Nationwide poll shows 51% of students say abused verbally; 13% suffered physical bullyingOver 12 percent of school children have experienced abuse by fellow pupils during the past year, and verbal assault and group bullying were the most frequent types, a nationwide survey showed.According to the interim findings from the survey on school violence by the Education Ministry on Wednesday, a total of 171,637 students said they have been victims of school mistreatment during the past year.Of them, 5

English test intended to get students back to schools, but parents turn to private academiesThe government is working on the National English Ability Test to replace the English section of the current state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test from 2015.Government officials say the new test is designed to reduce students’ dependence on private tutoring and strengthen school education. The focus of the test will change from reading comprehension to speaking and writing.But while the test

The Education Ministry announced Monday that it would establish more preparatory schools to help children from multicultural families learn the Korean language and culture before they enter regular public school, and will provide Korean as a Second Language classes at schools. The ministry unveiled a set of multicultural policies in light of the growing number of children from multicultural families that have to adjust to the Korean school system.The number of children of different ethnicities h

One of the surviving victims of sexual slavery by Japanese military during World War II is seeking a proportional representation seat with the main opposition Democratic United Party.Lee Yong-su, 84, said she wanted to become a proportional representative through the April 11 parliamentary elections so that she can demand an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government as a lawmaker. “Japan hasn’t changed its stance a bit on the issue for the last 20-30 years. I want to make su

A group of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II pledged on Thursday to help Congolese women suffering because of sexual abuse and rape, if they receive financial compensation from Japan for its wartime atrocities against them.“I decided to help those who were treated much worse than me. If I get the compensation, I hope the people helping me fight for compensation as well as an apology from Tokyo will send it to the Congolese women,” said Kim Bok-dong at a press c

Ewha Womans University established a social welfare center in Cambodia to provide education to underprivileged children and women, according to the school on Wednesday.The school became the first education institute in Korea to build a social welfare and education center overseas. The Ewha Social Service center in Phnom Penh is expected to run education programs for children from low-income families, computer courses for women and workers, and projects that can contribute to the development of l

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday it will provide medical aid to undocumented foreign workers in the capital, who are not entitled to social security and health care insurance. The city government plans to cover surgery costs and hospital charges up to 5 million won ($4,400) and provide interpretation and nursing services for up to a month depending on patients’ conditions, officials said. “We are focusing on uninsured foreign workers. We are going to visit districts such as

Lee Hye-kyung, social welfare professor at Yonsei University, has been appointed the chairperson of the Seoul Welfare Foundation, which helps set the city’s welfare policies and improve social services in the capital, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday. Lee is expected to serve a three-year term at the foundation until March 2015. Her career in the field of social welfare includes chairperson of the presidential consultative committee on resolving social polarization and

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon vowed to promote gender equality, as he announced a set of strategies to improve women’s lives on Tuesday. His announcement came two days before International Women’s Day on March 8 and as part of his election pledge to change the lives of women in areas such as employment, safety and health.To asses whether existing policies run counter to gender equality, the city established a gender equality committee last month. The 35-member committee of city officials, social wor

Four South Korean women were placed on Newsweek’s list of 150 fearless women recognized as pioneers in their fields. According to the online edition of the news magazine on Monday, the four are Park Geun-hye, leader of the ruling Saenuri Party; Kim Sung-joo, CEO and chairperson of Sungjoo Group and MCM Holdings AG.; Lee Gil-ya, president of Gachon University; and Romi Haan, CEO of Haan Corp. Park Geun-hye was listed as a four-term lawmaker and front-runner among potential presidential candidates

More children are addicted to the Internet than adults, and teenagers are the most likely age group to suffer Internet addiction, a government study found Monday.Children aged 5-9 are more addicted to the Internet, at 7.9 percent, than adults aged 20-49 who had an addiction rate of 6.8 percent, according to the study by the Public Administration Ministry and the National Information Society Agency. The addiction rate for children is higher than the average rate of 7.7 percent for all age groups.

Members of Girls’ Generation will be appointed honorary publicity ambassadors for the southeastern Seoul district of Gangnam, district officials said Monday. The girl group will help promote the affluent district as a tourist attraction and hot bed of hallyu talent, they said.“We expect people around the world to recognize Gangnam as an attractive and charming place through Girls’ Generation’s image,” said Jang Won-seok, Gangnam public relations director. The district plans to hold the second ha

More children are addicted to the Internet than adults, and teenagers are the most likely age group to suffer Internet addiction, a government study found Monday.Children aged 5-9 are more addicted to the Internet, at 7.9 percent, than adults aged 20-49 who had an addiction rate of 6.8 percent, according to the study by the Public Administration Ministry and the National Information Society Agency. The addiction rate for children is higher than the average rate of 7.7 percent for all age groups.

The police said Monday that the number of school gang members under their observation is 2,831. After weeks of profiling school gangs likely to cause school violence, the police drew up their list of school gangs nationwide. The list is categorized by two groups -― 129 school gangs which are currently under investigation or have been probed, and 36 groups with a high chance of committing school violence in the future, the police said. The police plans to break up groups they believe have contrib

Most pupils stay home as schools lack activities, extra-curricular programsMost schools nationwide started a five-day school week the first week of March in line with the 40-hour work week measure that was expanded in July. More than 99 percent of elementary and secondary schools will no longer have classes on Saturdays, according to the Education Ministry.Some schools have replaced classes on every other Saturday with arts and sports activities and field trips, but other schools have not introd

A local university student has become the 3,000th bone marrow donor in the country.Kim Ji-in, 21, a police administration major at Dongshin University, recently donated bone marrow to a child ill with leukemia, and became the 3,000th bone marrow donor in the country, according to Korea Marrow Donor Program last week. “I didn’t have enough preparation time because I was about to take the police recruitment exam, but I couldn’t delay the help a child needs desperately from me,” said Kim. Her decis

Lee Gil-ya, former doctor and founder of a medical foundation, was appointed president of Gachon University on Thursday.Lee, 81, became the inaugural president of the university established by merging Gachon Medical and Science University and Kyungwon University. Lee is known as a pioneer in medicine, becoming a doctor in 1957 when female doctors were rare, and later founding the Gil Medical Foundation, which later established Gachon University of Medicine in 1998. Lee has also been an active so

Korean universities lowered their annual tuition fees by 4.5 percent on average, caving in to pressure to ease the financial burden for students and their parents. The average tuition fees at 186 four-year universities this year amount to about 6.7 million won ($6,000), down 4.48 percent from last year, according to a data compiled by the Education Ministry and released on Wednesday. It is the first time that universities have cut tuition fees since Korea was founded in 1948.Students have repeat

By Lee Wung Seoul Metropolitan Government said they will donate half of the entry fees of last year’s running event “We Run Seoul 10K,” co-organized by the sports brand Nike and the city government.“We are donating 23 million won ($204,000), half of the total entry fees collected from the 30,000 participants in the distance running event last October, to three charity organizations ― Seoul Welfare Foundation, World Love Sharing Foundation and The Korea Heart Foundation,” said a city official.Par

A group of foreign business leaders in Seoul said increasing global competitiveness of the capital is vital for its sustainable development at a meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday. “Seoul needs to set policies and plans that will elevate its global competitiveness for sustainable growth,” said the new board members of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council at the first consultative meeting with Park. The meeting was closed to public. Park also shared his vision for city