South

In South Korea there are parents voluntary in cells. There is a word that explains it: “Hikikomori”

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Jin Young-Hae is a fictional name. Your story is not. Last year this South Korean mother explained to the BBC Under the condition of the anonymity what has led him to – in a totally voluntary way – a blue monkey and spend hours and more hours held in a tiny, austere cell, not much greater than a closet and in which he did not have a company, mobile, or portable spent hours. Alone, with your thoughts. The only link with the outside from his peculiar prison was the small hole open at the door through which he was given food. Sounds strange, but there is a word that explains it: Hikikomori. Objective: to isolate yourself from the world. The choice of Mrs. Jin may seem extravagant, but she is not the only one who has made a similar decision in South Korea. BBC has spoken with other inmates and voluntary inmates. In addition to demanding anonymity, they all share two fundamental characteristics. The first, who are parents of young people who are between adolescence and thirty. The second, which have decided to participate in a special program that keeps them held during a brief period in isolation cells. And this last word can be understood in its most literal sense. Jin and the rest of the participants are housed in tiny habitats to which they cannot take or mobile phones. But … why? To understand. Jin or Park Han-Sil, another pseudonyms used by BBC to tell a real case, are mothers of South Korean youth who share another peculiarity: they have been isolated from the world. Jin is the mother of a 24 -year -old who lives withdrawn in his room, neglecting his cleaning and food. Park has a little older, 26 years old, who has already decided to cut all communication with society. Now he barely leaves his room and refuses to take the medication that doctors have scheduled. When voluntary, ladies Jin or Park try to better understand their offspring, put themselves into their skin in an extreme way and especially look for tools to communicate better with them. “I’ve been wondering what I did wrong … it’s painful,” Jin admits50 years. Now, and after passing through the cell, he claims to have “some clarity.” Park also recognizes that isolation has helped him understand the feelings of his offspring. “I have realized that it is important to accept his life without forcing him to fit into a specific mold.” “Confinement experience”. Neither Park nor Jin decided to be a good day in their homes, improvised. His have been planned experiences and the isolation have been done in the Happiness Factory rooms, where the inmates They arrive to experiment in their flesh the “confinement”. For this they can dress a uniform, leave their phones and laptops and be held in bare wall cells, without company. The BBC clarifies That since April there are other parents who have been participating in a 13 -week special education program funded by organizations such as Fundación for the Youth of Korea or the Blue Whale Recovery Center. The program has a clear, and complicated objective: show these fathers and mothers how to communicate better with their children. To this end, it includes a peculiar experience, a three -day period during which participants spend time in rooms in the province of Gangwon that replicate an isolation cell. The keyword: Hikikomori. Jin and Park are mothers of Hikikomoria term coined in Japan already decades ago and that identifies young people who at a certain time of their lives decide to be disturbed almost completely, cutting contact with the world that opens beyond their homes or rooms. The phenomenon is not new, but serious. At least according to the estimates that the authorities handle. Not long ago, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea conducted a survey between 15,000 young people between 19 and 34 years old and discovered that More than 5% They lived in isolation. If these figures move to the country as a whole, they would show that in South Korea there are hundreds of thousands of people in a similar situation: just over half a million (540,000). Understanding isolation. The program confesses Park, allows the parents of these young people to better understand the reason for seclusion. To her, for example, reading notes written by others Hikikomori He helped him understand his own son’s silences. The South Korean government also has studies that help become a clear idea of ​​the phenomenon of isolation among young people without going through an experience like Hapiness Factory. A study by the South Korean Ministry of Health reflects that 24.1% of young people between 19 and 34 years old who deconciate from the world do so by difficulties in finding work, 23.5% due to problems to relate and 24.8% due to family or health issues. Of backdrop is The competitive society Surcoreana, where from a very young age parents take their children to academies to end up accessing the most prestigious universities in the country. South Korea also stands out for its Work Days marathon. Concern beyond home. The one of Hikikomori It is a phenomenon serious enough to generate concern beyond families. In 2023 the government came to launch A campaign To encourage solitary young people to leave home and “reintegrate into society”, for which he did not hesitate to offer 450 euros designed for young people up to 24 years. Then there was talk that in the country there would be hundreds of thousands of people living in isolation. The advantages of a pause. The mothers and fathers of Hikikomori They are not the only ones in South Korea who seek voluntary isolation. In the country there are those who decide to confine themselves on their own choice, paying even hundreds of euros in exchange for the experience, simply to take a respite from their busy routines. The CBC chain told in 2018, which The case said From Suk-Won Kang, … Read more

