Increased use of smartphones is suspected as one of the reasons behind the rise in the number of herniated cervical disc patients in Korea, according to the National Health Insurance Service on Sunday.Newly released NHIS data showed the number of cervical disc patients rose from 699,858 in 2010 to 868,729 in 2015. The total amount of hospital fees for treatment of the condition also jumped 35 percent over the same period, from 166 billion won ($142 million) to 226 billion won. (123RF)Professor J

Chicken and shrimp craft burgers at new Seorae Village spot

ROME — Buongiorno, my hundreds of fellow tourists crowding the Trevi Fountain on this bright spring day. Doesn’t it look magnificent? Isn’t it grand? Aren’t you happy to be the first high-season tourists to see the place again without scaffolding? The baroque fountain was recently closed for 17 months while it was cleaned, scrubbed, repaired and restored to the glory intended by sculptor Salvi when he began carving it in 1762.“I am happy to see it. I love ‘La Dolce Vita,’” said Jessie Cantrell,

‘Fun Taipei’ all-inclusive discounted travel package In an effort to promote travel to Taiwan’s bustling capital city of Taipei, Fun Taipei has unveiled is new all-inclusive discounted travel package.The Fun Taipei travel deal offers guests round-trip airfare from Incheon to Taipei with China Airlines, hotel accommodation for two nights, two days of free Wi-Fi, a one-day “Easy Pass” travel card as well as a free travel guidebook, all starting at the low price of 274,000 won (excluding taxes and

Brillat-Savarin and I have been getting together — a lot. Not the man, who expired 190 years ago. But the cheese, which is immortal.Who can resist those square shoulders, that tender soul? Who can turn down the triple-cream brie named for Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the savant who said: “The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star.” This is the wit who declared (in French, no less): “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”Wh

Exotic summer vacation at Imperial Palace Seoul HotelImperial Palace Seoul Hotel presents Midsummer Night Package from July 16 to Aug. 31, presenting a perfect summer vacation at the exotic outdoor swimming pool.The package includes one night’s stay at Deluxe or Business room, access to night outdoor pool or voucher for two for happy hour at Lobby Lounge, and two movie tickets. Molton Brown travel kits and Instyle magazines will be given to the guests.Free access to the fitness studio and indoor

Will the alternative art investment bring sound profit, or disrupt art market?

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo has leveraged its prowess in mass production to build a fashion empire filled with shelves upon shelves of affordable, good quality items like down jackets, underwear and T-shirts. Now the 17-nation, 1,734-store retailer is on a quest to beat Western giants like Gap, H&M and Zara to become the world's biggest apparel-maker.In the overcrowded, highly competitive casual fashion market, size is important, but no guarantee of success: Analysts say Uniqlo’

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Eva Longoria has some advice for new graduates of the American Film Institute: Use Rita Moreno as a guiding light to use myriad points of view.Longoria presented the legendary stage and screen actress with an honorary doctorate of fine arts Wednesday in Los Angeles.“As you go on to write and direct and produce ... rise above caricature, as she does. Create complete and complicated characters, as she does,” Longoria told the audience of students and their family members -- inc

SACRAMENTO, California -- When Anne Miranda goes shopping for new clothes, she has to remind herself not to reach for a size 16.Now a slim size 6, Miranda said she still sees herself “as a fat person” despite losing nearly 34 kilograms three years ago. Adjusting to her new figure has been difficult at times, she said. So has keeping off the weight.“It was like Christmas every morning, putting on clothes and having them fit or even be too big,” she said of the period following her drop in weight.

Award-winning translator Deborah Smith said Wednesday that staying faithful to the spirit of a text was her priority. And the spirit that she tried to preserve in Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” was one of “tenderness and terror at the same time, never too far one way, always this very perfect balance,” said Smith at a press conference held at the Seoul International Book Fair on Wednesday.“The style was so controlled, restrained, without being cold and indifferent, and so those two things were the

Korean actor Lee Min-ho has been named the most influential Asian film industry figure at a movie awards ceremony hosted by Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, his agency said Wednesday.Lee was chosen as the “Asian Cinema Pioneer” at the inaugural Weibo Movie Awards Ceremony held in Shanghai on Monday night, MYM Entertainment said.Winners were selected based on an online vote of 100 million Weibo subscribers who are film fans, according to the organizer. Lee Min-ho (Official website)Lee ca