The Korea Herald

More teenagers involved in sex trade

Earlier this year, a local investigative TV program featured the story of a 19-year-old who died from cirrhosis, after years working as an illegal sex worker. The report revealed the teenager had run away from home after falling victim to sexual violence at 12 years old. Her alcoholic father, a single parent, had been physically abusive. She soon became involved in juvenile crime, habitually intoxicated with alcohol, and was eventually forced by other runaway teens to sell herself for money.The

Social Affairs April 20, 2015

Diabetes linked to education level among middle-aged women

Education is a significant factor in the prevalence of diabetes in middle-aged Korean women, a recent study by Ajou University has shown.The study, “Effect of Socio-Economic Status of the Prevalence of Diabetes,” surveyed some 14,000 patients with diabetes nationwide. Among the surveyed women aged 30 to 64, those who received education for seven years or less were eight times more likely to develop diabetes than women who received education for 12 years or more.Also, women who belong to the poor

Social Affairs April 16, 2015

Diabetes linked to education level among middle-aged women

Binge eating disorder (bulimia)

The desire to eat is not only driven by hunger, but also by the emotional state and psychological stress. Binge eating, which is different to anorexia where one does not eat enough food, is another common eating disorder. This eating disorder is becoming more prevalent with the increase of interest in weight loss, as in Western countries, and in a rise in socioeconomic status as in Korea. Eating disorders, including both bulimia and anorexia, mostly occur in young women, particularly in adolesce

Technology April 16, 2015

Koreans spend more money on traditional medicine

More South Koreans have been visiting traditional Korean medicine clinics lately, while the industry has been pushing to expand its business into conventional medical services in felds such as dermatology, government data showed Tuesday.According to data, Koreans spent 2.4 trillion won ($2.2 billion) last year on traditional Korean medical treatment, such as acupuncture. The spending has increased significantly since 2010, with an average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent per year, according to

Social Affairs April 14, 2015

Koreans spend more money on traditional medicine

Probe focuses on Sung’s funds

Prosecutors on Monday launched an investigation into 800 million won ($730,000) in funds that are suspected to have been delivered by a now-deceased businessman to four political heavyweights.They have formed a special team to investigate the case sparked by a memo left by Sung Woan-jong, a former businessman and lawmaker who was facing prosecution probe into irregularities, before he committed suicide last Thursday.Eight political heavy hitters, including President Park Geun-hye’s former and in

Social Affairs April 13, 2015

‘Elderly women more vulnerable to illness’

Korean elderly women are much more vulnerable to social isolation and illnesses compared to their male counterparts, a government study showed Sunday.According to the study which surveyed 10,452 individuals aged 65 or older nationwide, more than 60 percent of elderly men were living with their spouses, while only 32.5 percent of elderly women were doing the same last year. Almost one-third of elderly women, in particular, were living by themselves. The number of elderly people who lived by thems

Social Affairs April 12, 2015

Think tank to study smoking effects

South Korea’s Health Ministry plans to establish a think tank to research the additives used in cigarettes manufactured and distributed in the country, as part of measures to support the state health insurer’s high-profile damage suit against major tobacco firms.The think tank, to be established in August, will conduct research to determine if local tobacco makers use additives, such as ammonia, sugar and cocoa beans, to make their products more addictive. Sugar, for example, is known to generat

Social Affairs April 12, 2015

[Newsmaker] Court reviews antiprostitution law

The debate on legalizing prostitution has heated up in South Korea as the Constitutional Court began reviewing the law that criminalizes the sex trade. The court held its first public hearing Thursday.The antiprostitution law was enacted in 2004 to protect human rights, partly prompted by fire that killed 14 sex workers who were locked in a brothel in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in 2002. The law stipulates that both purchasing and selling of sex carry a penalty of up to one year in prison or

Social Affairs April 9, 2015

[Newsmaker] Court reviews antiprostitution law

Stress takes its toll on young parents

Every morning at Sungwon Daycare Center in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, when children exchange their hellos, the routine is to go around asking each other how they feel. “I am sad,” says one of the 5-year-olds in the classroom. “Why?” the whole class asks him.“Because my mom came home late last night. I couldn’t see her before going to bed. And when I woke up this morning, she already left for work.”“It’s OK! It’s OK!” the kids tell him loudly with impish grins, as the teacher consoles him. “Going to wo

Social Affairs April 9, 2015

Seoul steps up education on Japan’s wartime sex slavery

Seoul said Wednesday it would strengthen education on Japanese sex slavery during World War II in the public school curriculum. The ministries of gender equality and education announced they would jointly distribute supplementary textbooks on the comfort women issue, along with teaching aids including video clips and PowerPoint files, to 193 education offices and 800 public libraries starting this month. The move follows Japan’s approval this week of new textbooks that downplay its wartime atroc

Social Affairs April 8, 2015

Koreans smoke less, but exercise less, too

More Koreans are smoking less but also exercising less, recent government data showed Tuesday.According to the Health Ministry, the smoking rate among Korean men dropped from 49.2 percent in 2008 to 45.3 percent last year. Yet the number of Korean men who regularly exercise by walking also dropped from 50.6 percent in 2008 to 37.5 in 2014.Meanwhile, Korean men who considered themselves to be obese increased from 21.6 percent in 2008 to 25.3 percent. The number of heavy drinkers stayed about the

Social Affairs April 7, 2015

Korea’s first nursing school founder honored

Margaret Jane Edmunds, a late American nurse who founded Korea’s first nursing school in 1903, has been posthumously awarded the Order of Civil Merit by the South Korean government 70 years after her death, according to the Korean Nurses Association.Edmunds (1871-1945) is the founder of the Pogunyogwan Training School for Nurses, which is now the division of nursing science at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. The first Korean nurses in history ― Kim Martha and Lee Grace ― were taught by Edmunds

Social Affairs April 6, 2015

[Weekender] Daddy's home!

In author Kim Jung-hyun’s 1997 best-selling novel “Father,” which sold more than 2 million copies, its protagonist is a father who is never home.A public servant in his 50s, the father, named Jeong-su, has spent most of his time at work ― unable to attend any of the milestone events of his children. He missed their school entrance ceremonies, convocations and countless birthday dinners. As his grown-up children ended up despising him for his lack of presence in the house, Jeong-su abruptly gets

Social Affairs April 3, 2015

Woman indicted for attempted rape for first time

A woman in her 40s has been indicted for attempting to rape a man after drugging him, becoming the first woman to face such charges in Korea.Until June 2013, South Korean law did not acknowledge rape by women and therefore it was impossible for male victims to file complaints with the police.The law was revised that year to include adult men as potential victims of rape by women. It was also only in 2012 that the law acknowledged women as capable of raping male teenagers and children. According

Social Affairs April 3, 2015

Ministry tightens controls on wet-wipe chemicals

Local wet-wipe producers will be banned from using certain chemicals in their products ― including xylene, a chemical often used to make certain liquids dry slowly ― South Korea’s health authorities announced Thursday.Wet-wipes, moistened tissues often used for cleaning purposes, such as personal hygiene, have been categorized as industrial products by the Korean government. Starting from July, they will be officially classed as cosmetic products and will be regulated by the Ministry of Food and

Social Affairs April 2, 2015

Articles by Claire Lee