WEEKLY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (2023.11.18)
It's time for Weekly News Highlights, where we deliver the top news stories of the week.
KEYWORDS
1. For the first time in a year, U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart sat down together on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in San Francisco. There, they touched upon many thorny issues including reopening military communication and curbing the production of fentanyl. But division remains over Taiwan.
2. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol paid a visit to San Francisco to attend this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Official working sessions for APEC started on Thursday, where the President stressed the need for Seoul to strengthen cooperation with its Asian allies, both on the economy and security front.
3. More than half a million South Koreans took the annual nationwide college entrance exam, known as Suneung. This year there were no 'killer' questions, often thought as questions of a higher level of difficulty that require private tutoring.
Starting with President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to San Francisco to attend the APEC summit. The South Korean leader's second day was packed with diplomatic meetings with various leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Our top office correspondent Oh Soo-young fills us in.
Also on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have met for the first time in a year.
They agreed upon restoring military communication and curbing the spread of fentanyl but divisions remain over Taiwan.
Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji has the key takeaways.
As well as the APEC summit, the U.S. led the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. South Korean President Yoon attended this summit as well, aiming to deepen cooperation on supply chains, trade, climate and governance with the other 14 member countries including Japan, Australia and Vietnam. Kim Do-yeon tells us more.
Moving on to economic issues.
Employment expanded significantly in October.
But there was a big difference in figures between those in their 60s and young adults in their teens and twenties. Park Kun-woo explains more.
Here in Korea, by law, people are only allowed to work a maximum of 52 hours per week. But recently, officials came up with a reform plan that raises the cap on maximum weekly work hours for certain industries. This reflects a public survey result that called for more flexibility. Lee Soo-jin has the details.
The largest retail event of the year, Korea Sale Festa, kicked off last week. For a total of 20 days, shoppers can scour through some of the best deals. This comes as the government aims to boost consumer confidence and spending. Our business correspondent Shin Ha-young went to this annual shopping sale herself.
There's one day in South Korea when shops, banks and even planes pause their operations all for students.
It's Suneung day, when hundreds of thousands take the nationwide college entrance exam.
As usual, this year's Suneung took place on Thursday.
Lasting 8 hours and held only once a year, it's one of the most important exams Koreans take in their lifetime.
Especially since many think that entering a good college is a must for getting a better future job and income in a hypercompetitive environment like Korea.
Let's see how this year's Suneung was like.
Those were the top stories of the week.
Thank you for joining us, and we'll bring you the latest around the world, again on Monday.
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2023-11-18,12:00 (KST)