Allergic rhinitis, an inflammation of the nasal airways, occurs most often among Koreans in the fall, especially in the months of September and October, according to the Health Ministry.Some 601,000 Koreans were treated for the condition last year, and most patients ― 206,261 ― developed the allergic reaction in September, according to a study conducted by the National Health Insurance Service.Allergic rhinitis is often triggered by pollen from seasonal plants, including weeds, trees and grasses

Technology Sept. 25, 2014

Choi Kyoung-gyu. (Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital)Professor and medical doctor Choi Kyoung-gyu, who currently practices at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, was given an award last week by the Health Minister for his contributions to dementia awareness.Choi has served as the head of the Yangcheon-gu Center for Dementia, a state-run institution for dementia patients and their families in Seoul’s district of Yangcheon, since 2008. The doctor was recognized for raising awareness abou

Technology Sept. 22, 2014

Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hee-jung started her term just two months ago, but her interest and activism in women’s issues, including the Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II, started much earlier.It was in 2004 when Kim first met the surviving Korean victims, who were speaking out about the issue in public. Her encounter with the women eventually led to her proposal last year, as a lawmaker, to apply for UNESCO designation for the docu

Politics Sept. 21, 2014

A Korean orthodontist has found a new way to align crooked molars without using metal brackets, allowing elderly patients to receive this particular orthodontic treatment ― which is often a requirement for dental implant surgery ― in comfort. Orthodontist and professor Jeon Yoon-sik, who currently practices at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, invented a new technology that simply uses a thin wire to align tilted teeth without using metal brackets and rubber bands. The new method reduces

Technology Sept. 18, 2014

The following is the ninth in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug.15. ― Ed.Korean-born, U.S.-based photojournalist Kim Yung-hi first visited the House of Sharing, the residence for former “comfort women” in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in 1996, to capture the daily lives of the surviving victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery.The candid portraits of the women were featured

Politics Sept. 17, 2014

Seoul announced Tuesday that it would launch the long-awaited pilot program for telemedicine services in hospitals starting this month, without the support and participation of the largest representative group of doctors here. Telemedicine is the use of information technology and telecommunication in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. The service, if legalized after the pilot project, would benefit the disabled, those who live in remote areas, and immobile, elderly patients wit

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2014

A Seoul resident enjoys the warm fall weather at Haneul Park in Sangam-dong, Seoul. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2014

Korean smokers are likely to have to pay nearly twice as much for a pack of cigarettes, which currently costs 2,500 won on average, starting next year. The government announced on Thursday that it would push to raise tobacco prices by 80 percent by January as part of its measures to decrease the country’s high smoking rate among adult males to 29 percent by 2020.“We will seek to raise tobacco prices by 2,000 won ($1.95) per pack and will also try to introduce a pricing system where cigarette pri

Social Affairs Sept. 11, 2014

While South Korea’s birthrate hit the lowest level on record last year, the number of premature births are on the rise in the country, according to government data.The number of premature births increased to 6.5 percent last year from 5.9 in 2010. In 2000, only 3.8 percent of newborns in the country were born premature, before 37 completed weeks of gestation. The number of low birth-weight babies ― infants weighing less than 2.5 kilograms at birth ― is also on the rise in the country, from 5 per

Social Affairs Sept. 11, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) ― Hundreds of children in more than 10 U.S. states have been sickened by a severe respiratory illness that public health officials say may be caused by an uncommon virus similar to the germ that causes the common cold.Nearly 500 children have been treated at one hospital alone ― Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri ― and some required intensive care, according to authorities.The suspected germ, enterovirus 68, is an uncommon strain of a very common family of viruses that typica

Technology Sept. 11, 2014