Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Artificial joint replacement gains popularity

By Song Sang-hoKorea’s global status is ever rising, with an increasing number of people finding the country an attractive one.First led by the K-pop and soap operas, “hallyu,” or Korean wave, is spreading to fashion, cosmetics and food industries. In sports, the international success of Korean athletes in recent years has added much to Korea’s reputation.Among these, the medical industry is now at the forefront of such an elevation. Government officials are busy hosting fairs and seeking policies to promote the country’s advanced medical technologies and to draw more overseas patients.The recent visit of Guus Hiddink, the former head coach of the Korean national team, for treatment of an injury to his right knee is one example showing Korea’s rise in the medical field.Among surgical procedures, artificial joint replacement is gathering international praise. These days, orthopedic surgeons and patients suffering from joint problems seek to perform and undergo minimally invasive surgery (MIS), operations through small incisions — from 8 to 10

Feb 28, 2014

Artificial joint replacement gains popularity

One more year of hope or despair?

Students attend a lecture in a cram school located in Sinseol-dong, Seoul. / Korea Times fileRush to cram schools reflects excessive zeal for education  By Baek Byung-yeul, Nam Hyun-woo, Park Ji-won For students waiting for the first day of class at university, this winter would have had some bittersweet moments. However, for those who failed to gain admission to university, winter is the time to decide which cram school to enroll in preparation for the college entrance exam later this year.Apart from the reality that some 80 percent of Korean students go to some type of university, this season is also no doubt a boom period for cram schools.Financial burdensNeedless to say studying for one more year imposes financial burdens on families.Megastudy, one of the best-known cram schools, or “hagwon,” in Korea for instance, charges a fee of 955,000 won ($930) per month for students preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).The cram school offers students what its operator claims is the most effective way of studying-- 14 hours a day from Monday to

Feb 25, 2014

Oriental acne treatments

By Lee Sung-hun Acne is usually associated with teenagers hitting puberty, but nowadays many adults suffer from it too.Visiting a dermatological clinic can help with symptoms, but the effects tend to be temporary. Some even resort to popular folk remedies, but sometimes these only result in adverse side effects or irritation.Commonly, puberty-related acne in teenagers is caused by having too much heat from overabundant “yang-qi” (positive life energy) and the overproduction of sebum due to sex hormones that can cause inflammation under the skin.Contrasting to that is adult acne which females are three times more likely to suffer from. Unrelated to sebum secretion, adult acne is usually caused by accumulated bodily waste from stress, drugs, oily food, smoking or menstruation. Most adult acne is of the inflammation type. It is generally concentrated around the U-zone area ― below the cheek bones, jaw and neck area ― where the skin layer is thin and blood circulation is slow.Many people believe that acne gets worse during the summer because of the extra secret

Feb 21, 2014

Fear of being an old mother

By Lee Hye-jun Emily is a 36-year-old fashion designer. She has been married for four years, but postponed pregnancy because she knew being a designer and a mother would not go easily together. However, she recently learned that because of her ovaries and her age, she may not be fertile when she feels ready.Women are born with a certain number of eggs and this number diminishes with age. Female fertility peaks in the early 20s, gradually decreases and drops sharply when women are in their 30s. This is because of the lowered quality of the remaining eggs, skipped ovulation and infrequent sexual relations. Therefore, women older than age of 35 are recommended to visit a fertility doctor for check-ups after 6 months of unprotected sex.As Emily was preparing for pregnancy, she realized that maintaining a healthy pregnancy was as hard as being pregnant for an older woman. When she learned the risk of fetal chromosome abnormality increases significantly with mothers older than 35 years, she regretted delaying childbirth at this point.As the egg quality declines, the rate of fertilizat

Feb 21, 2014

Sleep crawling - an unexpected milestone

By Jane HanOh, how time flies.When I first started writing this column almost eight months ago, I would easily type away while my infant twins would just lie still, content with simply staring at the ceiling, wiggling their tiny toes or just plain old sleeping. Now, one is climbing my back in full force as I type this very word, while the other one is gnawing on my thigh. Yes, these are moments when I feel like a human jungle gym. Being a first-time mom, I’m truly surprised at just how much and how fast babies develop physically in their first couple months of life. One moment, they’re barely rolling over. Next thing you know, they’re up on their two chubby little legs. Rolling, sitting, crawling and standing ― these are all major milestones that I knew and expected. But I’m being completely thrown off by something else my Baby A is totally into these days ― sleep crawling. Sleep walking, I’ve heard of, but sleep crawling? My goodness, even the name of it doesn’t sound too great. So this is sleep crawling in action: Baby rolls over onto h

Feb 21, 2014

Sleep crawling - an unexpected milestone

Conservative bias?

