1: Big Cut in Vaccination Cost for Children in Gyeonggi Province

[News Script]
StartingNovember 1st,children in Gyeonggi Province can be vaccinated for just KRW 6,000.

[Report]
Gyeonggi Province will support the cost for national mandatory vaccinations for children in the province up to the age of 12.

StartingNovember 1st, the patient’s share of the vaccination cost was reduced substantiallyKRW 15,000 to KRW 6,000 per inoculation fornational mandatory vaccinations for children when administered at one of the private hospitals designatedcity mayors or county governors.

The vaccination rate in Gyeonggi Provinceonly 79%, far below the acceptable level for the elimination of infectious diseases. Thislargely due to the high cost of vaccination; the current cost of complete vaccinationas much as KRW 330,000 per person, whichsimply too expensive for many residents.

Gyeonggi Province estimates that approximately 2 million children up to the age 12 will benefitthis expansion of vaccination support, which will effectively reduce the cost per childKRW 330,000 to KRW 123,000.

All infantschildren up to the age 12 residing in Gyeonggi Province are entitled to this vaccination cost support. Parents may consult the online Vaccination Help Site for the nearest designated hospital for vaccination.

2: GTX Project Gets the Green Light

[News Script]
It was announced that the three GTX lines, the Great Train Express lines proposedGyeonggi Province for the capital region, were incorporated into the Second National Railroad Network Construction Plan. Since the inclusion of the GTX lines in the national plan can be considered as de facto government approval for GTX construction, the promotion of the GTX projectnow expected to gain momentum.

[Report]
A green light has finally been given for the GTX project of Gyeonggi Province.
At the public hearing on the National Railroad Construction Plan, The Korea Transport Institute presented the Mid-to-Long-Term Railroad Investment Planannounced that the three GTX lines proposedGyeonggi Province were incorporated into the National Railroad Network Construction Plan.

The Ministry of Land, TransportMaritime Affairs previously commissioned a studyThe Korea Transport Institute on the National Railroad Network Construction Plan. Incorporation of the three GTX lines in the national plan denotes governmental acceptance of the proposalGyeonggi Province for the simultaneous construction of the three GTX lines.

Gyeonggi Province announced that, once the final National Railroad Network Construction Planfinalizedofficially announced in December, it will proceed with the implementation of the GTX project as scheduled, beginning with the deliberation of Build-Transfer-Lease proposalsprivate investorsthe ion of proposals preferred for negotiations.

In April last year, Gyeonggi Province prepared a construction plan for three GTX lines with a total length of 174 kmproposed the plan to the Ministry of Land, TransportMaritime Affairs; the three lines were the KINTEX-Dongtan (동탄) New Town Line, the Uijeongbu (의정부)-Gunpo (군포) Linethe Cheongyangni (청량리)-Songdo (송도) Line. Whether the construction of GTX, the world’s foremost express railroad tem, in the areas surrounding the capital city can help Gyeonggi Province grow into a bona fide megacitya matter of interest to many observers.

3: Selection of 2010 Gyeonggi Province ‘Small & Medium Size Companies with Good Prospects’

[News Script]
Gyeonggi Province ed SmallMedium-sized Companies with Good Prospects in order to identifypromote those with high growth potential. The ed companies will receive a variety of incentives including priority points in the consideration of their applications for the Nurturing Fund for SmallMedium-sized Industries.

[Report]
Green ITCa manufacturer of LCD monitors based in Suwon (수원) City.

This companyfairly small in terms of employee numbers; it has 20. However, ita company of substanceits operations areno means small,achieved sales of no less than KRW 14 billion last year.

There are more than 200 smallmedium-sized manufacturers of LCD monitors in Korea,Green ITC ranks third in terms of market share. Becoming one of the SmallMedium-sized Companies with Good Prospects will help this company strengthen its imageimprove public confidence.

Gyeonggi Province has ed a total of 272 smallmedium-sized companies with high growth potential in areas that include green technology‘New Growth Engines,’provided them with a Certificate of a SmallMedium-sized Company with Good Prospects.

The ed companies will be entitled to an additional five points in the evaluation of their applications for the Nurturing Fund for SmallMedium-sized Enterprises,they will be allowed to use the Gyeonggi Brand Mark in their advertising. They will also be provided with priority consideration when applying for office space in one of the Venture Buildings in Gyeonggi Province as well as extended limits of guarantee insurancecredit for export transactions.
Gyeonggi Province will continue to seek out smallmedium-sized companies with competitive technological potential as well as good prospects for growth,provide them with a range of support to help them develop as globally competitive companies.

4: GyeonggiGangwon Provinces Lead Korean Tourism Industry

[News Script]
The number of foreign tourists visiting Koreaincreasing every year. The provinces of GyeonggiGangwon (강원), which have an abundance of beautiful natural assets as well as sights to seeevents to enjoy, agreed to work together in developing new products for tourism. Mean, twin zip wires spanning a more than 900m distance over the North Han River recently opened in Gapyeong (가평) County.

