Holiday E-Commerce Sales Surpass $23B - Online holiday spending in 2006 increased 26% over last year to $23.11 billion for the nearly two-month period ending Dec. 26, according to data released Thursday by comScore Networks. A late surge of Internet shopping in the week before Christmas–a 38% jump over the year-earlier period–helped push the total to new levels.
Hitwise: Google Blog Search Overtakes Technorati - Google Blog Search garnered a bigger market share of visits than longtime market leader Technorati for the week ending Dec. 23, according to new data by research firm Hitwise. The upsurge appears to be the result of Google recently changing its home page to showcase the blog search function more prominently, according to Hitwise research analyst, LeeAnn Prescott.
New Technology Offer Better Ad Targeting for Small Business Owners - At this point, small-to-mid-sized businesses selling local products or services ought to advertise online. Why? SMB’s usually make less money and have lower ad budgets, which makes TV a waste. But search-engine marketing isn’t enough, which means small-business owners need to dig a little deeper to get their messages in front of targeted audiences.
Consumers Prefer to Steal Movies and Other Content - Surprise, surprise: a recent study from NPD Group, a research firm covering the music industry, claims that movie downloads using peer-to-peer software and servers is outpacing purchases made from legitimate download services, such as CinemaNow or Apple’s iTunes. The study, compiled from NPD’s VideoWatch tracking software, finds that just 2% of online households purchase movies from movie download services, whereas 8% utilize illegal P2P services.
Jupitermedia Buys JustTechJobs.com - Jupitermedia has for once bought outside of the online images industry that it has focused on for the last year or so: it has bought out JustTechJobs.com (JTJ), an online tech job site based in Boulder, Colorado. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. JTJ has created separate sites dedicated to specific sub-sectors within tech. Some history here: In 2000, Jupiter, then known as Internet.com, did not buy Dice.com, now one of the biggest tech jobs sites, but bought oher content sites part of the parent EarthWeb. Last year Dice.com was sold to General Atlantic and Quadrangle for $200 million.
PayPerPost Acquires Performancing.com - PayPerPost, the leading marketplace for advertisers to reach bloggers, videographers, photographers, podcasters and social networks, today announced it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire select assets of Performancing LLC, operator of Performancing.com, a popular Internet community site for professional bloggers.
DoubleClick Sells Abacus To Epsilon For $435MM - Marketing services company Alliance Data Systems Corp. has agreed to purchase Abacus, which manages databases for catalog companies, from DoubleClick for $435 million. Seven years ago, DoubleClick bought the company for $1.7 billion.
FCC Approves AT&T’s $85 Billion Acquisition of BellSouth; Includes Cingular - The Federal Communications Commission approved AT&T Inc.’s $85.8 billion takeover of BellSouth Corp. Friday, after the telecom giant offered a series of major concessions to consumer groups and regulators. The agency approved the deal, the largest ever in U.S. telecommunications history, by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The merger creates a behemoth that will have a market capitalization of over $220 billion — more than double that of nearest rival Verizon Communications Inc. — and will serve 67.5 million local phone customers in 22 states, as well as 11.5 million broadband users.
Korea is an amazing country (South Korea)! I have been to South Korea many times but mostly for short business visits from China or the USA. It has never ceased to amaze me how this small country of appoximately 50 million has become a powerhouse in technology and industrial sectors. As of this writing, Hyundai is one of the top 6 car companies in the world and Samsung is almost twice the market capitalization of Sony! LG and Samsung lead the world in mobile innovation and some argue NHN (Naver) is a more advanced search engine than Google, particularly for double byte Asian character sets. If you want to check out the latest in digital media, mobility or anything in electronics, this is a country to visit.
A good Korean friend once told me he attributes Korean success to a desire to better their country despite scarce natural resources. Much like Hong Kong and Singapore, South Korea does not have any natural resources to rely upon for their livelihood (any natural resources in North Korea are unavailable due to their government). As a small country relative to their Chinese and Japanese neighbors, Koreans must always stay on the bleeding edge to remain competitive. As such, they can only depend on their human capital: imagination and hard work.
For those who do not know much about modern world history, South Korea was hardly the Land of the Morning Calm, as it calls itself, for much of the 20th century. From the Japanese occupation to the Korean War to 1997’s economic crisis, life in South Korea has been mostly difficult and desperate. However, Korea seems determined to leave its troubles in the old century. It has entered the 21st century with renewed optimism. Since being bailed out by the International Monetary Fund in 1997, South Korea’s economy, the 10th largest in the world, is on its way to recovery. Growth rates are climbing, and new office towers are sprouting throughout Seoul, the country’s modern capital. Former President Kim Dae Jung, a longtime democratic activist before becoming president in 1998, steered South Korea toward a path of democracy and free trade. In 2000, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at thawing relations with North Korea. His successor, Roh Moo-hyun, has pledged to continue Kim’s “sunshine policy” with regard to the North.
