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제 19 호 The Battle of the Billionaires in Silicon Valley

Kicker: OPINION The Battle of the Billionaires in Silicon Valley By Jun-Seo Park, Reporter from23juns@naver.com Recently, Meta released Threads, a text based SNS. Threads received a lot of attention, with 30 million subscribers signing up within 16 hours of its release. Instagram officials introduce Threads as a new text-oriented space where you can freely share your thoughts, follow friends and creators you are interested in, and communicate with people all around the world with common interests. How to Use Threads It is easy to create Threads accounts because you can create a Threads account through your Instagram account without a separate signing up process. Threads supports up to 500 characters of text per post. In addition, photos and videos can be uploaded, up to 10 photos can be uploaded, and videos can be uploaded up to 5 minutes long. As an additional feature, once a post is uploaded, it cannot be modified. If you want to modify it, you must delete it and upload it again. There is Twitter, Threads-like SNS. But the difference from Twitter is no hashtag function and no DM* function. Also, Twitter supports follower feeds and time series feeds, but Threads does not support that way. In other words, there is no function to show only the posts of the people I follow, and there is no function to show them in chronological order. Instead, Threads shows you posts that fit your interests through algorithms. * DM: Direct Message An additional feature is that Threads is not supported by the PC version and can only be written lightly on the mobile. In my opinion, when people write on the PC version, they tend to write somewhat seriously, so I think it was intended to make it light on mobile. This orientation of Threads seems to be receiving some response. It shows that it is a simple SNS space where each person shares their opinions and thoughts. And in an era when directed photos or addictive short videos are overflowing, people who feel tired will likely be interested in Threads, which is an SNS that gives a light feeling. In addition, short-forms which means short videos, such as YouTube's ‘Shorts’ and Instagram's ‘Reels’, are gaining popularity, and I think Threads has satisfied the consumers’ desire which want a short-forms even in the text. There is Twitter as a text-based short-forms, but in people's perception, Twitter is considered closed because there is a lot of political and provocative writing, while Threads pursues an open and friendly space. Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg As mentioned earlier, text based SNS previously have Twitter, which Elon Musk acquired in 2022. Later, on July 6, 2023, Meta released Threads, which is very interesting. This is because there was an incident in June 2023 in which Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg announced that they would engage in a physical duel through a mixed martial arts game after causing conflicts online. Due to the release of Threads, the argument between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is getting worse. Why Did Elon Musk Acquire Twitter? There are two main reasons why Elon Musk acquired Twitter. First, Twitter is more likely to be used for other purposes than to grow the function of Twitter's original business, social network services. Big data related to individual tendencies is needed to succeed in FSD** that Tesla is studying. If FSD is possible, you can watch movies and shop while driving. This is because big data related to individual tendencies and interests is needed to implement such services. There was no way Tesla could get this big data, but Twitter could be a great tool. Therefore, it can be assumed that the shell of SNS is needed rather than the original purpose of SNS. ** FSD: Full-Self-Driving. Driving a driverless car, which is the fifth stage of self-driving cars. Another reason Elon Musk took over Twitter is that Elon Musk's final dream of Twitter is to provide social network services and financial services at the same time. It is to call, send messages, shop, and pay with one app. Elon Musk has already taken the path of a pioneer for the digital finance business through PayPal, but has failed. PayPal's predecessor was X.COM, and Elon Musk had already planned to make X.COM the world's largest financial institution in 2000. And he is now trying to achieve his dream through Twitter, which he failed to achieve 22 years ago. So, it can be assumed that he bought it as a ‘private company’ last year, knowing that it was impossible in the form of a general ‘stock company’. In conclusion, it remains to be seen whether the newly released Threads will be able to win the competition with Twitter and dominate the SNS market. As the directions pursued by Twitter and Thread are slightly different, I hope that they will be able to move well in the direction they pursue. Sources: https://help.instagram.com/179980294969821/?helpref=related_articles https://www.aitimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=152314 Image source: https://maily.so/farmingletter/posts/5833d531

• 작성일 2023-08-11
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제 18 호 Bitcoin

