South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea's birthrate lowest among OECD members

By Kim Bo-eunSouth Korea’s birthrate is the lowest among OECD member states, and also among the lowest in the world, according to The World Factbook of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.Korea’s total birthrate stood at 1.25 last year, putting it 220th out of 224 countries on the list.The total birthrate refers to the average number of children that a woman has or chooses to have over her lifetime.The only countries with lower birthrates than Korea were Hong Kong (1.19), Taiwan (1.12), Macao (0.94) and Singapore (0.82).The African country of Niger topped the list with a total birthrate of 6.62.Among the 35 countries in the OECD, Israel had the highest rate at 2.66.Women in Korea’s neighboring states of Japan and China gave birth to more children than here, with rates of 1.41 and 1.6, respectively.North Korea’s total birthrate stood at 1.96, putting it at 125th place out of 224 countries.South Korea’s low figure is attributed to the high costs of child care.According to a report published by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education last month, ho

Mar 20, 2017

'Sunlight is the best disinfectant'

Lee Wang-jun / Courtesy of the Korean Doctors’ Weekly English language media for in-depth biomedical coverage launchedBy Lee Kyung-minLaunching English language media that covers in-depth biomedical, healthcare issues in Korea was the only way to help competitive local businesses in the sector expand globally, according to Lee Wang-jun, the publisher of the Korea Biomedical Review (KBR), Friday.KBR was launched last month, as a sister paper to its Korean version, the Korean Doctors’ Weekly, a newspaper established in 1992 by a group of 360 young doctors and medical students.  “I know it was a bold move, but I could not delay it anymore,” said Lee 52, the chairman of Myongji Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, during an interview at the newspaper’s office in Sangsu-dong, Mapo, Seoul.“My job requires a lot of overseas travelling, and every time I visit hospitals and biomedical firms, high-end or otherwise, I see an ample opportunity for success of Korean firms there, or at least successful cooperation between Korean businesses and their ove

Mar 19, 2017

Is 'Cinderella injection' effective to have better looks?

Shin Hyun-young   By Shin Hyun-young   There are several injections that were indirectly promoted by Choi Soon-sil during the ongoing scandal involving her.Nutrition injections delivered to the Blue House included the extracts of placenta and garlic; and the esoterically named cinderella, lily-white and licorice injections.These injections are classified as functional medicine for the purposes of promoting health factors such as anti-aging and anti-fatigue.Frequently they are prescribed at local clinics, while being marketed as former President Park Geun-hye’s injections.Several media reporters have interviewed doctors about the Choi Soon-sil scandal with questions such as, “Are these injections effective?” “What is the cost?” and “What is the medical background behind these injections?”My answer was, “It is difficult to conclude whether or not the injections are effective at all. Although medical evidence is relatively low, there are a limited number of cases in which they have had ad proven positive medical effects

Mar 19, 2017

Is 'Cinderella injection' effective to have better looks?

Experts decry online sex crimes

EU Delegation deputy counselor Joelle Hivonnet, center, speaks during a press conference held on the sidelines of a workshop on countering online gender-based harassment, hosted by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education. From left are Belgium’s Federal Institute for Equality of Women and Men deputy director Liesbet Stevens, Hivonnet, U.K. Bristol Law School professor Jackie Jones, Finland’s National Institute for Welfare and Health manager Hanna Onwen-Huma and U.K. think tank Demos research director Carl Miller. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Gender Equality and FamilyEuropeans discuss means to counter sexist hate speechBy Kim Bo-eun In Korea, the ultra-conservative website Ilbe teems with derogatory comments against women and anybody with progressive political inclinations.Surveys have shown that teenagers are highly engaged in the website, leading to concerns they may develop distorted gender perceptions.Hateful sexist remarks made online and offline have become a social hazard, both here and abroad.In 2014, Belgium introduced a criminal la

Mar 15, 2017

Government to assist mothers

By Kim Se-jeong When it comes to working mothers in Korea, current laws are not enough to protect their rights.Female employees can take maternity leave but are not free to leave on the date they want to, being pressured by employers to postpone it. Employers who fail to grant maternity leave face punishment, but they do little to change their archaic attitude.Lawmakers and experts are attempting to change this by revising the laws.Rep. Lee Yong-deuk of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed revisions to two laws to ensure female employees’ decisions are not subject to arbitrary change by employers.According to the proposed draft, the Labor Standards Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act will have this additional clause: “Even if employers don’t agree, employees can start maternity leave the date they wish to start.”An official from a Seoul Metropolitan Government funded support center for working mothers said, “With this only, the employees can leave work without fear of facing disadvantages.”Accordin

