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. Traditional Market Merchant Education Center Opens (0402-2)

[Anchor’s Headline]

Gyeonggi Province established a merchant education center in Suwon (수원) City exclusively for traditional market merchants so as to help them develop their business management skills.
[Report]

▶ Motgol General Market, Suwon
This is one of the traditional markets in Suwon (수원) City.

▶ Sales Increased by 40% through Management Improvement
The average sales of shops in this market has increased by 40 percent over the past ten years since its merchants began the operation of management education and motivation programs which soon gained support from the provincial government. This market shows how effective merchant education can be for business performance.

▶ Lee Chung-hwan / Chairman, Motgol General Market Merchant Association
“We focused more on letting ourselves be known through self-development, collective activities and cultural programs involving consumers, than facility improvement.”
The new center will provide tematic education for merchants.

▶ Anyang-dong, Anyang City (April 1)
Gyeonggi Province Merchants Education Center Opens
This center will also provide on-site education services for merchants in remote locations. Education programs will include a wide range of practical business management skills from sales strategies and customer management to product development, packaging and distribution.

▶ Education in Practical Commercial Skills as well as On-demand Education
On-site education will focus on site-specific programs based on local education demand. Those who participate in provincial traditional market support projects after completing the education programs will be provided with special incentives.

▶ Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Kim Hee-kyeum
“We expect that this new merchant education center will improve the competitiveness of traditional markets through the improvement of merchants’ competencies in their business management.”
Instructors are still being recruited with cooperation from related organizations and universities. The center is expected to become fully functional within three months.

Article 2. Gyeonggi SME Sales Event Held in Department Store (0330-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]
Gyeonggi Province held an exhibition and sales event in a department store so as to help small and medium enterprises sell their products. Our reporter was there to witness the event.

[Report]
The exhibition features a variety of products developed and manufactured by SMEs in Gyeonggi Province such as patented golf clubs with improved accuracy and custom-made vertebrae treatment devices. This event was organized as part of Gyeonggi Province’s SME market support.

▶ Lee Myeong-suk / CEO, Impact Korea, Inc.
“Medical devices are almost impossible to promote because of so many regulations. I am grateful for this opportunity to simply tell the world that there are medical devices like these, let alone to sell them.”

▶ Shinsegae Department Store, Uijeongbu (March 27 ? April 2)
Quality SME Product Exhibition and Sales Event
The products featured in this event are those that are especially difficult to promote. The department store also cooperated by allowing the use of its space free of charge.

▶ 44 SMEs in Gyeonggi Province Participate
This event, in which forty-four enterprises participated, was the first of its kind in Korea to be organized by a local government for the promotion of the products of private enterprises at a private retail //

▶ Gwon Sun-sin / Chief Official, Gyeonggi Province Management Technique Team
“This event has the dual purpose of product promotion and sales. We hope that it will provide a starting point for the domestic marketing of the products featured in it.”

▶ Additional Event Planned for SMEs in Northwestern Gyeonggi
A similar event last year achieved sales of more than KRW 300 million. Gyeonggi Province plans to organize another event for the enterprises in its northwestern region.

Article 3. Gyeonggi Province’s Internship Support Project (0331-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]
Gyeonggi Province has been operating an internship support program for college students so as to provide youths with an opportunity to experience working at enterprises of their choice as part of their employment preparations.

[Report]
The internship experience of a job applicant is gaining importance in the Korean employment market. Kim is one such youth whose internship experience helped him find a job.

▶ Kim Ju-seong / Sales Planning Department Personnel, Hana Tour
“Experience working in a company raised my confidence as a job searcher. The experience of communication within a company, which one cannot gain until actually being employed, is also (helpful).”

▶Both Job Applicants and Enterprises Benefit from Internship Support Project
Since 2012, Gyeonggi Province has been arranging internship opportunities for college students preparing employment applications. This project enables students to better prepare for actual work. It is also beneficial for enterprises because they can recruit employees with desired work experiences.

▶ Lee chung-woo / Gacheon University Employment Support Team Leader
”Students with internship experiences is much preferred by enterprises because they can start work without preparatory training.”
While pre-employment experience provides a competitive edge among employment applicants, the preference of enterprises for experienced youths is becoming an additional burden on job searchers. Gyeonggi Province will continue to work with universities and enterprises so as to provide more youths with internship opportunities.

Article 4. Mental Health Day Celebration Held in Gyeonggi Province (0402-1)

[Anchor’s Headline]
On April 4, Mental Health Day, the Gyeonggi Arts Center became the scene of a musical festival held to celebrate the occasion. During the celebration, mental illness sufferers and their families presented musical performances and shared their thoughts.

[Report]

▶ Gyeonggi Arts Center (April 4)
Gyeonggi Province Mental Health Musical Festival
A team of mental illness sufferers and their families presented musical performances to the accompaniment of guitar music. This event primarily aimed to help sufferers regain mental health and better cope with their conditions through participation with activities and communication. It also sought to change negative social perceptions towards those with mental illnesses.

▶Open Talks on Mental Health Treatment and Policies
During the open talks that followed the musical performances, those with mental illnesses and their families shared their experiences and were given helpful advice by specialists. Topics also included issues regarding the social treatment of mental illness sufferers.

