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(225) Zodiac signs in saju reading

By Janet ShinAnimals are widely compared to explain human’s life and destiny since ancient days. It is quite interesting to learn how humans are portrayed by the ecology of animals’ habits.For example, they often appear in the myths, especially related with the birth of a nation. The myth of Dangun, legendary founding father of Gojoseon (2333 B.C.-108 B.C.), tells the story of a tiger and a bear. They were ordered by the son of Heaven, Hwanwoong, who had a will to rule the human world, to eat only garlic and wormwood inside a cave for a 100 days in order to be reincarnated as a human. The bear endured the long and dark days with the spicy and bitter food, while the tiger was impatient to jump out into the open air. The bear became a woman, who married Hwanwoong to conceive Dangun later on.It is the birth myth of Korea. This story implies that the Korean people are chosen by Heaven. The bear symbolizes one with honesty and tenacity, which represents Korean national character.The animal characters are more saturated into ordinary people’s life. There are 12 zodiac ani

Feb 21, 2013
(225) Zodiac signs in saju reading

Sinchon losing color as college town

By Kim Bo-eun, Bahk Eun-ji, Jung Min-hoSinchon in northwestern Seoul is home to three prestigious universities. It was once a place where young students gathered to have night-long discussions about philosophy and life. The area was also at the center of a student-led pro-democracy movement in the 1980s.Following that, Sinchon became the symbol of youth and served as the heart of college students’ lives. With large numbers of students flocking to the area, it soon developed into a commercial district filled with eateries, coffee shops and bars.The district stretches from the Sinchon Subway Station to Yonsei and Ewha Womans universities down south to Seogang University. It still remains one of the most lucrative areas in Seoul. Day and night, it bustles with students who hang out between and after classes.At night, Sinchon glitters with neon lights of bars. College students’ drinking culture keeps these businesses running, and they thrive especially when the new semester begins in March.Rents have soared, and Sinchon has been undergoing the same fate as many other district

Feb 19, 2013
Sinchon losing color as college town

Churches clash ahead of WCC meeting

By Kim Tong-hyung Churches being partisan may be no longer news but their division coming to open hostility should be taken as a different matter.One case in point is with the churches’ failure to make a joint statement because they disagreed on the inclusion of religious diversity for the World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting scheduled for Busan in October.This disagreement, pitting conservatives against progressives, runs deeper than it appears.They are already poles apart on whether churches should pay income taxes.While the conservative Christian Council of Korea (CCK), the country’s biggest church lobby, has been combating calls against taxation, reform-minded churches find this stance embarrassing.The conflict took a turn for the worse earlier this month when Kim Yeong-ju, a representative of the more progressive National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), stepped down as the head of the WCC organizing committee and expressed frustration over all the infighting.The draft of the joint declaration included a rejection of the idea of supporting religious diver

Feb 17, 2013
Churches clash ahead of WCC meeting

Confusing Korean boyfriend

Dear Dr. P,My name is Kim, the girl from Hong Kong who wrote to you the other time. Thank you for your advice the last time. Actually I went to Korea last Friday to meet my Korean boyfriend. We had talks, very painful talks. Before I talked to him, I thought one of the reasons for him to break up was because he doesn’t love me anymore. And if this was true, it would be the one that hurts the most.One night he finally sat down and tried to listen to my feelings. I told him my true feelings for him, telling him how much I love him, how important he is to me, and all of my feelings. Then suddenly, I heard him sobbing. I thought he was cold, but when I looked at him, I found tears on his face and pain in his eyes.Do you know how much of a shock it was to see a tough and strong man like my boyfriend shedding tears for me, for the relationship? I think it’s not easy for Korean men to cry for a relationship, right?Dr. P, do you think he loves me? Although we reached a mutual understanding after the talks, he still says breaking-up is the only solution to the relationship at the

Feb 15, 2013
Confusing Korean boyfriend

Irregular periods, is it safe?

By Lee Hye-junKaren is a 28 year-old woman who is slightly obese. She had had periods every two or three months since she started menarche. She felt lucky not having annoying menstruation every month like others. During her teenage years, she went through tough times being teased over her acne and facial hair. She actually had a lot of hair on her belly and back, not to mention her arms and legs. In her first summer vacation in college, she gained 13 pounds over three months. Her period did not come for nine months. Since then, she has been having periods once or twice a year.Karen’s story may sound familiar to some readers and many must think it is not a big deal to have an irregular period. However, it can be a huge deal.Karen went to see a gynecologist when she had irregular spotting. Her gynecologist told her she had polycystic ovarian syndrome.Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common condition associated with chronic anovulation, affecting between four to six percent of young women. Normally one or more eggs are released every month. In PCOS, fully grown eggs

Feb 15, 2013
Irregular periods, is it safe?