These days, in any good-sized town there are fashionable areas where you can find discos, karaoke bars, coffee shops and stores selling everything from designer clothing to fresh French bread. But in these same towns you can also find the intriguing maze of traditional outdoor markets, where vendors sell dried fish, ginseng and fresh vegetables as they have done for hundreds of years. The country’s age-old search for tranquility lingers in the pockets of traditional culture and unspoiled scenery that remain.
A very mountainous country (about 70% of its land is mountains), Korea may look small on the map, but it is full of wonderful pockets of culture to explore. The capital, Seoul, is easily navigated without a guide — the subway system is very easy to use (and cheap!) and street signs are translated into English. Outside of the large cities, however, the countryside is best explored with a translator, since most people don’t speak English (although it is widely taught in schools) and signs are only in Korean.
Google In-Stream Test Hints At Video Ad Network - Google has begun testing a new in-stream video advertising system, running 15-second commercials for Allstate that appear after video content on a site called Beet.tv, which produces video interviews with broadband video executives. A Google rep said the spots are a continuation of an earlier in-stream test of in-stream video spots that appeared after video created by Eepybird, the folks behind the Diet Coke-Mentos viral video series.
Word of Mouth Clicks For Small Businesses - Most marketers know that word of mouth has been a driving marketing force since the dawn of commerce. With the Internet, word of mouth marketing has taken new life: companies can get the word out about their products and services with little or no investment. Web logs, email newsletters and chat rooms cost nothing but man-hours to create.
Google Extends Newspaper Program - With its newspaper ad sales initiative exceeding expectations, Google plans to expand its pilot program next year. During the initial weeks of testing, the volume of ad sales tripled Google’s expectations.
Hitwise: Holiday Ecommerce Traffic Up 6% - Average daily traffic to ecommerce sites from Thanksgiving Day through the Thursday before Christmas was up 5.9% compared to last year, according to new Hitwise research. The days with the largest individual increases year-over-year were the first Monday after Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day.
JWT’s Top Trends Of ‘07: Skype, Wii, Business Of Social Networking - Skype and other Voice Over Internet Protocol phone services; Wii and the next-generation gaming systems; and the business of social networking–those are the top three trends products, services and trends that will define the new year, according to a list released by ad agency JWT on Wednesday.
Fox To Sell Bowl Game Downloads - For the first time, Fox Sports plans to sell downloads of College Bowl football games. The full-length games, which will cost $2.99 each, will be available at Apple’s iTunes, AOL Video, Amazon’s Unbox, Fox Sports on MSN, and other sites.
ForeSee: Amazon, Netflix Tops In Consumer Satisfaction - Online movie rental company Netflix and retailer Amazon had the highest levels of online consumer satisfaction this holiday season, according to a report slated for release today by research firm ForeSee Results. For the report, ForeSee measured consumer satisfaction indexes for the 40 highest-selling U.S. retailers on a 100-point scale.
How Starwood is building the hotel of the future in Second Life - Starwood, creators of the upscale W Hotels brand, is using the virtual community Second Life to introduce its new brand, Aloft. The new hotel brand targets a hip thirtysomething crowd, offering wireless Internet service, chic areas for lounging and socializing, cool terminology (the pool is named “Splash” and the snack bar “Re:Fuel”), and loft-like architecture throughout. The chain wanted to get feedback and create buzz among its target audience before constructing a brick-and-mortar building. So Starwood began construction this fall on an “island” it purchased in Second Life, foreshadowing what it plans to do in 2008 in five North American locations.
Yahoo 2007: Is Panama Enough? - Panama may not be enough to clean up Yahoo’s mess. In the face of a slumping year on the stock market, deserting executives and a trouncing by Google in Web search and mergers and acquisitions, Yahoo needs a good 2007. The company has placed high hopes on Panama, its new ad monetization technology aimed at delivering better-targeted ads to its users in the hope that it will make Yahoo’s search and display ads more lucrative.
Possibility Of A Yahoo-AOL Merger in 2007; Google-AOL Change of Control Clause - So bets Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, in a note titled “Is 2007 the year AOL and Yahoo are in play?” last week. She said that AOL and Yahoo could be open to a tie-up in 2007, spurred by AOL’s falling market share in Internet search and Yahoo’s lag behind Google. “We believe there are several trends that could push either AOL or Yahoo towards a major transaction, with each other or with another competitor…Although not without its problems, we believe that an AOL-Yahoo combination is one of the more logical combinations in this arena.”
