my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Health

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

65 percent of 'comfort women' suffering post-traumatic stress disorder

People participate in a rally to protest the “comfort women” issue in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday. The demonstration is held every Wednesday. In the center is a statue symbolizing a Korean wartime sex slave. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooNearly 70 percent of the former “comfort women” are still suffering trauma from Japanese military sexual slavery, according to a study, Wednesday.Comfort women refers to Korean women and girls who were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II. A research team led by Lee So-young, a psychiatry professor at Soon Chun Hyang University Bucheon Hospital, found 65 percent, or 13, of the surviving former comfort women have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 90 percent of them also suffered related symptoms at least once in their lifetimes.In July 2016, her team began interviewing 20 out of 38 victims of Japan's wartime crimes who agreed to participate in the study. However, only 28 are known to remain alive. In the early 1990s, 238 came forward and shared their stories of abus

May 23, 2018
65 percent of 'comfort women' suffering post-traumatic stress disorder

Newborns with birth defects on rise

/ YonhapThe number of babies born with defects in 2014 was 1.6 times the 2008 figure, with the rate rising every year, research showed Wednesday.According to the research by Inha University School of Medicine, 563 out of 10,000 newborns had some sort of internal or external problem with their body in 2014, up from 336 per 10,000 in 2008.The data was based on 3.28 million babies born between 2008 and 2014. The findings were published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health."The rate of congenital birth defects, considered a main cause of deaths among newborns, is increasing every year," said professor Lim Jong-han, who led the study, said of the results, emphasizing the importance of closely monitoring the issue.The data showed that 188.9 out of 10,000 newborns had atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart, in 2014, up from 82.2 per 10,000 in 2008. (Yonhap)

May 23, 2018
Newborns with birth defects on rise

Consumer activists call for compensation over 'radon mattress' scandal

/ YonhapDozens of consumer activists on Monday pressed a local bed company to compensate consumers for selling beds that have been found to emit radiation levels that exceed safety limits.The activists also called on the government to ensure that Daijin Bed Co. will compensate consumers over the matter, with many at the gathering in downtown Seoul holding pickets that read "Swift handling of radon bed compensation."The angry public reaction comes after South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced last week that some of Daijin Bed's mattresses emitted radon at levels up to 9.3 times the national standard.Being exposed to radon -- a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas -- for a long period of time can lead to lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.A bus driver who participated in rally in front of South Korea's nuclear safety agency in central Seoul claimed that he had surgery to treat stomach cancer last year after having used a Daijin Bed mattress since 2010.The 57-year-old -- who identified himself only by his family name Chung -- said his wife has b

May 21, 2018
Consumer activists call for compensation over 'radon mattress' scandal

Maxillofacial surgery pioneer values social responsibility

In the first photo, a Chinese man, center, consults with Dr. Choung Pill-hoon, right, before undergoing maxillofacial surgery at Seoul National University Dental Hospital in 2012. The second photo shows the man smiling after the successful procedure. Courtesy of Seoul National University Dental HospitalBy Lee Kyung-min Choung Pill-hoon, 64, a renowned specialist of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Seoul National University Dental Hospital (SNUDH), was a pioneer in developing Intraoral Le Fort II Osteotomy, or Choung's 9 Osteotomy, a method using just a single intraoral incision to correct deformities in the mid-facial nasomaxillary _ located between the nasal bone and the jaw. His method of removing nasal, jaw, and cheek bones did not involve facial opening _ which inevitably entails huge scars _ but a simple incision inside the mouth, thereby achieving the desired appearance with minimal scarring. The method is known to induce a more desired outcome especially for Asians most of whom have a low nasal bridge, which means smaller room through which surgeons should remove facial bones

May 20, 2018
Maxillofacial surgery pioneer values social responsibility

Korea's 65-year-old abortion ban under review

A woman holds a picket that reads “If abortion is a crime, the state is the criminal” at a protest against the abortion ban held in downtown Seoul last Nov. 9./ YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonThe fate of the nation's 65-year-old anti-abortion law seems to stand at a crossroads as the Constitutional Court plans to review the legislation, Thursday. A woman who gets an abortion in Korea can face a one-year jail term or a fine of 2 million won ($1,850). A doctor who carries out the abortion can face up to two years in prison. The blanket ban has a few exceptions such as when the pregnancy poses serious health risks to the mother. Evelyn, a woman in her late 20s who asked to be identified by her English pseudonym, refers to the abortion she had in her college sophomore year as a “precarious journey.”“As it was illegal, I was not given a full explanation from the doctor before the operation – even on what kind of medical instruments would be used. For all I know, he could have used a clothes hanger,” she said in an interview with The Kore

May 20, 2018
Korea's 65-year-old abortion ban under review
  • Can Korea lift abortion ban this time?

