Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
South Koreans live 12 years longer than counterparts in North
South Koreans live an average of 12 years longer than North Koreans, shows recent data.
According to Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of South Koreans is 78.2 years for men and 85 years for women.
This is comparable to 66 years for men and 72.7 years for women in the North.
The gap is attributed to the infant mortality rate.
In North Korea, 22 babies die from every 1,000 that are born. This is 7.6 times South Korea's figure (2.9).
The infant mortality rate in the North is expected to fall to 7.1 in 2055, but will still show a notable gap in comparison to the figure for the South, which is forecast to shrink to 0.6.
While infant mortality is the primary factor affecting life expectancy, poor nutrition and medical care are also factors.
Data shows that in 2013, the daily nutritional intake of South Koreans was 3,056 kilocalories, while in the North the figure was 2,094 kilocalories.
The nutritional intake for North Koreans falls short of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' recommended daily requirement of 2,500 kilocalories, as well as the global average of 2,870 kilocalories.
Their daily consumption of animal proteins is particularly low, at 10.1 grams, a fifth of what South Koreans consume daily (50.5 grams).
Moreover, the doctor to population ratio in the North was 31.6 for every 10,000 in 2001. South Korea's figure for 2014 was 44.8.