Kicker: OPINION (Economy) Bitcoin By Jun-Seo Park, Cub-reporter from23juns@naver.com Bitcoin price is rising as the end of the U.S. FED*'s rate hike has recently become visible. This price rise can be seen as reasonable because the market always looks to the future, not the present. However, the increased economic risks along with bankruptcy of banks in the U.S., which continued several times until recently, have adverse effect on the stock market. The reason is that in the case of stocks, valuation is based on the future cash flows of companies. So, if economic risk increases above a certain level, companies’ cash flow and financial soundness will deteriorate. In summary, the current situation is a mixture of two aspects. It is an increase of recession risk and liquidity supply due to a rate cut. In this situation, how about Bitcoin? Recently, there has been little correlation between Bitcoin and the stock market, and it has a higher correlation with gold. This is because it still belongs to risky assets, but at the same time, it also belongs to commodity assets. In other words, the economic risk increases, and accordingly, the favorable factors of increased liquidity due to interest rate cuts have a significant impact on Bitcoin. Also, the high correlation between Bitcoin and gold can be said that what Bitcoin ultimately aims for is to become a safe asset such as gold. So, let’s focus on the intrinsic value and principles of Bitcoin as to whether it can really be considered a safe asset. * FED: abbreviation of Federal Reserve System, United States central bank system that carries out the country’s monetary and financial policies What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is an open-source program created by an anonymous programmer named Satoshi Nakamoto on January 3, 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto has not been identified so far and is believed to be dead. For this reason, there is no issuer, and unlike existing currencies, quick and safe transactions between individuals called P2P are possible without the intervention of the government, central bank, or financial institutions. In addition, unlike the existing legal currency, which the government can mint more if it wants, the maximum issuance is limited to 21,000,000. So far, about 19,000,000 Bitcoins are in circulation. Bitcoin So, how is Bitcoin being made? Receiving new Bitcoin payments is called ‘mining’. Bitcoin mining can be said to be a reward for Proof-of-Work (PoW). To mine Bitcoin, you have to use tremendous computing power to find a very complex password called a ‘hash’ value, which is called PoW. Bitcoin’s Intrinsic Value People think of Bitcoin as a negative being with a strong speculative nature. For a representative reason, they think that Bitcoin is an illusion that has no intrinsic value.Before discussing the intrinsic value of Bitcoin, let’s think about the intrinsic value of legal tender. The legal tender used by most countries as a medium of transaction is secured only by trust of the country and has no collateral value other than that. In extreme terms, when the country goes bankrupt or is on the verge of survival, our legal tender immediately becomes a piece of paper. In other words, even the legal tender that we commonly use has no intrinsic value. The legal tender lost its value after President Richard Nixon of the United States declared on August 15, 1971, that the dollar would no longer be converted into gold. Previously, dollars had intrinsic value because dollars and gold were exchanged equally. However, from the day the dollars were freed from gold, the United States government was able to issue dollars without any collateral. Since then, legal tender, including U.S. dollars in most countries, have steadily lost their value, and inflation has continued to arise from the prices of goods and assets that should be purchased by exchanging currencies such as dollars. The Mechanism of Bitcoin: Blockchain and Halving Bitcoin’s system is a trust system based on no trust. To understand the meaning of this phrase, we need to understand blockchain, a technology used in Bitcoin. Blockchain is a form of distributed database managed through a P2P (Peer to Peer) network. And it is a technology that stores books containing transaction information in several computers connected to the blockchain network rather than in a central server. Therefore, since records of all Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the blockchain network, forgery is difficult and Bitcoin provides market participants with transparency and reliability. The ‘consensus mechanism’ is used to verify the validity of the transactions recorded on these blockchains. Here, the term ‘consensus’ is reached using the aforementioned PoW. Bitcoin Halving Bitcoin has a ‘halving’. Halving is that the number of Bitcoins per block mined through the process of PoW decreases by half every four years. On January 3, 2009, the first bitcoins were mined 50 bitcoins as compensation for the creation of the ‘Genesis Block’. Since then, due to the halving, it has been reduced by half every four years to 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25 and as of 2023, 6.25 per block will be given as compensation. What does this mean? Assuming that demand is constant or increases further, prices rise, so if Bitcoin becomes scarce in the future, a price increase can be expected accordingly. It will be difficult for Bitcoin to be used as a key currency itself. Rather, in the current inflationary era, where legal tender can be printed without any limit, I think Bitcoin will be a means of storing value to preserve purchasing power in the long run. Now, Bitcoin is an object that we should study with interest, not with a negative view. Source: https://bitcoinone.net/bitcoin/reference/2021/the-genesis-block.html Image sources: https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/wealth/why-the-price-of-bitcoin-and-ethereum-is-surging-after-svb-collapse/news-story/8e98645e0592c2848f271041afca1c7f https://stormgain.com/blog/bitcoin-halving-dates-history

• 작성일 2023-05-31
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제 17 호 Deglobalization