After years of debacle, South Korea has managed to rebound his birth. Now it’s time to find out how the hell has done it

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Demographic statistics is nothing more than that: Demographic Statistics. Pure and hard mathematics, with objective and reading data. For years, however, their chronicles in South Korea transmit a dire air, as of announced death. And it’s normal. The country has seen how its birth rate descended to such low dimensions that in 2024 the country had to declare itself in “demographic emergency” and assume officially that it is a “society Super aging“ Now that seems to be changing little by little, which raises two questions: Has Korea achieved out of the demographic hole in which it has been immersed for years? And if so, how? They are key issues for Seoul, but also for other neighboring countries with birth problems, such as China either Japan. What happened? That against all forecast, South Korea Start to get used to to their demographic statistics arrive accompanied by positive signs. That does not mean that they are good at all, the country has managed to stop its demographic bleeding or its fertility rate stands above “Replacement level”; But they are favorable news after all. And that did not happen for a long time. A figure: 20,717. The latest data published by Statistics Korea show that in April they were born in the country 20,717 babies8.7% more than 19,059 counted during the same month of 2024. The data is interesting because it leaves several positive readings. The first is that three years ago the number of monthly lights remained below the 20,000 barrier. The second is that this 8.7% growth shows the highest year -on -year increase in the last three and a half decades. You have to go back to 1991 to find another similar percentage. More babies, more weddings. There are not only more babies. There are also more couples giving the ‘yes I want’. The data Statistics Korea show that in April 18,921 marriages in the country were formalized, which leaves an interannual increase of 4.9%. The data invites optimism for another reason: it is the thirteenth consecutive month in which this indicator is green. It may seem a minor issue, but in the South Korean society couple and birth They go hand in. There are studies that calculate that less than 5% From babies they are born out of marriage. Coincidence or trend? That is the question that surveys the birth data of Korea. Especially since the last years have been marked by the shadow of the pandemic, which modes to take many couples to postpone their wedding plans or even the decision to become parents. In his favor the country has to They are not the first in positive. Seoul already said goodbye to 2024 with a positive birth rate (the number of births 3.6% increased), something that had not happened for a decade. Looking for the causes. At this point, the question is obvious: beyond the influence of the pandemic, is there any factor that explains the rebound in birth in the country? The question is interesting for South Korea, but also for other nations that have been dealing with demographic challenges, such as Japan, China, Russia or many European nations, including Spainwhich in recent years has gained population thanks basically to foreigners. “The increase in births seems to be influenced by the increase in marriages since last year, the growth of the population of women between 30 and 39 years and various birth promotion policies by central and local governments,” Clarify Statistics Korea to the Yonhap News agency. In summary, after the birth rebound in Korea there would be three major factors: more weddings, the effect of the ‘Probebé’ policies and that in the country there are more women in the first section of the thirties. A concept: echo boombe. At least part of the demographic change would therefore be explained thanks to demography itself. And the key is in a certain group of the cohort of the echo boomers. The Guardian remember That the population born between 1991 and 1995 begins to reach the “ideal” age to marry and have children and that group has grown sensitively. If in 2020 there were about 1.51 million women between 30 and 34 years old, now there are already 1.65 million. To its possible effect, the wide range of policies that for years have deployed the South Korean authorities (both regional and state) to encourage the formation of couples and birth rate are added. And that includes from the delivery of generous ‘Baby checks’ to the application of Fiscal incentives, parental permitsinitiatives for Improve food of mothers or even appointment programs (with prize included) to form new couples. Well but not perfect. The latest data from Statistics Korea are good, but they are far from being perfect and of course they do not allow South Korea to launch the bells on the flight. On the contrary. Although birth is emerging, the country’s fertility rate remains at 0.79far from the replacement level that the country needs to keep its population stable without depending on immigration. In addition, although the number of births with respect to 2024 has increased, they remain clearly insufficient to stop the fall of the national census. The reason? Babies are born, but in the increasingly aging Korean society there are also more deaths. The deaths grew 0.8% year -on -year in April until adding 28,785. Images | Nathan Q (UNSPLASH) and Tommao Wang (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Throughout Europe, birth rate collapses as soon as women begin to earn more money. Except in Sweden

In South Korea there is a curious phenomenon that keeps economists and fans of the K-Pop in suspense: the return of BTS

