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Bahk Eun-ji

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.

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Health

'Young adults are not safe from gum disease'

A woman listens as a doctor explains gum disease. /Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiPeriodontitis, also generally known as gum disease or periodontal disease, usually begins with bacteria growth in the mouth. If it is not properly treated, the mouth can be end up with tooth loss due to destruction of the tissue that surrounds the teeth.Gum disease is classified into gingivitis and periodontitis depending on the degree of progression. In the early stages of gingivitis, bacteria builds up in plaque, and causes the gums to become inflamed and to easily bleed during tooth brushing. At this stage, damage to teeth or tissue do not occur, even if the gum is irritated.Gingivitis can be treated to some extent by just brushing the teeth properly, but in the case of periodontitis in which the inflammation progresses, it is impossible to recover by simple brushing. However, if gingivitis is not treated, it can develop into periodontitis. Periodontitis is an inflammation of the gums and supporting structures of the teeth. The inflammation brings swollen, red and bleeding gums and is the body's defen

Feb 2, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
'Young adults are not safe from gum disease'
Society

Kim In-chul to head university council

Kim In-chul, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies newly elected chairman of Korean Council for University Education. /Courtesy of HUFSBy Bahk Eun-jiKim In-chul, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, has been elected the next chairman of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE).The council held a regular meeting for 2020 at The K Hotel in Seoul and elected Kim as its new chairman. Kim will serve for the next two years from April 8. The president showed his ambition to carry out his duties, especially with regard to the university evaluation system and financial issues.“We will collaborate with related education authorities such as the Ministry of Education to expand the autonomy and free discretion that the universities should enjoy as all universities nationwide are struggling with financial problems and the implementation of the new evaluation system,” Kim said during the meeting. The college evaluation system is a key policy of the education ministry to structural reform of private universities amid a decreasing number of school-age c

Feb 2, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Kim In-chul to head university council
Health

Korea reports 1st human-to-human transmission of coronavirus

Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul restricts the entry of visitors as it is treating the nation's sixth confirmed patient of the new coronavirus, Thursday. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea reported its first case of a human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, Thursday, with the total number of confirmed cases rising to six, according to the government. The case has put the health authorities on even higher alert over the deadly virus, and is likely to force the government to come up with strengthened and more comprehensive quarantine measures than previous ones that have focused on controlling the entry to the country of people from ― and those who had visited ― China.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the two additional cases were reported late in the afternoon.The fifth confirmed patient is a 32-year-old businessman, who recently visited the city of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the viral disease outbreak, and returned here Jan. 24. The man, who had a cough due to asthma, had been under government observation despite having no fe

Jan 30, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea reports 1st human-to-human transmission of coronavirus
  • Panic buying continues in Hong Kong amid Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
  • Coronavirus affects election campaign
  • Customer complaints rise over rocketed mask price
  • 'China-phobia' hits Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Market
  • Main opposition party stoking 'China-phobia'
  • 'Desperate time calls for desperate measures'
  • 368 Korean evacuees from Wuhan sent to two state-run facilities
Society

Universities scramble to deal with Chinese students

Graduates and guests at a Korea Maritime and Ocean University graduation ceremony in Busan wear face masks, Wednesday, amid the global scare over the fast-spreading new coronavirus. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiUniversities here are scrambling to deal with their Chinese students who are set to return to Korea for the new semester that begins March 2, amid the spread of a new coronavirus in China, according to school officials, Thursday.The officials expressed concern of the possibility that the students could bring the highly-infectious virus with them, raising the possibility that campuses could become the epicenter of any outbreaks here.Korea University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and other schools in Seoul have already closed their Korean language institutes temporarily amid growing fears of the virus spreading on their campuses.According to the Korean Education Statistics Service, the number of Chinese nationals studying in Korea was 69,287 as of April 2019, or 43.3 percent of the 160,165 international students. Kyung Hee University had the largest number of Chinese stud

Jan 30, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Universities scramble to deal with Chinese students
  • Inter-Korean liaison office temporarily closed over coronavirus outbreak
Health

