Geum develops business from simple repair shop to builder of specialized sports modelsHalf the workers at wheelchair maker Wheel Line are disabled themselves, including chief executive Geum Dong-ok. The reason: “Those who need them the most will make wheelchairs with passion and consideration,” he says. Geum, 39, was a healthy, responsible young man before an incident 20 years ago, when he spotted a girl he knew getting harassed by pimps. When he tried to rescue her, they stabbed him in his back

A Korean-Chinese woman who fled China after helping North Koreans escape to the country was granted asylum here in a landmark court ruling Wednesday. The Seoul Administrative Court, reversing an earlier rejection by the Justice Ministry, decided to give refugee status to the 38-year-old Lee who fled here on a fishing boat last March. “Because Lee aided many North Koreans, the possibility of a heavy punishment once she goes back to China is large,” the court ruled. “China’s ‘legal’ penalty is sev

Koh Young-cho, a neurosurgeon at Konkuk University Medical Center, has been treating neglected people for 35 years. At the age of 59, Koh is still passionate about seeing patients from three nonprofit clinics in Seoul for the destitute, the homeless and immigrants “The joy of helping others is so exhilarating that you even feel rejuvenated,” he told The Korea Herald. Growing up in a devout Catholic family, he had wanted to become a cleric and attended a clergy school for five years.  In his fina

Holidaymakers and fishermen are worried about giant toxic jellyfish showing up in Korea’s coastal areas in record numbers this summer.A girl was killed earlier this month and more than 500 people have been stung by jellyfish in the seas around Busan this season. The southern resort island of Jeju saw more than 130 people stung.Although there have been reports in China and Southeast Asia of deaths caused by poisonous jellyfish, Korea was considered relatively safe from them. However, the scare is

Low price of soju costing Korea enormouslyBinge-drinking in Korea was once viewed as a relatively harmless deviation among the nation’s workaholics, but its burden on public money and social capital is starting to prompt action. The cost of premature death caused by alcohol exceeded 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in 2007 and is likely to have risen since. The government has been tightening the regulatory system. Drinking in public parks will be banned from next year. In Seoul, there are proposals

Gachon University Gil Medical Center in Incheon gave six Indonesian children suffering from heart disease a new lease on life, the hospital said Monday.Its medical team found 48 children suffering from a ventricular septal defect when they visited Banten, Indonesia, a sister city of Incheon.VSD is a congenital heart malformation, which manifests as a hole between the lower chambers of the heart. If it does not receive timely treatment, it can severely stunt the growth of a child.On July 12, Gil

Park Su-nam can neither read music nor play an instrument, but the 19-year-old North Korean defector is a proud member of the Heemang Poongcha Orchestra, along with 75 others who crossed the border to escape poverty and oppression.The orchestra, whose name means Windmill of Hope, was launched earlier this month by the Korean Red Cross to help the teens overcome their scars and adapt to life in the South.“The orchestra will aspire to support young North Korean defectors by helping them get used t

Bae Jun-sik, a 59-year-old man who grows ginseng in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, became the first farmer to join the “Honor Society” club of large individual donors. “Honor Society” was founded in 2008 by the Community Chest of Korea and currently has 139 members. It aims to develop a mature philanthropic culture. To become a member, one must donate a minimum of 100 million won ($87,000).“Sharing takes courage to do; I hope this will be a small initiative for the diffusion of charity culture in

Korean-Americans are pushing to build a traditional Korean octagonal pavilion in New York to promote the nation’s culture. The Korean American Association of Greater New York said it has recently proposed to the local authorities its plan to establish the pavilion, called “Palgakjeong,” in South Pointe Park, Roosevelt Island, opposite of the U.N. Headquarters.The proposal will be reviewed by the board of the organization that runs the island, it added. Roosevelt Island has been a hot spot for cu

Automobiles were found to be the biggest emitters of volatile organic compounds that cause various illnesses including sick house syndrome and atopic dermatitis, researchers said Friday.A VOC is an urban pollutant that produces ozone and fine dust through photochemical reaction. Some VOCs gives out a bad smell and is even thought to cause cancer. According to research by the Seoul Development Institute, of 56 VOC emitters in two major industrial districts from 2009 to 2010, fossil fuels accounte

The Community Chest of Korea raised 369.2 billion won ($322.6 million) in 2011, an 8.7 percent increase from the previous year, the public welfare foundation said Monday. Corporate donations jumped 10.2 percent to 250.8 billion won and individual contributions increased 5.8 percent to 118.4 billion won.The foundation has granted 319.3 billion won to 25,000 social welfare facilities, allocating 68.1 billion won for children, 29 billion won for the elderly and 25.2 billion won for the disabled.The

Students, doctors and professors at Ewha Womans University launched a volunteer corps Monday to provide medical and educational services in Korea and Cambodia. A total of 164 volunteers will work in farming and fishing communities and industrial districts during the summer, the school said.The group consists of 118 educational volunteers to be dispatched to 21 regions at home, 21 educational workers to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a 25-strong medical team to Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia.“It will