At first glance, Seoul appears to be a sprawling concrete mass of high-rise apartment buildings and modern buildings interspersed with historical treasures. But on closer investigation, the city can be divided into numerous smaller districts with their own distinct character. The primary landmark is the Han River, which runs east to west and bisects the metropolis.
Chongno forms the center to the north, surrounded by five main tourist districts, and there are two other districts of interest to visitors to the south, all of which are easy to access by the convenient and economical subway system. Very few streets have names, however, and buildings are not always numbered, so the easiest way to find a place is by locating the nearest subway station or landmark.
At the heart of Seoul, the Chongno and Kwanghwamun areas have long been considered the political, economic and cultural center of the city. They cover approximately two square kilometers from City Hall Station and Kwanghwamun in the west to Chongno 5-ga and Ulchiro 4-ga Stations in the east. Here you will find an astonishing contrast of old and new. Ancient royal palaces and cultural inheritances, such as Doksu, Kyongbuk and Changgyong palaces, the National Museum and Chogyesa Temple, surround the downtown area of Chongno, which bustles with people enjoying movie theaters, stores and restaurants. Chongno and Kyobo bookstores, Lotte Department Store and the Millennium Plaza are all within easy reach. Government offices, embassies, and corporate headquarters are located here. Because the weather can be quite severe in the winter times, Seoul literally has an underbelly of shopping malls beneath the streets. These range from small malls containing 100+ shops (see picture below) to mega underground malls in areas such as the COEX.For those of you not familiar with the South Korean economy, much like Japan, it is dominated by large conglomerates that have businesses in every major facet of the economy. Companies such as Samsung own the entire semiconductor chain to end consumer devices such as flat panel TVs and cell phones. They even have an investment bank! Another company is Lotte. Originally best known for their department stores, they have all manner of additional services including restaurants, groceries, cinemas, etc.Tapkol and Sajik parks provide respite from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets, and Insadong - a street famous for traditional tea houses, art galleries and antiques–runs north of the district’s main street. Just south of Chongno is the Namdaemun/Myungdong area, at the Hoehyon and Myungdong Subway stops. Namdaemun—literally “great south gate”—is the name both of the impressive stone and wood structure which still stands at the center of the intersection, and also of the large market nearby.Since 1414, Namdaemun Market has been a lively place where merchants and buyers gather to bargain over a wide variety of goods. Just east of here is the fashion mecca of Myungdong, always full of young people trying on the latest styles. To the south, you can enjoy some green space and take a cable car up to Seoul Tower, or take in the dinner theater at Korea House.
Dongdaemun (“great east gate”) is the district immediately east of Chongno, famous for the Dongdaemun Market where you can buy discounted brand-name items and outdoor wear/equipment. Dongdaemun Stadium is also located in this area. Northeast of Chongno at Hyehwa Station is the Taehangno district, also known as the Broadway of Korea. Relax in Marronnier Park, where you may see improvised performances for free. Good restaurants and outdoor cafes abound here, and you will even find traditional fortune-teller tents along the street. As the previous site of Seoul National University, this is still a place for youth, as well as those interested in performing arts.
West of Chongno, the lively university district spreads along the Ehwa University, Shinchon and Hong-ik University subway stations. Shinchon is known for its 24-hour bars, cafes and restaurants, where students (and others) go to chat, dance and eat. The nearby Ehwa Women’s University area is full of jean shops, hairdressers, and clothing stores. By contrast, Hongik University, with painted murals along its walls, has a slightly different feeling. Clothing shops are few, replaced instead by restaurants, nightclubs, rock bars and live cafes. You can experience the Korean underground music culture at small clubs in this area.
Southwest of Chongno, near Samgakji Station, Itaewon is the most Americanized district in Korea, located near the U.S. military base. You can be sure English is spoken here, and you also will find the highest concentration of non-Koreans and Koreans mingling in the street. American capitalism is rampant throughout South Korea and its still up to debate as to whether its a good or bad thing. Whenever possible, the stores have been modified to suit local tastes but one can not help but notice a Starbucks, McDonalds, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts on every street corner!
After shopping for Western-brand clothing and shoes or for local souvenirs, you can relax in one of the many restaurants and cafes here, which serve both Korean and non-Korean food. And to learn more about the country’s military history, be sure to stop by the War Memorial Museum while you are in Itaewon.
