Background and introduction: The East and Southeast Asian newly industrialized economies have shown spectacular economic development by their export-oriented development policies during recent decades, which resulted in not only economic wealth but enabled them to be technology exporters and investors. Their products, their flagship brands today are well-known and recognized throughout the world. It is not surprising that the Hungarian government—by its Hungarian Eastern Opening strategy—intended to focus on these economies, even though that with most of them there were intensive and broad co-operation in the fields of business, investment, culture, education and tourism. The new strategy gave a focus on increasing the diplomatic and trade relationship with the wider region, new embassies and trade representation offices were opened or re-opened in several locations with the view of intensifying the business and the people-to-people contacts. Even though the pandemic of Covid 19 and the energy crisis caused disruption in international trade, it can be said the trade and investment relations with these economies have still been growing, especially on the import side. The prospects of the growth of Hungarian exports to these destinations are modest which is hindered by the huge geographic distance, the peculiar consumer preferences, the merely different market conditions and the sharp competition. Objective: The aim of this paper to illustrate by statistical figures the state of the trade and investment relations between Hungary and the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Methodology: Bibliographic and data analysis, focusing on the relevant international and Hungarian literature and databases, especially the trade and investment statistics of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO/KSH).

Background: Various studies have demonstrated the usefulness of Google search data for public health-monitoring systems. The aim of this study is to be estimated interest of public in infectious diseases in infectious diseases in South Korea, the five other countries. Methods: We conducted cross-country comparisons for queries related to the H1N1 virus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). We analyzed queries related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from 20 January to 13 April 2020, and performed time-descriptive and correlation analyses on trend patterns. Results: Trends in H1N1, MERS-CoV, and COVID-19 queries in South Korea matched those in the five other countries and worldwide. The relative search volume (RSV) for the MERS-CoV virus increased as the cumulative number of confirmed cases in South Korea increased and decreased significantly as the number of confirmed cases decreased. The volume of COVID-19 queries dramatically increased as South Korea’s confirmed COVID-19 cases grew significantly at the community level. However, RSV remained stable over time. Conclusions: Google Trends provides real-time data based on search patterns related to infectious diseases, allowing for continuous monitoring of public reactions, disease spread, and changes in perceptions or concerns. We can use this information to adjust their strategies of the prevention of epidemics or provide timely updates to the public.