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For a time BTS’s careerone of the most popular K-Pop bands on the planet (if not the most popular), seemed unstoppable. Their sales added millionslike his Fans legions Inside and outside South Korea or its fame in the music industry, which soon extended to the Anglopartla market. The Septeto broke barriers, crowned in the Billboard 200 And even posed with Joe Biden In the White House. In 2022 however things changed. At its peak, the Boy Band advertisement A temporary pause forced by something that had little to do with music: the mili. Now its seven members have fulfilled the obligations with Seoul and You talk already next resentment With a background question: what will you mean for the K-Pop, a cultural industry Milmillonaria In full transformation? When BTS hung the rifle. In South Korea the law is relentless: all men between 18 and 28 must Comply with mandatory military service (or social volunteering) for a period ranging between 18 and 21 months. The rule provides some exemptions for athletes, dancers or young people who have achieved large awards in their disciplines and suppose a pride for the country. The same does not happen with K-pop singers. At most they can, thanks to a reform approved in 2020, delay recruitment up to 30 years. Hence In 2022 BTS members did something strange in a formation uploaded to the crest of the wave and with a growing fame both inside and outside Korea: they announced a break to do the mili. Its seven components do not have the same age or enlisted at the same time, hence the band’s reunion It was announced already by then by 2025. And the date came. The oldest component, Jin, was enlisted in December 2022 and ended his service in June 2024which has allowed him to return to the stage and resume his solo career. In recent weeks, RM, V, Jimin and Jung Kook have also graduated. The last to fulfill its obligations with the South Korean state, Suga, did it Just a few days ago. In practice, Remember Nikkeithat means that (if there are no surprises) in July all members of the Boy Band They will be able to resume their joint career. And, as expected, that has unleashed the expectation of the international press and its fans. The agency that represents the band has confirmed to The New York Times That he still cannot relieve any return plan, but that has not prevented BTS fans from being celebrated and some leaks jump. A few days ago Variety It echoed of an exclusive of The Korea Herald That states that the group will return to the stage in more or less nine months, towards March next year. Nikkei does not specify so much, but reveals That the band’s environment rules out that a stage is once again on the stage. Much more than pop music. That BTS’s return plans (despite being diffuse still) have monopolized holders in the means of reach of The BBC, CNN either Tnytreveals that Boy Band South Korean is much more than a popular group. BTS is relevant for several reasons. And not all strictly musical. Beyond its success in the West or to break molds by crowning the Billboard 200, BTS is a key exponent of Hallyu, The “Korean wave” that has expanded the culture, music and cinema of the country far beyond its borders. In 2024 Asia Fund Managers assuredciting a survey of the South Korean government itself, which the Hallyu wave added around 225 million fans throughout the world, far from the 9.26 million that its first survey had shown, made in 2012. According to its calculations, in 2023 there were more than 1,700 Hallyu fans clubs in 119 countries and much of them (68%) focused on the K-Pop. It’s culture … and it’s money. Asia Fund Managers remember Also that the influence of the K-Pop is not limited to the music industry or the concert circuit. That there are more pending people of South Korean groups translates into greater interest in the country’s culture, their language, kitchen, tourism or fashion, which has a measurable impact on Wones. Wion ensures that the global value of exports of products and services related to the K-POP exceeded 5,000 million dollars in 2018, a stratospheric figure compared to 40 million only two decades ago. The figures should be handled cautiously, but give an idea of ​​the mayor of the K-Pop as a cultural industry. There is Who esteem which in 2018 contributed 1.7% of South Korea’s GDP. “K-pop has become an important cultural force, influencing fashion, beauty and language trends,” Reflect ROMADHONI FAILUATE IN MEDUM. “This has contributed to promoting South Korean culture and tourism, generating an increase in income in these sectors.” And what does BTS suppose? In 2022 Korea Science published A report which reflects that in full international expansion the “BTS effect” came to boost exports of consumer goods of South Korea worth $ 1.1 billion. In 2021, during An interview In the NPR, Vanek Smith went even further and estimated that the Boy Band It contributes hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars every year to the South Korean economy. Its effect reminds in a way that of Taylor Swift, whose activity reverses in thousands of millions of dollars for the United States, according to the Federal Reserve. The K-Pop in crisis? Yeah Filtration of The Korea Herald It is correct and BTS returns to the stage in March 2026, the big question is … will it meet the same K-Pop in 2022, when the group announced its temporal break? During this time already measured, some members have continued with solo careers and during these last years their agency has strategically launching issues and videos to keep interest in the Boy Band. The K-POP scene also has other outstanding representatives, such as Blackpink, Seventeen either Newjaans. However, during the last years There has been multiple voices that have identified symptoms of Crisis in the K-Pop. … Read more