South of the Han River is the Apkujung district, centered around Apkujung Station (Line 3) and exuding youth, fashion and wealth. Known as the most expensive place to buy property in Seoul, it is nicknamed the “Beverly Hills” of Korea, home to exotic cafes, unusual bars and unique fashion. The Hard Rock Cafe and other theme bars are located here and is heavily frequented by business men. Karaoke bars and the like are a very key part of the after hours life of Korean businessmen. Lots of drink, fruit and female companionship are available while you do deals!
On my most recent trip, a very well dressed man came up to me and asked in perfect English if I would be interested in a department store girl. He said its very common in Korea and then proceeded to explain how he does it all the time he goes to the US. I told him I had no idea where he shopped in the US but clearly he and I did not share the same shopping habits!
Nearby the Apkujung district is Chongdong, an area popular for food. A fairly new entertainment and culture center, the Kangnam district—literally “south of the river”—attracts people of all ages. Cafes, restaurants, clubs, music stores and movie theaters flank the wide tree-lined street near Kangnam Station. Don’t come expecting historical sites, but instead come for the stores, fashion and modern atmosphere. Within a few subway stops, you can also visit the COEX Mall, Seoul Sports Complex and the Seoul Arts Center. Most business people spend the vast majority of their time here as many of the large Korean and multinational corporations have offices in this area.
WSJ looks at Microsoft’s ‘behavior targeting’ advertising efforts - The company is making a global push to sell ads geared towards the interests and demographics of individual users of its Hotmail service, msn.com site and other sites. The push is based around the information provided when a user signs up for Hotmail and then the searches they perform, and the results they click on, when using MSFT’s Live Search. The company hopes to grab a bigger piece of the online advertising market by using the information from the 263M worldwide users of Hotmail. The system was launched in the U.S. in September and MSFT plans to roll it out worldwide. The company says it has about 100 advertisers signed up so far.
Monster.com Replaces CareerBuilder At St. Pete Times - Continuing its drive to align with traditional newspapers, career site Monster will replace CareerBuilder as the online recruitment service for the St. Petersburg Times next month. Monster and the 300,000 daily-circulation Times will launch a co-branded job site that will include career-related advice, a resume builder and salary information in addition to national and local job listings.
Jewelry, Video Games Propel Online Retail Past $21B - E-commerce spending surged in the week before Christmas, according to comScore Networks. For the three days from Dec. 18 through Dec. 20, non-travel retail spending online climbed to $1.55 billion, marking a 35% increase from last year.
Report: Wikipedia Founder Readies New Search Engine - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales plans to launch a new search engine, according to a recent report in the Times of London. The newspaper reported that the project, dubbed Wikiasari, could launch as early as the first quarter of 2007.
YouTube Adds Features - Video-sharing site YouTube is now offering users the ability to instantly record videos by using Flash software and Web cams, as part of a site upgrade. The site also is offering a new user interface that cuts the number of tabs at the top of the screen down to four–videos, categories, channels and community.
comScore: Google Passes Yahoo in Global Traffic - Google has displaced Yahoo as the world’s second most-visited Web site–although not by much–according to November figures comScore Networks. Google’s sites brought in 475.7 million visitors, compared to Yahoo’s 475.3 million. Both trail global leader Microsoft, which attracted a whopping 501.7 million visitors.
Web Ad Prices Keep Rising - The cost of buying ads on the Internet is going up, and it’s going to continue. The Web has proven to be the cheapest, most effective means of reaching a targeted audience. As such, more advertisers are shifting dollars to the Web, which places the supply of quality Web sites and ad networks at more of a premium.
The DMZ is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an acute angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 248 km (155 miles) long and approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) wide, and is the most heavily armed border in the world.
The 38th parallel north — which cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half — was the original boundary between the U.S.-controlled and Soviet-controlled areas of Korea at the end of World War II. Upon the creation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the tensest fronts in the Cold War.
Both the North and the South remained heavily dependent on their sponsor states — the Soviet Union and the United States, respectively — from 1948 through to the outbreak of the Korean War. The conflict, which claimed over 3 million lives and saw the Korean Peninsula effectively divided along ideological lines, commenced in 1950 with a Soviet-sponsored DPRK invasion across the DMZ, and ended in 1953 after Chinese intervention pushed the front of the war back to near the 38th parallel. In the ceasefire of July 27, 1953, the DMZ was created as each side agreed in the armistice to move their troops back 2,000 meters from the front line, creating a buffer zone four kilometres wide. The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) goes right down the center of the DMZ and indicates exactly where the front was when the agreement was signed. The armistice agreement was never followed by a peace treaty and technically the two Koreas are still at war.
