A backlash is coming from South Korea's pregnant women over the Health Ministry's decision not to allow the simultaneous use of epidurals and a continuous local anesthetic colloquially referred to as a "pain buster" here during childbirth starting next month, lambasting the government for restricting womens' right to choose. The ministry has recently announced that pregnant women will no longer be able to use epidurals and pain busters, also known as severe pain reliever

Social Affairs June 12, 2024

The Medical Professors Association of Korea said late Wednesday that it has decided to join the one-day shutdown of services on June 18 planned by the largest doctors' group here. Kim Chang-soo, a preventative medicine and public health professor at Yonsei University who heads the group of professors at 40 medical schools, said medical professors will take a day off next week to demand the scrapping of the medical school quota hike. They have continuously demanded that the government scrap

Social Affairs June 12, 2024

Four months into the prolonged medical standoff, patients, once again, are left on edge as medical professors and private practitioners are set to take a day off next week, after the largest lobbying group for doctors voted to go on strike on June 18 to protest the government's drastic medical school quota expansion. Waiting in line in front of Severance Hospital's Diabetes Center on Tuesday morning to pick up a prescription, Jung Ok-bun, a 67-year-old with diabetes from Gimhae, South

Social Affairs June 11, 2024

Amid an escalating dispute between the government and doctors over having more medical students, the government on Monday ordered private practitioners to keep providing treatment and report to authorities when they close practice to join a one-day strike led by the country's largest doctors' group next week. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong remarked during a government response meeting that the order is based on the Medical Service Act and a "minimum necessary measure" to prote

Social Affairs June 10, 2024

진행자: 박준희, Elise Youn Star dog trainer faces workplace bullying claims 기사 요약: 유명 반려견 훈련사 강형욱, 자신을 둘러싼 갑질·폭언 등 논란에 대해 전면 반박 [1] Celebrity dog trainer Kang Hyung-wook and his dog training business Bodeum Company are facing criticism for allegedly mistreating employees. * Face criticism: 비평을 마주하다 * Mistreat: (사람·동물을) 학대[혹사]하다 [2] According to several reviews on Job Planet, an online recruitment and job search platform, Kang and his wife Susan Elder, who serves as the company execu

Podcast June 10, 2024

South Korea's largest lobbying group for doctors on Sunday announced its plan to launch a full-scale strike in protest over the country's medical reform policies, which center on increasing the number of slots at medical schools starting next year, once again bringing widespread disruptions to medical services. The announced walkout, to be held on June 18, comes after the government finalized its expansion plan by allocating 1,509 additional seats at medical schools late last month, ma

Social Affairs June 9, 2024

진행자: 박준희, Elise Youn [Weekender] 'Blood doesn't make family, love does' 기사 요약: 입양에 대한 편견을 갖고 있는 사회에게 가족은 꼭 피로 맺어지지 않고 사랑으로 맺어진다는 메시지를 전한 입양가족들 [1] When Jeon Sung-shin, 45, was looking to expand her family without going through childbirth again, she met her then 50-day-old daughter at an orphan care center 11 years ago. * Expand: 확장하다 * Go through: ~을 거쳐가다 * Childbirth: 출산 * Orphan: 고아 [2] Jeon fell in love with her at first sight and knew adoption would be a beautiful way to buil

Podcast June 6, 2024

The Korean government said Tuesday that it would allow training hospitals to accept the resignations of trainee doctors who left their posts in protest of the medical school expansion plan over three months ago. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said during a briefing that the government would withdraw its return-to-work orders and allow hospitals to accept resignations submitted by junior doctors, while also making efforts to help them return if they choose to do so. Cho added that each hospital ch

Social Affairs June 4, 2024

Some one in three South Koreans born in the 1960s think that they will die alone without receiving support from their children, a survey showed Monday, suggesting the senior population's growing concern over the change in family dynamics and support for aging parents. The foundation Care for All surveyed 980 South Koreans aged between 55 and 64 -- all born in the 1960s -- from May 8 to 15 on the perception and reality of care. According to the results, some 30.2 percent of the respondents,

Social Affairs June 3, 2024

The South Korean government on Friday said it plans to add 1,000 more professors to medical schools in national universities by 2027 to ensure that students receive the necessary education and training, a day after the Education Ministry finalized the medical school admissions quota for the 2025 school year. Lee Han-kyung, the Interior Ministry's chief disaster management official, said during a government response meeting that the government also plans to expand the number of equipment and faci

Social Affairs May 31, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slammed South Korea's show of force against Pyongyang's attempted spy satellite launch as a "very dangerous provocation" that cannot be overlooked, the Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday. Kim also said that a spy satellite is needed to safeguard the country's sovereignty, adding that South Korea had "shown hysterical madness" over its satellite launch attempt despite having complied with international regulations by no

North Korea May 29, 2024

A total of 3,752 patients have died between 2017 and 2023 after emergency rooms refused to admit them due to lack of doctors, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, stressing the need for medical school expansion to address the shortage of doctors in ER. Kang Joon, who heads the health care reform task force at the Health Ministry, said that most of the patients had died because there were no doctors who could treat them, adding that the country's critical care is in "extreme trouble.&quo

Social Affairs May 29, 2024

South Korea is expected to see more mosquitoes this summer as the acceleration in climate change is amplifying mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria across the nation. "The weather agency predicts this year's summer to be hotter than usual. ... Extremely hot weather leads to a surge in mosquito activity. This means that people will notice more mosquito bites this summer, and thus be more uncomfortable," Lee Hee-il, the head of the division of vectors and parasitic diseases at th

Social Affairs May 28, 2024

The Korean government’s recent announcement that it would make it easier for doctors licensed overseas to practice medicine in the country has stoked concern, with doctors claiming that they will not meet local medical standards. They argue that bringing in more doctors who are trained overseas will cause medical errors and accidents, severely undermining the country’s well-regarded medical system. The government announcement, made earlier this month, appeared to be an effort to pres

Newsmaker May 28, 2024

South Koreans scored 677 points on average in the Test of English for International Communication last year, ranking 16th out of 44 countries around the globe and fifth among its Asian peers, the Korea TOEIC Committee said Monday. The latest figure is up two points from an average of 675 points in 2022. The TOEIC exam assesses non-native speakers' English-language listening and reading proficiency, and test takers can get up to 990 points. It's widely used in Korea to gauge the English

Social Affairs May 27, 2024