The latest in Robotics of South Korea is not humanoid or works in factories. Does something out of the ordinary: Parkour

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The physical state. As detailed in A video available on YouTube, the first step is taken by the planner, which generates possible routes from a map of the environment. That map is continuously updated with sensor and simulations data. Then, a neuronal network rules out risky options and stays with the most efficient. The tracker, on the other hand, guides the precise movements of the robot. It was trained through reinforcement learning, a technique based on trial and error, which prepared it to adapt to dynamic and challenging scenarios. To save calculation time, Raibo reuses their own footprints: the hind legs step on where they did the front before. Raibo training simulation As they count, the robot was able to run on irregular surfaces, overcome stones, cross inclined ramps, climb stairs and even jump gaps of more than one meter. It reached a speed of 2.7 meters per second. And the most surprising: if the goal moved, the robot detected and recalculated its route without help, without stopping and without losing control. Meanwhile, robotics does not stop in the rest of the world. Raibo’s advance is not an isolated case. It is part of a global wave of developments in which robotics and AI are more and more intertwined. Without ia, robots would continue to be little more than a set of sensors and engines. With AI, they are able to interpret their environment, make decisions and execute complex tasks with autonomy. Companies like Google are betting on it. With Gemini Roboticstheir last great project, have designed a system capable of controlling different types of robots in real time, understanding human language, pointing to 3D objects and adapting to new situations without prior training. The search engine giant says that his performance in unforeseen tasks doubles that of previous models. For now, this technology is in the test phase, but Google already collaborates with companies such as Apptronik or Boston Dynamics to integrate it into advanced humanoids. China is also accelerating. And it is not the only region that is investing strong in this direction. In China, humanoid robots not only train: they compete. A few weeks ago, The country celebrated a Kickboxing tournament Between four G1 robots by Unitree Robotics. He was broadcast live and showed how these machines were able to dodge blows, get up alone after falling and continue fighting with surprising agility. They are 35 kilos robots and up to 23 degrees of freedom, designed with state -of -the -art sensors, and according to organizers, new multisport competitions are already in preparation. Robots developed in China in a boxing ring And there are already robots working in real factories. Meanwhile, in the United States, some humanoid robots have left the laboratory and are entering real factories. One of them is Figure 01, that has long worked in a BMW plant in South Carolina. This robot, developed by the Figure company, can open doors, climb stairs and manipulate objects autonomously. Of course, it still moves slowly and needs to be connected by cable permanently. Parkour as the advancement of the future. All this helps to understand why Raibo’s case is so fascinating. It is not humanoid, nor has it been created for industry or home. But it shows that, combining real -time decision algorithms with light hardware and advanced training, it is possible to create machines that not only execute orders, but also improvise and have an agility that causes vertigo. Touch to wait to know how these advances find a place in really useful applications. There will be the real leap. Images | Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Lab In Xataka | Nvidia desperately seeks engineers for its Taiwan R&D center. They even accuse you of “stealing them” to TSMC

Intel plans to get fully into the market in which South Korean SK Hynix has become rich: memories for AI

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The South Korean company SK Hynix leads the HBM memories market (High Bandwidth Memory) With a shocking authority. Your market share Broken 70%so that the remaining 30% are distributed by Samsung and the American memory manufacturer Micron Technology. These memoirs work side by side with the GPUs for artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, one of SK Hynix’s main clients, possibly the oldest, is Nvidia. According to the consultant Datam Intelligence The global market centers market for AI will grow annually 24.5%, so it will go from having a volume of 13,670 million dollars in 2024 to no less than 78,910 million in 2032. For designers and integrated circuit manufacturers compete in a market with this growth potential is crucial, hence several Chinese companies are planning to get into it. And for Intel represents a too juicy opportunity to let it escape. Intel and Softbank work together in a new type of memories for ia The manufacture of HBM memories is very complex. This is the reason why this market at the moment is distributed only to the three companies that I have mentioned in the first paragraph of this article. However, its great growth potential will surely cause other companies over the next few years. Intel is going to be one of them, although the interesting thing is that he will not compete alone or fight for the HBM chip market. Intel and Softbank have proposed to complete the development of a prototype and evaluate its viability from a technical point of view by 2027 This American company has founded a company specialized in the design and manufacture of memory chips from the Japanese investment group. His name Saimemory And he was born expressly to compete from you to you with SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron Technology. Your plan consists in developing a new type of High performance packed dram memory From some patents prepared by Intel and several Japanese research centers, among which is the University of Tokyo. Intel and Softbank have proposed to complete the development of a prototype and evaluate its viability from a technical point of view by 2027. In fact, they intend to manufacture on a large scale and market this dram memory stacked for ia before it ends this decade. The performance of HBM memories is very high, but, as I mentioned a few lines above, they are difficult to manufacture. In addition, they are expensive, they dissipate a lot of energy in the form of heat and consume a lot of electricity. Stacked dram memories, however, on paper will be easier to produce, more efficient, and also cheaper. If when they are really satisfied the expectations that have generated it is possible that They end up displacing HBM chips. In fact, Intel and Softbank are not at all the only companies that trust the potential of stacked dram memories; Samsung and Neo Semiconductor are also developing this type of chips, so before the Memoirs market expires this decade will be much more competitive than today. Image | Samsung More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | South Korea fears US reprisals. To avoid their old lithography equipment, they take dust on a warehouse

