KIST robots come to classrooms

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), a government-funded research institute, has attracted international media attention for inventing robots that teach English.  The New York Times, CNN and Time Magazine have all rolled out coverage of the robots, with Time calling them one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2010.”

KIST’s Center for Intelligent Robotics has created several different models of English-teaching robots, including “Engkey” and “Mero.”  This new “r-learning (robot-based learning)” paradigm is expected to help bring high-quality English instruction to elementary students, particularly those in rural regions. 

Engkey                                                                                      Mero

A pilot program was launched by the Korean Government to test r-learning last year, and students in two elementary schools were taught English by the new robot teachers in late 2009. Engkey helped with the regular English conversation programs, while Mero helped students with their pronunciation and practicing new words and sentences. The robots were successful in helping to teach pronunciation to the students, who enjoyed interacting with their new school “staff.” 

The robots can move in any direction and can follow human facial expressions. While the robots are used primarily in support roles for real human teachers, Time Magazine called them a “job terminator,” saying they could potentially supplement or replace the native speakers currently in Korean schools. However, the robots cannot handle improvisation, and students must follow a script.

Elementary school students practicing their English with robotic help.

Government evaluations have concluded that the educational robot system had indeed helped students improve their English skills and increased students’ interest and self-motivation. The 8-week pilot program showed that the robots have the potential to be an important part of English education in Korea.

Thirty-six English teaching robots are due to be deployed in 18 elementary schools across the city of Daegu by the end of this year, according to KIST. KIST also speculates that with further development, the robots could potentially be used to teach Korean to foreigners. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/G-20-summit-India-cautions-against-protectionism/articleshow/6912145.cms

http://www.salon.com/news/globalization/?story=/news/feature/2010/11/12/the_failure_of_the_g_20_summit

On Asia tour, Obama cherishes 'genuine friendship' with Manmohan Singh Published: Saturday, Nov 13, 2010, 18:35 IST  Place: Washington, DC | Agency: PTI

US President Barack Obama with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his recent India visit US President Barack Obama has sought to dismiss notions that his international standing has diminished due to the recent election rout at home, citing his remarkable chemistry with leaders like Manmohan Singh and Angela Merkel at international summits like the G20. Obama, on one of the longest foreign trips of his presidency, has travelled to India and Indonesia on bilateral visits, besides South Korea and Japan for the G20 and APEC summits. Confronted by repeated questions over the fallout of the mid-term polls back home on his position in the international fora, Obama said his working relationships had in fact improved with certain global leaders over time. Days after a memorable visit to India, Obama, 49, has special admiration for the 78-year-old Prime Minister Singh. He said he has also developed good working relationships with Germany's chancellor Merkel and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to reports in the American media. "I guess what I'm saying is, that I actually think that my relationships have grown much stronger with the people who I've worked with here," Obama said in Seoul on the sidelines of the summit of the G20 group of industrialised and developing nations. He said while the initial "hoopla surrounding my election" might have died down, his interactions with international leaders over two years has led to genuine friendships. "He and I share a level of understanding and interest in working together that didn't exist when I first came onto the scene," Obama said on Manmohan Singh. He also cited similar connections during the Japan leg of his visit, with Singh, Merkel and Erdogan, as also South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak, despite having failed to conclude a free trade pact in South Korea. "That doesn't mean there aren't going to be differences," Obama said in Yokohama from where he is headed back to the US. Though he admitted talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on the volatile issues of currency and trade has been difficult.

Canada, India begin free trade talks

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June. (Dave Chidley/Canadian Press)

In Seoul, South Korea, for the G20 summit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that negotiations for an agreement that could be worth as much as $6 billion a year to both countries has begun.

"Our government is committed to opening new markets for Canadian goods and services," Harper said in a statement. "Today, I am pleased to announce that we have taken another step on that path by launching trade negotiations with India."

The two countries have flirted with a trade agreement for years, before stepping up efforts of late. No timetable has been set for negotiations, however.

In recent months, Canada has been active in trade negotiations, as it seeks to diversify away from the increasingly wobbly U.S. economy. Negotiators are in the midst of a trade pact with the European Union that they hope to complete next year.

As it stands, trade between Canada and India is fairly low (two-way trade hit a modest record of $4.2 billion in 2009) but India is one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies. The two countries also signed a nuclear pact in June.

"This is a key milestone in our relationship. It demonstrates our increasing co-operation," Harper said.

Canada's free trade history with Asia has been rocky. Free trade talks with South Korea have quietly died because of irreconcilable differences over cars and Canadian beef. Talks announced years ago with Singapore have gone nowhere.

CBC News

Korea IMF quota set to rise to 1.8%

Korea will have a bigger voice at the International Monetary Fund, as the organization is expected to increase the country’s quota share from the current 1.41 percent to 1.8 percent as part of an adjustment that gives a greater say to emerging countries. The quota change will result in Korea becoming the 16th biggest voting power among the IMF’s 187 member nations, up two notches from 18th. Korea will increase its contribution to the IMF from $5.3 billion to $13.5 billion. The IMF executive board met on Friday, Washington time, to approve the readjustment of the quota system based on an agreement reached by the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Gyeongju last month. The IMF will transfer 6 percentage points of the quota from developed nations to emerging countries, including China, India and Turkey. This was a bigger allotment than that proposed at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009, when it was decided that a quota shift would amount to 5 percentage points. This is the first change in the IMF quota structure in 12 years. “This historic agreement is the most fundamental governance overhaul in the Fund’s 65-year history,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing director said in a statement on Friday. The proposal will be voted upon by the 187 member nations by Dec. 15 and will be implemented once it receives by 85 percent of the IMF board. The proposal also needs to be approved by national legislatures. Along with Korea, quota shares for other emerging nations will increase, including China, which will see its quota raised from 4 percent to 6.39 percent, allowing the country to rank as the third-biggest power after the United States with 17.41 percent and Japan with 6.46 percent. The quota for Brazil, Russia and India were increased by 0.53, 0.21, and 0.31 percentage points, respectively. This means the so-called BRIC countries will have combined total of a 14.17 percent quota, allowing them to veto proposals with the aid of other emerging nations. The quotas for other nations, including Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Germany and Canada will fall. source:joongang daily

