South korean alphabet

TOKYO -- Two South Korean technology companies are borrowing from mobile gaming to shake up - and dominate - Japan’s storied manga industry, a plot twist that has expanded the comics’ fanbase to a new generation of readers. Backed by tech giants Kakao Corp and Naver Corp, Piccoma and Line Manga have become Japan’s highest-grossing mobile apps outside games. Such online manga platforms have seen a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Piccoma’s third-quarter transaction volumes more than tripled year on year to 11.6 billion yen ($110 million), extending a wave of online manga sales that has already seen digital surpass print in Japan’s $5 billion manga industry. Line Manga, now operated by SoftBank’s internet business Z Holdings, saw transaction volumes jump by a third to 8.2 billion yen in the same period. Naver declined an interview request. Piccoma passed Line Manga to become last year’s top-grossing manga app on both Apple’s IoS and Android. Its rise can be traced back to 2016, when it introduced a revenue model it calls “zero yen if you wait.” The app’s manga tales - from classroom love stories to supernatural horror - are serialized. Users must wait for a timer to unlock the next instalment, or pay to read ahead. Inspired by smartphone games in which playing is free but extra content is not, the approach marked a radical departure from the typical model of selling an entire manga volume up front at prices of $4-$6. “We thought if we could grab 5% or 10% of the bigger games market it would drive growth,” said Yukiko Sugiyama, senior manager in Kakao Japan’s business strategy department. Readers, eager to find out what happens next, often end up paying. The business model has become standard as dozens of book sellers, tech companies and publishers rushed to offer their own apps. Paper trail Megumi, a 34-year-old office worker in western Japan, said she reads 20 pages or so of manga on her phone during her lunch break, and turned …

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The Hanoitimes - Vietnam is one of South Korea’s key partners, especially when both are targeting US$100 billion bilateral trade in 2020. South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan will work to atract larger investments from his country into Vietnam’s central region, which current accounts for 6% of total South Korean investment capital in Vietnam. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan (L). Source: VGP. The Vietnam – South Korea business summit held on November 9 at the Chu Lai Economic zone in the central province of Quang Nam was a first step to develop the country’s central region under the bilateral cooperation framework, said Park in a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 22. Park stressed Vietnam is one of South Korea’s key partners, expecting the relations between the two country to reach a new level, particularly as both are targeting US$100 billion bilateral trade in 2020. With growing investment from South Korea to Vietnam, Park asked the Vietnamese government to continue supporting South Korean companies. Park revealed the combined volume of tourists between Vietnam and South Korea in 2019 is estimated at five million, with nearly 200 direct flights between the two countries per month. At the meeting, PM Phuc said the bilateral relations are growing strongly in all spheres, adding he will lead a Vietnamese delegation to visit South Korea and take part in the ASEAN – South Korea summit. Phuc expressed his support for South Korea’s New Southern Policy, and the government would continue to create favorable conditions for greater cooperation between the two countries in investment, trade, tourism, among others. Phuc requested Park to support a more balanced trade between Vietnam and South Korea. In the first ten months of 2019, Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of US$22.73 billion with South Korea, while the latter is Vietnam’s second largest …

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The Hanoitimes - Vietnam wants to be an active player in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and hopes South Korean companies to develop I4.0 products in Vietnam, said Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung. Vietnam considers the South Korean business community a strategic partner for economic restructuring and innovation towards greater growth quality and national competitiveness, according to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (r) and Joo Hyung-chul (l), chair of the Special Committee for South Korea’s New Southern Policy. Source: VGP The future of the Vietnam – South Korea relations relies on vision, self-motivation and dynamism of two countries’ enterprises, Dung said at the Vietnam – South Korea business summit held on November 9 at the Chu Lai Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam. The event was jointly chaired by Dung and Joo Hyung-chul, chair of the Special Committee for South Korea’s New Southern Policy, along with the attendance of over 250 major South Korean companies and Vietnamese peers. Dung said the Vietnam – South Korea relationship is at its peak, thanks to the friendship and joint efforts from the two governments and citizens from each country. South Korea remains Vietnam’s top investors with 8,190 projects with combined registered capital of US$65.7 billion, making significant contributions to Vietnam’s core economic sectors such as electronics, energy, automobile, construction, services, among others. Additionally, South Korea is also one of Vietnam’s major trade partners with bilateral trade turnover of US$65.8 billion in 2018, and US$44 billion in the first eight months of 2019. “Vietnam welcomes South Korea’s New Southern Policy with a focus on the people and peace that promotes prosperity, in which Vietnam is considered a key partner,” Dung said. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Vietnam is transforming itself into a digital …

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