Lifestyle - The Korea Times

(202) Promising doctor diagnosed with late-stage cancer

By Janet Shin Saju reading is not just to interpret the fixed four pillars or eight letters of our destiny. People may expect to know their whole past, present and future by reading the eight letters. But the drama of our lives can translate into a much more appealing narrative if read at multifarious times and in different circumstances. It is indeed eye-opening to see the entire destiny of your life, which even includes your parents, spouse and children. But life is not just a fossilized one but responds to all events in time and space. The word “unmyeong,” the Korean translation of destiny, connotes two significations. One is “myeong,” which literally tells the destiny. The other, “un” is more about the transitions of life. Changes in life are caused by chemical reactions between one’s saju and the energy of every year. The oriental understanding of destiny recognizes not only our given fate but also what is affected and altered by people, time and location. The teaching of the sages always emphasized the importance of our success by meeting the right person at the right t

Sep 6, 2012

College graduates lost in job search

Bahk Eun-ji, Kim bo-eun, Jung Min-ho Han Suk-hoon, a 27-year-old law major at Hanyang University in Seoul, graduated three weeks ago but he still goes to school every day. At the library, he reads newspapers to keep up with current affairs and studies for an English proficiency test. He has struggled to find a job. He applied to more than 30 companies in the second half of last year and was granted interviews by 10. One finally selected him but he had to pass a three-month-internship to land a permanent position at the company. Han did his best to pass the screening ― he emptied trash cans and did all sorts of office chores that regular employees shunned doing. However, despite all of these efforts, he didn’t make the final cut. Since spring, he has applied to seven firms but never made it the interview stage. “Although I knew the job market was tough, I didn’t think that I would end up graduating jobless,” said Han. “It’s really frustrating, and since I do not know whether I’ll be employed by the end of the fall, I feel insecure and miserable.” People may t

Sep 5, 2012

Two sons to lead Unification empire

Church founder Rev. Moon dies at 92 By Kwon Mee-yoo The death of the 92-year-old Rev. Moon Sun-myung, the founder of the Unification Church, Monday, is leaving two sons in charge of his religious and business empire. Since the death of three of his sons including the two eldest, the late Moon handed over control to the two — the youngest Hyung-jin, 33, as international president of the church; and fourth-son, Kook-jin, 42, to look over the business arm, the Tongil Group. Moon, who founded the church in 1954, controversially claimed 3 million believers worldwide with 100,000 in the United States. He actively sent out missionaries but also expanded broadly into diverse business operations. But despite its influence, sibling tension between the seven sons and six daughters he had with his second wife, Han Hak-ja, has put a question over the church’s future. The U.S-born and Harvard-educated Hyung-jin has been serving at the helm of the church since 2008 as the only minister in the family. While at Harvard, he pursued an interest in Buddhism and was well known

Sep 3, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

GE stresses patient-centered health care

By Kim Tae-jong Korea is moving fast toward an aged society, raising concerns over increasing financial burdens due to high medical costs. A top official from a leading global healthcare device maker said one solution to effectively tackle the issue lies in patient-centered healthcare. “Medical treatment may involve massive pain and expenditure,” Kim Won-seop, a key account and growth leader at GE Healthcare Korea, said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. “So, patient-centered healthcare, which includes early diagnosis of diseases and non-invasive or minimal invasive treatment, is critical.” According to a Royal Bank of Scotland report in June, Korea’s progress toward an aged society is the fastest in the world. Kim pointed out that as a result Korea faces a challenge due to growing health care demand. “With longevity, the probability of chronic diseases increases significantly and therefore, costs in healthcare are becoming a huge burden,” he said. “But advanced technology used by experts can drastically reduce medical costs through early screening and

Aug 31, 2012

Filing a Complaint

Dear Dr. P. A few days ago, I was refused medical treatment from one psychiatric clinic in Daegu. A Korean friend of mine called ahead and they confirmed they did treat foreigners and had English speaking doctors on staff. My Korean friend came with me and when we arrived we filled out all the necessary forms. After waiting for 90 minutes, it was finally my turn to see the doctor. This is when the nurse called my Korean friend to the nurse’s desk and informed us that none of the doctors would see me. They then began to take other patients that had arrived after us. When we inquired as to why we could not see a doctor, one of the nurses said "her boss" told her they decided not to treat a foreigner. The nurse said she was sorry but that I had to leave. This is not only unprofessional but also very unethical. My question is, where can I file an official complaint against this clinic for refusing treatment of a patient based on race? My Korean friend is a witness to this disgraceful behavior and is also willing to file an official complaint. Any assistance you can provide wou

