Lifestyle - The Korea Times

'Appearance comedy' irks audiences

Comedian Oh Na-mi performs in this captured image of KBS’ comedy sketch show Gag Concert. She usually takes roles of ugly women in many skits of the comedy show. In this skit, she portrays a woman who constantly fails to woo men because of her appearance, but blames the failures on her bad luck. / Captured from Gag ConcertBy Baek Byung-yeul, Park Ji-won, Nam Hyun-wooWe all know that making others laugh, or at least smile, can sometimes be difficult.Still, that is no excuse for professional gagsters who cross the line and go for laughs by making fun of people’s appearance.In Korean comedy shows, the practice has become quite common, disturbing some domestic fans and making foreigners raise the question: “Is it a cultural difference or insensitivity to ‘lookism?’”A 22-year-old college student, surnamed Kim, is one of those feeling uncomfortable about the so-called “appearance comedy.”“I’m a huge fan of Gag Concert, but some skits seem to make fun of others’ appearance,” Kim said. Gag Concert is the longes

Feb 11, 2014

'White coat' ceremony

A professor at Korea University College of Medicine buttons white coats for medical students who are about to take part in their first clinical training during a “2014 White Coat Ceremony,” Monday. The students will betrained at Korea University hospitals in Anam, Guro, and Ansan. / Courtesy of Korea University College of Medicine

Feb 7, 2014

Myongji Hospital scouts Dr. Lim

Myongji Hospital announced that Dr. Lim Jae-hoon, one of the country’s top experts in liver, biliary  tract and abdominal radiology, started working at the hospital from Monday.After graduating from Seoul National University medical school, the former president of the Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine was a founding member of Samsung Medical Center,  where he served as professor until last year. He has published around 150 research works in world renowned journals. 

Feb 7, 2014

Kwang Dong to support Jeju school

Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical, which distributes Samdasoo, a bottle water brand from Jeju Island, said it will support the orchestra of Wimi Middle School on Jeju to nurture talented students on the island. The orchestra will get an annual fund of 10 million won from the pharmaceutical company over three years.“We hope the funding will promote the education of talented students in the provinces, contributing to balanced development on Jeju and culture there,” said a spokesperson for the company.

Feb 7, 2014

Vaginal dryness in menopause

By Lee Hye-jun Samantha is a beautiful 55-year-old lady. She looks 10 years younger than her friends and maintains good health with regular check-ups. Recently, she faced a problem with her husband. She had pain during sexual intercourse and sometimes vaginal bleeding occurred. But she never discussed the problem with her husband or went to see her gynecologist. She did not want to admit her body was getting old.After menopause, women experience severe estrogen deprivation. They suffer from hot flashes, unexplained joint pain, night sweats and vaginal dryness. Decreased estrogen induces thinning and loss of elasticity of the vaginal walls and reduction in vaginal lubricating fluid. Approximately half of postmenopausal women report they have vaginal discomforts such as dryness, itching, irritation and pain during intercourse and urination, but fewer women seek medical advice because they are unaware of the problems and the availability of treatment.Samantha noticed the discomfort began around her menopause four years ago. She assumed it was an inevitable postmenopausal change as

Feb 7, 2014

Facial nerve palsy

By Lee Sung-hun According to a recent report from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of facial nerve palsy patients, whose facial muscles twitch or paralyze unconsciously, has increased by 24.2 percent over the past five years. The number of diagnosed facial nerve palsy patients was 57,000 in 2008 and 70,000 in 2012, showing an average of 5.6 percent increase per year.Quite recently, an office worker in her 20s visited my clinic. Her face twisted to one side making her lips unnaturally skewed and she could not completely shut one of her eyes. She also complained of pain in her ears and surely enough there were blisters in her ears a couple of days later. Band-shaped blisters are usually indicators of varicella zoster virus (chickenpox virus responsible for shingles) having infected the facial nerves, and due to high likelihood of lasting aftereffects the patient and I myself are very keenly monitoring the progress of the treatment.Facial nerve palsy generally refers to the partial facial paralysis which often results in twisted face, dry eyes and drooling

