Increasing travel, decreasing price of oil: Is this good?

The decreasing price of oil has affected many Korean customers as it has been decreasing for almost 200 days. Currently, the oil price is about 1,400 won per liter. The diminution has benefited many Korean customers, but it also brought another effect; a surge in travel.

Oil price plays an important role when making decisions about traveling. Riding an airplane includes bunker adjustment factor or BAF, which is determined by the price of oil. As the oil price goes down, BAF price automatically becomes much more affordable. For instance, travelers had to pay about 300 dollars for BAF to fly to the U.S., but now they only pay 30 dollars. The same pattern can be seen in South Asian flights with BAF fee from 116 dollars to 12 dollars, and Japan trip with BAF for six dollars now. BAF price surely changes quite often depending on the oil price. However, in general, it has decreased 90% in average.

According to the research by Hana Tour, a travel agency, travelers to Japan increased 71%, America 37%, South Asia 13% than the past. This January, Hana Tour had 256,000 travelers, Modu Tour had 133,000, which was almost 30% higher than last year.

During the Korea’s traditional holiday such as Lunar New Year or Seolnal, the number of travelers is expected to be around 700,000 because the holiday falls on Wednesday through Friday. This gives a longer weekend and thus a better chance to go overseas with friends and family.

Many people think going on a trip abroad is good for the economy, but it is still a controversial issue. One of the benefits is that the economy can grow because traveling abroad lets airline companies to earn more profits temporarily. In addition to this, travel agencies also benefit. These conditions encourage money to flow and move within the society, which in turn help the economy grow. For example, last year Asiana Air profited thirty billion won in the fourth term, but this year the figure rose to one-hundred billion won.

However, increase in travel trend also has a dark side. As more people go shopping overseas, such as in Japan, China, and the U.S., this can decrease Korea’s entire amount of profit in tourism. The reason is mainly because Koreans spend more money in other countries than we earned by our tour industry.

Oil decrease provides us with several benefits but there also exists drawbacks. Experts criticize that this can lessen the profit made by Chinese and Japanese tourists entering Korea, because more money or too much it is being used by Koreans overseas.

veeni0502@naver.com

 

BY Han Eun-Bin

Naebalsan Elementary School

Webtoons, the new rising star of Korean Wave

As the TV drama “Misaeng” by channel tvN is enjoying its high view rate by gaining sympathy from office workers in Korea, actors in the drama have also become top stars. But, behind this big success lies the origin, Webtoons. Webtoons is a word made with two words ‘web’ and ‘cartoon.’ It is getting a spotlight as the new rising star of Korean Wave.

Cartoons made and spread on the web are becoming popular and webtoonists can earn a lot of money from selling books and products with character designs. Representative sites such as Naver, Daum, and Nate release webtoons in Korea. “Misaeng” recorded 8.2% view rate, which is considered high at that time is from Daum webtoon and drawn by webtoonist, Yoon Tae Ho. Another webtoon, “Don’t Lose Control” is made from animation series. It is a fiction comic story and has been changed into an animation by KBS broadcasting station. These TV programs are hoping tobe exported to the global market.

Not only changing webtoons into TV dramas or animation, but webstoons themselves are becoming globalized. Naver’s new service called “Line Webtoons” provides webtoons in English for foreigners. There are major webtoons and people can write comments and share opinions through SNS. There is also challenge league, where amateurs draw their cartoons and upload them. These webtoons can be downloaded using Android applications for an easier mobile view. Sites such as Mangafox and Mangahere provide Korean webtoons “Noblesse” and “The god of the high school” in both an English and a Spanish version.

Foreigners’ view toward Korean webtoons is quite positive. In 2013, at the Frankfort cartoon Forum, Korea’s webtoonist, Son Jae Ho, Lee Guang Soo (Noblesse), Park Yong Jae (God of the high school) and SIU (Tower of God) had an autograph event and attracted more than twenty thousand people. Their fans were enthusiastic and bought their books. At an interview with Korea’s broadcaster, one citizen from Berlin said that he is a big fan of the webtoon Noblesse and came to Frankfort with printed webtoon images to meet and get SIU’s autograph.

With the growth in the webtoon market, government officials have announced plans to give five hundred million won to this industry. Many people hope webtoons can be the new Korean wave trend and wish for their high appreciation in foreign countries, too.

veeni0502@naver.com

 

BY Han Eun-Bin

Naebalsan Elementary School

Science comic books provide knowledge for kids

As children enter elementary school, many parents and children worry about how they should study. Science is changing the world as we breathe and becoming an engineer seems like a good choice for future profession because it can promise a stable life. Although parents tend to avoid purchasing comic books for their children simply because they think these books do not provide a positive influence, there are indeed, some comic books that are recommended for elementary students to read.

The first book suggested by teachers and experts is called the “Why series” published by Yerimdang Publisher. At the moment, there are 57 books in this series. All the books have different stories and characters, but the main characters are always Umji and Gomji. In each story, there are 2 sub-characters, which team teach Umji and Gomji scientific knowledge. The 2 main characters ask questions, the whys, to them and answers are explained quite easily. In each book, they travel to certain places and study the topic of the book. The content is quite simple to grasp since the books are aimed at students sitting in 4th to 6th grade. And the topics are covered in school, too. Some example topics are brain, rockets, and dinosaurs. The price for each book is around 9,000 won.

Another book is called “Who are these scientists series.” This series is from ‘Dasanbooks’ publisher. They cost about 12,000 won each and it explains the life of renowned scientists’ life in a comic story. The books aren’t fiction of course, but there are some descriptions which help the readers look at their life in an easier way. The books do not only cover simple biography-style, but they also talk about fun episodes and the scientists’ youth. Examples of the famous scientists are Thomas Edison, Stephen Hawking, and Louis Pasteur. The books also contain stories of inventors and the explanation on how they came to invent certain items. Although the books do not discuss scientific knowledge directly, they help children understand and learn more about life, in general. The series contain a workbook to aid children’s understanding of the topic. For instance, students can solve questions and write a letter to a friend introducing the concept or the scientist. As a result, students can also enhance their literacy, too.

The last book I’d like to introduce is called “Tomorrow is the king of experiment’ series” from Iseum publishing company. Price ranges from 10,500 won to 11,700 won. The story continues from one book to the next and the stories are connected. The 4 main characters are Bum wooju, Na rani, Ha jiman, Kang wonso. They are the team of experiments from school, who join a contest or experiments and tell us about the scientific knowledge involved. The book series has one major topic, which is doing an experiment but after every chapter, there is an explanation of each experiment. It’s very similar to a lab report students do in school. One special feature of these books is that they contain an experiment kit. This is great for children as they can work on the experiments with their friends and family at home. The content is self-explanatory, so there’s much fun to go!

Comic books should not be considered as only books for entertainment, because they can actually help student’s study. Experts suggest that comic books can increase concentration and understanding of children.

veeni0502@naver.com

 

 

BY Han Eun-Bin

Naebalsan Elementary School