Kicker: OPINION Deglobalization By Jun-Seo Park, Cub-reporter from23juns@naver.com For decades, the global economy has been grown in terms of globalization. Developed country’s companies can manufacture high-quality product by using developing country’s cheap labor and low taxes. And these developing countries were able to grow by wages paid by companies in developed countries. As mentioned, so far, companies around the world have built factories anywhere in the world in pursuit of cheap labor and low taxes, free from a fear of war. But nowadays, it seems that deglobalization has been proceeding. Deglobalization is, literally, fragmentation of globalization. Countries around the world have been reducing their dependence and integration between the world by reducing exchanges of trade, investment, capital, and employment. Deglobalization is accelerating by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, and the hegemonic conflict between the United States and China. Deglobalization Accelerated by the Russia-Ukraine War The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy has been enormous. It has brought high prices to the global economy, which was about to wake up from the COVID-19 pandemic. And also it has split global supply chain into two pillars of the United States and Russia, accelerating deglobalization triggered by the United States-China’s trade war. Russia started a war, and as a result, the United States and Europe has imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Economic sanctions such as price ceiling of the Russian crude oil have worsened international relationship. A Destroyed building at Ukraine by Russia’s invasion Cases of Deglobalization Have you ever heard IRA, CRMA, and Reshoring? These are the most representative examples of deglobalization. IRA is an abbreviation of ‘Inflation Reduction Act’. It was proposed to reduce government spending to curb inflation in 2022. IRA’s core content is that subsidies and tax credits are provided only for EV* produced in the United States. In addition to this, differential support is provided depending on how many of raw materials from the United States are used. IRA also includes preventing production of semiconductor companies subsidized by the United Sates government in countries that pose a threat to United States security, such as China. Accordingly, the EU introduced CRMA. CRMA is an abbreviation of the ‘Critical Raw Material Act’. It is supposed to legislate differential articles that EV batteries with low proportion of European minerals are imposed additional tariffs and curtailed subsidies. Reshoring is a phenomenon in which domestic companies that have entered overseas have been returning to their own countries. *EV: electric vehicles Hegemonic Conflict between the United States and China Since the 2008 global financial crisis that resulted from Lehman Brothers, the world has overcome the crisis by cooperating with the United States. At this time, China was weak to challenge the United States. So, all countries have joined globalization, focusing on efficiency, as a one-pole system centered on the United States. But nowadays, China has become as powerful as the United States in recent years. China and the United States are in competition with each other through future’s critical industry such as information technology and semiconductors. In this situation, deglobalization seems natural for the United States, which wants to maintain its hegemony, China, which wants to be reborn as a new hegemonic country, and protectionism triggered by these countries. Protectionism will accelerate theworld’s deglobalization. When the conflict between the United States and China is escalating, Korea has been with the United States in national security and China in economy. It’s time to finish the tightrope walk and stand on one side. This is because high-tech exports to China can deprive the United States of its hegemony and cause security conflicts with Korea. Which Side Should Korea Stand on? As mentioned, Korea has an important relationship with the United States in terms of national security. And China is also important in economic terms because China accounts for a large proportion of exports. When you think about the Korean economy, we should cooperate with China. But I think national security is much more important than the economy, especially after COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. Therefore, economic growth can be promoted only when national security is supported. So, we have to pay a lot of attention to the United States. Korea might have had the same proportion of diplomacy and exchange with the Unites States and China. Now, there may come a time when we need to reduce the weight of one side and increase the weight of the other. Do you think Korea should be with the United States or do you think it should be with China? Sources: https://www.newspim.com/news/view/20230203000450 https://www.doopedia.co.kr/search/encyber/new_totalSearch.jsp https://www.news1.kr/articles/4943005 Image sources: https://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002818183 Trade war 'hasn't made America great again,' says China – DW – 06/02/2019 https://economychosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2022/11/21/2022112100001.html

• 작성일 2023-02-19
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제 17 호 Battle Against Musk Between Employees in Twitter

