The Korea Herald

Park takes firsthand look at Swiss vocational school

BERN (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited a vocational high school in Switzerland on Tuesday in an effort to learn from the European country's advanced job education system seen as a key to the highly competitive economy.Bolstering cooperation in vocational training has been a top priority for Park's state visit to Switzerland, a small country with population of mere 8 million yet one of the biggest economies in Europe. The Swiss economy has often been cited as the most compe

Jan. 21, 2014

[Newsmaker] Korea-Japan tension rises over memorial

Tension is intensifying further in Northeast Asia after Japan protested the launch of new facilities devoted to a Korean independence fighter in China, triggering strong condemnation from Seoul. Tokyo’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday slammed the memorial hall that opened a day before to honor Ahn Jung-geun, who fatally shot Japan’s first Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito in Harbin in 1909 in protest against its colonial rule. Suga said Ahn was a “terrorist sentenced to death” for the

Jan. 21, 2014

[Newsmaker] Korea-Japan tension rises over memorial

U.S. concerned about reckless N. Korea: deputy secretary

The United States and South Korea are concerned about the recent developments in North Korea and its possible provocations, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Tuesday, expressing commitment to talks for denuclearizing the communist country.Burns made the remarks during a press briefing in Seoul following the meeting with Seoul’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun. The deputy secretary is here for a two-day visit from Monday on the first leg of his three-nation visit to Nort

Jan. 21, 2014

U.S. concerned about reckless N. Korea: deputy secretary

Korean kidnapped in Libya confirmed unharmed: official

A South Korean trade agency employee kidnapped in Libya has been confirmed to be unharmed, a ranking government official said Tuesday.Han Seok-woo, the head of the Libya unit of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, was abducted Monday by four unidentified Libyan gunmen on his way home, prompting Seoul to ramp up efforts to win his release.“Han has been confirmed to be unharmed,” the official said, without disclosing how he confirmed his safety and who was behind the abduction.The governm

Jan. 21, 2014

Korean trade official abducted in Libya

A South Korean official at a state-run trade agency was kidnapped in Libya by unidentified armed men, and his whereabouts remains unknown, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday. Han Seok-woo, head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s Libya unit, was abducted by four gunmen while on his way home from his office in Tripoli at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, ministry officials said. The assailants headed west, leaving behind Han’s car and Iraqi driver, who reported the incident to the Korea

Jan. 20, 2014

China dismisses Japan’s protest over memorial to Korean independence hero

BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― China on Monday dismissed a diplomatic protest by Japan over its memorial to a revered Korean independence hero as unacceptable, renewing its calls for Japanese leaders to squarely face history. The Chinese government opened the memorial hall on Sunday in the northern city of Harbin to honor Ahn Jung-geun, the symbol of the Korean independence movement, who assassinated a prominent Japanese colonial leader a century ago. Ahn shot to death the Korean Peninsula’s first Japa

Jan. 20, 2014

China opens hall honoring Korean independence fighter

China opened a memorial hall on Sunday honoring a Korean independence fighter who assassinated a prominent Japanese colonial leader in 1909, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. In October 1909, Ahn Jung-geun shot to death Hirobumi Ito, the first Japanese governor-general of Korea, in Harbin, China. A year later, he was executed at a Japanese prison in the northern Chinese city of Ryojun, now called Lushun.The assassination by Ahn occurred prior to the beginning of Japan’s brutal 36-year colonial rule

Jan. 19, 2014

China opens hall honoring Korean independence fighter

Park arrives in Switzerland for summit, Davos Forum

BERN ― South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Switzerland on Saturday for a state visit to Bern and an annual meeting of global business leaders and politicians at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.Park is the first South Korean president to make a state visit to the European country since the two sides opened diplomatic relations in 1963. Officials said Switzerland invites only one foreign leader for a state visit a year and that this year’s invitation to Park shows that the country hopes

Jan. 19, 2014

‘Win-win partnerships’ key to Korea-Africa relations

For ties between South Korea and Africa, 2012’s Korea-Africa Forum was a game changer. But what is key now is implementing what was agreed and building win-win partnerships, according to Nigeria’s ambassador to Korea. He is optimistic that the two nations will convene their fifth Joint Korea-Nigeria Commission in Seoul in the second quarter of the year, and make arrangements for a state visit by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. “We have so much room to strengthen diplomatic relations. We ca

Jan. 19, 2014

‘Win-win partnerships’ key to Korea-Africa relations

U.S. to brief S. Korea on NSA reforms: official

The United States will brief South Korea on the recently announced reforms of the scandal-hit National Security Agency, including a likely ban on eavesdropping on South Korean President Park Geun-hye, a South Korean government official said Sunday.On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to limit the NSA's eavesdropping on leaders of U.S. allies amid international outrage over revelations that the intelligence agency wiretapped the conversations of the leaders of 35 nations.Seoul filed sev

Jan. 19, 2014

Azerbaijan remembers ‘Black January’