Gov't rapped for poor response to coronavirus

Citizens wearing protective masks wait for the bus in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday, amid growing concerns over the spread of the new deadly coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government has failed to ease growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus from China as health authorities were unable to adequately monitor infected patients and those in contact with them, according to opposition parties and doctors' groups, Wednesday.“I strongly doubt whether President Moon Jae-in puts the highest priority on protecting our people,” said Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the minor Bareunmirae Party on his Facebook page.“The public learned of the importance of quarantine after experiencing the 2015 MERS outbreak, which killed 38 people, but this massive infectious disease reveals a bungling government system once again,” Ha said.Because people are so anxious about the disease, Ha said he strongly urges the government to use initiative to solve the problem. He went on to say that he didn't understand why the government did no

Jan 29, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't rapped for poor response to coronavirus
  • Korea, China coordinating response to virus epidemic
  • Municipalities refuse to house 720 from Wuhan
Health

Sending masks to China

Boxes containing masks and anti-contamination clothing to be sent from Cheonan City to regions in China are stacked at a check-in counter of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, amid growing fears over the fast-spreading coronavirus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. /Yonhap

Jan 29, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Sending masks to China
Health

Schools on edge over spread of coronavirus

Children wearing masks return home from school on the day of reopening after a month-long winter vacation at an elementary school in Seoul, Tuesday. /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiEducation authorities have been on high alert amid concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus and are urging certain students and teachers to refrain from attending schools.The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that it has decided to request that faculty and students who have returned to the country after visiting Wuhan, China, stay home for a minimum of 14 days from their arrival in Korea. The request applied to students and staff of kindergartens, schools and universities.For those affected, the ministry will designate a team in charge of each school to check whether or not those people show any suspicious symptoms. It has also considered providing special grants to schools for funding distribution of anti-epidemic products such as masks and hand sanitizers. Schools that operate care classe

Jan 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Schools on edge over spread of coronavirus
  • Korean stocks plunge on coronavirus fears
Society

Seoul City increases PR budget by 74%

By Bahk Eun-jiSeoul City's budget for public relations this year increased 74 percent from a year earlier, according to city officials Tuesday. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon /Korea Times file According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) and the Seoul Metropolitan Council, the budget for the civic communication planning division, which is in charge of public relations, is 103.5 billion won ($87.9 million) for this year, up 74 percent from 59.4 billion won in 2019.Considering the budget growth rate for civic relations from 2016 to 2018 was around 10 percent each year, the sudden dramatic increase this year is unusual.The city government said it has significantly increased the budget to compensate for policy deficiencies stemming from a lack of publicity. If the budget is analyzed based on the unit price, the number of advertisements in Seoul is expected to increase significantly this year. The number of advertisements screened on terrestrial television will almost t

Jan 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul City increases PR budget by 74%
Health

Closed due to coronavirus

A student reads a notice on the temporary closure of Yonsei University Korean Language Institute in Seoul, Tuesday, amid growing concerns over the possible spread of the new coronavirus from China. /Yonhap

Jan 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Closed due to coronavirus
Health

Targeted screening can prevent prostate cancer death

By Bahk Eun-jiEight out of 10 men in their 40s or older have never had a prostate cancer check-up, according to a recent survey. A man listens as a doctor explains prostate cancer. /Korea Times fileAccording to a Foundation for Korean Urological Association survey of 600 men in their 40s and older about their awareness of prostate cancer and its examination as part of Blue Ribbon Campaign, 83.3 percent, or 500, said they had never been screened for then disease. One in three respondents knew nothing about the screening method. Prostate cancer is rising among men here mainly due to rapid population aging and possible westernized eating habits. In 2016, it became the fourth most common cancer among men in Korea, surpassing liver cancer. Among the respondents, 61.8 percent said they did not have a checkup because they did not have any symptoms. Another 31.2 percent said they did not need the checkup because they were in good health.More than 50 percent thought that they would not develop prostate cancer, with 26.2 percent saying they did not have any family history of the disease and 21

Jan 26, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Targeted screening can prevent prostate cancer death
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