SEOUL, Mar. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The burden of buying a house in Seoul has risen to a 6-year high as demand for homes in the affluent Gangnam district surged despite the government’s measures to cool the property market, data showed Monday. The Korea Housing Affordability Index rose to 116.7 in the fourth-quarter of last [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Purchasing a home may be the largest-ever financial transaction for many ordinary citizens, such as Han Jung-min, a 40-something office worker who dreams of settling down in the posh district of Gangnam in southern Seoul. The problem facing such first-time homebuyers always boils down to timing — is it [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Recent market analysis has revealed that women in their 20s and 30s comprise nearly half the consumer base for Korean traditional alcoholic beverages. From July to December (2017), women between the ages of 20 and 39 were responsible for 49.7 percent of online traditional liquor sales (9.7 percent by [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s chief economic policymaker said Friday the government is “cautiously” considering raising property taxes in yet another attempt to tame rising home prices. Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said there are speculative demands in some areas such as the wealthy Gangnam Ward and adjacent districts. “We have been reviewing [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The customary nod to the driver as one hops on the morning bus to work may soon be a thing of the past, as telecom giant KT had its application to road test a 45-seat driverless bus in Seoul approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Making [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – This Thursday, the latest Matt Damon flick, “Downsizing”, premieres at cinemas across South Korea. Its premise is built on the fantastical notion of a technology that can ‘downsize’ human beings to 5 inches in size for the purpose of combating overpopulation, and as one can expect, protagonist Matt Damon [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The business district surrounding Gwanghwamun Station, ground zero for 2017′s massive candlelight vigils that played a major role in impeaching former president Park Geun-hye, was found to have profited immensely from the protests. On January 3, SK Telecom cited the findings of its in-house research institute Geovision and revealed [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Gangnam District has announced plans to introduce IoT-based paper packaging waste recycling bins for the first time in South Korea. According to the Gangnam District Office on Monday, 53 of the smart paper package recycling bins will be installed at a total of 26 locations within the district, including the [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – On November 26, the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced a new taxi app called “Jibro”1 to be released next month, as well as a list of administrative measures to address shortages in late night transportation options. Seoul’s Jibro differentiates itself from other taxi-hailing services like KakaoTaxi in one key way: [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The 2017 Gangnam Street Dance Festival Beat One will be held at Coex on September 6. Starting at 6 p.m., the b-boy and freestyle dance show is expected to boast over 1,000 dance contestants. The itinerary is jam-packed with a dance battle competition, cover dance performances and an EDM [...]