SouthKorea

• 
  Can and plastic bottle collecting machines garner popularity in eastern city SEOUL -- Automatic can and plastic bottle retrieval machines gained huge popularity among citizens of Chuncheon City located east of Seoul. The usage rate of recycling machines increased by more than 40 times in 2021 compared to 2019. The machines attracted citizens by offering reward points that can be used like cash. According to Chuncheon, 32,257 kilograms of cans and 40,195 kilograms of transparent plastic bottles were collected through 14 automatic recyclable waste retrieval ma 2021-11-17
• 
  Seoul's satellite city to demonstrate autonomous smart librarian robot SEOUL -- To provide a pleasant break time for citizens exhausted by hectic urban life, an autonomous librarian robot that can carry some 100 books will be tested at a riverside park in Seongnam, a southeastern satellite city of Seoul. The smart librarian robot will roam around walking tracks and lend books to visitors. Seongnam said in a statement on November 16 the smart librarian robot equipped with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors will be demonstrated in December 2020. 2021-11-17
• 
  Busan to operate doctor buses to offer healthcare services for elderlies SEOUL -- Through a 2 billion won ($1.7 million) state project, the southern port city of Busan will operate medical buses to provide healthcare services for elderlies by visiting public facilities including daycare centers. The buses will focus on providing medical checks for old people. Busan said in a statement on November 16 that the city will operate three medical buses for elderlies and provide healthcare services. The doctor buses, equipped with health monitoring devices, will 2021-11-16
• 
  S. Korea demonstrates smart positioning technology for emergency situations SEOUL -- To effectively rescue citizens in case of emergency situations including fire and other natural disasters, South Korea's science ministry has developed and demonstrated smart positioning technology that can precisely locate people in need. The smart positioning technique helps rescuers effectively detect the location of people inside a building. The Ministry of Science, ICT said in a statement on November 15 that the ministry and the national fire station carried out th 2021-11-15
• 
  S. Korea releases Minecraft-based metaverse game to promote agricultural policies SEOUL -- South Korea's agriculture ministry has released metaverse content based on a worldwide popular "Minecraft" game. The metaverse-based game offers various experiences through virtual tours of agriculture museums, smart farms and government facilities. Minecraft, which has some 126 million monthly users as of 2020, is an open-world exploring game for PC and consoles. More than 200 million copies were sold worldwide. In May 2020, South Korean President Moon Jae-in 2021-11-15
• 
  Wave power plant to be demonstrated at southern resort island SEOUL -- South Korea will demonstrate a wave power plant at the southern resort island of Jeju. Unlike other renewable energy sources like wind and sunlight, ocean waves can generate electricity 24 hours a day. Wave power plants harvest electricity using the power of waves. The up-and-down motions of ocean waves are turned into continuous mechanical motions that move the turbine to generate electricity. Wave power plants use air pressure to move its turbine even during low tide. 2021-11-15
• 
  Seoul's satellite city to build infrastructure for flying taxis SEOUL -- A vertical takeoff and landing site for flying vehicles will be built in Goyang, a northwestern satellite city of Seoul, along with a flight control center, as part of a government project to prepare for the era of urban air mobility that incorporates drone taxis and personal flying vehicles. South Korea aims to commercialize manned drone taxis in 2025. Remote-controlled vehicles will be adopted in 2030 and a fully autonomous service in 2035. A safety manager will board eac 2021-11-11
• 
  Seoul provides non-face-to-face traditional cooking class SEOUL -- Seoul City will provide online non-face-to-face classes for those who want to learn how to cook traditional Korean winter dishes. Professional cooks and fermented food specialists will teach the arts of Korean cuisines through an online video conference app. According to Seoul on November 9, cooking methods and recipes for three different menus -- traditional tea, Mandu, Korean dumplings, and Cheonggukjang, fermented soybean paste, -- will be offered by Korean food speciali 2021-11-09
• 
  S. Korea turns public bus garage into comprehensive facility featuring charging stations and solar panels SEOUL -- Through a 2.8 billion won ($2.37 million) project, South Korea's first comprehensive eco-friendly public-purpose energy complex that features both electric vehicle chargers and a solar power plant was built in Suwon some 34 kilometers (21 miles) south of Seoul. The old garage was changed into a new facility with 24 electric bus chargers and large solar panels that work as rain shields for parked vehicles. The eco-friendly electric bus depot constructed on November 8 is 2021-11-08
• 
  Central city to operate 100 hydrogen fuel cell city buses by 2025 SEOUL -- In an effort to go green and achieve carbon neutrality, the central city of Daejeon will operate 100 hydrogen fuel cell city buses by 2025. The city will replace some 20 internal combustion engine buses every year and increase the number of hydrogen charging stations. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles use fuel cells that produce heat, electricity and water through a thermochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Due to their eco-friendly characteristics, fuel cells are cons 2021-11-08
