[Issue]
Spring is the season for weddings! How much do couples spend on their weddings?
As the first day of spring has passed and the spring is approaching us, more and more couples are getting married. Because of the leap month last year, many couples have postponed their marriage to this year. In Korea, how much money do people spend on their weddings? In 2013, they spent an average of US$26,800 for the wedding ceremony and honeymoon, and about US$196,000 in housing and home furnishings. Such heavy expenditure is increasing burden for grooms and brides-to-be amid a prolonged economic slump. We will have an in-depth coverage on the overall wedding costs including wedding related industries' marketing craze and wiser ways to spend money for the wedding in 2015.
[Interview]
Real estate market and Korea's economy
Interviewee: Professor PARK Yun-woo, School of Business Administration, Chung-Ang University
It isn't too much to say that Korea is a real estate-focused society. There is a unique form of residence type called 'Jeonse' in Korea. But traditionally, Koreans have a large desire to own their houses, while Jeonse and house prices are too high compared to people's income levels. The gap is covered by household debts. Such a structure is supporting house prices. Real estate accounts for a huge portion of household economy as well as the overall Korean economy. This is why the domestic economy is largely affected by freezing and overshooting of the real estate market. Bizline will look into the big trends in the real estate market, including significance of the real estate sector in Korea's economy, current government's real estate policy directions as well as the outlook for the real estate market.
[Science&Technology]
Steel material superior to titanium developed
New steel material developed by Korean researchers is making headlines. The material is said to be stronger and lighter than titanium and hard to break. Its principle is to create micro-sized chemical
