Earlier this year, a local investigative TV program featured the story of a 19-year-old who died from cirrhosis, after years working as an illegal sex worker. The report revealed the teenager had run away from home after falling victim to sexual violence at 12 years old. Her alcoholic father, a single parent, had been physically abusive. She soon became involved in juvenile crime, habitually intoxicated with alcohol, and was eventually forced by other runaway teens to sell herself for money.The

Education is a significant factor in the prevalence of diabetes in middle-aged Korean women, a recent study by Ajou University has shown.The study, “Effect of Socio-Economic Status of the Prevalence of Diabetes,” surveyed some 14,000 patients with diabetes nationwide. Among the surveyed women aged 30 to 64, those who received education for seven years or less were eight times more likely to develop diabetes than women who received education for 12 years or more.Also, women who belong to the poor

The desire to eat is not only driven by hunger, but also by the emotional state and psychological stress. Binge eating, which is different to anorexia where one does not eat enough food, is another common eating disorder. This eating disorder is becoming more prevalent with the increase of interest in weight loss, as in Western countries, and in a rise in socioeconomic status as in Korea. Eating disorders, including both bulimia and anorexia, mostly occur in young women, particularly in adolesce

More South Koreans have been visiting traditional Korean medicine clinics lately, while the industry has been pushing to expand its business into conventional medical services in felds such as dermatology, government data showed Tuesday.According to data, Koreans spent 2.4 trillion won ($2.2 billion) last year on traditional Korean medical treatment, such as acupuncture. The spending has increased significantly since 2010, with an average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent per year, according to

The debate on legalizing prostitution has heated up in South Korea as the Constitutional Court began reviewing the law that criminalizes the sex trade. The court held its first public hearing Thursday.The antiprostitution law was enacted in 2004 to protect human rights, partly prompted by fire that killed 14 sex workers who were locked in a brothel in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in 2002. The law stipulates that both purchasing and selling of sex carry a penalty of up to one year in prison or

Every morning at Sungwon Daycare Center in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, when children exchange their hellos, the routine is to go around asking each other how they feel. “I am sad,” says one of the 5-year-olds in the classroom. “Why?” the whole class asks him.“Because my mom came home late last night. I couldn’t see her before going to bed. And when I woke up this morning, she already left for work.”“It’s OK! It’s OK!” the kids tell him loudly with impish grins, as the teacher consoles him. “Going to wo

In author Kim Jung-hyun’s 1997 best-selling novel “Father,” which sold more than 2 million copies, its protagonist is a father who is never home.A public servant in his 50s, the father, named Jeong-su, has spent most of his time at work ― unable to attend any of the milestone events of his children. He missed their school entrance ceremonies, convocations and countless birthday dinners. As his grown-up children ended up despising him for his lack of presence in the house, Jeong-su abruptly gets