Article 1. Gyeonggi Youths Favor Gangnam and Suwon Station for Gatherings (0324-1)
[Anchor’s Headline]
Recently, the Gyeonggi Research Institute conducted an interesting survey of youths in Gyeonggi Province regarding their favorite gathering locations. The most preferred gathering place among Gyeonggi youths was revealed to be Gangnam (강남) of Seoul followed by Suwon (수원) Station.
[Report]
This survey was conducted as part of a provincial traffic demand study.
1) Da Hyeon (Age 21) / Anyang-dong, Anyang City
“I prefer meeting my friends at Gangnam because there are greater choices of eating places and large numbers of people to see…”
2) Yang E-hyeon (Age 20) / Il-dong, Ansan City
“Suwon is my favorite gathering place. There are many places to go and have a good time and to eat. It’s also easily accessible.”
3) Survey of 500 Gyeonggi Youths by Gyeonggi Development Institute
The survey was based on a questionnaire involving five hundred youths in twenty-two cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province.
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Among 250 popular gathering locations, Gangnam Station in Seoul is most favored by youths in Gyeonggi Province, primarily for its accessibility through convenient transportation links.
Among provincial locations, Suwon (수원) Station is most favored by youths for gatherings with friends, peers and dating partners, followed by the stations of Beomgye (범계) and Bucheon (부천).
4) Reasons for Preference Differ between Men and Women
The most frequently cited selection factor for a gathering place among men is convenience of transportation, while women consider dining options most seriously. Both genders, however, consider culinary availability most highly for casual gatherings.

Article 2. 2014 Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Program Begins (0325-1)
[Anchor’s Headline]
The Gyeonggi Human Resource Development Center began receiving applications for this year’s Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Program, a comprehensive employment preparation program, from students of eighteen universities and technical colleges in the province.
[Report]
1) Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Class, Dongnam Health College
Consisting of one-on-one employment consultation, employment education like that in progress at this college, as well as employment placement services and on-site training, this intensive employment support program for selected students has proven to be a great success, realizing high employment success rates.
2) Nam Gil-yeong / Junior, Dongnam Health College
“This program helped me gain confidence in job finding and taught me how to better actively prepare myself through own initiative…”
During the sixteen-week education program, students will be guided to identify their own potential, make career choices, and even prepare portfolios. Such comprehensive support helped to substantially increase the employment rate among program participants relative to non-participating graduates.
3) Gil Seon-myeong / Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Consultant
“The employment rate among our college graduates is 65 percent, but the rate is much higher – over 80 percent – among the New Deal Program participants.”
Results are similar among participants at other universities, thus proving the effectiveness of the program.
4) 77.5% of 2012 Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Program Participants Found Employment
In 2012, the employment rate among Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Program participants was 77.5 percent, more than twenty percent higher than the average rate among all graduates of the participating schools.
5) Park Sang-mok / Director, Gyeonggi Employment Center
“We will spend KRW 13.6 billion for the program this year to provide personalized employment support to a total of 1,240 youths.”
The Gyeonggi Human Resource Development Center, the organizer of the program, aims to achieve a 75 percent employment rate among its participants this year.

Article 3. Monthly Culture Day (0326-1)
[Anchor’s Headline]
From January this year, the last Wednesday of every month has been designated by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as Culture Day. On this day, museums and art centers are open free of charge, and many performance events are offered at discounted prices.
[Report]
1) Free Entrance to Korea Cartoon Museum for First 300 Visitors
Unlike normal weekdays, the Korea Cartoon Museum in Bucheon (부천) City is bustling with touring students today. Many of them are from distant regions.
2) Park In-seon / 2nd Grader, Sangnam Middle School, South Gyeongsang Province
“I came with my friends. It was a great fun and I had new memorable experiences.”
3) Bucheon Fantasia Theater Offers Tickets at Half Price
Children are admitted at half the usual price to a theater in the same city. They are having great fun enjoying the entertaining science presentation.
4) Free Entrance to Museums and Art Centers
On Culture Day, some museums, art centers and galleries in Gyeonggi Province offer free admission. The Gyeonggi Provincial Museum features its Relics of the Month display.
5) Lee Won-bok / Director, Gyeonggi Provincial Museum
“We have about 30 percent more visitors than on normal days today. Free admission seems to have attracted more citizens.”
6) Libraries Open for Extended Hours
The libraries in the province are open for extended hours on Culture Day for those who are only able visit them after school or work.
7) Cinemas Offer Discounted Prices
Cinemas also offer discounted prices for the 6 pm screening of movies. You can enjoy diverse cultural events of your choice at low prices every month if you search for Culture Day special offers.