Large numbers of troops are still stationed along both sides of the line, each side guarding against potential aggression from the other side. The armistice agreement explains exactly how many military personnel and what kind of weapons are allowed in the DMZ itself. Soldiers from both sides do patrols inside the DMZ, but they may not cross the MDL.
Imjingak
Imjingak, and sometimes in English called the Imjingak “resort”, is a strange park located on the banks of the Imjin River in the city of Paju, South Korea. This is the first stop on any tour of the DMZ and typically tourists are aggregated into a much larger bus for transport into the DMZ. The park was built to console those from North Korea who are unable to return to their hometowns, friends and families because of the division of Korea. The park has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War. Imjingak is where the Freedom Bridge lies. The Freedom bridge does not actually cross the Imjin river, but it is a bridge which was used by refugees from North Korea. It crosses a stream adjacent to the Imjin river and at the far end contains prayers posted to the wall.
The Tunnels
Starting on November 15, 1974, South Korea discovered four tunnels leading under the DMZ, by use of water-filled pipes dug vertically into the ground near areas of suspected tunnelling activity. The first of the tunnels is believed to be about 45 meters below surface, with a total length of about 3.5 km, and penetrating over 1 km into the DMZ! When the first tunnel was discovered, it featured electric lines and lamps, and railways and paths for vehicles. The second was discovered on March 19, 1975, and is of similar length and between 50 and 160 meters below ground. The third tunnel was discovered on October 17, 1978. Like the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip-off from a North Korean defector who wanted to prove his authenticity. This tunnel is about 1,600 meters long and about 150 meters below ground. The fourth tunnel was discovered on March 3, 1990. It is almost identical in structure to the second and the third tunnel.
The north-south directions of the four tunnels, the fact that they do not branch, the progressively more advanced planning of each one (for example, the third tunnel slopes upward slightly as it progresses southward, so that water does not stagnate), and the orientation of the blasting lines within each one indicate that North Korea dug the tunnels, and that their purpose was for invasion, and not coal mining, as the North claimed upon their discovery (no coal can be found in the tunnels, which are dug through granite, but some of the tunnel walls were at some point painted black to give the appearance of coal). The tunnels are each large enough to permit the passage of an entire division in one hour.
I took a tour of the third tunnel which is only 44 km (or less than 1 hours car drive) from Seoul and was discovered near the armistice village of Panmunjeom. When you first get there, its apparent that they have made this into a major tourist attraction. Buses are lined up outside and you are treated to a 5-10 minute video that details the nature of the DMZ and its purpose.
There are numerous exhibits including those shown below that detail the history of interactions and tension between North and South Korea. They include presidential assassination attempts by North Korean agents and as well as their success in blowing up a South Korean airliner on the eve of the Seoul Olympics. You can also get an opportunity to see a scale model of the entire area and some of the other key parts of the DMZ.
No pictures are allowed in the tunnel but I have attached a map below which shows a schematic of the tunnel. There are a few things that are notable. First, the tunnels are really small. Apparently North Koreans are a full 7 inches shorter than their South Korean counterparts - probably due to their lack of food and nutrition. As such, you have to wear a yellow hard hat and crouch down to get through the tunnel. The walls are painted black as part of the North Korean deception that they were digging for coal and there are holes in the wall where dynamite is placed to carve out the path. Finally, at the end of the tunnel the South Koreans have laid barbed wire and installed 3 concrete doors. These were placed to protect tourists from the potential of North Korean gas attacks!
Upon your exit from the tunnel, you can peruse the adjoining curios store that will give you an opportunity to buy all sorts of knick-knacks to remind you of your visit. Some of the most intriguing sovenirs include pieces of barbed wire, DMZ t-shirts and even DMZ rice!
Villages in the DMZ
Within the DMZ there are two villages: one run by the North and the other by the South. Daeseong-dong, found on the southern side of the DMZ, is a traditional village and strictly controlled by the South Korean government. For instance, one must have ancestral connections to the village in order to live there. These restrictions serve to keep the population of the village very small. In the North, Gijeong-dong, or as it is called in North Korea, Peace Village has only a small caretaker population. Through the armistice agreement the North felt that it should be allowed a town within the borders of the DMZ since the South already had one. UN troops call this Propaganda Village because only a small group of people cleaning and turning on lights reside within the village!! Although from afar it appears to be a modern village, one can tell with binoculars that there is no glass within the windows of the buildings. In the past, North Korean propaganda was sent out by loudspeaker across to Daeseong-dong for as much as 20 hours a day, and reciprocal pop music and South Korean exhortations blasted back. These broadcasts ceased by mutual agreement in 2004.