[Report]
A zip wire cuts through the air high above the water of the North Han River connecting Gapyeong (가평) Dock to Nami (남이) IslandJara (자라) Island.

Wearing safety harnesses, riders dangling in midaira pulley find themselves over 80m off the ground as soon as they leave the dock and, within one minute, they arrive at Nami (남이) Island,traveled 940m through the air.

This zip wire offers heart-stopping rollercoaster-like thrills as well as the opportunity to appreciate a bird’s eye view of the beautiful scenery along the North Han River. Gyeonggi Province, Gapyeong (가평) Countythe Nami (남이) Island Company jointly invested a total of KRW 3.5 billion to build the zip wire, the largest in scale in Asia.

Following the official opening ceremony for the zip wire, the provinces of GyeonggiGangwon signed an agreement to develop customized tourism products so as to promote visitsforeign tourists to both provinces.

The number of foreign touristsexpected to break the 10 million mark in 2015. Gyeonggi Province will endeavor to attract more foreign tourists with the implementation of strategic effortsthe development of tourism products in conjunction with Gangwon (강원) Province.

5: Senior Volunteers Fill Gyeonggi Province with the Joy of Sharing

[News Script]
Senior volunteer workers who are involved in various service activities throughout the province had a day to celebrate their efforts. Gyeonggi Province organized a festival to honor their contributionspromote their generouscompassionate spirit.

[Report]
The atmosphere of the gymnasiumvibrant with sound of 1,800 senior volunteer workers. The participants of the Volunteer Silver Workers’ Festival share a sense of prideachievement that they have nurtured through their volunteer work.

During this festival, prizes were also awarded to volunteer groups that had provided excellent service for more than three years.

More than 200,000 volunteers have been providing childrenphysically-challenged senior citizens with personal services such as traffic guidance, lunch box deliveryother daily tasks.

The population of senior citizens in Gyeonggi Province has reached 1 million, accounting for 8.6% of the total national population of seniors.

Gyeonggi Province will launch the ‘Healthy Age 100 Project’ in the second half of next yearprovide support for senior residents who are living alone without families or sufferingAlzheimer’s in order to make their lives safermore comfortable

Expansion of social participationsenior citizens through volunteer services will provide the seniors with a starting point for a new phase in their lives.

6: MuhandolbomSmile Microcredit Bank Help Start Businesses

[News Script]
The success story of starting a new business supportedthe Muhandolbom (무한돌봄) welfare service for families in distressthe Smile Microcredit Bank for businesses with financial deadlocks continues.

[Report]
A second new business that started with the help of the Muhandolbom (무한돌봄) welfare service of Gyeonggi ProvinceKB Smile Microcredit Bank has opened.

Go Mi-ryang (고미량) of Yongin (용인) City was previously in dire straits; she could barely make ends meet supporting her sick husbandchildren. Now, however, shethe proud owner of a shop that opened on October 4th thanks to financial support providedKB Smile Microcredit Bank.

Gyeonggi ProvinceKB Bank provided her with funding as well as consultation on the opening of a business to help her start her new business successfully.

Since the KB Smile Microcredit Bank opened a loan desk for people in low income brackets at the 24/365 Public Service Center in Uijeongbu (의정부) City on May 19th, two businesses have been started with the help of the bank.

Gyeonggi Provincethe Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation will continue to provide administrative support for potential business starters to help them open new businesses.

Gyeonggi Province also plans to expand the qualification limit for KB Smile Microcredit Bank Financial FundsMuhandolbol (무한돌봄) service recipients to include people in the next higher level income bracket, recipients of the basic national livelihood benefit, the agedNorth Korean defectors.

7: Robots Takeover Farm Work in Futuristic Agriculture

[News Script]
For the first time in Korea, an automated vegetable farm with robots has appeared. It was designed to address abnormal climatic conditionsfree trade agreements through advanced agricultural technology.
[Report]
A robot glides on a 4 meter-long rail, providing nutrient water to plantsmoving vegetable beds. The lighting colorcontrolled for each type of plant using LEDs since different plants have different wavelength preferences. Optimal lightingalso studied here to maximize the content of antioxidantsvitamin C in the plants. This building-style vertical farm, which appeared recently as a farming alternative for future agriculture, was built for the development of basic agricultural technology.

The Gyeonggi Province Agricultural Research & Extension Services opened this Future Agricultural Research Centerbuilt an automated plant production tem using robots in the center.

The Future Agriculture Center consists of an automated plant production tem with robotsresearch facilities for LED utilization. All processes in the center are automatically controlledcomputer.

The Gyeonggi Province Agricultural Research & Extension Services believes that building-style vertical farms such as this offer one solution to abnormal climatic conditions since they areaffectedweather conditions. Under circumstances in which Korean agriculturefacing difficulties due to free trade agreements with the USEurope as well as abnormal climatic changes, advanced farming technologyexpected to help Korean farmers.