Daily kimchi consumption can help reduce the risk of developing atopic dermatitis -- a common skin disease characterized by rashes -- a new study suggested Sunday.photo credit: 123rfResearchers at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University found from a 2010-2012 national nutritional health survey conducted on 7,222 adults nationwide that those who consumed a daily diet including 85-158 grams of kimchi -- or two to three servings a day -- developed an average of 32 percent fewer atopic dermatitis outbreaks com

“버스가 타고 싶어서 타는 사람이 몇이나 될까요. 탈 수밖에 없어서 타는 사람들이 대부분입니다. 그 시간 동안 조금이라도 승객을 편안하고 즐겁게 해드리는 것이 저희 회사경영 방식입니다.” 임진욱 동아운수 대표 (사진=코리아헤럴드 박현구 기자) 18일 ‘소녀상 버스’의 뒷이야기를 듣기 위해 만난 자리에서 임진욱(51) 동아운수 대표는 자신의 경영철학에 대해서도 명쾌한 답변을 내놨다. 인터뷰를 위해 동승해본 151번 버스에는 임 대표의 ‘고집’이 고스란히 담겨 있었다. 모든 시내 버스의 로우백 등받이 의자를 목 높이까지 올라오는 하이백으로 교체한 것을 시작으로 회색 범퍼를 파란색으로 도색해 버스와 색깔 맞춤을 하였다. 어린이들에게 인기를 끌고 있는 ‘타요버스’와 말하는 버스, 돌출 번호판, 미술관 버스 등은 이미 임 대표를 대표하는 대명사로 자리잡았다. 버스 손잡이에 붙어 있는 NFC태그 기능의 바나나 우유 광고도 전국 최초다.버스 내부가 참 깨끗하다는 기자의 평가에 임 대표는 “안에

South Korea’s state weather agency did a poor job of forecasting rain in the last five years, getting it right just 46 percent of the time, a state audit watchdog said Tuesday.  Photo: YonhapAccording to a report from the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast rain 5,193 times from 2012 to 2015, but it actually fell on 3,228 of those occasions. On the contrary, rain fell 1,808 times when the agency predicted otherwise, putting the overall accuracy rate at

Five Seoul buses have recently received an unusual passenger -- a statue of a barefoot teenage girl in traditional Korean hanbok dress. Similar to the original statue situated in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the lightweight effigy represents the euphemistically labeled “comfort women” -- women mostly from South Korea and China who were forced into sex slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Donga Traffic Service CEO Rim Jin-wook appears behind a statue of a girl installed o

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced Monday that it will release human rights abuse data from local care facilities that serve people with physical and mental disabilities.(Yonhap)In a joint national survey conducted by the watchdog and three activist groups, some 292 care facilities users nationwide have been interviewed since last month on whether they have experienced abuse. “The in-depth research is part of our effort to look into possible violations of human rights among

Chairman of Hanjin Group Cho Yang-ho (Yonhap)Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air, is facing a criminal investigation over an allegation that he used company funds on his home remodeling. The National Police Agency said Friday that they told the tycoon to appear for questioning next Thursday, and his spouse Lee Myung-hee the next day, on possible charges of breach of trust. Police suspect that at least 3 billion won ($2.63 million) of the company’s funds, set aside for the constr

South Korea’s prisons are among the most crowded, with inmates exceeding facilities’ full capacities, according to the Ministry of Justice on Thursday. The ministry’s data based on Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development prison population statistics shows the capacity rate of the country’s prisons was at about 121.8 percent of their capacity last year as of June, holding considerably more people than they were designed to house. The rate is second highest among OECD member states,

(Yonhap)Parents in South Korea will start receiving a monthly child care allowance of 100,000 won ($88) per child 5 years old or younger, starting from July 2018, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.From next April, low-income seniors will also receive more from the state pension over their lifetime, an official said Wednesday. The plans to increase financial support for child care and low-income seniors were decided on at a policy coordination meeting attended by officials from the

South Korean office workers cross a road in rainy Seoul. (photo credit: Yonhap)South Koreans work the second-longest hours among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for wages below the average of 35 nations, data showed Wednesday. According to the annual OECD Employment Outlook 2017, employees here worked an average of 2,069 hours last year, compared to the OECD average of 1,764 hours. The figure includes part-time workers and those who work for part of the