During the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 98.4 meter (328 ft) tall flagpole in Daeseong-dong. The North Korean government responded by building a taller one — the tallest in the world at 157.5 meters (525 ft) - in Gijeong-dong. The North Korean flag at the top weighs around 270 kg (595 lb) when dry and must be taken down the instant it starts raining, as the tower cannot support its weight when it is wet. Our tour guide said its takes over 30 minutes to bring the flag down!
Except in the area around the truce village of Panmunjeom and more recently on the Donghae Bukbu Line on the east coast, people for the most part have not entered the DMZ in the last 50 years. This has created one of the most well-preserved pieces of land in the world. Environmentalists hope that if reunification occurs the former DMZ will become a wildlife refuge. However, there will be significant obstacles to maintaining the site because of the high concentration of land mines across the area. In fact, we were told land mines litter most of the DMZ and we were told not to wander from the tour bus.
Dora Observatory
The Dora Observatory was built by the ministry of National Defense on September 8th, 1986. We could see the Propaganda Village made by North Korea in the DMZ and as far north as the city of Gaesong. This is the nearest point to North Korea from South Korea. To get there we crossed the Freedom Bridge which is located about 2 km to the north of Mun-san. It is the only road that links the south and north at Imjingak. It was originally the Gyonguei-sun railway bridge and rebuilt into a road bridge. From the deck, you can see the Propaganda Village and the North and South Korean flag poles.
When you get to the observation tower you notice that there are rows of binoculars that say for military use only. Of course nowadays the platform is full of tourists from all over the world shoving 500 won coins into them to see North Korea! The rules are quite strict as it related to taking photos. It is strictly forbidden unless it is behind a yellow line as the North Korean soldiers may mistake it for a sniper rifle and shoot an unsuspecting tourist. Of course, some Chinese tourists took photos at the edge anyway and proceeded to have their cameras confiscated by the soldiers patroling the area.
You could also see a massive complex Hyundai is building in North Korea to manufacture kitchenware and other household goods. Apparently the founder of Hyundai was born in North Korea and is a big proponent of communication and investment in North Korea to bridge the gap between the two sides. He apparently gave 1,001 cows to North Korea as a gift to the country and had them herded across the DMZ! His more recent move is to fund a gigantic complex in North Korea that will leverage local labor and bring jobs to the region. Hyundai executives travel frequently across the DMZ to supervise construction. When Hyundai executives cross over, they receive military escort and cover up their license plates - presumably so locals think they are North Korean military.
Panmunjeom / Joint Security Area (JSA)
Inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, is a place called Panmunjeom, home of the Joint Security Area. Here is the only place where North and South connect. There are a number of buildings on both the north and the south side of the MDL, and a few which are built right on top of the MDL. The JSA is the location where all negotiations since 1953 have been held, including a number of statements of Korean solidarity, which have generally amounted to little except a slight decline of tensions. The MDL goes right through the conference rooms, right down the middle of the conference tables where the North Koreans and the United Nations Command (primarily South Koreans and Americans) meet face-to-face.Though generally calm, the DMZ has been the scene of much sabre-rattling between the two Koreas over the years. A number of small skirmishes have occurred within the Joint Security Area since 1953. The Axe Murder Incident in August 1976 involved the attempted chopping down of a poplar tree which resulted in two deaths and Operation Paul Bunyan. Before this time, the soldiers of both sides were permitted to go back and forth across the MDL inside of the JSA. That stopped as a result of this incident.
Another incident occurred later when a Soviet dignitary, who was part of an official trip to the JSA (hosted by the North), ran across the MDL yelling that he wanted to defect. North Korean troops opened fire and chased him across the line. South Korean troops, protecting the defector, fired back and eventually surrounded the North Koreans. One South Korean soldier was killed in the incident. The defector expressed joy in his successful attempt, but was saddened by the loss of life. Since this incident, the North Korean soldiers face one another so defectors cannot come upon them from behind. They are ordered to shoot anyone who attempts to defect before they get to the line.
Tongil (Unification Village)
The Tongil (Unification) Village in the northern area of Civilian Control Line and has 133 families and a total of approximately 500 residents. The agricultural marketing center here sells local farm produce. You can taste uncurdled Jangdan bean curd (sundubu), seasoned mountain herbs, maeuntang (hot soup) and so on, which show their notable local color.
