A record snowfall almost paralyzed city life on Korea’s east coast over the weekend, as officials and soldiers struggled to restore normal life. As of Sunday morning, some 1,280 residents of 640 households were stranded in their homes in major cities including Gangneung, Donghae and Samcheok, the emergency management agency in Gangwon Province said. Damage caused by the snow was estimated to surpa

The new leader of the nation’s largest umbrella labor union pledged Thursday that the group will head toward a hard-line stance if no revision is made to the labor union law. “My predecessor, who saw labor-management relations stabilized, had worked in a way to be helpful to the Korean economy. However, there is no room for us to do so,” said Lee Yong-deuk, chairman of the Federation of Korean Tra

CHICAGO (AP) ― Many breast cancer patients can skip aggressive lymph node surgery without increasing their chances of a recurrence or death if their disease shows limited spread, according to a study that has prompted changes in practice.Under current guidelines, the often-debilitating surgery is done if the cancer has spread outside the breast to any lymph nodes.In the study, rates of survival an

Allergic rhinitis, or AR, is a common disease that is often considered a trivial and temporary illness less severe than asthma. However, the disease can bring dramatic changes in the quality of life of the patients, affecting their daily activities. It also results in relatively high medical expenses and financial burden. According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, 4.1 million people s

Wearing uncomfortable high heels can lead to host of problemsWalking for 30 minutes a day has a variety health benefits such as reducing the chances of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression.In its new health guidelines published last week, the World Health Organization advised people to engage in “moderate” physical exercise such as walking to reduce the risk of breast and

Unlike other Gangnam mothers, Park Sung-hee, 43, does not believe in the effectiveness of studying abroad at an early age.“My children have no problem studying English to prepare for the college entrance exam. Among other things, there are many highly-qualified teachers and private institutes in Seoul too,” said Park, a mother of two residing in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. “I’m sure that the blind

Illegal violent protests have significantly declined over the past couple of decades, especially since the 2008 inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration, police data revealed Tuesday. According to the National Police Agency, an average of 12,200 demonstrations had taken place in each of the past three years. Of them, 56 cases, or 0.46 percent, were illegal violent protests ― a drastic decr

Conservative civic groups will start a signature-gathering campaign Wednesday, and aim to have a plebiscite vote on the controversial free school meals at schools issue, Seoul city officials said Tuesday.The Commission for Anti-Welfare Populism, an association of some 160 conservative civic groups, filed a petition Tuesday ahead of collecting signatures from Seoul citizens. Despite Seoul City Coun

An ambitious plan to produce home-grown medical scientists who could win the Nobel Award in Physiology or Medicine by 2030 was unveiled by the government Monday.The plan, tentatively called “Nobel Project in Physiology or Medicine,” will support young medical scientists in their 20s or 30s for their own long-term research work, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in its annual budget for healt

Founder Park says Koreans are not stingy but lack system for monitoring charitiesPark Won-soon, then a human rights lawyer, was surprised to drop in to an Oxfam charity shop in London back in 1991. In the early 1990s, Korea’s tradition of sharing had weakened over the years of rapid modernization and democratization. There was almost no culture of giving in Korea.For Park, who spent a year in the

A state-run human rights watchdog has decided to investigate recent abuse cases among police troops, officials said Monday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said it will look into three separate cases, involving two deaths, to see if the policemen suffered physical assault or other forms of bullying in their barracks. A 21-year-old policeman at a combat unit in South Chungcheong Provi

A riot police squad in Wonju, Gangwon Province, was disbanded on Friday after its seniors were found to have physically and emotionally abused young conscripts.The Gangwon Regional Police Agency said it broke up the 90-member unit, relocating 59 police officers to other areas. The other 31 members are victims of the abuse, and they will be transferred out after questioning, the agency said. The de

Some 4,000 adults will sit a trial version of a state-run English test Saturday, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Friday. The National English Ability Test, or NEAT, is currently under development to be introduced as early as 2012. The online test is to be divided into three different levels ― one adult level to substitute TOEIC and TOEFL, and two student levels to substitute

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Children who are over-active, cannot concentrate or act impulsively as early as age 3 tend to become troubled adults unless they learn self-control along the way, a new study said.An international team of researchers examined young children in New Zealand and Britain and found that the low-scorers on measures of self-control as kids faced more financial, health and substance abu

The government has launched a large-scale investigation into physical assault and other abuses among conscripted police officers, with more than 100 cases reported in Seoul alone. Starting from Wednesday, the National Police Agency is interviewing junior police officers who have been in the service for less than six months in its local branches nationwide. In the first day of the inspection, the p

DALLAS ― Jennifer Tyler was driving down a country road in Oklahoma a couple of years ago when she noticed something odd. The telephone poles all had kinks in them.“I thought, ‘Wow, what’s all that about?’” says Tyler, a Dallas fundraising consultant. “They all had distinctive bends in the middle.”She pulled off the road and called a friend. “I knew something bad was happening,” she says. “It was

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a common chronic digestive disease that occurs when stomach contents such as acid or, occasionally, bile refluxes into the esophagus. The backwash of acid irritates the lining of the esophagus and causes various GERD signs and symptoms. Typical symptoms include acid reflux and heartburn. Acid reflux is a regurgitation of sour liquid into your mouth, and

Lee Ji-hyun, a 28-year-old office worker, plans to visit Bangkok next week during the Lunar New Year’s holiday. “I just want to run away from the prolonged cold wave in Seoul. I’ve been scared to go out in recent weeks due to the very cold weather,” Lee said. Indeed the worst cold spell in years continues to grip the nation. The temperature at Christmas fell to minus 14 degrees Celsius in Seoul, i

The new leader of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the nation’s largest umbrella labor group, hinted at breaking up the strategic alliance with the ruling Grand National Party.Lee Yong-deuk, 58, who served in the position between 2004 and 2008, was re-elected as the group’s new chairman by winning a majority vote of 53.4 percent in member voting Tuesday. “We all have to work together and joi

American school teacher donates organs to save three livesAn American woman who died after a brain hemorrhage has given new life to three Koreans through life-saving organ donations, a local hospital said Tuesday. Linda Freel, 52, who was a teacher at the International Christian School of Euijeongbu, became the first American to donate organs in Korea. Fourteen years ago she settled here to teach