Seoul Subway Fire: Shocking CCTV footage revealed

KOREA NOW Channel on Youtube has the story.

Yonhap is funded in whole or in part by the Korean government (Wikipedia says)

You can watch this video at https://koreanow.com

South Korea: Busan: Is South Korea's Second-Largest City Facing Extinction?

CNA Insider on Youtube has the story.

Mediacorp is a Singaporean public broadcast service.

Busan is South Korea’s second biggest city, with more than 3 million inhabitants. Rising to prominence as an industrial powerhouse, it is now a popular tourist destination. But there are signs the port city could cease to exist, with South Korea’s economy largely centred around the capital Seoul.

Busan has lost about 600,000 people over the past three decades. Its youth are leaving for Seoul, as traditional sectors such as shipbuilding decline. The rise of Incheon in the Seoul Metropolitan Area is further intensifying Busan’s challenge to attract young workers.

As Busan falters, some Koreans are taking it upon themselves to revitalise their hometown. Authorities are pumping in funds - trying to create jobs, support startups and attract businesses. 

The worsening economic climate is also prompting a slow reversal, with some Busan natives moving back from Seoul, citing lower costs and a better quality of life.

Is there a chance for Busan to turn the tide, or will its lights go out for good? 

00:00 South Korea’s coastal city of Busan

02:24 Busan’s deserted homes 

03:39 Busan’s youth: Their hopes, dreams and pressures

05:28 The search for jobs – outside Busan

08:44 The allure of Seoul for young Koreans

12:47 Incheon: South Korea’s rising star

16:11 The return of Busan’s youth?

18:29 Decline and revival of Yeongdo-gu

21:02 Job creation, business incentives to stem the exodus

Video shows moment multiple batteries exploded at South Korean battery plant

New York Post has the story.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. Surveillance footage shows the moment a deadly fire started at a South Korean battery manufacturer and killed 23 workers on Monday (June 24).

The video shows smoke coming from a stack of lithium batteries.

And in a factory which contained around 35,000 of them, the fire quickly evolved into a huge blaze which then sparked explosions.

The now-gutted structure was in Hwaseong, an industrial cluster southwest of the capital Seoul.

Firefighters with search dogs combed the remains on Tuesday (June 25) and found the body of the last unaccounted-for person, raising the death toll to 23.

The father of one victim, while trying to find the body of his Chinese national daughter, told Reuters she had called the batteries “dangerous” multiple times.

And he said she had recently told him about another fire at the factory.

Most of the victims are yet to be identified because of the intensity of the blaze.

But at least 17 were Chinese and one was Laotian.

Experts say foreign workers in the country face a disproportionate risk of injury and death.

And that they take on dangerous jobs shunned by many young South Koreans.

On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry said Beijing has called on South Korea to find the cause of the fire as quickly as possible.

The chief executive of the battery maker Aricell apologized for the incident - but said the company had complied with safety rules.

“The company will do its best to deal with this situation and will take on a firm responsibility. In addition, we will sincerely work on the investigation of the relevant authorities and will make every effort to follow up on the exact cause of the accident and prevent recurrence.”

The National Forensic Service, police and the fire department are holding a joint investigation into the incident.

22 Killed in South Korea Battery Plant Explosion

Live News Network has the story.

22 people are confirmed dead after a lithium ion battery plant explosion in South Korea on Monday.

A series of battery cells exploded, igniting a fire in a warehouse. Fire officials said 102 people were working at the factory when the blaze broke out.

Seoul crowd surge kills at least 146, officials say

CBC News shows the story.

At least 146 people were killed and 150 more were injured after a stampede broke out during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood.

COVID-19 Surge Hits South Korea And Japan After They Had Contained The Virus

The USA is certainly not the only country in the big fight against the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. New bigger waves of the virus are happening in various countries. Certain parts of Asia, where the virus first hit and which were the first to emerge from lockdowns, are now experiencing alarming new spikes. 

Watch how the COVID-19 Surge Hits South Korea And Japan After They Had Initially Contained The Virus.

Coronavirus Covid-19 Cases Overview:

Worldwide:

Total cases: 79.3M

Recovered: 44.6M

Deaths: 1.74M

Japan:

Total cases: 207K

Recovered: 172K

Deaths: 2,941

South Korea:

Total cases: 53,533

Recovered: 37,425

Deaths: 756

When the Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic began early in 2020, experts wondered if there would be waves of cases. "Waves" are a pattern often seen in other virus pandemics. It certainly seems that some locations that saw a high number of coronavirus infections early on, followed by a decline, are having a "second wave" of increased cases of Coronavirus Covid-19.

Be careful - a 2nd wave of COVID-19 could be more dangerous than it looks. However, lessons from the 1st wave help us make the right decisions.

Some experts think that people didn't quite do enough to prevent a second wave. Some experts are also thinking about how to prevent a possible third wave.

South Korea coronavirus death toll is 263

South Korea's Coronavirus Covid-19 death toll has reached 263. South Korea has total confirmed virus cases of 11,110.

After a long five-month break, South Korean students are returning to classrooms. Hopefully, the country will not have a "second wave" of infections.

Recently, there was some worry about a new cluster infections linked to nightclubs in Seoul earlier this month.

However, mostly the Coronavirus Covid-19 situation appears to be under control.