Dorasan Station
Dorason Station is the northernmost international station located over 700 meters from the South boundary line of DMZ. It is not only a symbolic place of division but also, with the completion of the Gyeong-ui (Seoul-Sinuiju) railroad line connection, a gateway of interchange between the North and South. This station was built as a symbol of eventual reunification between North and South Korea. Its symbolism was so striking that the US President, George Bush, joined the South Korean President in giving an inaugural speech. When completed the rail line will allow South Koreans to travel across Asia and all the way to Paris! As a nice souvenir, when you enter the station, you can have a Dorasan immigration stamp put into your passport. Presumably when the North and South are finally reunified, this stamp allows you to go to North Korea! I plan on holding off on my visit for any time soon…
Apparently the North Koreans loved the look of the station, they asked that Hyundai build its North Korean factory to the same specs and designs! Frankly, I think a factory designed to look like a train station would be strange!
Publicis Buys Digitas, Moves To Become Dominant Digital Player - In a bold move that reconfigures the digital hierarchy of Madison Avenue, Paris-based agency holding company Publicis Wednesday announced a deal to acquire online and direct marketing powerhouse Digitas for $1.3 billion in cash. Publicis, which already had a highly regarded and strategically oriented digital team, now gains the kind of clout and talent that will force other big agencies to play catch-up–potentially triggering a rush to gobble up the few remaining independent digital agencies.
comScore: Online Retail Climbs To $20.65B - Online retail spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 18 reached $20.65 billion–up 25% from last year, according to new data by comScore Networks. The biggest day so far was Wednesday, Dec. 13, when consumers spent $667 million on e-commerce, followed by Monday, Dec. 11 ($661 million) and Monday, Dec. 4 ($647.5 million). Last year, the biggest day was Monday, Dec. 12 ($556 million).
Yahoo Scores Most Page Views Of Year - With approximately 354.5 billion page views through Nov. 30, Yahoo was the most trafficked Web property of the year, according to new data released Wednesday by Nielsen//NetRatings. MySpace garnered the second highest number of page views (250.7 billion), while Google placed third (147.7 billion)
Web 2007 Spending Should Surpass Conservative Forecasts - Advertising forecasts for 2007 are mixed, but just about the only constant is that Internet advertising will continue to grow apace, outperforming other media and likely, surpassing expectations. In 2006, Web spending was forecast at 20%; with three quarters now behind us, that number is closer to 50%, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Even so, most research firms think Web advertising will grow somewhere between 15% and 20% next year. However, history tells us that number is most likely conservative.
Google Checkout Is No PayPal Killer - The bloggers from Business 2.0 slam yesterday’s New York Times report touting Google Checkout as a PayPal killer. “How unsurprising: Bribe people heavily, and they’ll use your service,” the post says. That piece of logic hardly guarantees that Checkout, which is not used nearly as widely as eBay’s PayPal, will be a runaway success. In fact, Google may not pose any threat at all to PayPal.
Hitwise: Google Captures 63% Of Searches - Google has increased its commanding share of the online search market–garnering 62.79% of searches for the four-week period ending Dec. 16, according to online ratings firm Hitwise. That reflects a one-percentage-point gain from the four-week period ending Nov. 25. Yahoo’s search engine share, meanwhile, dipped slightly to 21.9% in December from 22.43% the prior month. Rounding out the top search engines were MSN (9.28%), Ask.com (4.07%), and AOL (0.59%). All other search properties had a combined share of 1.19%, according to Hitwise. The figures are based on the executed searches of 10 million Internet users across the top 55 search engines.
Loads Of Ways To Improve Google - Google gets lavish praise in the press. But guess what? Google Image Search sucks. It doesn’t have a comprehensive video search, and its Web search engine still delivers too many false pages that are (conveniently) filled with nothing but Google AdSense links. Some pundits believe the search movement is going vertical. Specialized search is an area that needs improvement, namely, better local, health, gaming, video, audio and music search. And Google isn’t there yet. The lure in creating search technology is advertising. Google has proven the model, but there are still many new areas to mine.
comScore: College Crowd Propels MySpace Past Yahoo - College students held the key to MySpace’s Internet ratings triumph over Yahoo for the first time last month, according to comScore Media Metrix. That prized demographic accounted for 12% of the page views on Fox Interactive Media sites (including MySpace), while only 6% of Yahoo’s page views come from the college crowd, according to new research released Monday by comScore.
Polar Rose Aims To Improve Image Search - Startup Polar Rose hopes to become to image search what Google and Yahoo are to text search. Polar Rose, a tech firm based in Sweden, Tuesday unveiled a new image search tool that it plans officially to launch early next year. The company said that its image search technology is different from others since it relies on 3D mapping techniques to recognize facial patterns.
