Ever since the Sewol ferry disaster, Song Eun-jin, a 56-year-old business woman, sometimes bursts into tears when she watches the news of the rising death toll and grieving relatives of the victims.Though she is not related to victims or their families and friends, she can’t take her eyes off the news on her smartphone or TV, whether at work or at home.“My husband asked me to stop watching TV, but how can I not see it? Hundreds of innocent students are dead,” said Song.Song is one of a growing n

Social Affairs April 29, 2014

South Koreans are calling for legal recognition of the Sewol heroes, who sacrificed their lives when the ferry sank off the country’s southern coast on April 16. On Friday, the Incheon city government applied for legal recognition of the sacrifice of two of the city’s residents ― crew member Jung Hyun-seon and part-time worker Kim Ki-woong. Jung and Kim, both 28, died while helping passengers escape from the sinking ferry. It was later revealed that the two were engaged to each other and had pla

Social Affairs April 28, 2014

South Korean authorities on Sunday expanded their probe into the ferry disaster that left more than 300 people dead or missing as search and rescue operations continued at a slow pace off the southern coast. Since the passenger ferry Sewol sank on April 16, the death toll has climbed to 188, with 114 still unaccounted for, as of 6 p.m. Sunday.As part of the investigation into the accident, investigators requested search warrants for the Coast Guard in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, to look into w

Social Affairs April 27, 2014

Confusion reigned in hospitals in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, as some recovered bodies of ferry victims were handed over to the wrong families due to a rushed identification process.Family members of a ferry victim had brought the recovered body of their son to their hometown of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, to prepare for the funeral. The maritime authorities, however, notified them Wednesday that the body was that of a classmate, according to DNA test results. This is the third case of the wrong

Social Affairs April 24, 2014

Grief and anguish continued to overwhelm the city of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday as thousands of mourners visited a memorial altar for the victims of the ferry that sank off Korea’s southwestern coast on April 16.The memorial altar was set up temporarily inside a gymnasium by the local government from Wednesday for six days to accommodate the large number of mourners. The official memorial altar and a memorial monument will be installed at a park in Ansan next Tuesday. By the afternoo

Social Affairs April 23, 2014

The grief escalated Tuesday as more relatives and friends bade farewell to loved ones in dozens of funerals held in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, where most of the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol lived. The ferry that capsized off South Korea’s southwest coast on Wednesday was carrying 476 passengers, most of them students of Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul. Of the 325 Danwon students, only 75 survived.Rage, sorrow and pain filled the funeral services held for five students at Korea Un

Social Affairs April 22, 2014

Social Affairs April 22, 2014

Families and friends tearfully bid farewell to loved ones as funeral services were held over the weekend for victims of the ferry that sank off the southwestern coast of the country last week. On early Monday, the funeral service was held for the Danwon High School vice principal.The 52-year-old vice principal, surnamed Kang, committed suicide on Friday, two days after hundreds of his students drowned or went missing in the ferry sinking. Before he hung himself, Kang wrote in a suicide note that

Social Affairs April 21, 2014

The families of the victims who lost their lives or went missing on the Sewol issued a statement in Jindo on Friday, calling for stepped-up search and rescue efforts.The following is the full text of the statement: We would like to appeal with tears to rest of the public as we feel furious at the government’s behavior. We received the shocking news at 9 a.m. Wednesday and heard that everyone was rescued at noon. We came here to see the children, but the actual situation left us speechless. At 5:

Social Affairs April 18, 2014

Four giant cranes arrived Friday in the scene to help pull up the sunken ferry in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, officials said. Three massive cranes were on standby at the scene until another crane arrived in the afternoon. The salvage operation to pull the ferry out of the waters will not be carried out without the consent of the families of the missing people, officials said. Any mishandling of the ship could lead to a loss of oxygen, which is critical for potential survivors, they added. The

Social Affairs April 18, 2014

Kidney cancer refers to most types of renal cancer that occur in the kidneys (accounting for more than 85 percent). Kidney cancer accounts for approximately 1.6 percent of all cancers that occur in Korea, according to data from 2002. It is twice as likely to occur in men as in women, and is most common in the 40-60 age group. Kidney cancer is being diagnosed earlier due to heath checks and widespread use of ultrasound. SymptomsThe kidneys are retroperitoneal organs, so kidney cancer can be asymp

Technology April 17, 2014

The number of patients with retinopathy is on the rise, with the exact cause of the increase unknown, a report showed Thursday. According to a report released by the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients with retinopathy surged to 860,000 in 2012, jumping 58 percent from 2008. The annual increase was 12.2 percent, the report said. “Retinopathy” refers to all noninflammatory disorders of the retina ― the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the eye. The retina creates an image o

Technology April 17, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― In the midst of the diabetes epidemic, a glimmer of good news: Heart attacks, strokes and other complications from the disease are plummeting.Over the last two decades, the rates of heart attacks and strokes among diabetics fell by more than 60 percent, a new federal study shows. The research also confirms earlier reports of drastic declines in diabetes-related kidney failure and amputations.The drop is mainly attributed to better screening, medicines and care. The improvements c

Technology April 17, 2014