The arrival of the human being to South America, seen through the DNA of the heirs of the last great migration

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Throughout our history as a species, Homo sapiens We have managed to reach the most remote corners on Earth. Millennia before the era of exploration, our ancestors undertook a trip that took them out of Africa and populate the great continental masses from Europe to South America. Among all these great migrations, one of the most surprising was the one that led humans from Siberia to Patagonia, a 10,000 trip whose details are knowing. History in genes. A new genetic study has given us new clues on the great migration that resulted in the population of the Americas. A migration of 20,000 kilometers whose implications still last in aspects as apparently distant as health. The study allowed to draw the history of migrations until the considered “final border” of human migrations, Tierra del Fuego, Explain the team responsible for the study. History of a millennia trip. This great migration would have begun in Siberia between 27,000 and 19,000 years ago Approximately during the last glaciation, in what we know today as the Bering Strait would have formed a “bridge” of land due to a lower sea level than the present. Through Alaska, these populations would have arrived in North America, but the expansion through this continent would have been only an intermediate stage. The study focuses on the second part of the trip, when part of the new American population crossed the Central American Isthmus to enter the last continent in being populated. The last border. The new genetic analysis allows us to know how humans expanded in South America. The responsible team detected that lineages In this continent they began to diverge with each other between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago. From this point, the South American population began to separate into four groups. The first to disintegrate was those who populated the Amazon basin, while the rest was distributed among the high areas of the Andes mountain range, the desert area of ​​the Chaco, and finally, Patagonia. Reading migration in genes. For its study, the team sequenced the genomes of 1,537 individuals belonging to 139 villages of the continent. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Science. Very long -term implications. The consequences of this migratory movement and its vicissitudes still last and some of them still weigh on the native peoples of South America, especially as a consequence of the isolation of some of these populations with respect to the rest of humanity. This could explain why some populations were more susceptible to the introduction of infectious diseases by the first Europeans to reach the continent. “Those migrants carried only a subset of the genetic heritage in their ancestral populations (…). Thus, reduced genetic diversity also caused a reduced diversity in immunity -related genes, which can limit flexibility when fighting several infectious diseases,” stood out in a press release Kim Hie Lim, Co -author of the study. From the past to the present. Knowing new data on the genetics of American peoples can also help us in the present. This information is valuable when studying treatments of genetic diseases, or to better understand the functioning and impact of certain medications. In addition, the closest relationship between American and Asian populations implies new data on a population that, recalls the team responsible for the new work, covers 50% of the world’s population. In Xataka | A cave has revealed the macabre Mayan ceremony to honor its gods: there are 100 bones and none is where it should Image | Soyyosycocomiel / Martin St-Amant

Japan went to South Korea as a desperate measure for the lack of rice. They have not even solved a national emergency

