Search Results for: "Lee myung-bak"

TIL About Eugenics in Singapore in the 1980s. Was This a Thing in Korea too?

Remember that hilarious Singaporean government birthrate campaign ad from the 1980s? Which I mentioned in my look at the demographics of Korean dating agencies? Twenty-plus years after laughing at that as an undergraduate, last night it suddenly wasn’t so funny: Source: Page 162 of South East Asia in the World-Economy: A Regional Economy, by Chris … Continue reading TIL About Eugenics in Singapore in the 1980s. Was This a Thing in Korea too? →

Morning-after Pill Remains Prescription Only

In the continued financial stand-off between doctors and pharmacists, Korean women’s health and sexual freedom remain a low priority. (Source: withhyunbin; CC BY-NC 2.0) Remember back in 2012, when the Korean FDA announced the monthly birth-control pill would become prescription only? In isolation, there are many reasonable arguments for such a change. In the context … Continue reading Morning-after Pill Remains Prescription Only →

(Still) Empowering Korean Women: Over-the-counter contraceptive pills

Increased access to the pill in the US provides a reminder of how good it’s always been in South Korea. Source: YouTube Have you heard? Women in Oregon can get hormonal contraceptives directly from pharmacies now, without having to go to a doctor for a prescription first. And in California, they’ll be able to do … Continue reading (Still) Empowering Korean Women: Over-the-counter contraceptive pills →

Revealing the Korean Body Politic, Part 6: What is the REAL reason for the backlash?

(Source: Unknown) Whenever one group suddenly starts competing with another for jobs, there’s going to be a backlash. That’s just human nature. Especially if one group has any real or perceived advantages in that competition. In Korea, the targets are young women, who are exempt from doing two years of military service. They are often … Continue reading Revealing the Korean Body Politic, Part 6: What is the REAL reason for the backlash? →

Korean Sociological Image #83: Vintage Contraceptive Pill Commercials

Spending the weekend looking for 8 year-old contraceptive pill commercials, as one does, I ended up finding some adorable 38 year-old ones instead: Take the title dates with a grain of salt: this brief post says that they actually come from 1982, 1976, and 1976 respectively, and the second at least is corroborated by very … Continue reading Korean Sociological Image #83: Vintage Contraceptive Pill Commercials →

Quick Hit: Living as a female smoker in Korea

(Sources: left, flygookee; right, Emmanuel Robert-Espalieu, auteur) The other day Kim Young-hee (26) smoked in public instead of a cafe. She took out a cigarette impulsively while waiting for the bus home after a few drinks with her friends. “I was a bit tipsy and felt like a puff. After I lit the cigarette, a … Continue reading Quick Hit: Living as a female smoker in Korea →