Exposure to fine dust increases chances of developing high blood pressure, a study by Seoul National University showed Monday. It is the first time that long-term research has found a correlation between air pollutants and cardiovascular disease in South Korea. YonhapThe study is based on the health record data of some 700,000 Koreans from 2008-2010. Researchers found that chances of developing high blood pressure increased by 4.4 percent each time the average annual ultrafine dust concentration

Social Affairs May 30, 2016

When South Korean webtoon artist Dangi started working on her eponymous work last year, which deals with her personal experience growing up with two brothers and abusive parents, she did not know how her readers would react. In the series, she talks about how her mother would only provide dinner for her father and her brothers; she would have to either eat out by herself or make her own food. Another episode dealt with a traumatic experience in which she was beaten by her older brother as a chil

Social Affairs May 30, 2016

For Jang Hee-seok, a 33-year-old Seoulite, visiting a convenience store near his office during lunch hour is an almost daily routine. He goes there to get his lunch, packed in a box. Out of some 30 choices, the popular options include rice with chicken breast, deep-fried pork cutlet or fried kimchi rice. His favorite is bulgogi stir-fried with gochujang, the Korean red pepper paste. He returns to his office, microwaves his food and eats it alone at his desk. Sometimes he also has cup noodles to

Social Affairs May 29, 2016

Although “chi-maek” -- a word play referring to fried chicken and beer -- continues to be one of the most popular snacks among Koreans, some health experts have been warning on its harmful health effects.It is not the ingredient but the way it is cooked that can damage one’s body in different ways. (123RF)According to a long-term study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which examined more than 100,000 men and women over 25 years, people who ate fried food at least once per week had a great

Technology May 27, 2016

Almost 300,000 foreign nationals visited South Korea last year for medical treatment, an 11 percent increase from the year before, the nation’s Health Ministry announced Thursday. The patients spent a total of 669.4 billion won ($566.7 million) last year, an increase of 20.2 percent from the year before. Among them, a total of 271 patients spent more than 100 million won on their treatments while staying here. In 2014, 210 patients from overseas did so.Among the patients, the largest number were

Social Affairs May 26, 2016

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday gave a strong indication that he may decide to run for president of South Korea, saying he plans to contemplate his next step once his tenure ends.“I’m returning back as a Korean on Jan. 1 next year,” he said during a meeting with members of the Kwanhun Club, a Seoul-based association of senior journalists, on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum. “What I ought to do as a Korean citizen, I will think about that then (when I return) and make a decision a

Foreign Affairs May 25, 2016

About two years ago, Jeong Yu-jin faced an unexpected predicament. After having unprotected sex on Saturday night, she decided to get morning-after pills -- also known as emergency contraception pills -- to prevent unwanted pregnancy the day after. “And then I realized it was Sunday,” the 31-year-old told The Korea Herald. “I couldn’t find any gynecologist clinics that were open because it was the weekend. Most pharmacies in my town were closed, too.”Jeong ended up visiting a gynecologist on Mon

Social Affairs May 25, 2016

About five years ago, Kim Ji-eun was caught smoking at home by her older brother. She was 20 at the time, enrolled in her first-year at a university, and it was just a day before her final exam. 　“He started beating me for smoking at home,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “He first slapped me in the face, and I fell on the floor. Then he started violently stomping on my stomach and my head.”　The incident severely damaged Kim’s uterus, as her mother did not offer to pay for her required hospital treat

Social Affairs May 23, 2016

It looked like just another busy day in Gangnam, Seoul’s well-known affluent district, except on Wednesday evening there were piles of white flowers and post-it notes covering the walls near exit 10 of Gangnam Station. There were also people -- many of them young women -- looking visibly shocked and grief-stricken, with their eyes glued to the pastel-colored post-its filled with heartbreaking messages.“No one should die just because she is a woman,” read one of the messages. “I know I could’ve b

Social Affairs May 19, 2016

A Food and Drug Administration-approved HIV drug developed in the U.S. will be submitted for review in Korea to be used as a preventive medicine for people at high risk of infection, its developer Gilead Sciences said on Tuesday.The drug, named Truvada, is already being used in South Korea as part of treatment for patients with HIV here. The upcoming submission, which is scheduled to be made in the second half of this year, seeks to be recognized by the Korean Drug Ministry as “pre-exposure prop

Social Affairs May 17, 2016

Earlier this year, local food columnist Hwang Gyo-ik made headlines by arguing that Korean cuisine culture was “uncivilized.” He said Koreans used too much sugar in almost every dish including kimchi, stir-fired anchovies and even the famous Korean barbecue.“It’s hard to find other countries that use sugar in almost every dish,” he said in a recent radio interview. “Sure, they have desserts, but they also have plenty of other dishes that do not contain sugar.” He argued that the “less civilized”

Social Affairs May 13, 2016

Controversy remains high over the effectiveness of the newly approved anticorruption law designed to better tackle graft among public officials, journalists and school teachers in South Korea, which is scheduled to take effect from Sept. 28.The nation’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on Monday issued an advance notice of the legislation, announcing that receiving gifts worth more than 50,000 won ($42) will be banned for government officials and those who work in the fields of media

Social Affairs May 10, 2016

More than 75 percent of Koreans who received state allowance for insemination had unexplained infertility, a strikingly high figure that may indicate many of them are not being properly tested before receiving the procedure, a study showed Wednesday.The study, by researcher Hwang Na-mi from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, showed that the proportion of Koreans who received government allowances for infertility treatments in 2014, especially intrauterine insemination and externa

Social Affairs May 4, 2016

In 2013, Lee Eun-byeol, a nurse at Mokpo Jung-Ang Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, received a 15-year-old patient who weighed only 35 kilograms. The teenager had just been admitted to the hospital’s emergency unit after cutting her wrist in an attempt to end her own life.And it wasn’t the teen’s first attempt. She was reportedly suffering from depression after being constantly bullied by her classmates at school. Her mother also had mental health issues, while her father was physically

Social Affairs May 3, 2016