Kim Ye-ji, a 26-year-old job-seeker worriedly looks at eight Chinese characters and carefully listens to what the fortune-teller tells her. The predictor stares at the characters with a serious face and contemplates for awhile. “Around March and April next year, you’re going to find a job. Until then, no good news,” the fortune-teller says. “And you’re likely to meet a guy around autumn. He will probably be younger than you.” Kim finally feels relieved.Their discussion, which lasted for an hour,

Hyperlipidemia occurs when there is elevated cholesterol in the blood, which can cause fatal diseases such as atherosclerosis, angina, myocardial ischemia and stroke. The causes of hyperlipidemia include a high fat diet and insufficient exercise. The recommended level of blood cholesterol is less than 200 milligrams per deciliter of cholesterol, less than 150 mg/dl of triglycerides, greater than 45 mg/dl of HDL cholesterol (prevents atherosclerosis) and less than 160 mg/dl of LDL cholesterol (ca

A dozen kids rush into an old building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, after school. They are cheerful, as if they are about to play, but only a stack of books and a few teachers await them. The elementary school and middle school kids come to the Kuensaem School to study with volunteer tutors from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day. The students share one thing in common: They are all from North Korea.The Kuensaem School is a free after-school program created and supported by volunteers to assist children from N

The government on Monday unveiled the personal information of 14,500 high-profile tax delinquents including former President Chun Doo-hwan. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration disclosed a list of those who failed to pay over 30 million won ($28,500) for more than two years. Their number rose by 25.7 percent from last year largely due to more business failures in the economic slowdown. The total amount in arrears also jumped 26.6 percent year-on-year to 2.14 trillion won, while the

About 200 college students braved the freezing weather Saturday to take part in an outdoor debate at a Seoul university on themes ranging from the rail workers’ strike to intelligence agents’ electioneering.The gathering was called in by a single school board post, titled “How are you doing?” put up by Joo Hyun-woo, a Korea University student, last Tuesday, calling for students to pay attention to social issues.The post asked students if they were indeed doing okay when thousands of railroad emp

Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for two former Tokyo branch mangers of KB Kookmin Bank on bribery charges Wednesday in connection with a slush fund scandal involving the nation’s second largest lender. They and other workers in Kookmin’s Tokyo operation are alleged to have extended illegal loans worth about 170 billion won ($161 million) to unqualified customers in return for bribes between 2008 and 2012.Financial authorities and the prosecution suspected the kickbacks were channeled into its

The prosecution is set to question Hyosung Group chairman Cho Suck-rai on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the company’s alleged tax evasion, slush funds and accounting fraud, officials said Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has summoned Cho to appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday. He will be the third person from the family to be questioned. Hyosung is Korea’s 26th largest business group, with assets of more than 11 trillion won ($10.4 billion). Prosecutors are expected to gri

Song Hong-bin, a 22-year-old college student in Seoul, regrets his choice of an all-English class this semester.Unable to comprehend lectures and conversations, he is only left with frustration and a sense of inferiority. “I chose the class to learn real-life English. But I feel like I’m being left out. Others seem to understand all the lectures,” he said.“It’s more like showtime for English-fluent people to boast their ability. I don’t think my English improved.” More and more universities are

Arranging linen and folding towels may be simple and monotonous tasks for many hoteliers. But for Lee Sang-hyuk, 23, the work is a precious source of confidence and hope for the future. Lee, a new employee of the Plaza Hotel in the heart of Seoul, is the first regular hotelier with a disability in the country. He has a mild, third-degree intellectual disability, a level in which social and occupational rehabilitation is possible through education and training. After three months of training, Lee

The Ministry of Justice repealed a rule that requires foreign students seeking a part-time job to submit a recommendation letter from a professor.Students now only have to hand in a confirmation document from the school administration, the ministry said on Monday.The government made both documents mandatory in order to prevent illegal recruitment. But it decided to simplify the rule, as the recommendation letter requirement has not been fully implemented, only adding to the burdens faced by fore

Prosecutors said Sunday they had charged nearly 30 people for involvement in dogfighting.Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said it had arrested nine people, including gangsters suspected of hosting fights between pit bull terriers. Eight other organizers were added to the wanted list.Another nine, including dog owners and gamblers, were also indicted without detention, and 11 more participants were summarily indicted. They were found to have held some 30 dogfights over a year, largely i

A presidential official on Thursday expressed displeasure after a Japanese magazine reportedly derided President Park Geun-hye as “imbecile of the week” for taking a tough stance on the former colonial ruler.The latest edition of the weekly Shukan Bunshun carried an article about Park’s stance on Tokyo, accusing her of “creating disturbances” with regard to rows over the sovereignty of the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and Japan’s enslavement of Korean women as sex slaves during World War

Seoul City and police have designated some 600 spots in the city for strengthened measures against sex crimes. Police patrols will be enhanced in the areas including secluded residential towns, neighborhood parks, entertainment streets and construction sites, the city government said Thursday. A total of 340 extra surveillance cameras will be installed in the areas. All 25 districts and police will share images under an integrated system, helping monitor about 25,000 cameras at the same time.(re

The rate of sex crimes among juveniles has hiked by fivefold in Seoul in the last three years, data showed Tuesday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s report, the number of sexual assault cases jumped from 21 to 107 between 2010 and 2012. The number for this year reached 66 as of the end of July, putting it on track to exceed last year’s figure. While the number of cases stayed around 30 to 40 before 2012, the figure started to increase sharply, apparently as a result of v

Seoul City said Monday that it has selected eight sites, artifacts and traditions to push for designation as UNESCO World Heritage in the long term.The candidates include the U.S. Army garrison, remains of an ancient fortress, ancient maps of the capital and Buddhists rituals.The city plans to spend 100 million won ($94,000) in promoting the heritages next year.They have been selected by experts commissioned by the city government. The list of places includes the Yongsan U.S. Army garrison at th

Seoul City will provide free offices, professional counseling and other services to foreigners who start up a business in the city, officials said. The Seoul Global Center in Jongno is recruiting six foreign businesses and the global business centers in Gangnam and Yeoiudo are seeking three and five startups, respectively, to offer various support. The new businesses are allowed to stay for six months in the centers’ buildings for free starting in January next year and those with outstanding per

College entrance exam authorities came under fire amid a series of claims of ambiguous questions, one of which has prompted students to prepare a class action suit. Students claimed that at least three questions in English, mathematics and geography on the College Scholastic Ability Test were confusing and ambiguous.The state-run Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation is scheduled to notify students of the results of the national exam Wednesday. More than 650,700 high school seniors and g

Childless households are sharply increasing in Korea due to the low birthrate and an aging population, a governmental think tank’s research showed on Thursday. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs’ report, the proportion of two-member families without children increased to 27.9 percent in 2013, up 18 percentage points from 1990.The share of three-member childless households also jumped from 6.9 percent to 17.1 percent during the period, according to the report written b

 Cholesterol is one of the essential lipids needed to maintain normal body function. It forms the cell membrane, and is needed to produce various hormones such as adrenocortical hormones, as well as male and female hormones.However, people with higher-than-normal levels of cholesterol (200-240 ml/dl) are at increased risk for angina, myocardial infarction and cerebral ischemia, along with smoking and hypertension, which are the three main risk factors. On the other hand, low levels of cholestero