image via Starsandstripes.com
Warnings: Hailing a taxi in Seoul at night can be difficult with some taxi drivers reluctant to take you to certain districts or on routes which are not economical enough for them. If you are a tourist or new to Seoul then Seoulistic provides some tips on avoiding getting ripped off by Seoul cabbies.
An average fare from Incheon International Airport to downtown Seoul: ￦50,000 (US$45).
4- Tokyo
Tokyo Taxi (Image via National Geographic)
Overview: Taking a taxi in Tokyo is an expensive luxury but of course every now and again you will find yourself missing the last train, completely lost or just tired and fed up of walking around.
Price: fares start at JPY 710 (US$7.4) for the first 2.1 kilometers taxi and increase by ¥90 (US$0.9) for every extra 288m.
Tokyo Taxi Driver. Image via news.com.au.
Bonuses: All Tokyo taxi drivers wear suits with waist-coats, white gloves and decorate the taxi interiors with laced seat covers like an old lady’s living room. They also open the doors for you which in a way seems to justify the price, but…
Image via wired.com
Warnings: Most Tokyo taxi drivers are not from Tokyo so don’t know the city that well and often don’t know how to use their satellite navigators so even if you have a copy of the address written in Japanese you might end up having to give the driver directions!
If you are crazy enough to consider taking a taxi from Narita airport to Tokyo station: you will be set back around JPY 20,000 ($US 209).
Check out Taxis in Asia: Part two coming soon!
Eric Schmidt’s recent trip to Seoul wasn’t all spontaneous Gangnam dancing. Google’s former-CEO / current executive chair had a lot to say during the Korean launch of the company’s Nexus 7 tablet, bemoaning the patent wars that have ensnarled the industry, telling the crowd, “literally patent wars prevent choice, prevent innovation and I think that is very bad. We are obviously working through that and trying to make sure we stay on the right side of these issues.” The war for marketshare ought to be fought with the release of better products, rather legal maneuvering, according to the executive.
But in spite of Apple’s role in the battle — and the company’s decision to go it alone on products like its troubled Maps app — Schmidt still had kind words for Cupertino, calling the company “a very good partner,” and adding that the, “two companies are literally talking all the time about everything.” The exec also told the crowd that he’d be meeting with Samsung, one of the company’s “most important partners,” during the trip, “as I do every time I come here.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets
Google’s Eric Schmidt slams patent wars, still has nice things to say about Apple and Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung has received permission from local authorities to erect a 330,000 square meter, 10-storey high research and development center in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. The facility, which broke ground last week, is expected to cost around 1 trillion won ($822 million) and will house around 10,000 employees. The company’s expecting to be able to move in by May 2015, so remember to buy a plant to take to the housewarming party.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Samsung gets green-light for $822 million R&D HQ in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A team of researchers at South Korea’s Seoul National University have been busy developing biologically-inspired electronic skin that is capable of “feeling” subtle stimulus such as bouncing water droplets and human heartbeats. The skin’s surface is covered in two interlocked arrays of 50-nanometre-wide polymeric nanofibres that act like hairs on the surface of the skin, coming in contact with one another under the strain of external force. That contact then generates a current to help the skin gauge the changes in pressure, according to New Scientist. The creators of the flexible skin say that sensor response can be repeated up to 10,000 cycles, displaying their output on a computer in real-time.
Electronic skin lets machines sense water droplets and heartbeats, wonder why they were programmed to feel originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 04:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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