• 
  S. Korean presidential office launches task force to head off urea price shock SEOUL -- South Korea's presidential office launched a special task force to cope with a crippling shortage of Chinese raw materials that threatened to spark a logistics crisis as many cargo trucks run short of an aqueous urea solution used to cut pollution created by diesel engines. Urea can be made by adding carbon dioxide to ammonia. South Korea relies heavily on imports, with 97 percent of them coming from China. Surging coal prices have pushed up fertilizer prices, prompting 2021-11-05
• 
  Seoul to offer metaverse-based administrative services by 2026 SEOUL -- Through a 3.9 billion won ($3.31 million) project, Seoul will create a brand-new public service by adopting metaverse platforms in various sectors including economy, culture, tourism and education. The capital city aims to use avatar workers to deal with citizens' complaints and provide various virtual tourism experiences by 2026. The metaverse is a digital world where physical reality and virtual spaces are combined. A metaverse platform allows users to have special ha 2021-11-03
• 
  Offshore sites capable of storing 730 mln tons of CO2 available in S. Korea SEOUL -- South Korea can store some 730 million tons of carbon dioxide at offshore storage sites, which are available for obvious use, based on a six-month survey of territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. The survey was conducted as part of a government campaign to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 in response to a global agenda for fighting climate change. In a seminar on November 3, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that the government would 2021-11-03
• 
  About 10,000TB of video data consumed daily by S. Korean smartphone users : government data SEOUL -- About 10,000 terabytes of video content was consumed daily by South Koreans using smartphones and mobile devices in September 2021, thanks to a variety of content provided by over-the-top and video-on-demand services, government data showed. South Korea with a population of some 51 million has a smartphone distribution rate of about 95 percent. The Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement on November 3 that South Koreans consumed 10,462 terabytes of video content us 2021-11-03
• 
  Provincial city to demonstrate AI-based pedestrian detection technology SEOUL -- A provincial city located southwest of Seoul has started the demonstration of artificial intelligence (AI)-based pedestrian detection technology to protect children crossing roads in a school zone. The AI system will warn drivers by showing warnings on display boards if there is a pedestrian ahead. Siheung City said in a statement on November 2 that the city started a seven-month demonstration of the smart pedestrian detection system at an elementary school zone located nea 2021-11-02
• 
  Seoul to develop and commercialize recycling technologies for discarded batteries SEOUL -- Seoul will upgrade, demonstrate and commercialize recycling technologies developed by private companies. Two kinds of technologies -- recycling technology for discarded lithium-ion batteries and food waste reduction technology -- were selected from a list of some dozen technologies submitted by local enterprises. According to Seoul on November 2, the Seoul Institute of Technology will provide support to ER, a battery recycling company, to upgrade and commercialize battery- 2021-11-02
• 
  Uber and T Map's joint venture releases smart integrated mobility service app SEOUL -- A joint venture set up by American ride-hailing service operator Uber and T Map, the mobility service wing of South Korea's mobile carrier SK Telecom, has launched a new ride-hailing service. The new mobility service will compete against Kakao T, the country's most popular mobility service app operated by web service giant Kakao. UT said during a press conference on November 1 that the existing Uber app has been integrated with the UT app. Passengers can use UT serv 2021-11-02
• 
  Smart buses to provide on-demand transport service in northern city SEOUL -- The northern city of Paju will operate new public transportation called "demand response transport" (DRT). A DRT is a bus that uses artificial intelligence to create optimal routes in real-time depending on passengers' demands. Paju said in a statement on November 1 that the city will adopt the smart bus system. Paju has issued a designated DRT license on October 27 and the test operation will begin in November 2021. Smart buses will start their test operation 2021-11-01
• 
  Seoul to support independent content creators' foray into Chinese video platforms SEOUL -- Seoul City teamed up with a Chinese video content creator management agency to make a foray into various Chinese video content-sharing platforms. Seoul will provide a four-week online education program for South Korean creators who hope to gain more Chinese followers. The education will be organized by Chinese video content experts. Adoba is a Chinese multi-channel networks (MCN) platform company specialized in assisting South Korean creators to enter the Chinese market. Th 2021-11-01
• 
  Seoul to provide safety education using virtual reality technologies SEOUL -- Seoul will provide safety education classes using virtual reality devices at urban construction sites with a high risk of safety accidents. 33 types of accident cases that frequently occur such as falling will be created into virtual classes to raise awareness of safety accidents. According to government data, 390 people died at construction sites in 2018. About 60 percent of fatal accidents were caused by falling. The Seoul Facilities Corporation (SFC), the capital city 2021-10-29