AI robots from Chinese company Unitree Robotics dance at the Busan Content Market event at Bexco in Haeundae District, Busan, on June 10.YONHAP
Happy Hump Day! Here are the stories you need to know in Korea.
Olive Young is in hot water after the opening of its online mall for U.S. consumers. Customers are criticizing the products available on the U.S. online mall, as the site offers a smaller selection than the global version.
In other news, Everland's Ai Bao has given birth to a baby panda, and the first cases of cheating using AI glasses during the Toeic test have resulted in four-year bans being handed to two individuals.
What's happening at Olive Young? After opening its first store in the United States and launching an online mall in the country last month, Olive Young is now receiving backlash from consumers. Much of the criticism comes from the K-beauty retailer blocking American customers from using its global website, restricting them to the U.S. version only — a site that is being criticized for having a smaller selection than the global version.
What is Olive Young saying? The retailer is assuring consumers that the current U.S. website is a work in progress. "The online store is still in its early stages and is not a finished product," the company said. However, the gap in selection is noticeable. The U.S. site lists 1,424 skincare products, while the global site carries 4,078.
Customers criticize selection The company has seen multiple complaints from U.S. consumers, with some saying they would rather pay tariffs and wait for shipping from Korea than use the site. "The reason we shopped on the global site was because we knew we were getting authentic Korean products without formulations tailored for the U.S.," wrote one consumer. "We don't want products from the U.S. That's the whole point," said another.
So, Ai Bao was pregnant? Yes, it seems so. Fans of Everland's pandas had speculated Ai Bao was pregnant ever since zookeepers moved her into an indoor enclosure last month. However, the amusement park and zoo was reluctant initially to confirm the pregnancy. Everland announced today that Ai Bao had given birth to a female panda on June 3.
How cute! Tell us more about the baby panda. Ai Bao gave birth to the panda at 10:53 a.m. after two hours of labor. The cub weighed 171 grams (6 ounces) at birth. The baby panda is the youngest sibling of celebrity panda Fu Bao, who is currently living in China, and Everland's twin pandas Rui Bao and Hui Bao.
So, what is her name? The panda cub currently doesn't have a name, but the zoo is probably going to let the public name her. "We're likely to turn to the public for help naming the cub through submissions on social media, just as we did with Fu Bao and the twins," said an Everland source. Updates on the cub's growth can be found by checking out Everland on social media and on YouTube.
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Tighter monitoring eyed as tech provides unfair advantage
Someone used AI glasses in a test? How did that happen? Not just one person actually — two people were caught using AI glasses to cheat on the Test of English for International Communication (Toeic) exam. One person was caught wearing the glasses during an exam on May 10, while another was found using the technology on May 31. Exam supervisors managed to catch the exam takers using the glasses during the tests.
How do the glasses function to help exam takers during the test? By using the AI glasses, test takers can photograph and analyze objects or test papers to help provide answers through the lens display or built-in speakers. What makes detection difficult is that recently released designs are hard to distinguish from ordinary glasses.
What happens to the exam takers now? According to the Korea Toeic Committee, the exams taken by the two individuals have been invalidated. The individuals have also been banned from taking the Toeic exam for the next four years. The committee is now strengthening training for its supervisors to be able to better identify AI glasses.
