I have no issues with this craze though I wonder if the plastic surgeons will find ways to make women look fit:
Yoo Seung-ok
Today, Korean woman are seeking more of a “healthy and sexy” image. A sharp increase in fitness centers in what seems to be every building in Seoul has brought about a “fitness syndrome.” Moreover, a number of fitness gurus, such as the 46-year-old Jung Da-yeon, are now as popular as celebrities.
It used to be all about the so-called “S-line,” which refers to the curve of a woman’s waist to hip. Korean women would take pictures from the front to show off their “wasp” waist and big hips, but the current trend is to take pictures from the side, to show their “apple hips” they worked on in the gym.
Current representatives of this new beauty standard include Yoo Seung-ok, Yeh Jeong-hwaand Nancy Lang. Their muscular bodies are more distinct compared to those of traditional Korean beauty models.
Yoo Seung-ok became popular immediately after photos of herself in an international fitness contest went viral. She came in fifth at Fitness Universe Weekend, the first Asian woman to place in the top five. [KoreAm Journal]
The comfort women issue appears to be bringing out the crazy in people now, just like the Dokdo issue:
An elderly man set himself on fire near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul Wednesday and is in critical condition, a police officer said.
The incident took place around 12:40 p.m. when Choi Heon-yeol suddenly set himself on fire in front of the embassy before being put out by people nearby.
More than 2,500 people were holding a weekly rally there for the elderly Korean women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japan’s World War II soldiers.
The 81-year-old has since been transported to a hospital specializing in burns in southwestern Seoul, where he lies unconscious.
“More than half of his body is burned, 40 percent of which are third-degree,” doctor Yang Hyeong-tae of Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital said. [Yonhap]
For some people thinking of moving to Korea this health insurance change needs to be something to be aware of:
The government will strengthen national health insurance eligibility requirements for overseas Koreans and foreigners beginning in October to prevent abuse of the system.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday that it will enact revisions to ordinances so that overseas Koreans and foreigners who enter the country for work will only be eligible to enroll in national health insurance after a three-month stay.
However, those who enter the country for study, marriage or other purposes that make it clear that they are going to stay in the country for more than three months may continue to immediately join the health insurance. [KBS World Radio]
Just when you thought this story had gone away it is back:
Cho Hyun-ah, the South Korean airline executive accused of assaulting cabin crew for serving macadamia nuts in a plastic bag, must wait until September to find out whether a lawsuit filed against her in New York is to be dismissed.
Kim Do-hee, the flight attendant on Korean Air who served Cho the nuts last December, filed a lawsuit at a Queens county court in March, South Korean outlet Newsis reported.
Kim’s lawsuit claims Cho “poured insults and assaulted [Kim] in the cabin,” and that not only was she “traumatized” by the experience but also “suffered damage to her career and reputation,” Yonhap reported.
Cho’s legal advisers requested the case be transferred to South Korea on July 13, on the premise the parties involved were South Korean nationals and all material in the investigation is written in Korean. [UPI]
You can read the rest at the link, but at this point this all just looks like a money grab against Cho. If this flight attended was traumatized by criticism about how to serve macadamia nuts then I would not want this flight attendant every working on an aircraft ever again anyway. If “nut rage” was so traumatizing how would this person react during an inflight emergency?