The following article was contributed by the Azerbaijani Embassy in South Korea. The views expressed do not represent the opinions of The Korea Herald. ― Ed.Twenty-four years have passed since the Central Soviet Authorities perpetrated an atrocious crime against the people of Azerbaijan. On Jan. 20, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops invaded the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, in a desperate, brutal and yet futile attempt to strangle the growing independence movement and prevent the fall of the Soviet Comm

Jan. 19, 2014

Envoy eyes Olympic dream in sports exchange program

Kenya’s top envoy here inaugurated this year’s Dream Program, which brings over a hundred young people from more than three dozen countries around the world for intensive training in winter sports, with some experiencing a snowy climate for the first time.“Without the organizing committee’s efforts, dedication and hard work, most of these young people would not have any idea of sports like skiing, snowboarding and skating,” said Kenyan Ambassador to South Korea Ngovi Kitau, during his inaugural

Jan. 19, 2014

Envoy eyes Olympic dream in sports exchange program

French Embassy brings Gallic movies to Seoul audiences

The Cine France film series organized by the French Embassy’s Institut Francais continues this month with Gallic film favorites showing every Tuesday at the Art Nine Theater in southern Seoul.This Tuesday, Cine France screens “The Nun” (2013), in which a young woman is made to believe an illegitimate child must atone for the sin of her mother by becoming a nun, but when her kind hearted abbess dies, she considers breaking her vows.On Jan. 28, Cine France turns to the sci-fi head trip “Vanishing

Jan. 19, 2014

Embassy brings contemporary Mexican art to Seoul

The Mexican Embassy here brought 39 works of art to Seoul for a six-week exhibition that aims to showcase the nation’s influence on 20th century art.The exhibition, “Outside-In: Mexican Contemporary Art,” begins Thursday at the Seoul National University’s Museum of Art and includes works from such notables of modernism as Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo and Rodolfo Morales, as well as emerging artists like Guillermo Olguin, Amador Montes, Pablo Cotama and Valerie Campos.The exhibition will also

Jan. 19, 2014

Park wraps up visit to India after laying groundwork for greater economic cooperation

South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Switzerland on Saturday after a state visit to India, where she sought to lay the groundwork for boosting trade and other economic exchanges with the world's second-most populous nation.Her summit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh produced an agreement Thursday to revise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement -- a free trade pact in place since 2010.The revision, if realized, would allow South Korean firms wider access to the massiv

Jan. 18, 2014

U.S., Japan deepen NSC-level security consultations

The United States and Japan agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation between their top national security bodies in dealing with North Korea and other pending issues, the White House said.National Security Adviser Susan Rice met with her Japanese counterpart, Shotaro Yachi, at her office."During the meeting, they agreed to frequent regular communications between the two National Security Councils," the White House said in a press release. "They also discussed updating our defense partnership and o

Jan. 18, 2014

Park makes pitch for greater IT cooperation with India

NEW DELHI (Yonhap News) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye held a series of meetings with information technology experts and other business leaders of India on Friday, making a strong case that the two of Asia's biggest economies can be ideal business partners.Park has been in New Delhi for a four-day state visit aimed largely at increasing economic ties with the world's second-most populous nation. On Thursday, Park and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to revise a free trade pac

Jan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] Dokdo: Perpetual flashpoint in Korea-Japan relations

In A.D. 512, Gen. Kim Isabu was on a mission to conquer an island country off the east coast of the peninsula. To defeat the tribesmen, who were notoriously ferocious and aggressive, the shrewd commander used a trick. He erected wooden figures of fire-breathing lions on his vessels and threatened to let the prides loose unless they surrendered. The frightened islanders finally succumbed and became subjects of Kim’s Silla Kingdom.The episode, featured in the “Samguksagi” (“The History of the Thre

Jan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] Dokdo: Perpetual flashpoint in Korea-Japan relations

[Weekender] History contradicts Japan’s claim

Everything about the Dokdo islets is common knowledge among older Koreans: their history, marine life, climate, rainfall and even exact latitude and longitude coordinates, all of which are mentioned in the lyrics of a popular 30-year-old song titled “Dokdo is Our Territory.” Not simply some remote outcroppings in far-away waters, the islets are a source of pride and patriotism entrenched in Koreans’ collective consciousness, stemming from centuries of battles with Japan. Early documents indicat

Jan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] History contradicts Japan’s claim

[Weekender] Dokdo’s promising resources, ecology

With its unique location and natural history, Dokdo boasts ample fishing grounds, untapped resources and a potential for environmental, geological and cultural research.Dokdo is the product of underwater volcanic eruptions in the East Sea about 4.6 million-2.5 million years ago. It is therefore much older than Ulleungdo (formed about 2.5 million-10,000 years ago) and Jeju Island (formed about 1.2 million-10,000 years ago). Originally, Dokdo’s main East and West islets were not divided like they

Jan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] Dokdo’s promising resources, ecology