A Seoul citizen-led project to improve the city’s artistic appeal kicked off its second two-month run Saturday. About 101 Seoul residents gathered at Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Saturday to embark on a mission to find and promote the hidden artistic gems of Seoul.In its second year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s “Arts on Seoul’s street found by citizens,” will run from April through June.Participants of “Arts on Seoul’s street found by citizens” pose for a photo in Dongdaemun Design Plaza i

South Korean children and teenagers suffering from extreme obesity are on a sharp rise compared to decades ago, a report showed Tuesday.According to a study released by the Korea University Anam Hospital, the prevalence of extreme obesity among the age group of 2-19 has more than quadrupled to 4.7 percent in 2014 from 0.7 percent in 1998.(123RF)The research was based on nationwide health and nutrition surveys conducted on 19,593 Koreans aged 2 to 19 from 1998-2014. 　Extreme or morbid obesity ref

Police said Friday that it has investigated 246 people for vandalizing presidential election posters or damaging electioneering facilities since the election campaign began last week. According to the Korea National Policy Agency, as of Friday, 197 people were found to have damaged or removed election campaign posters placed by the National Election Commission. Of the remainder, 42 people allegedly damaged placards and seven damaged electioneering trucks.  Presidential election posters displayed

Modelled after New York’s iconic High Line, Seoul’s soon-to-open elevated park will bring visual and spatial respite to busy city life, with a stretch of greenery, cafes and street markets, the city government said Tuesday. Opening part of the “Seoullo 7017” on Tuesday, ahead of the official opening in May, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Tuesday described the urban sky park as a place where “nature and humans can live side by side.”Pictured is the Seoul Road 7017 in front of Seoul Station, an over

In light of South Korea’s high smartphone penetration rate, the problem of smartphone addiction could emerge as a major social issue, with nearly 80 percent of users showing addictive behavior, a study showed. The survey conducted by the Gyeonggi Research Institute on 1,004 smartphone users showed that 82.4 percent said they cannot do everyday tasks and often feel anxiety if separated from their mobile devices.(123RF)According to the study, over 1 in 2 respondents said their amount of personal l

Seoul City said Sunday that it has successfully hosted study sessions for citizens on public art before embarking on a two-month program to find and promote the hidden artistic gems of Seoul.The study sessions, arranged and hosted by the city government’s Design Policy division, included renowned sculpture and installation artist Ahn Kyu-chul, Seoul Design Foundation head Park Sam-chul, social media expert Kim Hae-kyung and photographer Han Geun-seon as lecturers. Citizens give a presentation on

Less than a third of Koreans lead healthy lifestyles, a survey showed Thursday.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year, about 27 percent of Korean adults practice a healthy lifestyle daily.Last year’s figure was 1.2 percentage points lower than that recorded in 2015 and 7.2 percentage points lower than 2008, when the survey was first conducted.(123RF)The survey showed that slightly more than 38 percent of adults walked for more than 30

Years before signs of dementia became evident, Yang Min-ju’s mother became confused and delusional. Her mother would pack her luggage, saying her parents were waiting for her to come home. The symptoms gradually worsened, until Yang had to feed her mother and change her diaper every hour.“I thought she was just becoming old,” Yang told The Korea Herald.Like Yang, about one quarter of dementia patients miss the opportunity to receive timely treatment and care because they are unaware of the early

The search for the remains of the missing passengers of the ferry Sewol got underway Tuesday, more than three years since the accident. Of the 476 who were aboard the vessel, 295 died and nine remain unaccounted for. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that preparations for the search, including safety checks, cleaning and disinfection processes, have been completed.(Yonhap)At around 1 p.m., the search began from the fourth deck, where most of the missing passengers are believed to be trap

South Korea’s democratization has been fueled by citizens’ protests against corrupt politicians over the past few decades.The mass uprising in 1960, called the April 19 Revolution, which thousands of students had marched from Korea University in eastern Seoul to the presidential office, ended the autocratic First Republic of South Korea ruled by the nation’s first president Syngman Rhee. Although the hard-won democracy was short-lived, subsequent military regimes of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-h

