Korea health care is a vital consideration and one which is carefully planned out by the South Korean government in hopes of seeing all the citizenry be covered by the best insurance coverage possible. A program called the Medical Aid Program or MAP offers social assistance but covers only about three percent of the population. The newer system offers many more possibilities and opportunities for foreign medical companies in particular to offer their services through medications to the people at much lower cost, again to the benefit of the citizenry of South Korea.

With more competition among foreign medical distributors comes the possibility of lower cost to everyone who requires any form of medication. Korean physicians originally resisted this program as they had gained financially by profiting off of the pharmaceuticals they prescribed to their patients. Korea health care insists on an absolute separation between prescribing and dispensing of medical prescriptions and this is attractive to those companies who deal with pharmaceuticals and are involved with Korea health care.

The government of South Korea realizes that by providing free healthcare and medical aids to its citizenry they build confidence in their ability to keep the country moving forward. Korea health care has seen that the life expectancy in South Korea has increased substantially since the 1950′s but there remain many health related issues to be corrected. There are many with chronic diseases and one third of the adult population continues to smoke. But progress is being made regarding Korea health care.

It’s a cruel world, full of deception and hypocrisy. It was obvious in the last G20 summit. America and the Russia agreed to reduce their nuclear war heads as if that is enough to balance the power in the world. Let every nation possess it or no nation has it at all. Why? This is because the decision on the world resources depend on how powerful a nation is.. The west takes the chunk while others scramble on the crumbs. According to Kenneth Clark, the former home office Minster in the United kingdom, the west are only familiar with spending and spending more than what they own, while the rest of the world live within their means and save for the future. This is happening in the same planet. And the reason for this is that some countries hold on to the entire world resources simply because they are more powerful.

Apart from the poor sharing of the world resources there is too much abuse of power going on. Some problems are better resolved diplomatically rather than militarily. America will never attack Iraq if Iraq has a long range missile. Look at India and Pakistan for instance. They look like enemies but war seems not be in their agenda for now because they both posses what it takes to ground each others nation.. It boils down to the same notion, let all the world missiles be got rid off or let every nation posses it. Going by the timing of the launching of the North Korea missiles, the message is clear, while you sit-down at a summit sharing the world resources, some countries are angry and will go ballistic one day when pushed to the wall.

Seoul is located in the northwest corner of the country. It border with North Korea is only about 40km from the city centre. Seoul was given its present name in 1945, and was chosen to be the capital of the Republic of Korea in 1948. Experiencing everything Korean, from the bawdy red light districts to the calm traditional teahouse any time of the day makes Seoul an adventure worth taking.

To experience the traditional culture of Korea while remaining in the heart of the city, try Insa dong. With art galleries, traditional craft stores, antique art dealers, traditional tea houses and traditional restaurants it is simply the place for tourists wanting to experience traditional Korea. The area is especially good for finding antiques in old paintings, ceramics, wooden vessels, and antique furniture can all be found in abundance at Insa dong. The 70 or so art galleries in the area also make Insa dong ideal as a cultural space.

Modern design and technology can be witnessed simultaneously in the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art which opened last October. Designed by a trio of daring western architects, it features a childrens museum by Rem Koolhaas, a contemporary art gallery by Jean Nouvel and Mario Bottos terracotta twin towers tamped to the brim with Buddhist relics. The museum will even lend you a palmtop computer to guide you round the childrens museum and entrance to the exhibitions is free.

How does one wind up in jail with all these credentials? To get to a North Korean Camp, one must be either “a land-holder, a capitalist, a U.S. or South Korean agent, a Christian, or members of purged Party circles deemed noxious to the state.” Division is made then between “redeemable” and “unredeemable” prisoners. Once classed unredeemable, life is over. Your only worth to the state is hard labor. You will be taken to work at secret sites since there is no hope of you taking those secrets anywhere but to the grave. You will work until you drop dead. Redeemables, like the author of this book, have a chance. They are taught Kim propaganda. They are thoroughly redone in their thinking processes, and after a number of years, released to live their new life as a trusted member of society.

Daily life varies enormously for Koreans depending on which side of the 38th parallel they live. The average North Korean lives a fairly bleak life under an unrelenting communist dictatorship. Where once North Korea was fairly self-sufficient, today it is widespread starvation and malnutrition. Agricultural workers live in communities of collectivised farms. Everyone works to produce food for the rest of the population. Non agricultural work centres primarily on heavy industry, mineral extraction and military service. The state controls all aspects of life. South Korea is vastly different, having a private-enterprise economy, although with some state intervention at various levels. The average South Korean works a full day Monday to Friday and half day on Saturday.

While it is difficult to piece together a clear picture of the situation within the country, it is overwhelmingly clear that the government of North Korea controls virtually all activities within the nation. Citizens are not allowed to freely speak their minds and the government detains those who criticize the regime. The only legal radio, television, and news organizations are operated by the government. The media universally praise the administration of Kim Jong-Il, who remains the unelected leader of the country.

A number of human rights organizations and governments have condemned North Korea’s human rights record, including Amnesty International and the United Nations. In its 2006 country report on North Korea, Freedom House stated that, “North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship and one of the most restrictive countries in the world. Every aspect of social, political, and economic life is tightly controlled by the state. The regime denies North Koreans all basic rights, subjects tens of thousands of political prisoners to brutal conditions, and maintains a largely isolationist foreign policy.” North Korea received Freedom House’s lowest ratings in both civil liberties and political rights, categorizing it as “Not Free”.[1] In 2004, the United States passed the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, which censured North Korea and outlined steps the United States should take to promote democracy and freedom in North Korea. With the exception of the international abductions issue, which it says has been fully resolved, North Korea strongly denies all reports of human rights violations and accuses the defectors of lying and promoting a pro-US agenda.