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To understand what is happening in Japan we must go back in time. The summer of 2024 left A perfect storm On the basis of the nation’s diet: rice. A unprecedented shortage of grains in his own fields began to leave No stock to shops. Then, the tourist boom has duplicate the problem turning it into a historical crisis reflected in a fact: 30% more expensive was being paid. Given the danger to running without a basic pillar, the decision was made “Release” tons of your reservations. What nobody could anticipate. Foreign rice. In April, La Nación opted for another unprecedented decision in 25 years: Import rice From South Korea, an unthinkable measure in a society Historically reluctant to the foreign grain, but that was forced to make its customs more flexible to the vertiginous increase in the price of the national grain. With prices that They doubled their value Regarding the previous year (reaching 4,214 yuan by 5 kg in April) and with a government response that fails to contain the climbing, consumers have begun to look beyond their borders. Not just that. The Aeon chain He also announced which will begin to sell American rice Calrose starting next month, with a price 10% lower than the Japanese grain, a decision that could mark a turning point in consumption habits. In front of national rice. The arrival of South Korean rice, sold both online and in supermarkets, although even in small volumes (just two tons with another twenty on the way), marked a point of cultural and economic inflection. The nationalist preference for local rice, which had condemned to failure Previous attempts such as that of Thai rice in 1993, has yielded to the urgency of more accessible prices. The Guardian told Cases of testimonies such as that of Miki Nihei diner, who said not to notice any difference when eating Californian rice, and revealed a change in public perception: the quality of foreign grain was no longer a sufficient reason to resist, when the pocket suffers. The rice becomes a politician. Now, a few weeks after crucial elections for the Upper House, the government of the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru ishiba is on the edge of political collapse Given the growing discomfort by the exorbitant increase in the price of rice, central food in Japanese food. With inflation that has reached the most symbolic product in the country, citizens have expressed their frustration in surveys such as that of the Kyodo agency, which places the approval of the Ishiba cabinet in a minimum of 27.4%marking a fall of more than five points in just one month. The pressure intensifies not only from the opposition, but also from its own Democratic Liberal Party (PLD), already weakened after lose most In the lower house last fall. THE DEBATE ON THE Impost to consumption Of 10%, that the government refuses to reduce despite popular claims, is emerging as the decisive axis of the electoral contest of July, with almost three quarters of voters asking for their total or partial cuts, especially in food. A late remedy. As we said at the beginning, in an attempt to contain the crisis, the government decided to release rice from the strategic reserves In March, a normally reserved measure For natural disasterswhich failed to stop the price increase. The price price in supermarkets reached practically Double of what cost a year ago. Although the price dropped minimally after the release of the first 300,000 tons, the results were disappointing. To reinforce his strategy, the executive announced the launch of another 300,000 tons Additional until July, with the novelty that part of these items will overcome wholesalers to reach the points of sale faster. However, More than 87% From respondents believe that these actions are insufficient, and citizens do not trust that trade negotiations with the United States focused among other issues in rice imports will be resolved in favor of Japan. From there to that leap For the search for “foreigner” rice In South Korea. A political fire. The theme has become more violent in recent days. It happened when the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Taku Eto, unleashed A political storm and socially by declare that “he has never had to buy rice” thanks to the gifts he receives from his supporters. The phrase, pronounced during a fundraising party, was disseminated by the Kyodo and quickly replicated agency by other meansgenerating a wave of indignation in social networks where thousands of citizens, faced at record prices of the Japanese basic food, demanded their immediate resignation. Eto, visibly pressed, apologized the next day before the journalists, claiming that “he had exaggerated to please the public” and that his wife, after reprimanding him on the phone, reminded him that she Yes Buy Rice When it ends at home. Thus, he avoided responding if he will present his resignation, leaving the tension generated in full countdown to the key elections of the upper house in July. A market that does not supply. In short, the Rice search Out of the nation is not (alone) a commercial turn that responds only to the registration of the national product, but (also) to the suspicion of hoarding by distributors, logistics bottlenecks and a Shot demand For booming tourism. Given this panorama, the image of ishiba as an effective manager It wobblesand its refusal to touch the consumption tax is interpreted as disconnection with the real needs of citizenship. The rice crisis is not only forcing logistics and commercial adjustments, but also raises questions about the viability of food self -sufficiency in Japan, a country that for decades has shielded its agriculture with subsidies, tariffs and a national identity speech linked to the consumption of domestic rice. Suddenly, the rice not only feeds: it also marks the measure of discontent. Image | Ilo Asia-Pacific In Xataka | Japan had used its rice reserve against earthquakes or tsunamis. Now is your weapon against the price escalation In Xataka | In Japan there … Read more

A power in nuclear energy is emerging as the best alternative to Russia and China for the West: South Korea

