“I’m a talented individual who is very diligent.”“From a very young age, I was very interested in cars. I wish to become a car engineer.”Bluntly praising one’s qualities and telling life experiences that do little to stress one’s abilities or academic prowess are only some of the pitfalls students can fall into while writing self-introductory essays, South Korean education firms that offer lessons on composing essays say.They offer a service that a growing number of students are turning to in th

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2015

Many would think of Korean barbecue as one of the best-known -- and common --　Korean foods. But a recent study claimed that more than 70 percent of Koreans are in fact not consuming enough meat, which can lead to a number of health problems including anemia and protein deficiency.According to the report released by Dankook University, 72.6 percent of 17,460 Koreans who participated in the study were not eating enough meat -- beef, pork or chicken -- from 2010-2012. The inadequate consumption of

Technology Aug. 27, 2015

Lee Jong-heeMany people tan during the summer because it makes them look healthy and thin. Spending prolonged hours outside during the summer, particularly during vacation periods, results in skin exposure to the sun.The sun is the energy source for plants to undergo photosynthesis to maintain the ecosystem. It also helps the skin produce vitamin D. Therefore, sunlight is crucial to living.However, prolonged exposure to the sun or getting sunburned has its downsides. Prolonged exposure to strong

Technology Aug. 27, 2015

Police said Wednesday they had taken a 27-year-old woman into custody on suspicion of secretly filming a women’s locker room at local water resorts, including images of victims in the shower that were later leaked online.The suspect, identified by her surname Choi, allegedly took the images at three water resorts and an outdoor pool in Korea last summer. She has admitted to taking the images, but denied any responsibility for distributing them online. A woman accused of secretly filming women in

Social Affairs Aug. 26, 2015

A restaurant in a busy metropolitan area of Sinchon, Seoul, on Saturday was packed with families, couples and friends. They engaged in animated conversation, merrily chatting away about their week, vacation plans and dating advice as Seoulites went on with their regular weekend routine. This merry scene was just two days after North Korea had fired artillery shells at the inter-Korea border, and one day after Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong-un declared a “quasi-state of war” and put his troops on wa

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2015

The nation’s first migrant workers’ union Thursday received a permit to legally form a labor union from the government after a monthlong sit-in in central Seoul demanding the long-overdue authorization.“We are very happy to receive the permit to eventually form the union,” Nazmul Hossain, secretary-general of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union, told The Korea Herald. “Our weeks-long efforts seem to have paid off,” he said right after the union was officially registered at around 11

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2015

Labor Minister Lee Ki-kwon reiterated calls on the nation’s largest trade union to return to the negotiating table to discuss labor market reforms, vowing to push for the reforms without the union if it does not return to the three-way dialogue by next Wednesday.“Considering the schedule to set a budget and present a bill to the National Assembly, the talks cannot be delayed any longer,” Lee told reporters Wednesday in central Seoul, urging the Federation of Korean Trade Unions to make a “grand”

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2015

When Chinese-born Oh Hee-ock moved to Korea in 1946, a year after her country was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule, she was determined to continue her education and get a job. Born in 1926 to China-based Korean independence activists in today’s Manchuria, she had studied English and Chinese as well as Korean, while participating in her parents’ fierce military activism starting at age 14.Now 89, Oh is a retired teacher and a recognized independence activist. “My father emphasized the im

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2015

In Oh Hee-ock’s little apartment in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, there hangs a black-and-white photograph of her late mother and sister. The 89-year-old looks at it every day. It’s a reminder of who she is and where she comes from ― a member of a historic family that was behind Korea’s military activism against the Japanese rule.Oh’s family has an unparalleled iconic tale to tell when it comes to Korea’s fight for independence during the colonial rule that lasted from 1910-1945. Three generations o

Politics Aug. 16, 2015

South Korea’s education system played a pivotal role in its improbable transformation from one of the poorest countries in the world to the fourth-largest economy in Asia. The country’s series of transformations throughout its history are mirrored in changes witnessed in the education system. In the midst of the country’s rapid development, Koreans sought education as the way to dig their way out of poverty.South Korea is now famous for having one of the fiercest education fevers in the world. A

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2015