Kicker : OPINION Battle Against Musk Between Employees in Twitter Highly Coveted Tech Company Going on a Diet Brought Trouble Do-Hyuk Kim, Reporter ndapple0921@gmail.com Twitter's Layoff Under Musk's Ownership is a Hot Potato Elon Musk, a man widely known for founding electric vehicle manufacturing company ‘Tesla’ and playing a key role in rectifying mistakes that Tesla made in its early years to grow up as one of world’s best tech companies, recently bought ‘Twitter.’ Twitter is a familiar Social Networking Service provider to all of us, and the owner of the company recently changed to a man whose activities always spell trouble and revive certain issues to be widely perceived. Just after Musk took over the throne of this company, large numbers of Twitter’s employees faced critical act that threatened their daily lives. What is going on in this immensely popular company and why did Musk deploy such a tactic that killed off a big number of people to become unemployed? Here are details about the progress and reason that Musk’s ownership of Twitter is heading in such a way. Musk is not a newcomer in terms of partial ownership of Twitter. Musk announced to purchase stock of Twitter since January 2022, then became the largest shareholder in April. Musk confirmed to take over Twitter at a remarkably expensive forty-three billion dollars, telling people that he is believing Twitter’s possibility to grow up as a worldwide channel to defend freedom of speech. He additionally said “freedom of speech being guaranteed is crucial for democracy to work properly in countries.” But then, Musk changed his mind not to take over Twitter, and then flipped his announcement again to undergo the takeover at the price he previously declared. After this long and stressful process, Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter, Inc. It took half a year for him to finally become the owner of this big tech company. Almost right after Musk took over Twitter, he announced that “Twitter is going to lay off a large number of current employees and is about to make a major shift into a new platform of providing an agora where everyone can express their thoughts freely, which include political issues.” After just about three days passed, Elon Musk announced that nearly a quarter of Twitter’s workforce had to go back to their homes, which marked the first phase of Musk’s harsh wind blowing on Twitter. Then a big list of members that are going to be laid off turned up, which belonged to half of employees that worked for Twitter previously. Musk’s rush on laying off employees was widely criticized, but Musk persisted in making Twitter employees redundant. Before going any further, it should be pointed out that being ‘fired’ and being ‘laid off’ deliver different meaning to Americans. Unlike South Korea where there is no classification on the fundamental reason of losing a job and simply call it as ‘being fired’, the United States has two different words for expressing that. Someone being fired means that the exact person is the trigger for this action. In other words, you are the main reason why you are going back to home. However, when you are laid off, you lost your job because of certain problems related to the company itself. In the case of Elon Musk ruling the company, most of the press are calling this major slaughter as being laid off from Twitter. Musk is arguing that people being fired marked undermining outcomes, and they deserve this measure, but most people are on the opposing side from Musk. This action immediately became a controversy between the public and Musk. Twitter’s previous employees complained about Musk’s act referring to him as ‘acting like a child’, but the newly appointed CEO never stopped or hesitated. Most people blamed Musk for inciting an economic downturn, making a large number of people lose their job and starve for their daily lives in the middle of a recession. Passing through the COVID-19 era which high liquidity sustained everyone’s consumer sentiment and economy, people were all happy with their asset’s value skyrocketing and the value of money being undermined – which makes citizens spend money. But it is now time to face the high interest rate designated by the Fed, and tech giants, just like Twitter, are struggling to maintain the growth rate they had previously recorded. They reduced their recruitment and now they are barely hiring, and it looks like Musk sent a big bomb to the job market. Sadly, no one could stop Musk from storming to the target that he suggested himself. The first major lay off begun in November and Musk partially admitted his mistake at the end of the same month for rushing and blowing away crucial workforce belonged to Twitter, asking some people he laid off to come back to Twitter. After cutting off half of the previous workforce, Musk resumed to lay off another large number of employees that have survived from November’s massacre, and he kept on his temper. Musk finally announced that laying off workers who contributed to Twitter in January 2023, and only one-fifth of employees survived at last. Seven and a half thousand workers are almost gone, the number dropped significantly to thirteen hundred. To deal with empty workforce, Musk decided to send some experts from his other companies that he owns. It is only 130 people, where the number of workforces he laid off is over six thousand. Because of this, Musk’s type of Twitter that has gone through a diet is now on a test platform. Is Musk’s first claim of ‘Twitter being the center of democracy and free expression’ going to be achieved successfully? Only time will tell, but the dramatic drop in number of the workforce implies that it would be not so easy. Musk’s slaughter became so popular and so red hot, that laying off employees became a trend in this tech industry. Amazon announced that they would also lay off eighteen thousand workers. Musk’s sudden decision impacted so many people and lose their impetus to sustain their daily lives. I think the stakes were too big to go through such a challenge of making a tech giant compact and compressed, and Musk refused to stop. Laying off such a large number of people should be always done conservatively. Since Twitter is not a charity organization, nothing is more important than the survival and maintaining cashflow to a company. Making Twitter viable again and escape from loss that Twitter was previously facing led to radical tactics. But there is a social rule that everyone admittedly agreed, which Musk managed to ignore and pushed through whatever he wanted. This sudden and extremely massive layoff should not be an example of a company sending their employees back to their homes. Twitter’s future revival might be successful, but I think it should not deserve such congratulations, because a huge number of people got an impact on their living. Sources: https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/26DIC2U3TG https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/22/tech/twitter-layoffs-continue/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/04/twitter-layoffs-elon-musk-revenue-drop https://www.theverge.com/23551060/elon-musk-twitter-takeover-layoffs-workplace-salute-emoji https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/elon-musk-says-expects-new-twitter-ceo-toward-end-year (Image)

• 작성일 2023-02-18
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제 16 호 What Is the Cause of the Whale Beaching?

