A Korean language speaking contest for foreigners will be held in celebration of Hangul Proclamation Day on Oct. 10.Organized by a local language tutoring service 247MyTutor, in partnership with the Korean Language Society, Kwangwoon University and EBY Talkingclub, the competition is open to foreigners of all ages and levels of proficiency in the Korean language who reside here. The preliminary round will take place online at 247MyTutor.net, where interested applicants can apply until Sept. 26 w

Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2017

Seoul is turning the rooftops of five public buildings into venues for jazz concerts, yoga classes and other outdoor activities, as part of the first rooftop festival. Citizens enjoy outdoor activities on the rooftop garden of the Seoul Metropolitan Library on Wednesday. (Kim Da-sol/The Korea Herald)The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the ticketed event will run until Oct. 28, offering a chance for citizens to enjoy the nice autumn weather on the open-air roof that is mostly cl

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2017

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ordered a recall of some 110,000 intravenous fluid products from two local medical suppliers following two cases in which an insect was found inside the sealed plastic bag.  The Ministry of Food and Drug SafetyHealth authorities confirmed two cases of contaminated IV bags reported since Sunday. A tiny dead insect was found inside the product, while being administered to a five-month-old child at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. Parents found it and ca

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2017

Health authorities are investigating an intravenous fluid bag with an insect inside that was found at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday while being administered to a five-month-old child. Parents of the infant, who was hospitalized for urinary stone treatment at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital in western Seoul, found what appears to be a tiny insect floating inside the plastic bag connected to the child, at around 8 p.m. Sunday. It was about 14 hours after the young patient began receiving f

Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2017

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Tuesday asked state prosecutors to investigate former President Lee Myung-bak and now-imprisoned former spy chief Won Sei-hoon for an alleged covert smear campaign against him during the Lee administration. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon (not pictured) filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office Tuesday, via his attorney, against a total of 11 -- former President Lee Myung-bak, former spy cheif Won Sei-hoon and nine others at the National Intellig

Social Affairs Sept. 19, 2017

In South Korea, some 700,000, or 1 in 10 of the elderly population, suffer from dementia, but this number will balloon to 2.7 million by 2050 amid the nation’s rapidly aging society, data from a ministry showed Monday. First lady Kim Jung-sook (right) participates in a program to support dementia patients. YonhapAccording to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, among South Koreans aged 65 or older, 725,000 are estimated to be suffering from dementia this year. The number will reach 1 million in 2

Social Affairs Sept. 18, 2017

South Korea saw a 2.5 percent on-year drop in the number of students enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools last year, government data showed Thursday. As of April, 6.46 million children are attending school, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Education.First-year students are jubilant at Myeongil Elementary School in Seoul`s Gangdong Ward on July 14, 2017, as this year`s summer vacation starts. (Yonhap)Middle school students reported the steepest decline of 5.2

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2017

Nearly 56 percent of North Korean defectors who participated in a recent South Korean survey said they thought Korean reunification was impossible while living in the North.  YonhapThe Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies asked 132 defectors who fled to South Korea last year, and 55.7 percent of respondents said they were pessimistic about unification before coming to the South. It marked an increase by 11 percentage points compared to the previous year’s surve

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2017

Some 100 meters of walkway by the famous stonewall surrounding the palace Deoksugung in Seoul has been restored and was opened to public Wednesday.The section is part of the 170 meters of the 1.1-kilometer wall that has been occupied by the British Embassy for nearly 60 years. Some 70 meters of the walkway, which is the embassy’s legal property, will remain off-limits to pedestrians. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon made the first approach to the UK authority for cooperation in restoring and returning

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2017

A 57-year-old man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing bags of rice offered to Buddha at a temple in the southern coastal city of Busan, police said Wednesday. (Yonhap)According to police, the suspect, surnamed Lee, had stolen rice offerings from the temple on over 40 occasions since February. He stole a total of 200 kilograms of rice, worth 1 million won ($891). Lee reportedly said that he was not a Buddhist. (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2017

Dog meat is touted as a stamina-boosting dish by some in South Korea, but the first nationwide food safety inspection of the meat has revealed that it is not safe and clean: 64 percent of the dog meat being sold at markets was found to contain some kind of antibiotics, while most have potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. YonhapAccording to Konkuk University’s Institute for the 3Rs and the Korean Animal Welfare Association on Monday, which inspected dog meat from 93 vendors at 25 traditional

Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2017

About 83 percent of airborne bacteria found in airborne pollutants like PM 2.5 in South Korea and China overlap, a study found Monday, suggesting that Korea’s fine dust particles may have originated from China. The findings were released by a team of researchers from Seoul National University‘s Graduate School of Public Health, and were from the analysis on bacterial DNA of fine dust concentrations in Seoul, Beijing and Nagasaki in Japan. South Korea is bordered by China to the west and Japan to

Technology Aug. 28, 2017

At least 983 people were caught taking of intrusive pictures of women's body parts, during the summer holiday season, police said Sunday. The Korean National Police Agency checked 415 public restrooms and changing rooms at beaches, 705 restrooms at subway stations and 2,070 changing rooms at waterparks in an intensive crackdown that ended on Aug. 20. YonhapRestrooms and changing rooms have long been easy targets for rigging cameras up on the ceiling and wall. The number of voyeurism crimes has j

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2017

Conscious consumers are driving trends behind the popularity of products linked to various social issues, such as floral-print phone cases and stationery items inspired by the drawings of former sex slaves during the World War II. Marymond“I first bought Marymond’s phone case because it was pretty. But by purchasing the product that is designed based on the former sex slaves’ paintings, I felt good to support victims through my consumption,” said 26-year-old Lee Chae-yoon. Marymond started six y

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2017

Seoul is probably more closely associated with stark concrete jungle than forests. However, the city is becoming greener as local governments turn to forests to battle pollution. Forests in urban areas work as filters for air pollutants and fine particles. According to the National Institute of Forest Science, a single tree can absorb 35.7 grams of fine dust particles in a year -- an amount that could fill an espresso cup. A coniferous tree can absorb up to 44 grams of air pollutants, and enviro

Social Affairs Aug. 25, 2017