Stress swelling dyspepsia victims

Studies indicate that stress affects dyspepsia.                               / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngAn increasing number of people are complaining of indigestion here. Stress seems to be the number one cause, according to doctors, who advise that patients should try to change their lifestyle and diet first.According to data from the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients diagnosed with dyspepsia stood at around 640,000 in 2011, growing by an annual 5.5 percent on average since 2006 when the figure stood at 489,000. The insurance service spent 34.6 billion won on treatment of the disease in 2011, 1.8 times more than 19.7 billion won five years ago.“The term indigestion is widely used, but it has diverse meanings for doctors. It includes all those involving particular symptoms in the upper abdomen, regardless of the cause,” said Won Sun-young, a gastroenterologist at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital.The doctor explained that there are generally two t

Feb 15, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Stress swelling dyspepsia victims

Enjoy ice fishing safely

By Song Sang-hoAt the peak of the winter season, many enjoy diverse festivals around the country. The festivals make use of snow and ice of the season to attract visitors. Amongst all those wintry festivals, ice fishing is perhaps the most popular. One can have fun catching fish below a layer of ice by digging a hole in the hard frozen ice only in midwinter. It is all the more special as these events are held in the cleanest places around the country.The “Hwacheon Mountain Trout Festival,” “Inje Smelt Festival,” and “Gapyeong Trout Festival” were held last winter, being enjoyed by ice fishing enthusiasts. In addition, the number of tourists from abroad has also been increasing each year, turning the ice fishing events into international festivals.However, such a pastime might harm one’s health. When the biting cold is raging, the ice fishing that goes on for hours strains and stiffens the muscles, increasing the risk of joint injuries.In addition, with the joints exposed to the cold, circumjacent muscles and ligaments are apt to strain. Once

Feb 15, 2013
Enjoy ice fishing safely

Alternative therapy may harm terminal cancer patients

Prof. Yun Young-hoBy Yoon Ja-youngWhat would you do if you were told by your doctor that you have terminal cancer? Most people would try any treatment, including alternative medicine. A study by a Seoul National University Hospital professor shows that nearly half of all patients try such treatments, but they prove to have little effect and can even be harmful.A research team led by Prof. Yun Young-ho conducted a survey on 481 patients at 12 hospitals around the country. They were diagnosed with terminal cancer between July 2005 and October 2006. The survey asked whether they were trying any kind of complementary or alternative medicine. There are diverse forms of these treatments. Among those cited by the research team are Oriental herbal medicine, acupuncture and Ayurveda along with yoga, meditation, music and drawing therapy as well as aroma therapy, vitamins, diverse dietary treatment, massage and chiropractic remedies.The survey showed that 42 percent had such treatment. Among them, 84 percent used biologically based therapy such as medicinal herbs, vitamin supplements, and diet

Feb 15, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Alternative therapy may harm terminal cancer patients

Reipe for slow and steady diet

Courtesy of CypressEgg-bacon-muffin sandwichNutritional factsCarbohydrates 14 gProtein 19gFat 12gIngredients       You will need an English muffin (approx. 60 grams), an onion (10 grams), a tomato (10 grams), lettuce leaves (5 grams), one egg of medium size, bacon slices (15 grams), half a sheet of sliced cheese, cabbage leaves (10 grams), 3 grams of baby vegetables, half teaspoon of mayonnaise, half teaspoon of mustard, and some vegetable oil. Step by step     Wash the lettuce with the running water and cut appropriately.Wash onion and tomato and slice them appropriately.Wash cabbage and baby vegetables, and slice cabbage.Mix the mayonnaise and mustard and spread it on the inside of one half of the English muffin.Grease the pan with vegetable oil and fry the egg.Bake the bacon and cut it appropriately and prepare the cheese.Put the ingredients prepared above between English muffin halves. TipsYou can cut some calories off the bacon by absorbing the fat with kitchen paper after baking it or parboilin

Feb 15, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Reipe for slow and steady diet
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