Article 4. GARES Introduces Vegetable Viral Infection Diagnosis Kit (0327-2)
[Anchor’s Headline]
Plant viral diseases may sound unfamiliar to most people. However, they do occur and can cause damage to crops. The Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services recently introduced a diagnosis kit for use by farmers to check for viral infections among vegetables, which are hard to detect visually. These kits will enable farmers to diagnose viral infections on the spot and prevent possible damage.
[Report]
1) Tomato Farm in Pyeongtaek City
The owner of this tomato farm in Pyeongtaek (평택) City suffered major losses due to a viral infection among the plants last year. With harvesting a month away, he is extra alert.
2) Gong Jae-dong / Owner of Tomato Farm
“Once tomato plants are infected by virus, quality and productivity decrease considerably. There are means to treat viral infections but not ones for early diagnosis…”
Unlike infections by fungi or insects, viral infections are hard to detect before it is too late. If not detected early, they often cause serious damage within a very short period of time.
3) GARES Develops Viral Infection Diagnosis Kit
This new diagnosis kit, however, enables farmers to detect viruses in their plants, including tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelons, which are susceptible to viral infections, and to take necessary actions in time. If plants begin to wither or their leaves curl up, this kit can confirm the presence of a viral infection within two minutes.
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“If two lines appear, the plant has been infected. This particular result shows that there is no CMV virus infection.”
It would have taken at least two days before test results would have been received from a laboratory. With this diagnosis kit, farmers can detect infections on the spot and prevent the spread of diseases in advance.
5) Lee Hyeon-ju / Researcher, GARES
“We have already delivered the diagnosis kits to local agricultural technology centers and completed the education of related officials. These kits are now ready to be distributed to farmers…”
Those who are concerned about possible viral infections among their plants may request diagnosis kits from local agricultural technology centers or the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services.

Article 5. Financial Support for Indirect Victims of Bird Flu Epidemic (0328-2)
[Anchor’s Headline]
Last January’s bird flu outbreak not only affected poultry farmers, but also caused serious losses among merchants and enterprises that deal with chickens and ducks. To provide relief to such indirect victims, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government will provide financial support.
[Report]
1) Duck Restaurant / Suwon City
This restaurant in Suwon (수원) City is well known for its duck dishes and for not using any artificial flavorings. Before the bird flu outbreak, three to four hundred customers visited this restaurant on average daily. Now even during lunch hours, it is empty.
2) Lee Choon-hui / Owner of Duck Restaurant
“The number of customers decreased more than 70 percent while the price of ducks rose by 50 percent. We are suffering from multiple factors.”
The avoidance of chicken and duck dishes by the general public, coupled with increasing prices for poultry products due to limited supplies, has hit small businesses like this restaurant hard, causing serious economic difficulties.
3) No Means of Relief for Indirect Victims of AI
The problem is, however, that there are no political means by which to provide any substantial relief to restaurants and food processing businesses that use poultry products and that were indirectly but none the less seriously affected by the onset of bird flu.
4) Kim Seong-shik / Director, Gyeonggi Province Animal Quarantine Division
Small businesses fell outside provincial financial support. So, we made the Small and Medium Business Promotion Fund and AI Special Guarantee available to such businesses.”
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This means that each affected business can borrow up to KRW 500 million for operational costs at a low annual interest of 3.32 percent. Those unable to produce collateral may utilize up to KRW 50 million by using the AI Special Guarantee.
5) Application: Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation Homepage
Applications for small business and enterprise financial support are being received at the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation. Online applications are also being received through the homepage of the foundation.

