The Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday issued heat wave warnings and advisories in most parts of the country, with the temperature rising to 37.9 degrees Celsius in Gyeongju. Seoul saw the mercury reaching as high as 33 C, while many other cities reported temperatures above 35 C.  Heat shimmers from the surface of a road in Yeouido, Seoul. (Yonhap)The heat wave is likely to continue Thursday, the weather agency said. Over the weekend, however, monsoon rains will hit the Korean Peni

Social Affairs July 12, 2017

Seated in front of bright screens, teenage boys deftly maneuver chunky joysticks, surrounded by others who eagerly watch them. Inside the windowless, video screen-lit arcade, there is only one rule: Crush as many enemies as you can.  A “Tekken” arcade machine at a Game Land arcade in Seoul (Bak Se-hwan/The Korea Herald) This may be a typical childhood scene, but in an era when even coins may soon become r

Social Affairs July 12, 2017

A new body tasked with shaping the nation’s long-term education vision will be formed by August at the latest, Education Minister Kim Sang-kon said Wednesday. 　“The ministry is in works with Cheong Wa Dae to prepare for its launch around early August. Details are still to come, but we have around 25 candidates under consideration to join the envisioned panel,” Kim said at a press conference.  Education Minister Kim Sang-kon speaks in front of reporters. (photo credit: The Ministry of Education)I

Social Affairs July 12, 2017

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed on Tuesday to "sternly" respond to North Korea's latest missile provocation but affirmed that the door for talks with Pyongyang remains open, the foreign ministry here said. Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Joseph Yun and Kenji Kanasugi, on the sidelines of a regional security conference in

North Korea July 11, 2017

The South Korean prosecution formed an investigative team of at least three prosecutors to look into a food poisoning scandal after a complaint was filed against McDonald’s Korea, an undercooked patty of which allegedly sickened a 4-year-old.  A photo showing a 4-year-old who was hospitalized after she ate McDonald’s burger in September 2016.According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, the investigators are soon to summon officials from the country’s biggest fast food chain to lo

Social Affairs July 11, 2017

The minor opposition Justice Party on Tuesday picked first-term lawmaker Lee Jeong-mi as its new leader tasked with bolstering its legislative presence to support its core progressive supporters.In the leadership election, Lee garnered 56.05 percent of the vote, beating former lawmaker Park Won-suk who received 43.95 percent. Lee Jeong-mi of the progressive Justice Party (Yonhap)Lee will succeed Sim Sang-jeung, the party's former presidential candidate whose two-year term ended this week.In her

Politics July 11, 2017

As former President Park Geun-hye’s trial continues into its eighth week and the public attention fades, more die-hard supporters of the fallen politician are attending the hearings.It is now almost expected that the moment Park enters the courtroom, somebody in the audience shouts out “Let her go!” or rises to their feet in an apparent show of respect despite security officers’ gestures not to.But recently, some have become more emboldened. Park Geun-hye is escorted into the southern Seoul Cent

Social Affairs July 11, 2017

Verbal assault is the most common form of school violence in South Korea, according to the Education Ministry’s recently published survey. At least 37,000 elementary, middle and high school students are exposed to various forms of violence and verbal attacks during their school life, the survey showed Tuesday, which was conducted from last October to April this year by the ministry amongst 4.19 million, or 94.9 percent of students nationwide.  (123rf)Of the victims, 34.1 percent said they were s

Social Affairs July 11, 2017

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis for women, South Korean medical research showed Friday. A research team of orthopedists from Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Seoul and Korea University Ansan Hospital found that women who drink lightly two to three times a week had higher bone density than those who drink heavily or not at all, the team said in the latest issue of the medical journal Plos One.  (123rf)To analyze the effect of drinking alcohol on ost

Social Affairs July 7, 2017

South Korean prosecutors said Thursday they started looking into a complaint filed against McDonald’s Korea, whose undercooked patties allegedly sickened a 4-year-old. 　The investigation came a day after the child’s parents filed the complaint against the Korean unit of the global fast-food giant for violating food safety rules, claiming that their daughter developed a hemolytic-uremic syndrome and had lost 90 percent of her kidney function after eating a burger from a McDonald’s outlet.  A phot

Social Affairs July 6, 2017

The incidence of premature puberty increased by 28 percent in the past three years in South Korea, a new study showed Wednesday. According to data from the National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of children who reached puberty too early stood at 86,869 last year, up 28 percent from 2013 when the figure was 67,250. The 2016 figure means an incidence rate of 171.1 per 100,000 people, up from 134.5 in 2013. Two elementary students are walking on sidewalks. (Yonhap)Symptoms of precocious

Social Affairs July 5, 2017

Reported cases of dating abuse are on the rise in South Korea, with 233 people murdered by their romantic partners in the last five years, police data shows. According to criminal statistics released by the National Police Agency, 8,367 people were booked on charges of physical violence against their partners in 2015, up 8.8 percent from the previous year. The total number of physical assault cases here was 305,957 in 2015.Among the 8,367 attackers, 37.7 percent had no previous criminal record,

Social Affairs July 4, 2017

A special counsel sought a seven-year jail term for Kim Ki-choon, former President Park Geun-hye’s chief of staff and a six-year jail term for ex-Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun for their involvement in creating a blacklist of artists critical of Park and orchestrating systematic discrimination against them. At the Seoul Central District Court, the special counsel asserted that Kim and Cho, two of Park’s core associates, “oppressed the freedom of expression protected by the Constitution” by collud

Social Affairs July 3, 2017

BUSAN -- Universities need more governmental support to maintain and increase the quality of education and academic research as enrollment is expected to drop in line with Korea’s falling birthrate, university presidents attending a seminar said Friday. Already many universities are suffering financial difficulties, they said, and the trouble will only deepen, with the number of high school graduates projected to shrink. It has reached a point where self-help efforts alone can’t ensure survival

Social Affairs June 30, 2017

The nominee to serve as South Korea’s top education official vowed to promote equality in education and monitor the increasingly competitive educational system here during his parliamentary confirmation hearing Thursday. 　Kim Sang-kon, the former education superintendent of Gyeonggi Province, told a panel of lawmakers that he would bring about “equal opportunities for all students” in education and get rid of the sense of privilege and excessive competition entrenched in the country’s education

Social Affairs June 29, 2017