One out of 7 college graduates has felt suicidal: survey

Many college students suffer from depression amid fierce competition to find jobs. / YonhapOne out of seven college graduates hunting jobs have thought of committing suicide due to extreme stress, a survey showed Sunday.According to the survey conducted by the Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center on 124 college graduates currently searching for jobs, 40 percent said they had experienced symptoms similar to depression, while 15.3 percent reported feeling suicidal.Those who majored in liberal arts or social science had more stress than respondents with natural science and engineering degrees, while those with student loans were more depressed.South Korea's jobless rate fell slightly in April due to a rise in employment in the health care, financial service and public service sectors, but job creation still remained weak, according to government data.In March, the government proposed a 3.9 trillion-won ($3.69 billion) extra budget largely to create new jobs for young people, amid deepening concerns about high unemployment, which the government warned would have catastro

May 20, 2018
One out of 7 college graduates has felt suicidal: survey

Man dies in e-cigarette explosion in US

/ APAn exploding vape pen hurled fragments into a Florida man's head, killing him and starting a fire that burned most of his body, an autopsy report said.The Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's autopsy report released Tuesday confirms the vape pen was responsible for the May 5 death of Tallmadge D'Elia, 38, in St. Petersburg.Such accidents aren't unheard of: According to a U.S. Fire Administration report , at least 195 electronic cigarettes exploded or caught fire from 2009 to 2016, and while no deaths were recorded in that time, the explosions caused 133 injuries, 38 of them severe.Firefighters found D'Elia inside his burning home, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Officials found "extensive" fire damage in D'Elia's bedroom, where his body was found, but minimal smoke, the report said.The explosion sent two pieces of the vape pen into the D'Elia's cranium, the autopsy found. The report listed the cause of death as "projectile wound of the head." He also suffered burns on about 80 percent of his body. The death was ruled an accident.The vape was manufactured by the Philippines-based Smok-

May 17, 2018
Man dies in e-cigarette explosion in US

Train drivers turn to drink after witnessing suicides

Indelible horror: A driver who saw a woman throw herself in front of his train slouches over the control panel at Oryu-dong Station in Guro-gu, Seoul, April 26. / Courtesy of Naver blogBy Ko Dong-hwanIn the latest suicide on Seoul's railways, a woman in her 30s threw herself in front of a train at Oryu-dong Station in Guro-gu district about noon on April 26 and died at the scene. Later that day, an online community on the Korean railway industry, “Nrail,” had a post of a photo of the train's driver. It showed him slouched over the controls of the Dongducheon Station-bound train. The photo captures the horror of the incident and its effect on him.The driver reportedly said he applied the emergency brake as soon as he saw the woman jump but it was too short a distance to halt the train. According to a custom among Korean train drivers, those involved in these incidents join co-workers in a nighttime binge on the same day in an attempt to drink away what they witnessed.Often suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the drivers are haunted with images of the suicidal

May 16, 2018
Train drivers turn to drink after witnessing suicides

Sales of e-cigarettes grow fast since debut last year

/ YonhapSouth Korean has seen sales of heat-not-burn (HNB) electronic cigarettes grow at a fast click since their debut here last year, amid soaring popularity among local smokers, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the government and industry sources, 163 million packs of HNB tobacco products were sold in the country between May 2017 and this March. One pack contains 20 e-cigarettes.Phillip Morris' iQOS was the first HNB e-cigarette to hit the domestic market. Other products include British American Tobacco's Glo and South Korean leading cigarette maker KT&G Corp.'s lil.In May last year, e-cigarette sales stood at 1 million packs, but the number skyrocketed to 10 million back in July and 21 million packs in October.However, the pace of their rapid growth slowed sharply as South Korea's tax and health authorities sought to raise taxes on e-cigarettes and limited tobacco companies' promotional activities. Monthly sales tumbled to 11 million packs in November and 12 million packs a month later.In December, South Korea's parliament passed a bill to raise the local tax

May 16, 2018
Sales of e-cigarettes grow fast since debut last year

Exclusive KP to seek opinions of irregular delivery personnel over working conditions

A group of irregular delivery personnel at Korea Post hold rally demanding the state-run postal service scrap its plan to remove Saturday shifts and reduce the weekly working hours, which they fear they will be "dumped” the work formerly undertaken by regular workers at KP, all of whom are civil servants near Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Monday. Photo by Korea Times Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Kyung-min Korea Post (KP) plans to conduct an in-depth survey on around 2,200 irregular delivery personnel under KP contract on their opinion about current working conditions concerning wages, shifts and workload. “The government will conduct the survey on all irregular delivery personnel about whether they are willing to work on Saturdays or increase their workloads and the resulting increase in wages. The results will be out as early as this month, or early next month at the latest,” an official of the state-run postal service told The Korea Times, Tuesday. The decision effectively postpones the KP-announced measure slated to take effect in July, under which gradual steps were to be taken&n

May 15, 2018
[Exclusive] KP to seek opinions of irregular delivery personnel over working conditions
previous page
489490491492493
next page

Most Read in South Korea