The Korea Herald

Yongsan U.S. Army garrison may become heritage site

Seoul City said Monday that it has selected eight sites, artifacts and traditions to push for designation as UNESCO World Heritage in the long term.The candidates include the U.S. Army garrison, remains of an ancient fortress, ancient maps of the capital and Buddhists rituals.The city plans to spend 100 million won ($94,000) in promoting the heritages next year.They have been selected by experts commissioned by the city government. The list of places includes the Yongsan U.S. Army garrison at th

Social Affairs Nov. 25, 2013

Seoul City to offer free offices for foreign startups

Seoul City will provide free offices, professional counseling and other services to foreigners who start up a business in the city, officials said. The Seoul Global Center in Jongno is recruiting six foreign businesses and the global business centers in Gangnam and Yeoiudo are seeking three and five startups, respectively, to offer various support. The new businesses are allowed to stay for six months in the centers’ buildings for free starting in January next year and those with outstanding per

Social Affairs Nov. 25, 2013

Confusing questions on CSAT stir controversy

College entrance exam authorities came under fire amid a series of claims of ambiguous questions, one of which has prompted students to prepare a class action suit. Students claimed that at least three questions in English, mathematics and geography on the College Scholastic Ability Test were confusing and ambiguous.The state-run Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation is scheduled to notify students of the results of the national exam Wednesday. More than 650,700 high school seniors and g

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2013

Childless families increase rapidly

Childless households are sharply increasing in Korea due to the low birthrate and an aging population, a governmental think tank’s research showed on Thursday. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs’ report, the proportion of two-member families without children increased to 27.9 percent in 2013, up 18 percentage points from 1990.The share of three-member childless households also jumped from 6.9 percent to 17.1 percent during the period, according to the report written b

Social Affairs Nov. 21, 2013

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is one of the essential lipids needed to maintain normal body function. It forms the cell membrane, and is needed to produce various hormones such as adrenocortical hormones, as well as male and female hormones.However, people with higher-than-normal levels of cholesterol (200-240 ml/dl) are at increased risk for angina, myocardial infarction and cerebral ischemia, along with smoking and hypertension, which are the three main risk factors. On the other hand, low levels of cholestero

Technology Nov. 21, 2013

Student elections marred by apathy, irregularities

Student council elections at some universities have been marred by low participation, indifference and even claims of irregularities. Experts voice concerns about a decline in democratic participation and weakening commitment to public interest activities among students, who have grown up witnessing corruption in politics and are increasingly concerned about their employment prospects. In the most recent case, the election management committee at Duksung Women’s University in Seoul on Wednesday

National Nov. 20, 2013

Winter getting shorter, starting later: KMA

Winter is starting later and getting shorter due to the global warming and urbanization, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday. Winter ― defined as the period in which the average temperature is below 5 degrees Celsius ― started on Nov. 30 on average since 2000. That is 11 days later than in the 1970s, according to the agency’s analysis.Its duration has shortened to 102 days, a 17 day decrease over the three decades. Meanwhile, Seoul had its first snow Monday, three days earlier th

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2013

Winter getting shorter, starting later: KMA

All generations of Koreans calcium deficient: report

All generations of Koreans, excluding infants, are lacking in their calcium intake, a report showed Thursday.Calcium deficiency is especially serious among teenagers and the elderly and the gaps are relatively wide between the sexes and income groups, according to a 2011 survey by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The average amount of dietary calcium was only 72 percent of the recommended level, the agency said. The daily recommended intake of calcium for adults is 700 millig

Technology Nov. 14, 2013

Blind worker at City Hall inspires hope for disabled

Every morning Choi Su-yun takes the subway, crosses the streets and navigates her way through the corridors and office at City Hall. This is only a simple daily routine for most people, but would be somewhat impossible for the blind woman without On-you, a 3-year-old golden retriever and her 24-hour best mate. “On-you directs me the whole way and tells me whenever we face obstacles. He is so helpful,” Choi, 28, told The Korea Herald. Choi is the first civil servant at the Seoul Metropolitan Gov

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2013

Blind worker at City Hall inspires hope for disabled

Seoul pushes for global city network

Seoul and seven other cities agreed Thursday to form a global consultative body next year to push for sustainable socio-economic development.The annual Global Social Economy Forum in Seoul adopted a declaration pledging to cooperate on a range of projects for inclusive urban development, including social enterprises, micro-financing and cooperatives. Seoul will host the provisional secretariat of the envisioned global network and its inaugural conference next year.Representatives from cities inc

Social Affairs Nov. 7, 2013

Seoul City to expand welfare budget next year to 7 trillion won

Seoul City said Wednesday that it would expand its welfare budget to 6.9 trillion won ($6.5 billion) next year, a 2.8 percent rise from this year. The city submitted its budget plan for next year to the city council for approval. The overall budget is 24.5 trillion won, a 997 billion won increase from this year.Mayor Park Won-soon has promised to gradually increase the welfare budget to around 30 percent of the overall budget at the beginning of his term. He said that the increase was unavoidabl

Social Affairs Nov. 6, 2013

Asia-Pacific cities look to sustainable development

Leaders from some 50 Asian Pacific cities agreed Monday to boost cooperation for sustainable development, disaster response and poverty reduction around the world. They adopted the Seoul Declaration during the 7th CITYNET congress which started Sunday for a four-day run. CITYNET is the regional network of local authorities for the management of human settlements. Seoul was elected the same day as the chair city for a four-year term, succeeding Yokohama. Its secretariat moved to Seoul last March

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2013

Asia-Pacific cities look to sustainable development

Seoul ranked sixth for city competitiveness

Seoul City was ranked as the sixth-most competitive city for the second consecutive year in a survey by the Mori Memorial Foundation of Japan.According to the 2013 Global Power City Index, Seoul showed general improvements in all categories, especially in economy in which it jumped from 13th to 8th, the Japanese urban studies research center said. It has annually rated 40 cities since 2008 in the six categories: economy, research & development, cultural interaction, livability, environment and t

Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2013

After growing up on the streets, center founder feeds hungry seniors

In the basement of an old, unnamed building in central Seoul, about 70 seniors line up for free lunch. A man wearing a green apron brings meal to them one by one. This has been the daily routine for Kim Jong-eun, 78, president of Hangil Volunteer Community, for the past 10 years.Kim, now a garment firm owner, was a street beggar himself following his blind mother in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. “I still vividly remember the days my mom and I suffered from hunger on the streets. Have you ev

Oct. 29, 2013

After growing up on the streets, center founder feeds hungry seniors

Seoul City aims to become 5th most visited destination

Seoul City announced on Friday a new tourism scheme to increase sightseeing infrastructure and attractions in an attempt to bring in 10 million more visitors and become the fifth city in the world in tourist numbers by 2018.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced the new plan in the annual general meeting of Seoul International Business Advisory Council. Seoul will transform 25 historical spots into major sightseeing attractions and build about 77,600 more accommodations in the next five years, acco

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2013

Articles by Lee Hyun-jeong