Asian economy in focus

Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, left, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talk during the APEC finance ministers’ meeting on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The finance ministers gathered to discuss the economic health of the Asian region.
source:joonganag daily

Building a company from a simple idea

[The faces inside KOREA’S CONGLOMERATES:94] The firm’s industrial paints have colored many buildings

Often some of the world’s greatest inventions start with the simplest idea. That was the case for Noroo Group, a major chemical conglomerate. 

During the period of Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), Koreans were stripped of their own language and alphabet - crucial elements of national identity.

When the country regained independence in 1945, Korea lacked the paper and ink needed to spread its language again.

Han Chung-dae (1920-1998), a native of Hamheung, South Hamgyeong Province in North Korea, and a graduate of the Osaka Institute of Technology, started an ink business in 1945 to supply publishers.

“The motive was naive. We were created under a sense of responsibility, ‘rebuilding our country,’” the company said.

Such intentions are reflected in the company’s name.

Noroo means deer in Korean, after Han saw a pair of deer while on a trip to Europe. He said he wanted his company to be like a deer, which causes no harm to others and lives in peace.

In 1957, the company registered the Noroo brand, which many Koreans associate with a can of paint that features a big-eyed deer. 

In 1963, the company built its headquarters in Euljiro, central Seoul, which has become a major area for publishers, paint and other construction materials.

In 1968, the company’s paint was the first to be awarded a KS mark by the government, which denotes a product made with the highest industry standards.

In 1973, Noroo was listed on the stock exchange and in 1980 Han became chairman.

In 1991, the company became the first local paint manufacturer to have more than 100 billion won ($90.1 million) in sales.

Noroo Group has since grown into a major conglomerate with 12 affiliates that make ink, paint, resin and plastic. Noroo Paint is the group’s flagship company that manufactures some 10,000 paint products for buildings, consumer electronics and automobiles. It ranks second in this sector after KCC.

The group’s other subsidiaries include IPK that makes paints for vessels and industrial purposes; Noroo Chemicals that produces specialized paint; and Seda, a producer of printing ink, resins and chemical products.

Celebrating its 65th anniversary, the group expects around one trillion won in sales this year. 

The group’s sales rose to 928 billion won last year from 713 billion in 2007. 

The group has a target of achieving two trillion won in sales by 2015 by boosting research and development and expanding overseas.

Early this year, Noroo Group restructured its R&D facilities by setting up an R&D center for the group and another seven R&D operations linked to different affiliates. 

The R&D center will focus on the long-term development of new business areas, while the R&D affiliates are devoted to product development.

Noroo will spend around 20 billion won in R&D investment this year, up from 17.5 billion won last year.

One focus of its R&D efforts concerns the environment.

The company recently introduced a paint used for buildings that is expected to last 20 years, tripling the lifespan of the paint that is normally used.

It also introduced eco-friendly and child-friendly paint that reduces the content of such harmful ingredients as formaldehyde.

Also under development is paint containing hydrophile properties, which means that it becomes clean when it comes in contact with water.

The product, which eliminates the need for cleaning detergents, will likely be commercialized in three years’ time.

Another growing sector is that related to paints for mobile phones. Noroo supplies paint to major mobile phone makers like Nokia and Research in Motion.

It aims to increase its sales in this sector from 5 billion won to the 20 billion won level in the near future.

“We believe this segment will expand rapidly in coming years,” a Noroo official said.

The expansion of its international business is also important.

The local paint industry is valued at around 2.7 trillion won, while the global paint industry is worth around 50 trillion won.

Choi Gwang-kyun, the group’s vice president, has said the group wants to get 50 percent of its total sales from overseas business by 2015, up from its current ratio of approximately 20 percent.

The group has been expanding its presence overseas through mergers and acquisitions in several foreign markets, including China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 

The group has had its eye on China since the 1990s.

“It’s important to succeed in the Chinese market to become a global company,” Choi has said. 

The company has supplied paint to some major construction and building projects, including the restoration of the Forbidden City in 1995 and again in 2005.

The man in charge of Noroo Group today is Han Young-jae, 55. The eldest son of the group’s founder, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Yonsei University and an MBA from Boston University. He joined the group in 1980.

Choi Gwang-kyun, the group’s vice president, joined the group in 1982 and has a bachelor’s degree in business from Korea University.

At the helm of Noroo Paint is Ahn Kyung-soo, who was appointed chairman in July.

He previously worked as an executive at major Korean conglomerates, including Daewoo and Samsung, as well as Japanese electronics giants Sony and Fujitsu.

Kim Soo-kyung is the company’s CEO and president. Kim is a university alumni with Han, having obtained his MBA from Boston University.

He joined the group the same year as Choi.
source:Joongang Daily