Greetings, everyone, and thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of GTV.
I’m Don Valiant and this is the news from Gyeonggi Province this week.

Article 1. Gyeonggi Improves SME On-Site Technical Support (160225-2)

[Anchor’s Headline]

Gyeonggi Province has been operating its ‘Technical Doctor Services’ to provide on-site assistance to SMEs in technology development and operations. This year, their service procedures and contents were modified to better accommodate service demands.

[Report]

▶ Sampoong Tritech, Hwaseong City
This thermal chair manufacturer sought Technical Doctor Services for product development. However, it could not receive timely assistance due to fixed service application periods.

▶ Park Sang-eun / CEO, Sampoong Tritech
“We couldn’t get support when we needed it. Our development efforts could not proceed as scheduled.”

▶ Service Procedures Modified to Accommodate Demands
The procedures for Technical Doctor Services, which also include financial assistance as well as technical supervision, have now been modified for the convenience of service users.

▶ [PIP] Lee Han-song / Gyeonggi Techno Park Technical Support Team
“From this year, service applications are received and support is provided throughout the year…”

▶ Service Period Extended
The scope of service was also expanded to cover all management processes, and the service period was extended from 3 to 6 months.
From this year, many more enterprises will be able to benefit from Gyeonggi Province’s technical assistance services.

Article 2. Gyeonggi Province’s ‘Good Workplace’ Support (160226-2)

[Anchor’s Headline]

Gyeonggi Province has been promoting the improvement of working environments and welfare systems among private enterprises through the provision of various benefits and support.

[Report]

▶ Antenna Manufacturer, Anyang City
This company was certified by Gyeonggi Province as a ‘Good Workplace’ last year. Employees of this company are more relaxed and satisfied with their working conditions than most others.

▶ Gyeonggi Province Supports Good Workplaces
Since Good Workplace certification helps improve company image, the number of applying enterprises has been steadily increasing since its introduction.

▶ Park Jin-young / CEO of Antenna Manufacturer
“We applied for certification because we still had difficulties recruiting quality employees even though we provide excellent working and welfare conditions, especially after relocating to a new building.”

▶ 26 Types of Benefits Provided to Certified Good Workplaces
Any SME that saw an employee increase of more than ten personnel over the past year may apply; those certified receive diverse provincial support.

▶ Jeong Gu-won / Chief Official, Gyeonggi Province HR Development Team
“Benefits include priority treatment on loan applications and international marketing support, but most important support is provided for the improvement of work environments such as dormitories, canteens, training facilities…”

The Good Workplace certification program of Gyeonggi Province helps enterprises improve their image and employees improve their working conditions while also promoting job creation.

Article 3. Gyeonggi Ensures Public Facility Spring Thaw Safety (160229-2)

[Anchor’s Headline]

This past winter, due to alternating El Niño and Arctic influences, Korea saw greater-than-average temperature fluctuations with frequent freezing and thawing potentially damaging buildings and structures. Gyeonggi Province began safety inspections of public structures so as to prevent accidents caused by such damage.

[Report]
▶ Roadside Retaining Wall, Yangpyeong County
These roadside retaining walls bear new cracks that occurred during the winter. These walls are also under internal pressure due to melting water. Inspectors are assessing the situation so as to determine structural safety.

▶ [PIP] Kim Sang-gu / Gyeonggi Province Structural Safety Inspector
“The ground is weak, so the walls are being pushed out, causing many new cracks to occur. These walls definitely need reinforcement…”

▶ Public Facility Safety Inspections
Safety inspections are currently being performed on higher-risk structures such as retaining walls and housing development site facilities. Inspection teams specializing in different structural categories have been formed for this purpose.

▶ [PiP] Kim Jeong-hun / General Director, Gyeonggi Province Safety Management Office
“We formulated special safety inspection teams comprising of construction and engineering specialists. They visit high-risk sites and advice us about necessary improvements.”

Inspections will continue until the end of March. Improvement work will be carried out through joint operations of the provincial and local administrations.

Article 4. Gyeonggi Province Interns Begin Duties (160303-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]

Last year, Gyeonggi Province introduced a youth internship program so as to alleviate the province’s youth unemployment problem. On March 2, this year’s first group of interns began their duties by attending orientation at a provincial institute.

[Report]

▶ Gyeonggi Provincial Human Resource Development Institute (March 2)
2016-1/2 Gyeonggi Province Youth Internship Orientation
After a full-day orientation session, 276 interns began their 4-month placements at various provincial offices and organizations.

▶ 276 Interns Selected from 4,000+ Applicants
These interns were selected from among more than 4,000 applicants, showing the popularity of the program among youths.

▶ Gyeong Woo-hyun / Gyeonggi Province Intern
“I am a little nervous because this is my first internship. I decided to apply for this internship to learn what kind of work they do at public offices, something that we cannot learn at school.”

This internship program is open to unemployed Gyeonggi residents of up to 34 years of age.

▶ Hourly Wage KRW 7,030 with 4 Insurance Benefits
More than 700 interns will be employed this year and receive an hourly wage of KRW 7,030 as well as four insurance benefits.

▶ Employment Education Provided during Internship
During the internship period, the youths will also have employment education and consultations as well as provincial project site visits so as to prepare for regular employment at provincial offices.

▶ Kim Min-gi / Chief Official, Gyeonggi Province Youth Intern Task Force
“We devised this program to enable youths with opportunities to experience provincial administration while resolving youth unemployment problem.”