Feb 7, 2014

Twins in jetlag mayhem

By Jane HanAfter my most recent entry on flying with twins, I received several e-mails from parent-readers sympathizing with my tough trip and asking questions ahead of their much-dreaded, long-haul flights with babies.Many of the questions had to do with coping with jetlag, to which I unfortunately couldn’t respond. Why? Because I’m still wrestling with two heavily jetlagged, tired-but-wired babies. Every. Single. Night.Yes, it has been three weeks now. I repeat, three weeks. How can they still be jetlagged? You tell me.I don’t know what went wrong where. I thought I did all the right things — or at least what seemed “right” for jetlagged adults — to help make the transition smooth for them. Obviously, none worked.I cut back their naps, kept them up till way past their normal bedtime, took them out even in this freezing cold for sun exposure and even bought all kinds of teething-relief remedies, thinking that maybe it’s the teething that’s messing with their sleep cycles.After three weeks of trying every possible solution I can t

Feb 7, 2014

Imbalances in hormones causing aging

Dr. Lucia ChungBy Yoon Ja-youngDreaming of living to be 120 may no longer just be that with the development of medicine and a generally healthier populace. What matters more is how to age healthy. Dr. Lucia Chung, who runs Palm Springs Seoul Clinic in Cheongdam-dong, a branch clinic of the Palm Springs Life Extension Institute in the United States, says anti-aging treatments aim at enabling a healthy life after retirement by restoring balance within our body.According to the doctor who specializes in anti-aging, there are around 11 theories on why people get old. Among them, telomere theory, antioxidant theory, neuro-endocrinology, and calorie restriction theory are the ones most actively studied.“As telomere, or the part at the end of the chromosome, gets shorter, there increases the risk of abnormal cell division there, which consequently leads to aging. Hence, we can theoretically get young if we can make the telomere recover by applying growth hormones. Free radicals, which also negatively affect the genes and lead to aging, can be dealt with using antioxidants,” the

Feb 7, 2014By Yoon Ja-young

Winter snacks and diet

Popular winter snacks such as hot fish cake soup can ruin your diet plan. / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngLosing weight is a New Year’s resolution for many, but the temptation of delicious winter snacks can put an end to all our best intentions.The Korea Health Promotion Foundation warns that those wanting to lose weight should take note that eating just a couple of winter snacks can provide more calories than a bowl of rice.Tteokbokki, or stir-fried rice cake in pepper paste sauce, accompanied by hot fish cake soup is favorite street snack for many. However, according to the foundation, eating just eight pieces of Tteokbokki adds 300 calories to your daily diet, equivalent to a bowl of rice. Having a skewer of fish cake will add 95 calories on that.Bungeobbang, fish-shaped pastries sold on the street contain sweet red beans. These may look small, but contain as many as 213 calories. A baked sweet potato, which also stimulates your appetite, may sound healthy, but don’t forget that this delight contains 248 calories.The foundation acknowledges that it is unrealisti

Feb 7, 2014By Yoon Ja-young

(267) Year Fortune 2014

By Janet Shin This is known as the year of gap-o or that of a blue horse. It is determined by the 60-year cycle of 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches combinations. They run by the lunar calendar.Lunar New Year ’s Day fell on Jan. 31 this year. Meanwhile the saju calendar regards Ipchun, the onset of spring as the true beginning of the new year, which was Feb. 4. For saju and feng shui practitioners, Ipchun is such a critical day to foretell a year fortune so they hold a significant ritual in order to cultivate one’s fortune. Those who know this don’t forget to read their year fortune and do a big house cleaning to bring in lucky energy.Among the 60 combinations, gap-o is the 31st. It is because gap is the first among the 10 stems and o is the seventh among the 12 branches. For example, gap-ja is the first and gye-hae is the last out of the 60. As it is located in the middle of the cycle, it means the beginning of the second half.It is like a foal trying to stand up. The blue horse itself signifies dynamics and progressiveness. Once it is tamed well, it w

Feb 6, 2014

Others

Others

'Appearance comedy' irks audiences

'White coat' ceremony

Myongji Hospital scouts Dr. Lim

Kwang Dong to support Jeju school

Vaginal dryness in menopause

Facial nerve palsy

Twins in jetlag mayhem

Imbalances in hormones causing aging

Winter snacks and diet

(267) Year Fortune 2014

Most Read in Lifestyle