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Seoul residents skeptical about social mobility

By Kim Bo-eunOnly 32 percent of Seoul residents believe social mobility is possible based on one’s own efforts, according to a survey released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Thursday.The 2017 Seoul Survey shows young people in their teens and 20s have the same pessimistic views as people in their 30s to 50s.Among teens, 33.6 percent responded that social mobility is made possible based on one’s efforts, which is less than 34.2 percent of the people in their 20s who gave the same response.The lower the respondents’ income, the more pessimistic they are, the survey shows.Among those earning 1 million won and less a month, 28.2 percent said social mobility is possible whereas among those earning 3 million and more the figure is 32 percent.Meanwhile, respondents gave 4.51 on a scale of one to 10 on “fairness” in society.They believe the greatest unfairness is seen in the deprivation of social minorities’ rights, followed by tax policies, employment opportunities and income.More than half of the respondents believe they are being discriminated ag

Jun 8, 2017

S. Korea considers banning live poultry trading at outdoor markets to curb raging bird flu

South Korea is considering a move to restrict all trading of live birds at outdoor traditional markets in order to enhance animal hygiene at the wholesale level and prevent the further spread of bird flu as the country has been grappling with the animal disease every season, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it is working on a plan to order all butchers and merchants to sell chickens and ducks in outdoor markets only after slaughtering them in advance.Currently, live chickens and ducks are traded at 200 traditional markets nationwide, accounting for 35 percent of the country's annual chicken supply of 43 million, according to the ministry.The ministry said it will also join hands with other quarantine agencies to strengthen crackdowns on the illegal slaughter of livestock carried out by chicken vendors in outdoor markets.The government plan came as avian influenza has been spreading rapidly throughout the nation, with 10 infections having been confirmed since the first outbreak was reported Saturday.The ministry suspects that chicke

Jun 8, 2017

S. Korea considers banning live poultry trading at outdoor markets to curb raging bird flu

Bird flu fear causes 180,000 birds to be culled nationwide

The Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday 176,100 birds at 66 farms have been culled in the six days following the outbreak of avian influenza here.The largest number of birds _ 144,000 _ were put down on Jeju Island, where a farm first suspected and reported the bird flu, Friday.Birds at 18 farms were culled within a three kilometer radius from three farms on northern Jeju which were confirmed to have been infected with a highly pathogenic strain of the H5N8 virus.The infected farms were found to have purchased birds from a traditional market, which in turn brought them from a poultry farm in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.Meanwhile, the ministry also confirmed three suspected infections of ducks at farms in Gunsan and Iksan in North Jeolla Province day. This is the first suspected infection of ducks.Two farms on Jeju, and one each in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province; Paju, Gyeonggi Province; and Gijang County in Busan were confirmed to have been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain.The ministry ordered a transport ban and pre-emptive disinfection for all poultry farms for Wedn

Jun 7, 2017

Fear grows on rapid spread of bird flu

 By Lee Kyung-min About 120,000 chickens and ducks near 21 poultry farms on Jeju Island were culled after they were confirmed to be infected with a highly pathogenic H5N8 strain, the government said Tuesday.The southern island is where a suspected case was reported on June 2, the first in two months since early April. A record 37.8 million birds were culled from last November to that month, incurring 1 trillion won ($892 billion) in losses.According to the municipal government, the farms were within 3 kilometers of three regions on the island that filed 59 reports about 301 chickens suspected of having bird flu, many of which tested positive for the virus.This comes only a day after the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs raised the bird flu alert level to the maximum and ordered a nationwide transport ban and pre-emptive disinfection for all poultry farms and their equipment. The transport ban will be extended for another 24 hours starting Wednesday at midnight.The culled chickens and ducks on Jeju are believed to have been transported from Gunsan, North Jeolla

Jun 6, 2017

Hail, drought devastate Korean regions

The drought-affected reservoir fishing compound in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, on June 4. / YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanA farmer from Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, scoops up apples and hailstones. The heavy hail smashed the apples from his trees on June 1. / YonhapHail and drought have devastated middle and southern regions of Korea, forcing local governments to take emergency action to help affected farmers.On June 1, heavy rain and hail lashed the cities of Yeongju, Bonghwa, Uiseong and Yeongyang in North Gyeongsang Province. Three centimeter-diameter hailstones smashed fruit and vegetable farms and rice paddies. Apple farms suffered the biggest blow, with 40 percent of the province’s 6,600 hectares of trees damaged.At one farm in Yeongju, all its 550 trees were hit -- branches were broken, apples fell off and those ready for shipping were bruised and cracked.In Yeongju, hail ravaged a farm that grows zucchini, eggplant and pumpkins under vinyl covers.A watermelon farmer in Bonghwa gave up this year’s produce after hail destroyed steel structures supporting his