Mar 7, 2017

70,000 chickens culled in Nonsan in bird flu outbreak

By Kim Bo-eunAround 70,000 chickens have been culled following an outbreak of avian influenza at a farm in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province.The strain of avian influenza that broke out there has been confirmed to be the H5 type.Disease control authorities have culled 43,000 chickens at the farm and are also culling 26,000 chickens at a farm two kilometers away. In addition, they will cull 345 chickens at eight small farms within three kilometers.Moreover, authorities have closed down a feed factory 500 meters from the farm as well as two fertilizer farms using poultry excretion, and disposed of eggs at three hatcheries.Three cases of avian influenza outbreaks have occurred in the past week ― at an egg farm in Cheongyang Feb. 22, at a duck farm in Hongseong, Tuesday, and at a chicken farm in Nonsan, Wednesday.Authorities are looking into the route of the infection, considering the possibility of a spread by migratory birds or infected farms.The chicken farm in Nonsan is near a reservoir where migratory birds gather. It is also close to a farm run by a meat processing business i

Mar 2, 2017

42% of single-person households eat two meals alone

By Kim Bo-eunKwon Se-na, a 29-year-old language instructor living by herself in Seoul, enjoys eating alone at home.“It’s comfortable because I don’t need to be mindful of other people _ I like to eat while watching TV,” she said, noting that she has breakfast and dinner alone quite often.To keep herself company, Kwon keeps fish in a bowl and raises six plants.“It feels good to have something to take care of,” she said.When she doesn’t work, Kwon spends time at coffee shops, reading and relaxing alone.An increasing number of people are opting to live alone, instead of getting married and having children. According to Statistics Korea, single-person households accounted for 27.1 percent of total households in 2015, up from 15.5 percent in 2000.As people live by themselves, it has also become increasingly natural to eat alone, which is a shift from the communal dining culture here.Forty-two percent of those living alone eat two meals a day by themselves on weekdays, according to a report from KB Financial Group, based on a survey conducted on 1,

Feb 28, 2017

3rd case of bird flu confirmed in Korea

 By Lee Kyung-min Another case of bird flu was confirmed in a white-fronted goose, marking the third occurrence in Seoul this year, quarantine authorities said Tuesday.According to the National Institute of Environmental Research under the Ministry of Environment, the dead goose, found at the April 19th National Cemetery in northern Seoul, was infected with the H5N8 avian influenza virus. The cemetery will be closed until Friday to sterilize the area and disinfect vehicles there to prevent further spread of the virus.Following the confirmation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs designated the area within a 10 kilometer radius of the infected site as a “monitoring area” to detect any other infections. Eleven districts in Seoul and five counties in Gyeonggi Province are being monitored.The ministry imposed a transportation ban on poultry, eggs and livestock excretions. 

Feb 28, 2017

Subway operators to take senior citizens' perk to court

By Kim Bo-eunSixteen operators of nationwide railroads plan to file a constitutional appeal over the government’s welfare policy allowing senior citizens aged 65 and over to ride subways free of charge.The operators say the rising percentage of senior citizens amid Korea’s aging society is generating huge losses for them, and claim the it goes against the Constitution for the government not to make up for its losses.The operators discussed the issue at a meeting convened Monday.“Free access to subways is part of universal welfare provided by the central government, yet it is imposing on us a burden, which exceeds operators’ capacity,” Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. CEO Na Yeol said.“We will submit an appeal to the Constitutional Court during the first half of the year on the grounds that this goes against property rights and the principle of equality.”Besides senior citizens, the government also allows designated veterans and patriots to travel on subways free of cost.Data showed citizens with free access to subways accounted for 17 p

Feb 14, 2017

High childcare costs squeeze moms

By Kim Bo-eun Kim Sae-rom, 29, who has an 18-month-old son, is happy to use hand-me-down baby products.“I get things from my older sister who gave birth a little earlier, and also from people around me _ and I make good use of them,” she said.Kim’s tendency reflects a growing trend among mothers these days, which is to reduce unnecessary expenditure when it comes to childcare, according to a report released Monday.A 2016 report on childcare trends, compiled by the Korea Institute of Childcare and Education, is based on its survey of 1,202 mothers-to-be and mothers with children aged up to nine.The report showed 93 percent of respondents had used hand-me-downs and 75 percent had purchased second-hand items.Used items included books, strollers, baby walkers, child seats, clothes, shoes and toys and over 90 percent of mothers were satisfied with them.Among the respondents, 91.8 percent agreed to “it is desirable to use hand-me-down products for clothing or toys, as the children are in the process of growing.”The tendency is due to high costs of childca

Feb 13, 2017

Health