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Russia and China are indisputably two powers in nuclear energy. So are USA, France and other western alignment countries. Although these states have a bulky nuclear plant park which really places them at the forefront is Your ability to develop new technologiesand in this area the most promising reactors are The fourth generation. Russia and China already have at least A reactor of this type in operationand the US, France, India, Canada or Japan are some of the countries that plan to have them in the future. However, there is a power in nuclear energy that often goes unnoticed. We all know that South Korea has a lot of weight in semiconductor industries, consumer electron Nuclear energy as a strategic pillar Not only within its mix of electricity generation, but also as an engine of innovation and export. South Korea is the most consistent alternative to China and Russia Currently South Korea has 26 Nuclear reactors in operation with an approximate total capacity of 25.7 GWE. This infrastructure contributes to its Mix with 30% of electricity, although the commitment of this Asian country for nuclear energy does not end here. And it is that between 2026 and 2033 the construction of four more reactors will conclude that will have a power of 1,340 MWE each of them, so the total installed power in this country within less than a decade will exceed 30 GWE. Its APR-1400 reactors incorporate passive security systems that allow them to compete from you with the machines exported by Russia, China or the USA In any case, as I have anticipated a few lines above, which has placed South Korea to the avant -garde and has positioned this country as One of the largest exporters in the nuclear sector It is your ability to develop your own technologies. Their APR-1400 reactors incorporate passive security systems that allow them to compete from you with the machines exported by Russia, China or the US. In fact, South Korea has already exported this reactor to the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating with the Czech Republic and Poland to sell their technology. On the other hand, this Asian country has also opted for fourth generation nuclear fission. Your smart reactor (System-Integrad Modular Advanced Reactor), what is An SMR type design (Compact modular reactor) is in the process of certification to be used in desalination and electricity generation facilities. It also prepares fourth generation reactors refrigerated by sodium, such as the machine outlined in the Kalimer project, although it is not yet clear when the first South Korean commercial reactor endorsed by this technology will come into operation. South Korea has a very ambitious plan: wants to capture at least Ten international contracts until 2030. His first project abroad has been Barakah’s nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, and It has been a success. As I mentioned a few lines above, Czech Republic and Poland are presumably will bet on South Korean reactors, but South Korea nuclear energy companies are also trying to take contracts in Egypt, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and even in the United Kingdom. If only some of them get to fruition this Asian country will become a full competitor in the international market of China, Russia, France or the US. Image | Wikierati More information | Bloomberg In Xataka | Spanish nuclear have been criticized for their role in the blackout. This was what they did before, during and after collapse

In South Korea, parents are buying their children actions of Tesla instead of toys. Child capital is priority

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In January there was one of the most anticipated news in time in South Korea. A small ray of hope after years of demographic debacle when seeing how the nation saw a Increase figure thus breaking a streak of almost ten years. Then we knew ideas that sought to further enhance that birth rate, such as the offer of “Premium” meat To the new moms. Now we also know that kids are receiving gifts from their parents. But they are not toys, they are actions. From stuffed to the portfolio. In South Korea, traditional children’s gifts (dolls, consoles or games) are being replaced For stock stock actionsan increasingly popular trend between parents seeking to plant the seeds of financial education from childhood. What was previously exclusive to expert adults, today, According to local mediait makes its way between minors who, with the consent of its parents, already total more than 1.2 million investment accounts in the country. Explained the Korean Times Cases like Lee’s, a 45 -year -old office worker who has given her son on her birthday and on Children’s Day, embodying this new philosophy for seven years: build an early heritage and transmit economic knowledge through the example. Although the child still prefers the letters of Pokémon that his mother gives him, the father’s intention is not immediate, but in the long term: familiarize him with concepts such as dividends, shareholding property and compound growth, even if for now he does not fully understand them (or nothing). Fiscal instruments and benefits. This kind of dystopia has much more, since the favorite instruments of this generation of children’s investors are the High Dividend ETFfunds that replicate indices such as S&P 500, and actions known as those of Samsung Electronics, Tesla, Nvidia or Apple. Because the strategy not only responds to an educational eagerness, but also to tax advantages: Parents can transfer up to 20 million WON (about 14,000 euros) Free from child taxes every decade, which converts these gifts into efficient patrimonial transmission vehicles. According to an example cited in the middle by a father, an initial investment of 20 million WON with an annual yield of 7% can be transformed into 70 million after 20 yearswithout paying a single won. This forecast is aligned with an increasingly entrenched vision that the economic future begins to build not in adulthood, but in the first years of life. Adolescence and stock market. Apparently, the trend has begun to permeate even among children and adolescents themselves, particularly in the strip from 17 to 19 years. In a recent survey Made by Samsung Securities43% of young people claimed to have an investment account In his name, and 58% declared that they planned to invest in shares soon. This youthful interest contrasts with the traditional lack of financial culture among the youngest in other countries, and reveals a society that, through parental practice and accompaniment, is Refforting your relationship With money from the bases. According to Hwang Seiionresearcher of Korea Capital Market Institutethis phenomenon has low risk due to the small initial amounts and adult guidelines, but it can have a high impact on the literacy long -term financial. Seducing childhood. The last of the legs to be treated. Faced with this hatching of investors Precocosstockbrokers are deploying directed campaigns directly to children and adolescent public. Within the framework of Children’s Day, signatures like Mira Asset Securities, Samsung Securities and Kiwoom Securities offered economic rewardsgift cards and reduced commissions for minors that open their first online accounts. Kiwoomwhich concentrates more than half a million of these children’s accounts, has even launched a Educational Channel On YouTube to teach basic finances in a didactic way. An entire ecosystem that points to a strategic objective: to capture the investor from its earliest stage to consolidate a long -term relationship with the market. Transcending money. The KT told That, in the background, and beyond the accumulation of wealth, this movement represents a sociocultural transformation: money ceases to be a taboo issue between parents and children and becomes part of the dialogue daily. In a dystopia that few were able to advance, tell a small child who is Tesla’s shareholder or who has a fraction of the S&P 500 not only introduces it to the language of capital, but, apparently, offers a new way of understanding his place in the economic world. If you want also, in a historically oriented society to savings and educational effortSouth Korea seems to be finding new ways to translate those values ​​into the 21st century. What was once an envelope with tickets today can be a business fraction, and what was once an ephemeral toy, now it becomes a tool financial training. Childhood, losing along the way part of its playful character, is thus linked to a broader notion of forecast. Because how these hint Parents “Visionaries”It is never too soon to learn to invest in the future. Image | Pexels In Xataka | The last idea of ​​South Korea to lift birth: Free flesh to the new moms South Korea | Seoul is so desperate to activate his birth rate that he has had an idea: give € 700 to those who marry