Kicker: OPINION What Is the Cause of the Whale Beaching? Su-young Kim, Reporter Kimsuyoung1342@gmail.com Australian authorities said on September 21st that 230 pilot whales were stranded on the west coast of Tasmania. Countless whales were leaving the sea and dying on the beach. But this wasn’t the only case of whales that were stranded and dying. A total of 730 whales were found stranded in Australia and New Zealand, with 250 on Chatham Island east of New Zealand and 250 on Pitt Island, 30 kilometers from Chatham Island. Experts describe the phenomenon of numerous whales rushing to the beach by building a herd, and the word stranded means an unintended accident. Pilot whales are the biggest dolphins among them. Its body length reaches up to 6-7 meters and weighs up to 3 tons. The whales stranded on the beach are dying because of their huge bodies. It is difficult to breathe because heavy weight presses the respiratory system and organs, and it is difficult to control respiratory system and organs, and it is difficult to control body temperature outside the water, which eventually leads to death. Whales generate a lot of heat to withstand the cold sea, but they cannot cool off on the land. Now, I am going to talk about some opinions why whales run aground. Damage to the Whales’ Sensory Organs Whales and dolphins generally swim in the deep sea and feed on food, and usually come up to the surface only when breathing. However, if there is a problem with the organs that influence their sense of direction or an unexpected situation occurs, they swim in the wrong direction, and this behavior results in them becoming stranded or dying. When 30 sperm whales were found stranded on the North Sea coast in 2016, experts speculated at the time that the magnetic field generated by the powerful solar storm seemed to have disturbed the whale’s sense of direction. But researchers at Whale Deaths Investigation Program said the cause could be the use of military facilities to predict earthquakes or find buried oil resources. Past studies have shown that naval sonar can cause certain behavior in whales, leading to death. Certain frequencies can add fear and confusion to whales, causing them to speed up their heart rate and eventually lead to decompression sickness. A decompression disease is a disease caused by a pressure difference when it dives deep into the water and rises rapidly without a decompression phenomenon in which the surrounding pressure decreases. In addition, sonar can frighten whales and cause them to come up to the water too quickly, causing paralysis in the process. The Sociality of Whales Director James Cameron’s documentary “The Secret of Whales” introduces the story of whales with sociality like that of humans. Whales have different ways of survival depending on the region that they live because of herd tradition and education. Humpback whales communicate in groups, hunt, and even sing using ultrasound. Even if a whale loses its bearings, it may be questionable whether many whales can die at once. But what if one whale that lost its sense of direction was the head whale that led the group? Another important fact is that whales are strongly socially bound. They are so social that it is observed that when one individual is sick, the rest of the individuals do not leave the surroundings, and it is hypothesized that the rest of the whales may have been stranded as the sick individual ran aground. Did the social cohesion of whales with high intelligence lead to tragedy? What is the real cause? The cause of the whales becoming stranded phenomenon is continuously being studied. Why do you think whales run aground? Is it because of damage to the whales’ sensory organs by humans? Or the sociality of whales? Or something else? Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EB87tLXHVg https://nownews.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20200825601014 https://www.coindeskkorea.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=75768

• 작성일 2022-11-30
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제 15 호 How Do You Think of Private Planes?

Kicker: OPINION (ENVIRONMENT) How Do You Think of Private Planes? A Problem of Overusing Private Planes By Sol-Hyang Park, Editor-in-chief cookie7152@naver.com World-famous pop star Taylor Swift became the star who emitted the most carbon dioxide (CO2) this year. According to the Washington Post on July 30, the celebrity who emits the most carbon by private plane was Taylor Swift. Since January of this year, she has emitted 8,293 tons of carbon. She flew a total of 22,923 minutes with 170 flights - her average flight time is 80 minutes, and the average flight distance is about 224 km. This is a huge number, especially considering that she did not go on a world tour this year. Her spokesperson said, "Her private plane is regularly loaned out to other people, It is wrong to blame her for all of this.” Increased Carbon Emissions Due to Excessive Use of Private Planes Airplanes emit a lot more carbon than other transportation methods. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the amount of carbon generated per passenger moving 1km is 14g for trains and 68g for buses, but 285g for airplanes. Especially, in the case of private planes, the carbon emission per capita is much higher than that of ordinary passenger planes. However, the private plane business is booming in Hollywood after the COVID-19 pandemic. More celebrities are using private planes to prevent the risk of corona infection. According to sustainability-focused research firm ‘Yard’, on the 25th, many celebrities have emitted an average of 3376.64 tons of carbon from their private jets since January. A person using commercial airplanes emits 7 tons of carbon per year on average, whereas the celebrities used 482 times the annual average in about 7 months. In addition to Taylor Swift, boxer Floyd Mayweather (7076.8 tons), singer rapper Jay-Z (6981.3 tons), former basketball player Arod (5342.7 tons), musician Blake Shelton (4495 tons), film director Steven Spielberg (4465 tons) , model Kim Kardashian (4268.5 tons), actor Mark Wahlberg (3772.85 tons), broadcast host Oprah Winfrey (3493.17 tons), model Kylie Jenner's husband, rapper Travis Scott (3033.3 tons), etc. were named as the top 10 people with the most carbon emissions. Earth We Need to Protect Together As the environmental problems are arising with the use of such private planes, negative reactions such as “Does she live in the Earth alone?” “regulation is necessary such as imposing a carbon tax.” “I feel guilty about using air conditioning - they are nuisance to the earth.” Infact, in a capitalist society, using a private plane with their own money is not a problem. Celebrities suffering from paparazzi often use private planes for safety reasons, and many CEOs also use private planes to save time in business. However, we definitely need to think about the environment. The phrase 'save electricity and water', which has been heard since our childhood, does not come out without a reason. It is undeniably true that the Earth is ours, so we must protect the earth's environment for not only us now, but also for future generations as well. It is for this reason that ESG management of a company becomes essential, Starbucks straws are supplied with paper, and many fashion companies continue to use sustainable materials for making their products. Therefore, just as environmental regulations are applied to governments and companies, I think that making such regulations at the individual level is also a matter to be considered. For example, if more than a certain amount of carbon is emitted by the use of a private plane, a warning is given, and if the warning is severe, a certain amount of fine is imposed. For a long time, humans have been overexploiting nature. We will now have to solve the environmental problems caused by humans on our own - that is our role as humans. With some effort and practice, our surroundings will change little by little. Even if it is cumbersome, let’s try small actions such as using a tumbler rather than a plastic container, reducing unnecessary electricity and private planes - Let's preserve the beautiful planet by protecting with all efforts when it is possible. Sources : https://www.bbc.com/korean/international-61419562 https://www.chosun.com/international/international_general/2022/07/31/E6PYUHNRQJFFNFSEGOH3N57ERE/