Online Job Ad Revenues Surpass Print - Employers spent more on online recruitment advertising than newspaper job ads–$5.9 billion to $5.4 billion–for the first time in 2006, according to a new study released Tuesday. The online shift will continue over the next five years as Internet job listings hit $10 billion in 2011–or 13.7% of overall recruitment dollars compared to 6.5% for newspaper ads, according to market research firm Borrell Associates Inc.
Study: Most Watch Web Video, But Avoid The Ads - Most Web users, 56%, recall ads embedded in video content, according to a study released Tuesday by Burst Media. But that doesn’t mean users like the ads; more than three-quarters of those surveyed (78%) said such ads were intrusive.
Nielsen//NetRatings: Google Searches Up 31% - Web users conducted approximately 3.1 billion searches on Google last month–marking a 31% increase from last year, according to new data by Nielsen//NetRatings. Google’s total market share of searches now stands at 49.5%, according to the media measurement company.
Blinkx To Carry Dow Jones Video - Dow Jones is expected today to announce a partnership with video search engine blinkx to make all of its video content–business and financial news from The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s–available and fully searchable for free on www.blinkx.com. Blinkx is able to retrieve video and audio search results using voice and picture-recognition technology in addition to tags.
eBay Failing To Move Beyond Auctions - It’s the same ho-hum story for the folks at eBay. The online auctioneer is struggling to move beyond its core business. Its eBay Express Web site has been “a tough sell,” says newspaper. One eBay clothier reports being excited about the new site, which lists products for sale at fixed-prices, but last month, she didn’t sell a single item on eBay Express. It “doesn’t seem to be any help,” she said. She’s not alone, either.
comScore: College Crowd Propels MySpace Past Yahoo - College students held the key to MySpace’s Internet ratings triumph over Yahoo for the first time last month, according to comScore Media Metrix. That prized demographic accounted for 12% of the page views on Fox Interactive Media sites (including MySpace), while only 6% of Yahoo’s page views come from the college crowd, according to new research released Monday by comScore.
Polar Rose Aims To Improve Image Search - Startup Polar Rose hopes to become to image search what Google and Yahoo are to text search. Polar Rose, a tech firm based in Sweden, Tuesday unveiled a new image search tool that it plans officially to launch early next year. The company said that its image search technology is different from others since it relies on 3D mapping techniques to recognize facial patterns.
Online Job Ad Revenues Surpass Print - Employers spent more on online recruitment advertising than newspaper job ads–$5.9 billion to $5.4 billion–for the first time in 2006, according to a new study released Tuesday. The online shift will continue over the next five years as Internet job listings hit $10 billion in 2011–or 13.7% of overall recruitment dollars compared to 6.5% for newspaper ads, according to market research firm Borrell Associates Inc.
Study: Most Watch Web Video, But Avoid The Ads - Most Web users, 56%, recall ads embedded in video content, according to a study released Tuesday by Burst Media. But that doesn’t mean users like the ads; more than three-quarters of those surveyed (78%) said such ads were intrusive.
Nielsen//NetRatings: Google Searches Up 31% - Web users conducted approximately 3.1 billion searches on Google last month–marking a 31% increase from last year, according to new data by Nielsen//NetRatings. Google’s total market share of searches now stands at 49.5%, according to the media measurement company.
Blinkx To Carry Dow Jones Video - Dow Jones is expected today to announce a partnership with video search engine blinkx to make all of its video content–business and financial news from The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s–available and fully searchable for free on www.blinkx.com. Blinkx is able to retrieve video and audio search results using voice and picture-recognition technology in addition to tags.
eBay Failing To Move Beyond Auctions - It’s the same ho-hum story for the folks at eBay. The online auctioneer is struggling to move beyond its core business. Its eBay Express Web site has been “a tough sell,” says newspaper. One eBay clothier reports being excited about the new site, which lists products for sale at fixed-prices, but last month, she didn’t sell a single item on eBay Express. It “doesn’t seem to be any help,” she said. She’s not alone, either.
Korea is an amazing country (South Korea)! I have been to South Korea many times but mostly for short business visits from China or the USA. It has never ceased to amaze me how this small country of appoximately 50 million has become a powerhouse in technology and industrial sectors. As of this writing, Hyundai is one of the top 6 car companies in the world and Samsung is almost twice the market capitalization of Sony! LG and Samsung lead the world in mobile innovation and some argue NHN (Naver) is a more advanced search engine than Google, particularly for double byte Asian character sets. If you want to check out the latest in digital media, mobility or anything in electronics, this is a country to visit.
