Jeju sees net increase in population in 2010

According to research from the National Statistical Office, the total number of people who left Jeju last year was 21,280 and those moving here was 21,717, for a net gain of 437 people. This result is significant considering that in previous years, Jeju continually saw a population deficit. Other provinces where the number of residents increased are Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Chungbok, Incheon, Gwangju, Gyeongnam, and Gangwon, while Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Junnam, Gyeongbuk, Ulsan, Junbuk, and Daesun’s populations declined.

(By Kim Sung Jong, Jeju Ilbo reporter. Translated by Kim Jung Lim)


2nd round of FMD vaccinations underway

Following the first round of foot-and-mouth disease vaccinations from Jan. 29, the second round of vaccinations will be implemented for all cattle and pigs in Jeju from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced that 46,700 cattle vaccinations and 509,500 pig vaccinations were ready as of Feb. 23. It added that livestock under 14-days-old are excluded from vaccinations due to the possibility of stress-related mortality.

(By Kim Dae Young, Jeju Ilbo reporter. Translated by Kim Jung Lim)


Jeju enters age of robot surgeries

The Jeju Cancer Center of Jeju National University Hospital announced that it had adopted the da Vinci Robot Operation System for the first time in Jeju at a press conference at the hospital’s international convention center on Feb. 16. They said that the system offers stable operations with high-resolution scan stereoscopy and elaborate surgical instruments which overcome the limits of celioscopes and endoscopes. The operating robot was installed in the OR of the hospital in November of last year. The system performed its first thyroidectomy successfully last Dec. 12 and since then has performed 10 surgeries for colorectal cancer, and thyroid cancer, among others. The hospital said it had organized a team of four professors and six surgical nurses to ensure that operations go smoothly .

(By Kim Hyun Young, Jeju Ilbo reporter. Translated by Kim Jung Lim)


Bike lane reconstruction project ramps up

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has announced that it plans to spend 4.7 billion won on bike lane reconstruction but added 1 billion won on Feb. 16, with 720 million won coming from a national award which selected Jeju the “2010 excellent local government in bike facility management” prize. Jeju plans to build a 138.1-kilometer-long bike lane along the seaside. The 3-kilometer-long bike lane from Jongdal village to Hado village is included in a current bike lane state project. This is expected to lead to the vitalization of bike use in Jeju.

(By Kim Dae Young, Jeju Ilbo reporter. Translated by Kim Jung Lim)