[토픽] 2018년1월14일 토픽

[YUN(윤)]

Casual Talk(12:00~12:30)

Talk casually. If you can not find topics, talk with the following questions

1.It has been very cold with snow these days. Do you like the cold winter weather?

2.When you go out, do you consider the winter fashion?

3.Should South Korea cover the expenses of the North Korean delegation(대표단) for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics?

4.What do you think about the government's policy to ban English education for children who are "too young"?

5.What do you think about the electronic boards celebrating the 66th birthday of President Moon Jae-in at several subway stations in downtown Seoul?

6.Did you watch President Moon Jae-in's Jan. 10 New Year news conference? What was the most impressive?

 Topic 1(12:40~13:30)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2018/01/688_242149.html

Viewers uncomfortable with celeb lifestyle

By Park Jin-hai

Everyday lives of celebrities tend to be disclosed to the public more often these days, as reality shows take a major portion of local variety shows. Yet viewers express uneasiness watching some recent reality shows featuring celebrities' posh lifestyles up close.

JTBC's Sunday reality show "The Stranger," which kicked off last month aiming to depict the struggles of Korean celebrities living abroad, reveals the lives of baseball player Choo Shin-soo, actress Seo Min-jung and pianist Sunwoo Ye-kwon.

While watching the show, its intention to share the loneliness and feeling of displacement and how those celebrities overcome such hardships pales before its ample coverage of how those stars are living well-off lives overseas.

Texas Rangers right fielder Chu and his family live in a jaw-dropping Texas mansion which is straight out of a movie. As his son seems to show some talent playing ice hockey, Chu whose annual salary amounts to $20 million jokingly suggests to his wife they build an ice rink in their house. Co-star actress Seo also is seen vacationing with her family in the Hamptons, a wealthy enclave on Long Island favored as a celebrity summer playground.

"Watching the show, I turned it off in the middle. It feels wrong to discuss hardships by showing the family life of an ultra-rich Major league player or an owner of a dental hospital in Manhattan. They are not regarded as strangers in America anymore and they have already entered the top class," said Park Jun-oh, an office worker in New York who watched the show. "It is well-known how they worked hard to strive for their success of today. That said, if the show's purpose is to feature the lives of Koreans fiercely living every day chasing their dreams overseas, it should have starred Korean students and workers instead, who struggle with rising rents, health insurance fees and hostile immigration policies."

SBS reality show "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny" has been under attack from viewers as well, as it showed young would-be-married celebrity couple Jang Shin-young and Kang Kyung-joon, looking to buy a home with a 1 billion won budget and expressing their concerns for not being able to buy a home they want within their budget.

MBN's "Happily Unmarried Girls" recently aired one of its cast actresses Lee Tae-im, who is looking for a new home. The 31-year-old actress said her dream home is one that overlooks the Han River and as she visits homes, priced 3 billion won, she sighs deeply over not being able to own one. She says she almost cried because the homes were too expensive.

Jung Duk-hyun, a culture critic, questions why reality shows take a lead in incurring a sense of relative deprivation to viewers. "The worries those celebrities experience cannot be shared with many ordinary viewers and they only earn bitter smiles from them," he said.

"The Stranger is more like a show prying into the lives of celebrities who have entered the upper class in the U.S. The show is based on people's curiosities, stemming from people's envy for material wealth," said another critic Kim Kyo-suk. "When cast members tell how they experienced racial discrimination on their beautiful terrace overlooking Manhattan, we cannot expect viewers watching the show in small homes in densely populated residential areas to shed tears over those celebrities' stories."

Questions

1.Do you like watching reality shows? Which show is your favorite?

2.How do you think everyday lives of celebrities are easily disclosed to the public more often these days due to the popularity of reality shows?

3.Have you ever felt uneasiness watching reality shows featuring celebrities' posh(화려한) lifestyles up close(바로 가까이서)?

4.Have you ever felt the loneliness and feeling of displacement(낯선 곳에서의 고독감과 소외감)? And how did you overcome it?

5.What do you think, when you see Korean students and workers who struggle with rising rents, health insurance fees and hostile(적대적인) immigration policies overseas(해외에서)?

6.The 31-year-old actress Lee Tae-im’s dream home is one that overlooks the Han River.

What is your dream home?

7.Why do you think reality shows take a lead in incurring a sense of relative deprivation to viewers(시청자들에게 상대적 박탈감을 유발하는데 앞장서다) featuring some celebrities’ worries(고민들) which cannot be shared with many ordinary viewers?

8.Do you want to pry into(캐다, 엿보다) the lives of celebrities who have entered the upper class in the U.S?

9.Have you ever shed tears over some celebrities' stories watching reality shows in a small home?

Topic 2(13:40~14:30)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2018/01/367_242324.html

Bitcoin collapses as South Korea threatens to ban trading

By Park Si-soo

The prices of bitcoin and other virtual currencies plummeted more than 10 percent after South Korea floated the idea of banning cryptocurrency trading. The announcement on Thursday triggered an immediate selloff of cryptocurrencies on Korean and offshore exchanges. As of 4 p.m., the price of bitcoin dropped 11.62 percent to 14.15 million won ($13,205).

Earlier, Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said the government is preparing a bill to ban trading of virtual currencies on domestic exchanges.

"The ministry is preparing legislation that basically bans any transactions based on a virtual currency through the trading floor," Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said at a press briefing. "We have grave concerns about (the craze over) virtual currency and (a shutdown) would be one of the goals we are aiming for."

His remarks are in line with the government's stern resolve to tackle the irrational cryptocurrency market here that many observers now say has reached a critical level. Recently, hackers attacked a major bitcoin exchange, incurring heavy losses for many investors. Crimes involving cyber money, such as multi-level marketing fraud using virtual currencies, have also been on the rise.

"Now, it is more like gambling or speculation," Park said. "The fact the media has used the phrase kimchi premium reflects foreigners' assessment that the Korean market is abnormal."

A ministry official said the proposed ban was announced after "enough discussion" with other government agencies, including the nation's finance ministry and financial regulators, according to Reuters. The minister warned of social repercussions that might come from tremendous potential financial losses if the market begins to collapse.

"Virtual currency is not based on an exchange of something with a certain value," he said. "It'd be devastating if the bubble bursts after all the money that should've been invested vanishes as virtual currency."

Questions

1.When you first heard about bitcoin, what did you think?

2.How much do you know about virtual currencies(가상화폐들) like bitcoin?

3.Do you know anyone who has made lots of money out of virtual currencies around you?

4.Have you ever invested or considered to do on virtual currencies? Why?

5.Do you think the bubble would finally burst soon?

Or do you believe it would be an ideal currency for people in the world?

6.Do you think the government should take immediate action against cryptocurrency trading(암호화폐거래)?

7.The prices of bitcoin and other virtual currencies plummeted(곤두발질 치다) after South Korea floated the idea(방안을 제시하다) of banning cryptocurrency trading(암호화폐거래 금지).

   What did you think that moment?

8.Do you think trading of virtual currencies here is more like gambling or speculation that has reached a critical level(위험수위)?

9.Have you ever heard about the phrase kimchi premium?

What does it reflect?

2018년1월14일토픽.hwp

[YUN(윤)]

스텝분은 첨부파일 프린트하시면 됩니다