House byline

Eunji Shin 신은지

Health correspondent

Eunji Shin is a house byline for InfoHandle’s Health desk.

20 stories

Parents with infants sit in a clinic waiting area with colorful wall panels and a nurse station window, soft daylight, no logos or readable text

NHIS Opens RSV Vaccine Appointments for Infants in Gyeonggi After Ward Saturation Reports

NHIS opens RSV immunization slots for infants in Gyeonggi after hospitals report pediatric ward saturation linked to early autumn respiratory surges.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 8, 2026South Korea

Pediatric clinic waiting area with small colorful chairs and a vitals monitor on a rolling stand, afternoon window light, no logos or readable text

Health

Pediatric Emergency Chiefs Say Mandatory Admission Law Outruns Available Beds

Pediatric emergency chiefs told lawmakers that mandatory admission rules will collide with overnight bed shortages already visible in ministry data submitted to the Welfare Committee.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 7, 2026South Korea

Small dermatology clinic waiting area with pale chairs and potted plant, reception desk with stacked paper forms turned away from camera, soft daylight, no logos or readable text

Health

Health Insurance Review Agency Flags Post-Chuseok Dermatology Claims Jump in Audit Data

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service told audit briefers that post-Chuseok dermatology claims jumped faster than overall outpatient volume, flagging laser and peel procedures billed after holiday travel.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 5, 2026South Korea

Neighborhood clinic waiting area with plastic chairs and a blurred reception desk, fluorescent lighting, no logos or readable text

Health

Ambulatory Care Centers Logged 12 Percent More Cough Visits in Late September Than Mid-Month

Community health surveys show ambulatory care centers handled 12 percent more cough-related visits in late September than mid-month, below emergency thresholds but high enough for clinics to extend evening hours after the holiday travel rush.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 4, 2026South Korea

Empty wedding banquet hall with round tables and chairs, daylight through windows, floral centerpieces removed, no logos or readable text

Health

Gyeonggi CDC Closes Pension Buffet Serving 62 Guests With Acute Gastroenteritis

Gyeonggi provincial health officials shut a Yangpyeong pension buffet after 62 wedding guests reported acute gastroenteritis, sequencing norovirus GII and tracing oysters served at the Saturday reception.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 3, 2026South Korea

Pediatric waiting area with colorful chairs and a wall-mounted thermometer display in a Korean community clinic, fluorescent lighting, no logos or readable text

Health

KDCA Says Under-Six ILI Rate Surged 30% in Week 38 as Post-Chuseok Spread Fears Grow

Influenza-like illness among children under six jumped more than 30 percent in epidemiological week 38 as Korea monitors post-Chuseok spread.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 2, 2026South Korea

Medical refrigerator with glass door showing vaccine boxes on wire shelves, empty plastic chairs in a clinic corridor, cool fluorescent lighting, no logos or readable text

Health

KDCA Lines Up 12.33 Million Free Flu Doses While Paid Market Faces 370,000-Shot Gap

KDCA secured 12.33 million free influenza doses for this season’s national program but warned paid-clinic supply could tighten after manufacturers delayed lot releases, with only 370,000 extra shots negotiated for private payers.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Oct 1, 2026South Korea

Primary care clinic vaccination refrigerator with labeled trays, bright interior light, empty waiting chairs in background, no readable text or logos

Health

NHIS Lists 11,400 Partner Clinics Accepting Senior Flu Vouchers From Wednesday

The National Health Insurance Service listed 11,400 partner clinics accepting senior flu vouchers from Oct. 1 as MOHW expands free shots for residents 65 and older.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 30, 2026South Korea

Hospital rehabilitation corridor with parallel bars and folded walkers along beige walls, soft daylight from side windows, worn linoleum floor, no logos or readable text

Health

Severance Hospital Orthopedics Ranks First in Korea in Newsweek Specialty Survey

Yonsei Severance Hospital’s orthopedics service ranked sixth worldwide and first in Korea in Newsweek’s World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2027 survey, climbing three places globally from last year.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 29, 2026South Korea

Hospital emergency bay entrance at night with ambulance bay lighting and empty gurney in corridor, no logos or readable text

Health

Gangnam Severance Adds Overnight Orthopedic Intake After Multiple Expressway Pileups

Gangnam Severance Hospital opened an overnight orthopedic intake lane after expressway pileups sent a wave of fracture patients from the holiday return rush.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 28, 2026South Korea

Hospital emergency ambulance bay at night with open bay doors and reflective vests on a gurney, sodium street lighting, wet pavement, no logos or readable text

Health

Emergency Rooms Report Chuseok Traffic Injuries Outpacing Heat Illness This Holiday Weekend

Emergency departments in Seoul and Busan said Chuseok traffic injuries outnumbered heat-related cases this holiday weekend as return highway peaks collided with late-summer temperatures.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 27, 2026South Korea

Photorealistic scene of an older adult in light clothing resting in the shade of a tree at a hillside ancestral grave site in South Korea on a warm late-September afternoon, with a water bottle and a small clearing tool nearby, no logos or readable text.