Cardinal-designate Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul talks to reporters at Incheon International Airport last Sunday before leaving for the Vatican to attend a formal ceremony on Saturday (KST) when his title becomes official. / YonhapNew cardinal in hot water over controversial interview By Kim Tong-hyungCardinal-designate Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul is at the center of a controversy over an interview he gave to an Italian newspaper, in which he blasted a group of Korean priests who have been critical of the Park Geun-hye government.The 71-year-old, a polarizing figure in the Korean church that is becoming increasingly divided over political issues, is currently staying at the Vatican to attend a formal ceremony on Saturday (KST) after which his title becomes official.In its Friday edition, L’osservatore Romano quoted Yeom as describing the Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice (CPAJ), a left-leaning group of priests who actively engage in social and political debates, as “entirely irrational.”Among senior members of Korea’s Catholic clergy,

Feb 21, 2014

(269) Spring cleaning

By Janet ShinCleaning is the easiest yet the most fundamental practice among feng shui cures. For those who ask me about ways to enhance their fortune, I confirm one thing by priority before I provide guidelines.“What do you want most?” In order to get the answer to this question, they must organize their surrounding environment so as to discern where and who they are.Believe it or not, not many people are certain about their expectations when they voice their wish list. It may seem easy to say “I want to be rich, I want to be happy, or I want to be loved.” however they can’t figure out how and why.We understand most ordinary people’s desires as if wealth, love, power and health are the commonly expected wishes. However, when you consult with a saju or feng shui practitioner and try to find measures and accommodate more fortune in your life, you should identify what your current situation is first and seek what you are truly yearning for in a reasonable way.This is how saju and feng shui are different from other superstitious beliefs. You may rely

Feb 20, 2014

Graduation ceremonies brace for change

High school seniors carry their teacher in a palanquin during a graduation ceremony in Hyeong Seok High School in Jeungpyeong Country, NorthChungcheong Province, Feb 12. / YonhapEvolving from violence-marred events to festivals By Park Jin-hai, Kwon Ji-youn, Yoon Sung-won For as long as anyone can remember, high school graduation scenes were more about saying good-bye to the grueling years of college exam preparations and the confinement of school walls than about the commencement of a new life.Most, if not all, ceremonies for years have been marred by a spate of incidents that has drawn criticism from the public ― from egg throwing and burning textbooks to tearing each others’ school uniforms, taking pictures and sharing them on-line. So much so that the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced last year that they would conduct crackdowns on the aberrant behavior of high school seniors on graduation day, including “naked celebrations,” and penalize the offenders. Some of the schools even had policemen guarding school yard entrances as a preve

Feb 18, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Olympics and possible sports injuries

Kim Yu-na, the reigning champion of ladies’ figure skating, falls during her performance at the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb, Croatia, in this file photo taken on Dec. 8, 2013. / YonhapBy Song Sang-hoAll sports fans around the world are zeroing in on the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Koreans’ eyes are on their national team, which will participate in 14 events with its largest contingent of athletes and staff members.For the athletes, preventing injuries is the most crucial part in achieving their goals and winning events. They are highly exposed to injuries, which may devastate their career, due to the combination of winter sports’ inherent characteristics, speed and the competitive mood of the Olympics.In the case of joint injuries, these hardly heal naturally and are often aggravated if proper and timely treatment is delayed. Thus, an immediate check-up at a clinic or a hospital is advised for athletes and enthusiasts alike, at the first instance of experiencing pain or injury. There are common injuries occur during sports at the Winter Olympics.This Olympics is

Feb 14, 2014

(268) How to improve your love fortune

By Janet ShinSetting up a family with a true love is not easy for everybody. The one you are in love with now may not turn out to be your everlasting mate. What attributes the conjugal ties? People usually ascribe it to external qualities, such as appearance, financial condition and or other family, social, educational and class backgrounds that form one’s values. However, as everybody acknowledges, there is something else that accounts for man-woman relationships.Saju explains it with the five elements interactions. If there are any embedded obstacles in one’s innate destiny, it is considered hard to meet the one. Otherwise, he or she has to experience hardships in the process. Is there any way to improve this and how can it be identified?For Koreans, reading “gunghap,” or marital harmony, is very common. It can also be for the compatibility between friends, parents and children and even the business partners as well as the relations between the sexes. Above all, the imminent question would be about when and whether one could meet the right match and who the

Feb 13, 2014

Others

Others

Artificial joint replacement gains popularity

One more year of hope or despair?

Oriental acne treatments

Fear of being an old mother

Sleep crawling - an unexpected milestone

Conservative bias?

(269) Spring cleaning

Graduation ceremonies brace for change

Olympics and possible sports injuries

(268) How to improve your love fortune

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