Protesters are gathering at a rally at Seoul Square in central Seoul on Tuesday, to urge the withdrawal of the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system here. (photo credit: Yonhap)Massive rival rallies were held in rainy Seoul on Tuesday by proponents and opponents of a US-led anti-missile system’s deployment here. Thousands of protesters packed the streets near Seoul City Hall in a rally that started at 3:30 p.m., calling on the Moon administration to scrap the deployment of the Terminal

Animal shelter Aerinwon in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)Over 55,000 abandoned pets had been rescued nationwide this year as of July, with nearly 40 percent of them later perishing at animal shelters by euthanasia or natural causes, according to data released by a local animal care organization. According to Pawinhand, an animal organization that tracks the number of rescued animals, 55,399 animals abandoned by their owners were brought to animal shelters f

photo credit: 123rfSchools of the future will be very different from those of today, equipped with a combination of artificial intelligence and personalized learning tools, education experts predicted. “Students will not spend much time at school as they do now. They might have to come to school only for morning classes or even every other day,” said Gim Chae-chun, president of the Korean Educational Development Institute, a research group that develops educational goals, methods and policy solu

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa (far left), chief of the National Security Council Chung Eui-yong and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyun (photo credit: Yonhap)South Korea’s security chief and top diplomat canceled or cut short their summer holidays on Sunday, after criticism mounted over the timing of their vacations amid global fears over escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.   Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa, who began a six-day vacation Friday, will return to work Monday, ea

Yoon & Yang LLC, a South Korea-based international law firm, has opened its second Vietnamese office in Hanoi, following the first in Ho Chi Minh City last year, the law firm said Thursday. The Hanoi office is expected to act as a stepping stone for the firm’s expansion in the Southeast Asian legal market, it added. “We aim to offer professional advisory services customized to each Southeast Asian country, and the opening of the Hanoi office will be the momentum to expand the firm’s legal servic

Downtown buses in Seoul will carry teenage girl statues symbolizing former sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II to mark the 72nd anniversary of National Liberation Day on Aug. 15, art activists said Thursday. Starting from next week till the end of September, five buses will have seats that feature a light-weight copy of the 1.5 meter-tall bronze statue of a barefoot girl seated on a chair, created and erected in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011 by artists Kim Woon-

Education in South Korea has no shortage of problems: an emphasis on tests that drives teenagers -- even pre-teens -- to engage in yearslong competition for top universities, a massive and growing private academy market that dwarfs public schools, and despite all this, a growing mismatch between education and job skills. But Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, believes it is his duty to reform the country’s education system -- which has long relied on

Gyeonggi Province received the highest marks for two years in a row in a joint evaluation of provincial and municipal governments conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other government agencies, the province said Wednesday. The evaluation assessed the quality of administrative services provided by each district governments in such areas as general administration, social welfare, health and hygiene, regional economy, culture and family affairs, safety management and environment

South Korea said Tuesday it's seeking closer ties with Indonesia on defense goods as part of efforts to expand its overall arms trade.   Defense Minister Song Young-moo discussed the issue when he met with his Indonesian counterpart Ryamizard Ryacudu in Seoul later in the day, according to his office.   He's on a trip to South Korea to attend a delivery ceremony for a submarine built by the local defense contractor Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.   Indonesia has ordered three diesel

A Korean tourist in his 30s was found dead in the Philippines after allegedly losing a huge amount of money at a casino, local police said Tuesday.   The police were looking into the possibility of a suicide based on testimony from people around him that he lost several hundred million won at a casino.    According to the Korean community in the Southeast Asian country and local media, the 38-year-old man whose identity was withheld by police was found hanged in the balcony of his room at a cond

South Korea’s Ministry of Education will expand support for the education of children from low-income households to help bridge the gap between poor and wealthy, a government panel that deals with basic livelihood security policies said Monday. According to the panel, the ministry is scheduled to increase its spending on elementary, middle and high school students from low-income households to help them purchase school supplies and materials beginning next year.  The Ministry of Education buildi