• 작성일 2022-08-31
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제 13 호 Kiosk - Technology for People, or People for Technology?

Kicker: Opinion (KIOSK) Kiosk - Technology for People, or People for Technology? The Weak Obscured by the Advantages of Automated Devices By Sol-Hyang Park, Editor-in-chief cookie7152@naver.com As technology advances, unmanned services are increasing. ‘Kiosk’ is a representative example. We can see many kiosks at gas stations, fast food restaurants, or ticket offices around us, and they are increasing every year. The emergence and rapid spread of the kiosk would have been a gift of technology development and a means of making life easier. However, for some, it is something that makes them feel like they are falling behind. I would like to think about people who are isolated by the advantage of convenience, looking at the characteristics of these automated devices. Soaring Kiosks Due to Covid-19 Many companies have been introducing Kiosks quickly, since they can reduce labor costs and maximize efficiency. The phenomenon has accelerated due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, which has to reduce face-to-face interactions. According to Shinhan Investment Corp, the number of kiosks installed in the private sector tripled, comparing 2019 and 2021. Kiosks brought great convenience to life for those who can quickly adapt to the machine. However, those who do not are alienated from the service. Kiosk, a Technique for Everyone? The kiosk does not provide the right eye level for infants, wheelchair users, and the disabled. It does not provide braille or voice services for the visually impaired. People who are not good at machines try to use kiosks somehow, but after about 10 seconds of stopping, the screen goes back to the beginning. This is a repetition of giving up for the people unfamiliar with kiosks - such as pressing the option of filling the screen several times and choosing various payment methods. If not using kiosks, they can ask the store clerk. Even so, it is not easy for them. According to MBN's interviews* with the visually impaired, a visually impaired man said, "I'm embarrassed to tell the staff about the situation in front of other customers. Even if I try to use a kiosk, I give up if the person in the back waits." He also appealed, saying, “I want to receive a warm service that doesn't hurt my heart." In such a store where kiosks are taken for granted, it is difficult to ask for help to a clerk or the person behind. This will apply not only to the disabled, but also to many elderly people. * https://www.mbn.co.kr/news/society/4406168 The Direction We Need to Go In addition to fast food restaurants where you can see many difficulties as above, services of banking, administrative agencies, airports, railroads, medical institutions, and movie theaters etc. in almost all private sectors are being replaced by unmanned. It is becoming a tougher society for the weak. However, in a capitalist society where efficiency is important, we cannot unconditionally hinder the development of technology that is already far ahead. Instead, we can improve the technology in the direction of consideration for the alienated, such as making kiosk interfaces easier so that anyone can use services regardless of age, gender, nationality, or disability. (For example, adapting simple device placement, voice service, large letters, etc.) Beyond simple service uses, information access methods for those who are excluded and hard to get information benefits need to be steadily devised. There will be ways such as providing media education to get necessary information on a variety of things, from trivial things, such as ticket benefits, to voice phishing prevention methods. Does new technology bring convenience to humanity now? Is it really beneficial for all humankind? A society which is hidden by the convenience of technology and does not hear the stories of the excluded is unjust. The criterion for “convenience” is relative and subjective. We must seek ways to see, respect, and coexist with diverse forms of life existing in society. Sources: https://brunch.co.kr/@jinha0802/20 https://www.koit.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=80313 http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=472954

