1. MARKETING ISSUES

Lotte Mart Offers Chilean Fresh Blueberries [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/01/20131209/59444095/1

Consumers Spent Less in Japanese Restaurants for Radiation Safety Concerns [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Main/3/all/20131209/59444068/1

Summary: Samsung Card reported that consumer spending in Japanese restaurants showed 13.9 percent decline during January through October this year compared to the same period back in 2010.  The decline was higher among elderly consumer groups.

Growth of Meat Consumption by Koreans During 1961 to 2009  was Three Times Higher than World Average, FAO Report [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20131211/59468732/1

Summary: According to a FAO/UN report that tracked diet in 176 countries around the world between 1961 to 2009, Korean diet marked 2.23 out of 5.5 scale (5.5 denotes the diet that is composed of 100 percent meat) in 2009, up by 0.17 point from 1961.  World average change of the diet during the same period was 0.06, which means that growth of meat consumption by Koreans was three times higher than the world average.

Internet Users in Korea Exceed 40 Million in 2013 … 82.1 Percent of Koreans are Internet Users … 79.7 Percent of Households Use Smart-phones, ROKG Survey [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20131216/59587748/1

Summary: According to a recent survey by the Korea government, 82.1 percent (or 40 million) of Koreans were internet users as of September 2013.  It was notable that the elderly population showed higher increase of internet user ratio than other population groups.  For example, the internet user ratio among the 50 year olds increased to 80.3 percent this year from 60.1 percent last year.  91 percent of the internet users were also mobile internet users, which was a sharp increase from 58.3 percent in 2012.  79.7 percent of Korean households were using smart-phones. 

Junnam Province Produced a Record High 380,000 Metric Tons of Natural Sea Salt from Sun Evaporation Beds This Year [Korean, OSY]

http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=48475