One in 4 South Koreans experience mental disorders more than once in their lifetimes, while just one-tenth of the mentally ill seek professional help, according to government data released Wednesday The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s survey of 5,102 adults showed that about 25 percent of the respondents had suffered mental disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia and alcohol addiction, at least once in their lives. About 12 percent had experienced psychiatric illnesses in the past year. Th

Seoul City’s controversial plan to hand out cash allowances to young job seekers has finally gotten the nod from the central government, ending a yearlong dispute. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had opposed Seoul’s plan, calling it a populist move, but it decided to endorse it Friday, citing revisions made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to the original program at the ministry’s request.The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Yonhap)“We refused to ratify the program last year when it failed

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- The Stockholm truck attack suspect from Uzbekistan was a rejected asylum-seeker who eluded authorities' attempts to deport him by giving police a wrong address, Swedish police said Sunday while announcing the arrest of a second suspect.Jan Evensson of the Stockholm police told a televised news conference that the 39-year-old suspect's request for a residence permit was rejected in June 2016 but police could not find him to send him back to his native country because he was not

Two-time world overall champion Choi Min-jeong won the women's Olympic short track trials with ease on Saturday, while upsets abounded on the men's side.Choi won both the 1,000m and 1,500m super final races at the Olympic trials at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Choi had also won the 500m and 1,500m races a day earlier.Choi, who won the world overall titles in 2015 and 2016, will be making her Olympic debut on home ice at the PyeongChang Winter Games next February.She had a clean sweep of all races

Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party beat longtime frontrunner Moon Jae-in for the first time in a hypothetical five-way race for the top elected office, a poll showed Sunday.The former software mogul would also win a two-man match against Moon with a wide margin, if the election is held now, according to the survey conducted by the Korea Research Center on Saturday and Sunday.  Ahn Cheol-soo (Yonhap)The poll, jointly commissioned by Yonhap News Agency and public broadcaster KBS, support

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Poland's prime minister has vowed to provide financial and other aid to the survivors of an apartment building collapse that left six people dead and four injured. Rescuers and firefighters search for 11 missing people in the rubble of an apartment house that collapsed in Swiebodzice, Poland, on Saturday, April 8, 2017. (AP-Yonhap)Prime Minister Beata Szydlo came to the site of Saturday's collapse in the southwestern town of Swiebodzice (Shvyeh-'boh-tchi-tseh) and promised

CAIRO (AP) -- A bomb exploded in a church north of Cairo that was packed with Palm Sunday worshippers, killing at least 25 people and wounding 71 others, officials said.The attack in the Nile Delta town of Tanta was the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt's Christian minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the population and has been repeatedly targeted by Islamic extremists. It comes just weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit Egypt. A general view shows forensics collecting eviden

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel remained committed to treating war wounded from Syria and reaffirmed his support for last week's US air strike in the neighbouring country.In comments at the start of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu did not specify whether those injured in last week's suspected chemical attack in Syria would be among those treated in Israel.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem April 9, 2

The recovery of the South Korean sunken ferry has been an unprecedented challenge that gave the veteran salvage team many "first" experiences, the chief diver involved in the project said Sunday."I have dived about 6,000 times, spent some 30,000 hours of my life in water, but the Sewol operation has been somewhat different," Jin Feng, the head of diving unit of the Shanghai Salvage, told Yonhap News Agency in an interview on Sunday.  Jin Feng, the head of the company's diving unit, on April 9, 2

Leading presidential contender Moon Jae-in maintained his view Sunday that the incoming administration should have the final say on the controversial deployment of a US missile defense system in South Korea.Moon, the nominee of the liberal Democratic Party, made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in reference to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery that is being installed in southeastern South Korea. China claims it is a threat to its security, and recently stepped up