• 작성일 2022-03-01
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제 13 호 Monopoly on Delivery Platform Enterprises

Kicker: OPINION (DELIVERY) Monopoly on Delivery Platform Enterprises pch39067@gmail.com Choi Yeong-Jin, Editor Are you familiar with delivery food? Lots of people agree that making their own meal is such a hard thing to do, and they often feel the urge to just call to the restaurant and order their dinner instead of deciding what to eat, searching for the recipe, and preparing the meal. If you have enough experiences with delivery food, you might have felt that the delivery fee is way above your head. Many point out that the problem with the expensive delivery fee is with the monopoly of delivery platforms which is causing a big issue not only to the customer, but also at the restaurants as well. Food Delivery What Races are We? We are the Delivery Races Many people are enraged with the platform environment in delivery services. It is criticized as a monopoly* and making it harder for the start-ups* to open up their own franchises. “Delivery Races”, the number one delivery enterprise in Korea is almost considered as the one and only delivery franchise. Although there are other franchises like “Yogiyo”, the second biggest delivery company, and some others, almost all people use Delivery Races in order for delivery services. Since there is no meaningful competition happening in delivery platforms, restaurants and customers have no other choices but to follow if Delivery Races decides to raise the delivery charge. Before to deeply focus on the commission* system of Delivery Races, I must alert you that Delivery Races is a company that offers services based on a delivery app, not delivering the food themselves. If the customer orders the food by using the app, it is the proxy* deliverer who brings the food to our house. Therefore, delivery enterprises, like Delivery Races, make a contract with the delivery proxy companies for the delivery itself. It is also surprising that more than 95 percent of total delivery orders in the Delivery Races application are being carried out by the delivery proxy companies. *Monopoly: An organization or group that has complete control of something, especially an area of business, so that others have no share. *Start-up: A new business, or the activities involved in starting a new business. *Commission: A payment to someone who sells goods that is directly related to the amount sold, or a system that uses such payments. *Proxy: Authority given to a person to act for someone else, such as by voting for them in an election, or the person who this authority is given to. Who is Responsible for the High Delivery Fee? Sometimes we pay more than 6,000 won for the delivery fee. Then we wonder, we can order another side menu with this money, and why are we just wasting the money meaninglessly? After the coronavirus and after level two-point five social distancing was held in Korea for a long while, customers’ urge for delivery food has skyrocketed* in a big rate. To obtain a bigger fortune, delivery enterprises and restaurants have increased the delivery fee quite a lot. Now you know that setting the delivery fee has little to do with the platform itself, you may question: then who gets my money? Deciding the total delivery fee is up to the local delivery proxy company, and it is the restaurant that decides the actual delivery fee that the customer pays. However, the fact that Delivery Races takes advantages by monopoly does not change. *Skyrocket: To rise extremely quickly or make extremely quick progress towards success. Kakao Mobility’s Exploitation* Over Taxi Drivers Another monopoly held on a platform is about Kakao Mobility. Kakao Mobility’s insane* commission policy and unfair vehicle division led to an angry workers’ demonstration*. Pro membership that Kakao Mobility launched became a big problem, too. What Pro membership offers to taxi drivers is if the drivers pay an extra 99,000 won for the additional service, they get more chance to get customers. The reason why this policy has become a big issue is because normal taxi drivers are experiencing big disadvantages because of it as their monthly salary has been cut in half. Kakao Mobility, apparently, has countered the taxi drivers’ demo in every single argument they have claimed, but it is hard to believe their reasoning as Kakao Mobility is holding the key to the power dynamics*. *Exploitation: The use of something in order to get an advantage from it. *Insane: Extremely unreasonable, or mentally ill. *Demonstration: An occasion when a group of people march or stand together to show that they disagree with or support something or someone. *Dynamic: The forces that control the relationships people or things have with each other and how those relationships can change. The main reason of business is to make money, and I do understand that people can act dirty to make more money as they already do. However, in this case when big enterprises either absorb other companies that participate in the same area, or exploit their workers, it is outrageous* as a customer. Though I am not someone who enjoys delivery food, I have heard from lots of people around me that the high delivery fee sometimes becomes such a heavy burden for poor university students to pay. Therefore, I think the enterprises should not only provide high quality services to both their customers and their workers, but also to do their best to make both them and their customers satisfied by setting a reasonable and affordable price for the service. *Outrageous: Unacceptable, offensive, violent, or unusual. Sources: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20200408047300061 https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2020091510082530355 https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=02341926625896840&mediaCodeNo=257

• 작성일 2022-03-01
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제 12 호 Are You Really Satisfied with Your Vaccine?

