South Korea recorded low in two significant gender-related indexes, including the latest Gender Gap Report released annually by the World Economic Forum, a local study showed on Sunday.According to the report, compiled by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the World Economic Forum placed South Korea at 115 out of 145 countries in its annual index on gender equality last year. The index has a total of four categories, including economic participation and opportunity, education and

South Korea’s newly introduced measures to boost the country’s “critically low” fertility rate, including a campaign to urge workers to leave work without informing their bosses, are being questioned on their effectiveness.The Welfare Ministry on Thursday announced its short-term emergency measures to combat the demographic crisis, including expanding state allowance for those seeking infertility treatment and raising paternity allowances for parents welcoming their second child.In its effort to

Almost 90 percent of single Koreans think the government should provide special policies for those who wish to get married, and the largest proportion of them think the measures should tackle limited job security among young employees, a survey showed Thursday.According to the study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 86.3 percent of the surveyed single men and 87.7 percent of surveyed single women said there should be government policies so those who would like to get married

The heat wave has claimed 16 lives in South Korea as of this month -- the highest number since 2011 when the government started documenting such deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average temperature in Seoul from Aug. 1-15 was 29.8 degrees Celsius this year, the highest since the nation started documenting daily weather in 1907. As of Aug. 15, 16 Koreans have died of heat-related causes, such as heat stroke. In 2012, 15 people died of heat-released di

Kyung Eun Davidson’s earliest memories are of missing her birth mother. Born in 1983 in South Korea, she grew up in Oregon after being adopted by a couple in the U.S. in 1986. Ever since she was 3, Davidson would constantly daydream about her birth mother throughout her childhood.“I remember wishing every night she would come back,” the 33-year-old, who currently lives in Everett, Washington, told The Korea Herald. “I’ve never remembered a time that I did not miss her and want to be with her. My

The recent controversial case of a 2-year-old who lost all the hair on his body after taking herbal medicine has triggered heated debate among traditional Korean doctors and those who practice Western medicine here.The 27-month-old reportedly started losing his hair -- including his eyelashes and eyebrows -- after taking the medicine in November. His mother acquired the remedies from the Hamsoa Oriental Clinic in southern Seoul, which is one of the most firmly established traditional medical cli

South Korea’s health authorities on Thursday announced their plans to reduce antibiotics use for common viral infections -- such as colds and sore throats -- in response to concerns on the growing resistance of diseases to antibiotic medicine.South Korea currently has an unusually high usage of antibiotics -- a group of drugs used to treat bacterial infections -- compared to other countries, partly because of inadequate public health education on antibiotics and antibiotics resistance. “Antibiot

South Korea’s wealthy elderly feel unhappy at not receiving money from their grown children, while those in financial difficulties feel sad about not being able to support their offspring, a study showed Monday. 　The study, compiled by the Korean Society of Gerontological Social Welfare, surveyed 358 elderly who belong to the wealthiest 10 percent of the elderly population as well as 1,462 individuals with household income of 1 million won ($900) or less a month.  The study found those who were

 Another health care worker at a pediatric unit at a general hospital has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, just days after the nation’s second case was reported at a different hospital, raising concerns over the current preventive measures against the infectious disease.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 23-year-old nurse was reported to the authorities after she was diagnosed with TB through a regular health examination last month. The health care worker, wh

The number of Korean adoptees who requested to see their birth records increased dramatically from 2012-15, since the revision of the adoption law here, but a lack of digitization is slowing access to the information.Only 35 percent of the some 230,000 relevant documents have been digitized and archived by the government.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of adoptees who asked to see their birth records increased from 258 in 2012 to 1,324 last year. In total, 4,790 adopt

A nurse working at a pediatric unit at one of the major general hospitals in Seoul has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, just weeks after another TB case was reported among nurses at a different hospital in the city, raising concerns over the nation’s control of the disease.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 27-year-old nurse was diagnosed with the disease Monday during a regular health examination provided by her employer -- the Samsung Medical Center in sout

Elderly Koreans -- those aged 70 or older -- only accounted for 21 percent of all reported unattended deaths in Korea last year, defying general perception that it is mostly the elderly left alone in life and death. According to data released by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, the number of reported unattended deaths increased from 719 in 2012 to 1,245 last year, and those who lived in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province accounted for 53.1 percent of cases in 2015. Among t

More than half of married Korean men have had extramarital affairs at least once in their lives, while 40 percent of them think “buying sex is not cheating,” a study showed on Monday. The study was jointly compiled by Lina Korea -- the Korean unit of U.S. insurance giant CIGNA -- and a local sexologist clinic, and surveyed some 1,100 Koreans aged 20 or older. The study found that 50.8 percent of the surveyed men, and 9.3 percent of the surveyed women, have cheated on their legal spouses at least

The South Korean government announced Friday additional measures to combat domestic violence and child abuse, in response to recent high-profile cases that caused public outrage.“People are growing increasingly anxious due to the series of child abuses and sexual violence in remote regions,” said Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn at a national policy coordination meeting.“We will strengthen our sexual violence prevention programs in remote regions nationwide, as well as our investigative efforts.” Pr

Throughout her 20s, Lee Jin-song has received unwanted advice on how to “improve” herself so she can enjoy dating. The advice came from friends, both male and female, as well as acquaintances of different ages. “Some told me to grow my hair longer (so I can look more feminine), some told me not to talk too much,” the 27-year-old author told The Korea Herald.“Some even told me, ‘Make sure you look impressed when talking to a man -- use phrases like “Really?” “I had no idea!” Be sweet when you lis

Women only accounted for 2.3 percent of all high-ranking executives at South Korea’s 100 major conglomerates last year, while more than half of the firms did not have any women in top leadership positions, a government report showed on Thursday.The report, compiled by the Gender Ministry, analyzed the nation’s top 100 companies with the biggest sales as of last year. Only 165 women were working in the top leadership positions including executives and board members.(123rf)By company, Citibank Kor

Unemployment affects Korean men’s marriage prospects much more so than women’s, with a vast majority of jobless Korean men in their late 20s and early 30s staying single, a study showed Monday.The report, released by the Korea Women’s Development Institute, discovered that only 4.1 percent of unemployed men aged 25-29 were married as of last year, while 48.8 percent of unemployed Korean women in the same age group were married. The difference was even larger for jobless men and women aged 30-34.

A South Korean man with a history of domestic abuse killed his wife using drugs and took his life last week, just weeks after a Seoul court rejected a second arrest warrant against him for domestic violence, police said Thursday.The bodies of the man, 61, and his wife, 58, were found in their apartment in the Gwanak district of Seoul on July 14, according to the police. An autopsy by the National Forensic Service found intoxicating substances in both the husband and wife, they added.  (123RF)The

For Kim Eun-jin, a 36-year-old working mother in South Korea, being at work is her “break.” She gets up at 4:30 a.m. every morning, leaves for work and returns home at about 8:30 p.m. What awaits after her long commute -- she lives in Incheon and works in Seoul -- are dirty dishes and unfolded laundry. She makes dinner, does the dishes, mops the floor and folds the laundry. Then she spends about 30 minutes talking to her kids -- one 8, the other 12 -- who are looked after by Kim’s mother-in-law

South Korea’s gay and lesbian teenagers are more likely to develop substance abuse and suicidal thoughts compared to straight students, a study by a medical institution showed Monday.The study, organized by physicians at the Samsung Medical Center, analyzed survey data on some 129,000 Korean teenagers in grades seven to 12 from 2008-2012. Researchers found that among all participants, a total of 2.306 of them have engaged in sexual or romantic encounters with same-sex individuals. They accounted