Article 6. Exhibition of Traditional Korean Knots Opens (0328-1)
[Anchor’s Headline]
A special exhibition of traditional Korean knots, found on historical relics as well as modern varieties, opened at the Gyeonggi Provincial Museum. A GTV reporter was there to examine the details.
[Report]
1) Portrait of Cho Yeong-bok (1672-1728)
The portrait of an 18th century minister, which is also National Treasure No. 1298, features two ornamental knots and tassels at both ends of the sash that was used as a belt. These knots were made with a silk threads braided repeatedly into a thick string.
The pouches and trinkets once owned by a genteel woman of the 17th century show highly elaborate knots that mimic flower blooms, adding an ornamental effect to these feminine items.
2) Lee Shin-hui / Spectator, Wooman-dong, Suwon City
“It is amazing to see how many different things can be expressed with knots. I was impressed by the ancient knots, which were preserved amazingly well, as well as by the modern artistic ones…”
The colorful renditions of flowers created by a modern artist are neither water-color paints nor embroidery, but instead still-life pictures consisting entirely of traditional knots.
3) Traditional and Modern Applications of Knots
Knots are used in modern items such as shoes, handbags, necklaces and various accessories, enhancing their beauty by adding ornamental value. There are more than thirty different knot patterns that can be found at this exhibition alone.
4) Kim Seong-hwan / Curator, Gyeonggi Provincial Museum
“By looking at the knots on relics or their replicas or in modern artistic creations, one can see the transition of knots from ornamental parts to fine art in themselves.”
In addition to historical relics, the exhibition includes more than 130 modern works created by Kim Hee-jin (김희진), National Intangible Cultural Asset No. 22, and members of the Korea Maedeup (매듭) Research Institute.
5) ‘Knots, Linking Past and Present” (Until April 13th)
This exhibition, entitled “Knots, Linking Past and Present”, showcases traditional Korean knots from the Three-Kingdom era to the Choseon Dynasty, as well as their applications in contemporary items and artwork. It will run until April 13th.

Article 7. Gyeonggi Institute Develops New Blight-resistant Rice Breed (0328-3)
[Anchor’s Headline]
The Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services recently announced that it has developed a new rice breed that is better in taste and more resistant to pests than the currently popular breed, Choocheong (추청)
[Report]
1) Choocheong Rice Breed Vulnerable to Blight Damage
The Choocheong (추청) rice breed accounts for more than 60 percent of rice production in Gyeonggi Province. However, this high-yield breed has been the subject of concern since it is vulnerable to pests and weather, which may cause extensive damage, and thus fails to deliver stable rice supplies.
2) GARES Develops New Rice Breed
After extensive experimentation and studies, GARES finally succeeded in developing a more resistant rice breed, which was proven by cultivation tests in the cities of Anseong (안성) and Paju (파주) last year.
3) Jang Jeong-hui / Crop Breeding Team, GARES
“This new breed offers 10 percent higher yields than the Choocheong breed. It is also resistant to bacterial and viral leaf blights…”
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This new rice breed, named Gyeonggi-5, features the same good taste as its predecessors. It is harvested around August 15th in southern Gyeonggi Province, four days earlier than the Choocheong (추청) breed.
4) More Resistant to Pests and Tastier
Compared to previous breeds, Gyeonggi-5 is more resistant to leaf blights and insects, and is tastier since it contains 5 percent less of the rice proteins that affect the taste of rice. Farmers who participated in the cultivation tests also gave positive feedback.
GARES plans to complete the second-year cultivation test in Anseong (안성) City this year. The institute also plans to perform trial cultivation at a number of sites using 600 kilograms of rice seeds that were harvested from the first-year test.
5) Breed Stabilization Process to Begin in December
Once the second-year test proves successful and approval from the Crop Breeding Commission is secured, GARES will begin the breed stabilization process in December this year.
The stabilized Gyeonggi-5 rice breed with added properties will then be introduced to rice farmers and subsequently to consumers.