Jun 6, 2017

Nationwide transportation ban imposed to fight raging bird flu

Flu-suspected chickens are covered with sacks before culling at a farm in Busan, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. / YonhapGov’t raises alert level to maximumBy Jung Min-hoThe government ordered a nationwide transportation ban and preemptive disinfection for all poultry farms and their equipment Monday, in an urgent effort to prevent another outbreak of avian influenza.It has also raised the bird flu alert level to the maximum, after confirming recent infections involved a “highly pathogenic” H5N8 strain.The move came just a few months after a previous bird flu outbreak, which resulted in the government culling of 38 million chickens and ducks from last November to April.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it has ordered all places linked to the poultry industry across Korea, including farms and slaughterhouses to halt all deliveries of products and movement of equipment on Wednesday.The ministry will carry out cleaning and disinfections during the day, in cooperation with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and regional

Jun 5, 2017

Nationwide transportation ban imposed to fight raging bird flu

VIDEO US school to dedicate statue in memory of murdered Korean adoptee

A U.S. school for children with disabilities said Sunday it will dedicate a statue next week in memory of a South Korean boy murdered by his American adoptive father.The Linwood Center, located in Howard County, the U.S. state of Maryland, said on its website that it will hold a ceremony marking the dedication of the sculpture called "Hyunsu's Butterfly" on the school's premises on June 12.Hyunsu O'Callaghan, born in South Korea in 2010, was killed by his adoptive father Brian O'Callaghan, in 2014, just four months after he was adopted.The statue depicting a boy holding a butterfly is a replica of the same sculpture installed in April this year at the Daniel School, a school and orphanage for children with disabilities, in southern Seoul. Thomas Park Clement, a sculptor and a Korean-American adoptee, and his wife Kim Won-sook made the matching sculptures.On the website, the U.S. school said the two schools "share a meaningful connection through their work of providing special education programming for children with disabilities. To mark this new partnership, both schools received a d

Jun 5, 2017

US school to dedicate statue in memory of murdered Korean adoptee [VIDEO]

'Following basic rules would have prevented Choi scandal'

 Song In-sungBy Lee Kyung-min Song In-sung, 71, a gastroenterology specialist at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, has been appointed as President Moon Jae-in’s doctor for the next five years. Song also served former President Roh Moo-hyun between 2003 and 2008.Song said that if rules had been followed strictly, Choi Soon-sil, the longtime friend of former President Park Geun-hye, would not have unfettered access to enter Cheong Wa Dae to help Park with numerous medical treatments.“The instances where outside medical personnel made frequent visits to Cheong Wa Dae without being registered on visitor logs is certainly considered out of the ordinary and out of bounds,” he said. “What had happened over the past administration is unlikely to be repeated, because following the rules would have prevented that part of the scandal involving medical issues.”As far as the president’s health is concerned, he said maintaining mental health is as important as, and sometimes more important, than physical health.“Being the president is a

Jun 4, 2017

Markets banned from selling raw chickens amid bird flu fear

By Kim Bo-eun The Agriculture Ministry raised its avian influenza alert level Sunday and ordered a nationwide ban on the selling of raw chicken at markets starting today.The measure comes after a suspected outbreak of the virus on Jeju Island and in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. This follows the nation’s worst outbreak over the winter, which resulted in the culling of a record 33 million birds.Concern has been growing over the possibility the disease may spread to the entire country during the summer, thus leading to another massive culling of chickens and ducks, and a second spiraling of prices of poultry products and eggs.According to the ministry, a small poultry farm in Jeju City, Jeju Island, bought five silkie chickens from a traditional market there May 27, but they all died two days later. On Friday, the farm confirmed the deaths of three additional chickens, prompting it to file a report of suspected bird flu.Authorities confirmed it was the H5N8 strain but have yet to determine whether it is highly pathogenic.The silkie chickens were from a farm in Gunsan which

Jun 4, 2017

'Following rules would have prevented Choi scandal'

By Lee Kyung-minSong In-sung, 71, a gastroenterology specialist at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, has been appointed as President Moon Jae-in’s doctor for the next five years. Song also served former President Roh Moo-hyun between 2003 and 2008.Song said that if rules had been followed strictly, Choi Soon-sil, the longtime friend of former President Park Geun-hye, would not have unfettered access to enter Cheong Wa Dae to help Park with numerous medical treatments.“The instances where outside medical personnel made frequent visits to Cheong Wa Dae without being registered on visitor logs is certainly considered out of the ordinary and out of bounds,” he said. “What had happened over the past administration is unlikely to be repeated, because following the rules would have prevented that part of the scandal involving medical issues.”As far as the president’s health is concerned, he said maintaining mental health is as important as, and sometimes more important, than physical health.“Being the president is an extremely demanding, h

Jun 2, 2017

Health

Health

Seoul residents skeptical about social mobility

S. Korea considers banning live poultry trading at outdoor markets to curb raging bird flu

Bird flu fear causes 180,000 birds to be culled nationwide

Fear grows on rapid spread of bird flu

Hail, drought devastate Korean regions

Nationwide transportation ban imposed to fight raging bird flu

VIDEO US school to dedicate statue in memory of murdered Korean adoptee

'Following basic rules would have prevented Choi scandal'

Markets banned from selling raw chickens amid bird flu fear

'Following rules would have prevented Choi scandal'

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