Health

KDCA Urges Heat Precautions at Grave Sites as Ritual Peaks Coincide With Warm Afternoons

KDCA advises hydration, shade, and early symptom checks as families visit graves on the final Chuseok holiday day, with a 10–15°C day-night spread and fog on return routes.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 26, 2026South Korea

Photoreal scene of a small neighborhood clinic's glass door with a printed holiday-hours notice taped inside, a nurse's silhouette at the reception desk behind it, late-morning autumn light on a quiet Korean side street, no logos or readable text

Health

Health Ministry Says 8,294 Clinics and Pharmacies Open Daily Average Over Chuseok

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's holiday grid counts an average of 8,294 clinics and pharmacies open each day over Chuseok, with 5,231 open on Chuseok day itself — and routes patients through Eunggeup Ddokddok and the 129 line.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 25, 2026South Korea

Shaded hillside cemetery path in southeast Korea with stone grave mounds and trimmed pines, family members as distant silhouettes carrying water bottles, harsh midday sun and heat haze, documentary wire photo, no readable text or faces

Health

KDCA Issues Grave-Site Heat Illness Advisory as Chuseok Rituals Peak in Gyeongsang

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency urged Chuseok grave-site visitors in Gyeongsang provinces to treat afternoon heat as a clinical risk, citing emergency-room data from last year's holiday and telling families to rotate strenuous rites and hydrate before climbing hillside cemeteries.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 24, 2026South Korea

Expressway service area medical clinic entrance with glass doors and waiting chairs, travelers with luggage passing by, fluorescent interior glow, no logos or readable text

Health

NHIS Funds Extended Urgent-Care Hours at Expressway Rest Stops Through Chuseok Travel Peak

National Health Insurance Service funding will keep extended urgent-care clinics open at major expressway rest stops through the Chuseok travel peak, staffing physicians for dehydration, trauma, and chronic-condition flare-ups far from hometown hospitals.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 23, 2026South Korea

Incheon airport international arrivals hall with a quarantine screening counter, thermal camera on a tripod and a nurse behind glass, tired travelers in queue under flat ceiling panels, no logos or readable text

Health

KDCA Expands Mpox Screening at Incheon Arrivals After Southeast Asia Case Clusters

KDCA is widening mpox symptom checks and Q-CODE routing at Incheon Terminal 2 after clusters in Southeast Asia, pairing traveler interviews with wastewater signals already tracked on long-haul arrivals.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 22, 2026South Korea

Health

NHIS Expands Night-Shift Telepsychiatry Slots for Ulsan Factory Workers

National Health Insurance Service Ulsan branch added 120 night-shift telepsychiatry slots for manufacturing workers after union clinics reported depression screens spiking among rotating crews at the industrial belt.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 21, 2026South Korea

Pediatric hospital waiting area with a freestanding symptom triage kiosk, plastic seating, fluorescent lighting, stroller parked nearby, muted blue wall panels, no logos or readable text

Health

Samsung Medical Center Expands RSV Nursery Triage Kiosks in Bundang Campus

Samsung Medical Center is rolling nursery-referral RSV triage kiosks across its Bundang shuttle corridor and main pediatric intake, routing Seongnam parents through symptom scoring and nirsevimab eligibility checks before October’s KDCA RSV season opens.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 20, 2026South Korea

Hospital endoscopy prep bay with gurney, drawn privacy curtain, and dark wall monitor under flat fluorescent corridor light, scuffed beige linoleum and hand sanitizer dispenser without visible branding, no logos or readable text.

Health

Asan Hospital Adds Evening Gi Endoscopy Blocks After Holiday Overeating Spike

Asan Medical Center opened extra evening gastrointestinal endoscopy slots after Chuseok-related overeating pushed same-week referral wait times past ten days, prioritizing patients with alarm symptoms while keeping screening colonoscopy queues on the regular calendar.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 19, 2026South Korea

Hospital dementia ward corridor with an elderly patient in cotton gown and soft gait-monitoring wristband walking beside a nurse in muted scrubs, fluorescent ceiling panels, polished tile, no logos or readable text

Health

Severance Hospital Trials Dementia Ward Fall-Risk Wristbands Before Chuseok

Yonsei Severance’s dementia ward is piloting gait-sensing wristbands that flag unstable walking before Chuseok visits swell the unit, pairing nurse dashboards with HIRA fall benchmarks rather than consumer sleep trackers.

Eunji Shin 신은지 Sep 18, 2026South Korea