While nearly 3,000 athletes from 95 nations are scheduled to visit South Korea for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, this year has a personal significance for some athletes from the US. For Chloe Kim, a 17-year-old snowboarder from Torrance, California, South Korea is where her parents are from. Many of her relatives, including her grandmother, still live in South Korea. Kim, who became the first person under the age of 16 to win three gold medals at an X Games back in 2016, is making he

Olympic Games Jan. 30, 2018

South Korea’s speed skater Noh Seon-yeong had one of the most dramatic weeks of her life. The 28-year-old, who had initially been selected to represent South Korea in the women’s team at the PyeongChang Olympics, was only told last week that an administrative error by the Korea Skating Union had cost her her spot on the team.Heartbroken, she openly spoke out against the KSU through her social media account, saying she “no longer was proud” to represent her country. On Friday, however, two Russia

Olympic Games Jan. 30, 2018

More than 1,200 date abuse perpetrators were arrested in Seoul from June-August, as police conducted a special crackdown on violence against women, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Thursday.Police encouraged women to contact the agency whenever they felt their safety was threatened on both public and private property during the period. Some 7,810 women reported feeling unsafe via smartphone applications and by phone. Each case was handled by officers specializing in crime prevention. Al

Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2016

South Korea’s pregnant teenagers do not receive enough medical attention and are three times more likely to have premature babies than mothers in other age groups, partly because of stigmatization against teenage pregnancies and unwed motherhood, a study showed Tuesday.The study, compiled by a team of physicians at the SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center in Seoul, analyzed government data on 463,847 women who have experienced either miscarriages or childbirths in 2010. According to their research fin

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2016

About 70 percent of South Korean female resident physicians, as well as 40 percent of women nurses are pressured not to get pregnant by their employers to minimize the number of workers on maternity leave, a report by a local human rights watchdog showed Monday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said it is issuing recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Welfare as well as the Ministry of Employment and Labor to improve working conditions for female health care workers to preven

Social Affairs Aug. 29, 2016

South Korea recorded low in two significant gender-related indexes, including the latest Gender Gap Report released annually by the World Economic Forum, a local study showed on Sunday.According to the report, compiled by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the World Economic Forum placed South Korea at 115 out of 145 countries in its annual index on gender equality last year. The index has a total of four categories, including economic participation and opportunity, education and

Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2016

South Korea’s newly introduced measures to boost the country’s “critically low” fertility rate, including a campaign to urge workers to leave work without informing their bosses, are being questioned on their effectiveness.The Welfare Ministry on Thursday announced its short-term emergency measures to combat the demographic crisis, including expanding state allowance for those seeking infertility treatment and raising paternity allowances for parents welcoming their second child.In its effort to

Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2016

Almost 90 percent of single Koreans think the government should provide special policies for those who wish to get married, and the largest proportion of them think the measures should tackle limited job security among young employees, a survey showed Thursday.According to the study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 86.3 percent of the surveyed single men and 87.7 percent of surveyed single women said there should be government policies so those who would like to get married

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2016

The heat wave has claimed 16 lives in South Korea as of this month -- the highest number since 2011 when the government started documenting such deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average temperature in Seoul from Aug. 1-15 was 29.8 degrees Celsius this year, the highest since the nation started documenting daily weather in 1907. As of Aug. 15, 16 Koreans have died of heat-related causes, such as heat stroke. In 2012, 15 people died of heat-released di

Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2016

Kyung Eun Davidson’s earliest memories are of missing her birth mother. Born in 1983 in South Korea, she grew up in Oregon after being adopted by a couple in the U.S. in 1986. Ever since she was 3, Davidson would constantly daydream about her birth mother throughout her childhood.“I remember wishing every night she would come back,” the 33-year-old, who currently lives in Everett, Washington, told The Korea Herald. “I’ve never remembered a time that I did not miss her and want to be with her. My

Social Affairs Aug. 15, 2016

The recent controversial case of a 2-year-old who lost all the hair on his body after taking herbal medicine has triggered heated debate among traditional Korean doctors and those who practice Western medicine here.The 27-month-old reportedly started losing his hair -- including his eyelashes and eyebrows -- after taking the medicine in November. His mother acquired the remedies from the Hamsoa Oriental Clinic in southern Seoul, which is one of the most firmly established traditional medical cli

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2016

South Korea’s health authorities on Thursday announced their plans to reduce antibiotics use for common viral infections -- such as colds and sore throats -- in response to concerns on the growing resistance of diseases to antibiotic medicine.South Korea currently has an unusually high usage of antibiotics -- a group of drugs used to treat bacterial infections -- compared to other countries, partly because of inadequate public health education on antibiotics and antibiotics resistance. “Antibiot

Social Affairs Aug. 11, 2016

South Korea’s wealthy elderly feel unhappy at not receiving money from their grown children, while those in financial difficulties feel sad about not being able to support their offspring, a study showed Monday. 　The study, compiled by the Korean Society of Gerontological Social Welfare, surveyed 358 elderly who belong to the wealthiest 10 percent of the elderly population as well as 1,462 individuals with household income of 1 million won ($900) or less a month.  The study found those who were

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2016

 Another health care worker at a pediatric unit at a general hospital has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, just days after the nation’s second case was reported at a different hospital, raising concerns over the current preventive measures against the infectious disease.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 23-year-old nurse was reported to the authorities after she was diagnosed with TB through a regular health examination last month. The health care worker, wh

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2016

The number of Korean adoptees who requested to see their birth records increased dramatically from 2012-15, since the revision of the adoption law here, but a lack of digitization is slowing access to the information.Only 35 percent of the some 230,000 relevant documents have been digitized and archived by the government.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of adoptees who asked to see their birth records increased from 258 in 2012 to 1,324 last year. In total, 4,790 adopt

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2016