▶Lee Seong-eun with 3rd Degree Mental Disability
“I hope that there are institutional arrangements that enable us to live with confidence and make our lives more meaningful. I hope that there will come a time when sufferers and non-sufferers communicate with each other without discrimination.”
The ceremony ended with declaration of the rights of individuals with mental illnesses.

▶ Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil
“Anyone can become a victim of an illness. Individuals with mental illnesses must be given equal opportunities to receive treatment and engage in social activities. Gyeonggi Province will lead efforts to eliminate related discrimination.”
On Mental Health Day, the wishes of those who suffer from mental illnesses for a warmer society in which they can overcome their painful experiences reverberated in beautiful musical performances.

Article 5. Rusted Water Pipes Replaced in Gyeonggi Province (0402-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]
Early this year, Gyeonggi Province launched the Water Pipe Replacement Support Project. This project has been receiving positive responses among households whose rusted water pipes have been replaced through the project.

[Report]

▶ Pipe Room at Communal Residence, Bucheon
The water pipes in this room at a communal residence in Bucheon (부천) City are so severely rusted that water from the tap is tinted red.

▶Up to 80% of Replacement Costs Support Provided
to Homes of Less Than 130 Sq.M with 20+ Year-old Pipes
Homes with floor areas of less than 130 square meters and water pipes more than twenty years old are entitled to support of up to 80 percent of the pipe replacement cost. Those who have already benefited from this support are enthusiastic about the improvements they have experienced.

▶ [PIP] Yim Jong-sang / Resident, Ojeong-dong, Bucheon
“The water was rusty and trickled because of low pressure. Now we have much stronger flow of clean water”
For those who seek support, it is important to submit an application personally at a local office and to be prepared to bear part of the costs. Replacement work will begin after an on-site investigation. Gyeonggi Province will continue to promote public awareness of this support project so as to encourage more applications.

▶ Ryu Jae-hwan / Chief Official, Gyeonggi Province WRH Water Supply Management Team
“We saw residents drinking rusty water since they could not afford pipe replacement. We are working on this project with the mindset that the health of residents is an asset of Gyeonggi Province.”
Gyeonggi Province has already allocated enough funding to complete water pipe replacement in 200,000 households by 2018.

Article 6. Gyeonggi to Improve Information Boards at Cultural Assets (0331-3)

[Anchor’s Headline]
The information boards at cultural assets in Gyeonggi Province will soon be improved. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government will begin a review of information contents at more than a thousand monuments.

[Report]

▶ Tomb of King Gongyang of Goryoe Dynasty, Goyang
The tomb of King Gongyang (공양), the last king of the Goryo (고려) Dynasty, was relocated by his descendants from where he died in Gangwon (강원) Province to its current location in Goyang (고양) City of Gyeonggi Province. However, the information board at the tomb site is illegible since it has become corroded and is written in Chinese characters

▶ Jeong Dong-il / Goyang City Culture and Arts Committee Member
“We will create a new information board based on historical records and the stories behind the stonework around the tomb. The entire contents will be rewritten for the edification of visitors.”

▶ Cultural Asset Information Review Team
Gyeonggi Province will establish a team of specialists to review information at all cultural assets in the province. This team will begin work from April to determine how the information at each site can be improved. The team may even sugg
est new information contents.

▶ GTV Reporter Kim Tae-hui
“The information boards are what help us appreciate the value of cultural heritage sites. That is why they are very important. This is Kim Tae-hui, Gyeonggi GTV”
The information boards at more than a thousand nationally and provincially designated cultural assets in the province will be inspected. Information boards will then be reinstalled after a final content review by the National Institute of the Korean Language.

Article 7. Private Environment Monitors in Gyeonggi Province (0330-2)

[Anchor’s Headline]
The Private Environment Monitors of Gyeonggi Province have achieved a remarkable success in reducing the number of public complaints about foul odors around industrial complexes by more than 90 percent.

[Report]

▶ Siheung Creek, Siheung
A team of the Private Environment Monitors inspect the water quality of the Siheung (시흥) Creek in Siheung City. Flank
ed by industrial complexes, this creek has been notorious for its foul odors.

▶ Sin Chan-yeong / Private Environment Monitor
“When we patrol around industrial complexes, we often notice that odors have decreased significantly.”
Another team works with a provincial official to inspect the water purification facilities at an enterprise in the Sihwa (시
화) Industrial Complex. Any violation or hazardous situation detected is reported to the provincial office immediately.

▶ Private Environment Monitors Established for Odor Control
At Banwol and Sihwa Industrial Complexes
The Private Environment Monitors were first established in Gyeonggi Province in 1999 in order to help control the foul odors emanating from the Banwol (반월) and Sihwa (시화) industrial complexes. Twenty members of the monitor group patrol around the complexes three times a day and inspect high-risk locations. Those enterprises that are found to generate most odors are subject to special management by related provincial officials.

▶ Jeong-Il-seop / Gyeonggi Province Industrial Complex Environment Management Official
“The Private Environment Monitors work around the clock and inform us of any abnormality so that officials can check the site and take necessary measures such as administrative actions.”
The number of public complaints filed with the provincial office has decreased from more than 1,500 to less than ten percent. Such a remarkable feat is attributed to the hard work of the private monitors as well as the changed attitudes of the resident enterprises of the industrial complexes.

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