In 2010, popular author and TV personality Choi Yoon-hee committed suicide with her husband, after two years of suffering from lupus. The death of the couple ― her husband was believed to have helped her end her life before killing himself ― left the nation in shock because she was known as the ultimate advocate of a positive frame of mind. In fact, the 63-year-old had often been dubbed the “happiness preacher,” publishing more than 20 books on happiness. What led her to end her own life, accord

Technology March 26, 2015

In 2010, Kim Sun-young, an unwed mother, sued her ex-boyfriend for child support. The 35-year-old had no income at the time and was relying on a state subsidy to take care of her son. It took her a year and a half to win the case, with the court ordering her ex to pay her 300,000 won ($270) every month.Kim’s uphill battle, however, continued, as her ex-boyfriend cut off all contact shortly after the verdict, leaving Kim still empty-handed.“I didn’t want to go through that lawsuit ever again. ...

Social Affairs March 24, 2015

Seok Gwang-soo, a 40-year-old single father living in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, often feels as if he is forced to neglect his own children. Two years ago, the divorced father of three was diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia, a rare brain disease with no effective treatment.Unable to move and work and with no viable help from his families, he relied on government-certified nannies to take care of his kids -― aged 10, 7 and 5 ― in the evenings and on weekends when they are out of school and

Social Affairs March 18, 2015

Female defectors from North Korea are at a higher-than-average risk of infection by human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer, a recent study found.Almost 30 percent of the women in the study, whose ages ranged from 20 to 70, were HPV-positive. In South Korea, only 10 to 15 percent of women are known to have the infection.The study, led by professor Lee Im-soon at Soonchunhyang University’s medical school, involved health checks on 138 female North Korean defectors from 201

Social Affairs March 15, 2015

Stressed teenagers in South Korea are vulnerable to temporomandibular disorders, a condition that affects the muscles and nerves surrounding the jaw, experts say.The condition is known for pain and restricted movement, and stress is thought to be a major contributing factor, along with poor posture and overuse of the joint muscles.According to the National Health Insurance Service, some 457,500 teenagers were treated for TMD in 2012, making up the highest proportion of all patients with the diso

Technology March 12, 2015

During the spring, there are increased changes in the daily temperature and biorhythms become unstable so that the body’s immune system becomes weaker, making you more susceptible to diseases. The spring season is particularly a concern for children who have weak immune systems but are highly active, or other people who have allergic conditions or respiratory diseases. Yellow dust can cause various diseases, or make preexisting conditions worse. The main conditions associated with it include res

Technology March 12, 2015

Kimchi and Doenjangjjigae (soybean paste stew) may be some of the signature comfort food for Koreans, but not for pregnant marriage immigrants, as the foreign nature of the dishes may lead to malnutrition and in worse cases cause newborns to be underweight, a recent study showed.Female marriage immigrants are 1.3 times more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies than Korean women, apparently due to poor nutrition during pregnancy, not being used to Korean food and coping with cross-cult

Social Affairs March 10, 2015

In 2004, 41 high school boys in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, were caught by the police after raping five schoolgirls on multiple occasions over the course of a year.On top of the brutality of the crime, the case triggered public outrage for the way the victims were treated by the offenders’ parents. One of the girls reportedly had to quit school as she was repeatedly visited by the boys’ parents in the classroom and verbally attacked for reporting their sons to the police. The victims wer

Social Affairs March 5, 2015