Busan, Asia's top maritime cultural city, is busy getting ready to stand tall as a world-class tourist city in the post-COVID-19 era. The Busan Tourism Organization lies at the heart of this aspiration. The corporation has recently developed a new Busan tourism brand identity. The brand identity incorporates the image of Busan as a city where people love to play, work and live, based on market research and expert opinions targeting 30,000 tourists. This reflects part of its efforts to bolst

The Healthcare & Spa Industry Promotion Agency (HESPA) located in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, is reaching new heights for the rehabilitation health care industry using spas. In particular, it is the only spa-related institution in Korea paving the way for the bio-health industry as a future growth engine. Asan is a leading hot springs city in Korea, renowned for its long history and tradition. According to Statistics Korea, South Chungcheong Province ranked second in the nation in term

The Korea Mountaineering Support Center (KOMOUNT), a specialized institution under the Korea Forest Service, manages the national forest trails. The center, which operates the National Mountain Museum and the National Mountaineering School, contributes to improving the quality of life by spreading healthy and safe mountaineering culture. The center builds an integrated management system for over 11,000 forest trails of about 40,000 kilometers nationwide. It also makes efforts to promote 14 n

Professor Han Ki-young, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and heads the Policy Design Center at Seokyeong University, said he will remain fully dedicated to developing various policies and conducting research activities oriented toward the public sector. In particular, he shared his aspirations to contribute to national development by building a research platform for welfare policies for each life cycle related to people's lives, politics and party innovation. “Through a range of

The Korea Island Development Institute, under the Ministry of Interior and Safety, was established in October 2021 to conduct systematic research and develop sensible island policies. Specifically, the institute aims to promote the values of islands, improve the quality of life for islanders and create future growth engines. With approximately 3,400 islands, South Korea is an archipelago and one of the top 10 countries with the most islands. However, the country’s islands face serious cris

The Korea Health Promotion Institute (KHEPI) is the only government agency in the health care field that plans, implements, and evaluates policies and projects designed to promote healthy lives. KHEPI provides health management services tailored to each life cycle. The agency has built a finely meshed management system to help people quit smoking and abstain from drinking, prevent obesity, promote physical activities, ensure smart health care through new digital technologies and provide health c

During the personnel hearing at the National Assembly in May, Kim Hyun-sook, who was nominated as the minister of gender equality and family under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, affirmed her agreement with the abolition of the ministry at which she was to take office. Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook said at the hearing “It is time to make a great transformation to adapt to the new environment,” and “abolishing the ministry does not mean undermining the functionality

Park Hong-ryul, the mayor of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, pointed to “revitalization of the local economy” as the most important aspect of the city’s operation. He says he will focus on overcoming the current economic situation and building a basis for stable growth. In particular, the mayor emphasized it is important to respond to current issues, including one concerning the city’s incineration plant, which have arisen from the city’s long history. To this end, he

Shin Hyun-young, a member of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, is a former medical doctor and a working mother in her early 40s. Her business card is unique and distinctive, as it features an illustration of herself holding her second child along with the phrase “I will make the country safe from infectious diseases for our children.” This business card encapsulates her legislative activities and parliamentary politics. Ever since she made it to the National

“I feel deeply sorry and pained by the failure of politicians to fulfill our obligations to protect the lives and safety of the people,” said Kim Hangyu, a first-term lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea who was elected to represent Jeju City during the by-elections held last June, recalling the recent Itaewon Halloween crowd crush. He argued that politicians should have put their utmost effort into predicting and preventing such negligence and they should have alerted and sup

Oh Young-hun, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, emphasized the concept of “workcation” as a way that Jeju Island can appeal to new travelers. It is a new type of working system that emerged as COVID-19 sped up the spread of remote work as well as the digital foundation enabling people to work from home. Working in a vacation spot allows you to serve two ends of working and taking a rest. Gov. Oh emphasized the need for the workation to drive young adults to pursue the

The Ministry of Health and Welfare coordinates overall welfare policy throughout the entire life cycle of pregnancy, childbirth, childhood and so on, until one's twilight years. President Yoon Suk-yeol named Cho Kyoo-hong as the first vice minister to the head of ministry. Cho has already attended and completed a parliamentary inspection of his agency, and now he promises a fresh start for the ministry. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Choi Jong-kyun, deputy minister for population

Cho Myung-hee, a representative from the People Power Party on the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, has worked to come up with assorted measures at the parliamentary level aiming to help improve public health. At this year’s National Assembly audits, she was an ardent supporter for quality health care and child care for undocumented immigrant children. Cho has also increasingly been vocal about helping improve public kindergarten enrollment, redressing mental health i

The Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Institute, a public institution under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, opened in 1993 to help adolescents develop sound character and harmonious growth. The Korea Herald spoke to its President Yun Hyo-sik, who was inaugurated at the end of last year, about the institute’s key activities. Yun, a leading expert in this field, served as the deputy minister for planning and coordination as well as deputy minister for youth and family policy in

The Senior Employment Program has been proven to assist older job seekers in staying healthy, to enhance emotional stability and to improve social connections, as well as to bring older people economic benefits. In addition, the program has also helped bring its participants priceless, intangible values that boost their satisfaction with life and alleviate depression. It is estimated that the program can help each of the participants save around 70,000 won ($51) in monthly medical expenses, whic

The National Center for Rights of the Child is committed to creating a public system focused on taking care of all young people with the goal of expanding the country’s responsibility for children. It was launched in July 2019 after eight child protection-related institutions came together to become one. “We will strengthen the publicness and expertise of the child protection system so that children can grow up happy in a safe environment without discrimination,” the center&rsq

Last July, the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association conducted a survey of 1,047 single people between the ages of 19 and 34 years, examining young people’s perception of dating, marriage, and sex. The results showed some interesting findings. In the survey, 70.9 percent of respondents said they have dating experience and 42.1 percent answered they were satisfied with their overall dating, showing relatively high figures. The satisfaction was higher among those who have parent

The Korean Institute for Healthy Family, an affiliated organization of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, was established in 2015 to realize a nation where all families are happy by providing an efficient and systematic service for families. “The types of families in our society have diversified with the rapidly changing social environment. As the nation’s only institute specializing in family policies, we will strive to implement tight-knit policies without blind sports,&rd

The Central Elderly Protective Service Agency, headed by Director Lee Ki-min, is responsible for providing advisory consultation on policies for protecting older people’s human rights and creating educational and promotional materials designed to help alleviate elder abuse. The agency also assists its local elderly protection agencies, providing support on their preventive program operation. The statutory agency, created in 2006 under the amendments to the Welfare of the Aged Act, aims to

The number of older adults in South Korea surpassed 8 million in 2020, and is expected to increase to 15 million in 2036. Becoming a super-aging society means the country faces many different social problems. Older adults who live alone need more care and protection than any other generation because many are socially isolated and more likely to pass away alone in what is called “solitary death.” The Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone was established with public