Banking Hours, Taxi Fares....What's New in Korea

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NEW W50,000 BILL
The long awaited W50,000 note will go into circulation on 23 June 2009. The 50,000 won bill features Shin Saimdang, a renowned female writer and painter of the middle of the Joseon period (1392-1910). She was famous as the mother of Yulgok, one of Korea’s most respected 16th-century Confucian scholars. The banknote itself is equipped with the latest anti-forgery measures, including holograms and optical variable ink. (More information: http://www.korea4expats.com/article-korean-money-bills-coins.html)

BANKING HOURS - KOREA:
Banking hours have been changed to 9:00AM to 4:00PM ( from 9:30AM to 4:30PM). Two banks, Citibank and SC First Bank, will continue to operate according to the previous schedule, 9:30AM to 4:30PM. (More banking info start here: http://www.korea4expats.com/article-inside-korean-bank.html)

TAXI FARE CHANGE - SEOUL:
The basic fare in Seoul will increase from W1,900 to W2,400 in June. The proportional charges that accrue based on time and distance will remain the same.

TAXI SERVICE ADDITIONS:
There are two new taxis on the roads in Seoul.
The Haechi Taxi (orange on a white background) costs the same as the grey taxis. It is intended to become Seoul’s iconic taxi and is destined to replace the current fleet within the next few years.
An all orange International Taxi has been introduced in May for foreign passengers. It can be reserved either by telephone or on-line. When reserved, the taxi costs 20% more than the regular grey taxi, but if either a foreign or Korean resident flags it (no reservation) the fares are the same. (For more details, click here.

NEW SUBWAY LINE 9 IN SEOUL OPENING DELAYED
A new subway line running south of the Han River will start operations by end July latest, according to city officials. The planned opening has been cancelled due to some card reader problems. Subway line 9, an express train with 9 stops(6 of them at transfer points), runs from Gimpo Airport to Sinnonhyeon in southeastern Seoul  (plans are to extend it eventually further east to Bangi. The line will reduce the commuting time between Gangnam and Gimpo Airport to 30 minutes.  The basic fare is 900 won, the same as existing subway lines even though the line is operated by a private company. The new trains have been installed with wider seats and low hand straps for children. There are also no doors between cars, making the train open from one end to the other and thus easier for people to move from one car to the other.
The 25.5-kilometer (15.8-mile) line links Nonhyeon-dong in southern Seoul and Gimpo in western Seoul, where Gimpo International Airport is located. The route will also pass through Dangsan, Yeouido, Noryangjin, Dongjak and the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal stations. An express train that takes 20 minutes to get from Sinnonhyeon to Gimpo airport will also run. 

NEW WEBSITE ID/REAL NAME RULES - KOREA:
As of 1 April 2009, Korean Internet users are required to submit their names, resident registration (ID) numbers and other verifiable personal information if they wish to post files or comments on (Korean) websites with more than 100,000 visitors. Most Korean Web sites, including Naver and Daum, are mandating their users to submit their resident registration numbers for e-mails, blogs and Web communities.
In early April, Google disabled South Korean users from uploading videos and posting comments on the Korean version of its online video service, YouTube (kr.youtube.com), in order to avoid the requirements for real-name registration of users. However, since the changes are only effective for YouTube's Korean-language site, if domestic users select  another country  as their ‘country of preference’, they can still post on the site.

IMMIGRATION CHANGE FOR CANADIAN ESL TEACHERS - KOREA
K4E has learned from a reliable source that the VSS (Vulnerable Sector Screening) Requirement for Canadian E2 Visa applicants has now ended. Criminal Record checks are still required, but the additional VSS is not. This happened late April/early May this so some recruiters and even immigration officials may not be aware of the change, nor may they have updated their websites. Regardless, E2 visa applicants from Canada should no longer be asked to produce this additional police check.

MULTILINGUAL LABELING OF POWDERED MILK PRODUCTS - KOREA
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs has announced that, in response to the increase in the number of women from overseas married to Korean men,  product information on powdered milk for babies  will be  labeled in multiple languages, starting from June 2009. In addition to Korean, 65 powdered milk products produced by the country's four major companies Namyang Dairy Products, Maeil Dairies, Ildong Foodis and Pasteur will add information in Chinese and Vietnamese on their containers. The multilingual containers will appear on shelves between June and September.

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