The interns will also be invited to make suggestions and propose ideas for the resolution of various issues such as job creation for youths.

Article 5. Pink Makgeolli Developed by Gyeonggi Institute (160302-1)

[Anchor’s Headline]

The Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services has developed a functional makgeolli (막걸리) product and transferred its brewing technique to a private enterprise. This traditional Korean rice wine is pink in color instead of the usual ivory.

[Report]

▶ Hongkuk Makkeolli
Titled ‘Hongkuk Makgeolli’ (홍국 막걸리), this drink resembles strawberry milk or a western cocktail. It is also classified as a functional drink since its ingredients have traditionally been known to enhance one’s health.

▶ Brewing Technique Transferred to ‘Sulsaem’
The private enterprise that acquired the production technique is a brewing company that was established by a number of home-brewing e
nthusiasts.

▶ [PiP] Shin In-heon / Representative, Sulsaem
“People look for good, healthy makgeolli, and this makgeolli is gaining popularity since it has no artificial flavors and has a trendy color. I think Hongkuk Makgeolli will be a good product for us.”

▶ Hongkuk: Red malt made from glutinous rice, known to reduce cholesterol
Hongkuk (홍국) is a red malt made from glutinous rice through fermentation using red-colored yeast. Known to reduce cholesterol levels, this rice malt is being sold in Japan and China as a functional health food. It is especially popular among Chinese who have a strong affinity for the color red.

Gyeonggi Province regards this product as having considerable potential for export to the Chinese market as well as for the promotion of Gyeonggi rice consumption.

▶ Won Seon-yi / Chief Official, Agricultural Food Development Team, GARES
“Since hongkuk rice contains monakolin-K that lowers cholesterol levels in our bodies, it has a cholesterol-reducing effect. Makgeolli made with hongkuk is functionally good for our health.”

The functional Hongkuk Makgeolli (홍국 막걸리), the reddish color of which coincides with this red m// year, will be introduced in the Korean market as early as next month.

Article 6. Gyeonggi Tackles Trash Problems in Single-Family Home Areas (160229-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]

In areas comprised of single-family homes instead of communal housing such as apartments, separate trash disposal and collection procedures for different trash types are usually not observed by residents, often creating unsightly scenes and hygiene issues.

[Report]

▶ Single-Family Home Area in Yangpyeong County
Gyeonggi Province began introducing customized trash collection procedures for residents in such areas so as to promote the use of compulsory pay-as-you-throw trash bags and disposal practices.

▶ Moon Jong-cheol / Resident Representative, Obin-1-ri, Yangpyeong County
“There were no communal trash disposal sites in our village. Roads were strewn with trash thrown away by local residents as well as from passing vehicles.

▶ Customized Trash Disposal & Collection Procedures
This single-family home village in Yangpyeong (양평) County has been transformed completely after the trial introduction of trash tank-based collection procedures by Gyeonggi Province.

▶ Procedures Introduced in 54 Areas on Trial Basis
Various customized trash disposal and collection models were introduced in 54 single-family home areas in 13 local districts of Gyeonggi Province.

▶ 5 Trash Collection Models
These initial models include communal trash separation and disposal sites, trash bins at each household, and a village-wide communal collection site.

▶ Lee Jae-hak / Chief Official, Gyeonggi Province Environment Resource Team
“We will develop effective models after the trial operations of initial models and expand the final models to all single-family home areas in the province.

After modification of the trial procedures, Gyeonggi Province will look quite different once these new trash management models are introduced throughout the province.

Article 7. Gyeonggi to Develop Tourism Products Using Big Data (160229-1)

[Anchor’s Headline]

There is intense competition among second-tier governments of Korea to attract foreign tourists. Tourism promotion strategies differ from region to region. In Gyeonggi Province, big data is being used to develop tourism products for different target groups.

[Report]

▶ Gyeonggi Contents Agency
Foreign Tourist Analysis by Nationality Using Big Data
Gyeonggi Province performed a foreign tourist analysis using big data collected from various sources that included nationality, credit card usage, and roaming phone usage. The results produced valuable information for the development of tourism strategies.

▶ [PIP] Choi Sun-dong / Gyeonggi Contents Agency New Data Project Team Leader
“According to a Korea Culture and Tourism Institute report, only 13 percent of foreign tourists in Korea visit Gyeonggi Province. This was based on questionnaires instead of scientific data, which prompted us to launch a scientific data analysis.”

▶ Chinese, Greatest Shoppers
Tourists of different nationalities exhibited different shopping patterns. Chinese were found to be the greatest shoppers, accounting for half of all spending by tourists, followed by Americans and Japanese.

▶ [PIP] Ra Ho-ik / Director, Gyeonggi Province Tourism Division
“The results of the analysis showed that Chinese prefer shopping tours, Japanese prefer Korean Wave experiences, and Southeast Asians prefer cherry blossom and ski tours. This give us ideas for customized tour development .”

▶ Tourist Data Analyses to be Utilized for Tourism Policy Development
In addition to the development of customized tourism marketing strategies and tour products for tourists of different nationalities, the results of the tourist data analysis will also be utilized by Gyeonggi Province for the development of provincial tourism policies.

▶ [PIP] Bae Jeong-wan / Tourism Businessperson
“If information as detailed as these results could also be made available for each tourism site as well as dining and shopping types, we will be able to develop really profitable products in more detail.”

Tourism strategy and product development based on scientifically analyzed information is creating a new era of Gyeonggi Province tourism.

Thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of GTV.
We look forward to seeing you again next week.