Aug 31, 2012

(201) Face to lead successful life

By Janet Shin More and more people are interested in ensuring a favorable facial impression. This may sound cliched, as almost everybody wants to present a good appearance. Many methods ― such as the skillful use of makeup, beauty treatments for hair, nails and skin and even surgical procedures ― are utilized to enhance physical appearance. However there are some incomparable factors in face reading when it is associated with destiny. In other words, beauty is not the ultimate determinant to make you successful. Once you learn more about face reading, you will realize that it also involves the way you cultivate your mind, attitude and behavior. I have been asked to open an intensive course about how to attain a successful life by changing face contours. This may apply to those who wish to get people’s votes in election campaigns, salespeople who want to draw more customers and entertainers longing to be loved by the public. Owing to the advancement of medical technology and online information, there are a great number of people who can obtain a generic kind of beauty but not al

Aug 30, 2012

Your privacy in jeopardy

By Kim Bo-eun, Bahk Eun-ji, Jung Min-ho Choi Moon-jung, a 28-year-old office worker updates her Facebook account frequently. Her Facebook page is filled with pictures and written posts, along with her personal information about her education, hobbies and relationship status. Although she had been aware of the fact that her information was readily available on the website, she had paid little attention to risks endangering her privacy until she recently received a message from a stranger. “It was a message that asked me to check out updated pictures of someone I did not know. I ignored it, but the weird thing is that it was sent to my company’s e-mail account, which I hadn’t posted on my Facebook profile section,” Choi said. “It seems that the person went further, digging for details using the information that was posted on my page. It was really creepy, like someone was spying on me or something.” From then onwards, she started exercising caution over posting private details online. Choi expressed concern over people possibly using personal information for the wrong pu

Aug 29, 2012

(200) A haunted house

By Janet Shin In the heat of summer, many people go on vacation, escaping to mountains and beaches to cool themselves. Meanwhile, some people visit extraordinary places such as haunted houses to enjoy their thrills and chills. Shamans and exorcists often appear at haunted houses either to prove the existence of ghosts or to repel devilish attacks. Even though no specific attempts to verify supernatural beings have reached tangible conclusions, it seems that there is definitely paranormal activity that science cannot disprove. While practicing saju, which is recognized as a realm of parascience, I have tried to meet as many shamans as possible by making more personal connections and experiencing their shaman rituals such as exorcisms, known as “gut” in Korean. I have seen and heard certain psychic powers, however, I have neither been inspired by them nor personally sensed any presence. Without pragmatic evidence, I decided not to attempt to extend saju to include any shaman practices. Accordingly when my clients consulted me on whether they should seek out the help of a gu

Aug 23, 2012

Men guilty by 'no' intention

By Cho Jae-hyon Women are the weaker of the two sexes and are long considered as vulnerable to sexual assaults and harassments. This generalization indicates men are aggressors, but this also produces an unintended side effect ― putting ordinary men in an awkward position in everyday circumstances. From subway to streets at night, they have to overcome suspicious looks from women who fear the men sitting next to them in the subway or going in the same direction in a desolate neighborhood street are potential sexual predators. Riding up steps on an overpass, many Korean women in short skirts cover their behind with their bags. Men may suppress an urge to cry out loud, “Wear long skirts or trousers and cover up.” Of course, few would translate this urge into action. Thus, this would make ordinary men behind them look away at the risk of stumbling. In other words, the men have to pay extra attention or they may subject themselves subject to “dagger” looks or even verbal denunciations for every move they make. Is it a case of the “Minority Report” appli

Aug 22, 2012By Cho Jae-hyon

'Please, don't get me wrong'

By Jung Min-ho, Kim Bo-eun, Bahk Eun-ji It isn’t only women who are victimized in this crime-ridden society. Many law-abiding and innocent men often find themselves in embarrassing and uncomfortable situations where they have to endure suspicious eyes from women who fear they might fall victim to harassments or pervert voyeurs. In these times, where women are often left unprotected, it’s fair that they should take whatever steps they can to protect themselves and should not lower their guards. However, from men’s the point of view, they cannot but feel that they are often wrongly percieved as harassers or perverts. Walking up stairs Recently, freelance writer Violet Kim submitted an interesting article, entitled: “How to be a Seoul local: 10 tips on faking it” on CNN website. According to the eighth tip for assimilating into Seoul culture, foreigners have to learn “How to walk up subway stairs.” Kim suggests, “To really pull off a skimpy skirt without looking like a floozy, you need to do as Korean girls do when going up stairs

Aug 22, 2012

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