Korea 24 - 2021.12.21

Korea24 &ndash; 2021.12.21. (Tuesday)<br /> <br /> News Briefing: The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients rose back up to over a thousand once again. Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in called for a thorough reinforcement of the nation&#039;s medical system, saying that the omicron variant could become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in South Korea as well. (Eunice Kim)<br /> <br /> In-Depth News Analysis: Last Friday, North Korea marked the 10th anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il, and the ascension of his son Kim Jong-un. Despite doubts over his grip on power, he remains the leader of the regime, which remains deeply isolated, and better armed than ever with its nuclear arsenal. To take a look back at the first 10 years of Kim Jong-un&rsquo;s rule and what lies ahead for him going forward, Dr. Bong Young-shik, Research Fellow at the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies joins us on the line.<br /> <br /> Korea Trending with Jung Ye-won:<br /> 1. The government has decided to abolish the duty-free purchasing limit for Korean outbound travelers. (면세점서 명품시계 살 수 있다&hellip;내국인 구매한도 43년만에 폐지)<br /> 2. A recent survey has found that more than half of Koreans did not read any literature last year. (&quot;국민 1인당 문학책 1.3권 구매하고 2.3권 읽는다&quot;)<br /> 3. The SSG Landers have announced the signing of former major league pitcher Iv&aacute;n Nova, on a contract worth 1 million US dollars. (SSG랜더스, &#039;빅리그 90승 투수&#039; 이반 노바 영입...총액 100만달러)<br /> <br /> Touch Base in Seoul: K-Pop group Exo, feature films Pitch Perfect 2 and Sing 2, are just some of projects that music producer Ester Na has been credited in. She joins us on the line to tell us about her story, going from being a classically trained musician in Vienna, to becoming a hot pop music producer in LA.<br /> <br /> Morning Edition Preview with Mark Wilson-Choi:<br /> - In tomorrow&rsquo;s Korea Times, Jon Dunbar writes about ways to enjoy the festive mood for the holidays, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.<br /> - In tomorrow&rsq