Kicker: OPINION (VACCINE) Are You Really Satisfied with Your Vaccine? The Process of Returning Back to Our Daily Routine By Dong-Wook Kim, Editor smartpodo@kakao.com In Korea, as the first vaccination rate exceeds 77% and the vaccination completion rate exceeds 50 percent. Moreover, the first vaccination rate is about to reach 80%. However, according to a survey of unvaccinated people, the biggest reason for not getting vaccinated is the fear of side effects from the vaccine. Even 0.6% of the people are giving up to get the second round even though they got their first vaccines. What are the public opinions of the vaccine? Are the side effects really that serious? What are the things we need to check before we go back to our normal lives? Public Opinion on Vaccines Before discussing about the effectiveness of vaccines, it is helpful to know the public opinion on vaccines. According to the public opinion survey held by the Seoul National University research team at the graduate school of health, nearly 90 percent of the respondents said that they were stressed or tired from COVID-19. The most suffering side were self-employers who experienced a significant economic loss. Next was production workers and housewives who increased the burden of raising children as daycare centers and schools were closed due to online lectures. What thoughts do these people have about vaccines? The prevailing perception was that vaccination will be beneficial, but more than half of the respondents answered that it is dangerous and felt anxiety about the vaccine. According to the research in July about asking whether they would get vaccinated when their turn came, 65.4 percent gave a positive answer. The ratio is slightly below the government’s collective immunity target of 70 percent. One in five people said they had no intention of getting vaccinated especially respondents of a young age. Those in their 40s and older showed less than 15 percent negative opinions but those in their 20s and 30s were much higher. Most of the negative opinions said that they could not believe the safety of the vaccine. Some said that they were dissatisfied because they could not choose the vaccine they wanted. Interestingly, more than half of the respondents said they were optimistic about achieving collective immunity, but only 46 percent responded that they expected to be recover their daily lives to pre-COVID19 routine within this year. What factors influenced people about these various opinions about vaccines and collective immunity? Side Effects & Poor Clinical Trials Nationally, vaccine made to occur a series of reports. There were side effects or deaths of people diagnosed with leukemia after being vaccinated in Daejeon. A healthy person with no sign of serious illness died after getting vaccinated in Daejeon. The bereaved family wanted a close investigation about the death because they thought the vaccine is the only cause of death. As such, citizens’ anxiety is growing due to a series of side effects from vaccination. Therefore, even though there is a fatality rate of less than 1 percent due to COVID19, people are more interested in reports of adverse reactions after vaccination. What exactly did the media broadcast about vaccine side effects? To find out about how social discourse was formed and changed, news articles about the vaccine were collected and divided to three parts. The divided data went into the topic modeling analysis to check the connectivity of the keyword ‘vaccine’. During the analysis, some interesting words came out from July to September. Topic Modeling with the Keyword ‘Vaccine’ During 2021.07 ~2021.09 Topic No. Top 5 Words 1 Sinnovac quarantine connection disorder 2 Biden Johnson agreement prime minister 3 myocarditis pregnant pericarditis thrombosis According to the result of topic modeling analysis, topic number 3 consisted of side effects of the vaccines. Myocarditis, pericarditis, thrombosis is the side effect that has commonly happened. Inferring that the vaccination campaign started in July, it can be seen that the media is making a lot of comments on the side effects of the vaccine. Topic number one is about advance booking of vaccines online. However, as a lot of people gather during a short period, the site was disabled and people who were about to reserve a vaccine had a huge interference. It seems that the government did not expect this many people gathering for the vaccine assuming that they miscalculated the people who wanted to get vaccinated. Meme about COVID19 Vaccine’s Side Effects Furthermore, there were also reports of internal revelations that clinical trials for vaccines were poorly conducted. Ventavia research group, in charge of clinical trials, fired an employee who pointed out the poor conduct several times. The person who reveled the clinical trial was Brooke Jackson, who worked as a clinical monitor in the company. Recognizing that the vaccine clinical trial process is poor in data management, integrity issues and patient safety issues, she repeatedly informed her superiors but nothing has changed. As negative reports about vaccines continue in the media and the government’s passive announcement after the medical accident, it is hard to believe whether the vaccine is safe or not. Although public opinion about vaccines is not very bad and the mortality rate is low, people will distrust the vaccine until they feel confident about the medicine. However, as the vaccination rate increases, the government is implementing a new policy to get back to our lives before the pandemic. Of course, everyone wants to go back to when there were no people wearing masks outside but poor response to various problems can slow down this hope. There might be side effects or a late supply of vaccines, and hiding the fact will cause worse disasters. Vaccine companies should also be careful about clinical trials and side effects for not only the profit but also for a better world with no pandemic. Sources: https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25004320#home https://health.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2021/09/09/2021090900869.html https://www.dongascience.com/news.php?idx=50453

• 작성일 2021-11-22
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