Total Global Confirmed Cases: 4,897,492

Countries with most cases:

1,528,568 USA
299,941 Russia
271,885 Brazil
250,138 United Kingdom
232,037 Spain
226,699 Italy
180,933 France
177,778 Germany
151,615 Turkey
124,603 Iran
106,475 India
99,483 Peru
84,063 China
80,493 Canada

South Korea coronavirus death toll is 144

South Korea has total coronavirus Covid-19 deaths of 144. South Korea has 9,478 confirmed cases of the virus. South Korea is tightening border controls after reporting a spike in coronavirus cases. South Korea is now enforcing 2-week quarantines on all passengers arriving from the USA.

3 South Korean coronavirus test-kit makers have been given the green light to export their devices to the USA, officials said Saturday.

Wuhan is the city in China where the global coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic began. The city has partly eased travel restrictions. People are now allowed to return to Wuhan, but no one is allowed to leave yet. Health officials are making an effort to prevent another outbreak.

Read more coronavirus Covid-19 details here:

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) - gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com

March 28, 2020 South Korea virus test-kit makers approved to export to US - news.yahoo.com

March 26, 2020 How South Korea Reined In The Outbreak Without Shutting Everything Down - npr.org

March 27, 2020 5 Things Americans Should Know About South Korea’s Handling of Coronavirus - dailysignal.com

March 26, 2020 How Singapore And South Korea Deal With Coronavirus Quarantine Measures - forbes.com

March 23, 2020 How South Korea Flattened the Curve - nytimes.com

March 27, 2020 A leading South Korean doctor says Trump's 'pride' and 'ego' are putting the world's health at risk - businessinsider.com

Coronavirus COVID-19: Iran and South Korea deploy military

It is Mar 3, 2020, and the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak is growing. China, Iran, Italy and South Korea are the countries that are most affected (most confirmed cases).

Iranian state TV is citing a member of Iran's parliament saying that 23 lawmakers are infected with the new coronavirus. The legislator is urging colleagues to avoid contact with the public. Iran has more than 2,500 confirmed cases. Iranian authorities initially played down the extent of the virus, but now say they're mobilizing the military to tackle it. With 77 deaths, Iran has the highest death toll outside China. Iran's supreme leader put the country on war footing Tuesday against the new coronavirus by ordering its armed forces to assist health officials in combating the outbreak. Iranian authorities said Tuesday they had plans to potentially mobilize 300,000 soldiers and volunteers to confront the virus.

The death of Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi on Monday makes him the highest-ranking official within Iran’s leadership to be killed by the virus.

The virus earlier killed Hadi Khosroshahi, Iran’s former ambassador to the Vatican, as well as a recently elected member of parliament.

Saudi Arabia recently halted travel to Mecca, Medina over coronavirus.

More details here:
https://www.france24.com/en/20200303-iran-to-mobilise-army-against-coronavirus-as-death-toll-reaches-77

South Korea has recorded its biggest single day jump with over 850 new cases. More than 5,000 people are infected there now, prompting the President to declare his country is at war with the coronavirus.

In South Korea, A certain "super-spreader" from a reclusive church has caused anger, divided public opinion and spurred conspiracy theories.

It appears that there is a single "super-spreader" known as "patient 31". This is a member of a fringe church called Shincheonji. This person is thought to have caused the rapid rise in cases. Now, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has filed a formal complaint against the congregation, accusing it of murder.

In South Korea, at least 29 people have died in the outbreak and more than 4,800 people formally diagnosed with the virus as of March 3.

Epidemiologists said, "Before patient 31, our strategies to contain the virus were working. But after countless people were infected by patient 31, it became very difficult to control."

More details here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden-spike-coronavirus-cases-200303065953841.html

In all, more than 3,100 patients have died of COVID-19, with the majority of those in China. But the number of patients who have recovered so far from the virus worldwide is over 48,000.

Interesting Detailed Maps: Confirmed Cases by Country/Region:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Confirmed Cases by Country/Region

80,151 Mainland China
5,186 South Korea
2,336 Iran
2,036 Italy
706 Others
283 Japan
204 France
188 Germany
153 Spain
110 Singapore
106 US
100 Hong Kong
56 Kuwait
51 UK
49 Bahrain
47 Switzerland
43 Thailand
42 Taiwan
39 Australia
36 Malaysia
32 Norway
27 Canada
26 Iraq
24 Netherlands
21 Sweden
21 United Arab Emirates
21 Austria
16 Vietnam
13 Belgium
13 Lebanon
12 Israel
12 Oman
11 Iceland
10 San Marino
10 Macau
9 Croatia
7 Qatar
7 Ecuador
7 Greece
6 Denmark
6 Finland
5 Czech Republic
5 Algeria
5 India
5 Pakistan
5 Mexico
3 Georgia
3 Philippines
3 Russia
3 Romania
3 Azerbaijan
2 Indonesia
2 Brazil
2 Portugal
2 Egypt
1 Afghanistan
1 Lithuania
1 Nepal
1 Luxembourg
1 Andorra
1 Saudi Arabia
1 Ireland
1 Nigeria
1 Senegal
1 Jordan
1 Armenia
1 Dominican Republic
1 Ukraine
1 Estonia
1 North Macedonia
1 Morocco
1 Cambodia
1 Monaco
1 Belarus
1 New Zealand
1 Latvia
1 Sri Lanka