re -estate in South Korea

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If “tariff” does not end up being the word of the year, it will be because something very fat happens from now on. The Trump administration has applied a series of Tariffs to practically all countries of the world, with cases as striking as the Gravamen up to 145% to some China products, with 125% response on their part. That is why Chinese sellers are studyingnot very legal lternatives To skip those tariffs and continue selling to the United States. Among those options is the re -labeling of products. The problem is that South Korea has caught them. Rehewed. A few days ago, and how can we read in Reutersthe customs authorities of South Korea (KCS) reported on a key discovery: a network of re -labeling of Chinese products. It is a mechanism by which Chinese companies carry their products to South Korea, put a South Korean label instead of the classic ‘Made in China’ and export those products to other countries. The effect is evident: China has very high tariffs in some products, South Korea not so much (and they have been suspended For three months), so it is an effective tool to skip those US commercial barriers and to continue selling their products in one of its main markets. The products. Do not think that these are plastic toys or pieces: among what South Korean customs have found are “high value” products. For example, surveillance cameras worth 19.3 billion wones (12.9 million euros) or materials used in batteries worth 3.3 billion wones (2.2 million euros), among others. As we say, they reached South Korean soil, they were processed minimally or even nothing, they re -rectified as if they were of South Korean origin and were exported to the United States. This is because South Korea is a United States partner with a free trade agreement, so it is a very attractive bridge to avoid tariffs. Trend. This is nothing new. During the Commercial War that we lived a few years ago (the one that put Huawei in the focus Of all the conflict), Chinese companies already used these tactics to avoid the blockages, labeling their products under “flag” Vietnamese, Malaya or South Korean. The problem is that, as the South Korean customs service indicates, the recent tariffs are having clear effects on this practice. Only during the first quarter of this year, the country’s customs detected violations of merchandise origin of 29,500 million wones (19.7 million euros) and 97% of them were destined for the United States. To put it in perspective, in all 2024 these violations were estimated at 34,800 of Wones (23.3 million euros), with 62% of those destined for the United States. Implications. The correlation between the recent tariffs and these re -labeling practices seem clear and the consequence is that South Korea will intensify its activity to intercept these products. So much that they have created a special group to investigate and combat these practices through surprise inspections and a closer collaboration with US authorities. Now, this practice can damage the reputation of companies that legitimately export their products. It will be the task of the different administrations to ensure the reputation and security of these exports, putting The focus of suspicion against companies that have more opaque supply chains. Works (they tell North Korea). As we read in EnterpriseSouth Korea is not the only country that would be used as ‘bypass’. In February, it was discovered that some Chinese companies sent their merchandise to Mexico, re -tixed and distributed them in smaller packages and introduced them into US soil. And it is something that simply works. An example outside the current tariffs is North Korea hair. Basically, there are North Korean companies that import post -haired hair from China, they assemble it to create eyelashes or wigs, they return it to Chinese companies in the form of finished product and it is China that is responsible for distributing that product both inside and outside its market, labeling the product as a fact in China and not in North Korea. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The tariff war will shoot the price of a component that nobody speaks: the SSD units

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