Loose change for March 5, 2009

 Economic news 

• UBS AG is warning that the KOSPI may be volatile for the next three months.
• Departures and arrivals are up 12.2 percent at Inchon International Airport.
• The Korea Times is suggesting Hyundai or Kia would not survive a Toyota-like massive recall. Frankly, I'm not so sure Toyota will survive a Toyota-like massive recall.
• Land prices have recovered to pre-global crisis levels.
• The government plans to produce 30,000 public sector jobs that will be paid for by reducing unnecessary costs elsewhere.
• South Korea's tobacco and coffee imports declined slightly in 2009.
• Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will increase the number of flights to the US and China.

 North Korea news and stuff 

• North Korean refugees reach 20,000 in South Korea, but they're having trouble integrating.
• Radio Free Asia has a report warning that, thanks to the currency "reform," North Korea's economy has ground to a halt.

 Other Korea-related stuff 

• Seoul is going to have twenty foreigners ride buses in Seoul to see if they're "foreigner-friendly" (i.e., if people who don't speak Korean well can figure them out). My suggestion: foreigner-only buses. 
• Kim Yuna will host a Discovery Channel documentary promoting Seoul. More here.
• The image-obsessed Chosun Ilbo has a survey on Korea's "lackluster" image. More on that here.
• Classes geared toward shortening the naturalization process will be expanded.
• A "homeless" woman who served one year in prison after killing her baby in 1997 is accused of killing a second baby shortly after giving birth in a motel room.
• I don't know who Billy Elliott is and I don't know what his hit musical is about, but it's coming to South Korea. 
• More elderly are seeking suicide counseling. This could be a bad thing (in that more elderly are experiencing suicidal thoughts), but it may also be a good thing (in that people who have suicidal thoughts are more likely than in the past to seek counseling). 
• Global media is reporting on the Internet-addicted South Korean couple whose baby died while they spent untold hours in a PC-bang. Several K-blogs have linked to this story, including Korea Beat, ROK Drop, and Brian in Chŏllanam-do, and I'll link to their sites later today.

 Miscellany 

• Southern Taiwan has been struck by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake.
• A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers is trying to repeal NAFTA.
• Authorities in Florida have broken up a student visa fraud ring that included students from South Korea.