The Korea Herald

Cambodia bets on Saemaeul movement to spur rural reform

PHNOM PENH ― With agriculture still the mainstay of its economy, Cambodia is seeking to reform rural communities in partnership with Korea to shore up residents’ livelihoods and boost grain exports. The Southeast Asian country is seeking to follow in the footsteps of the “Saemaeul Undong,” or New Community Movement, a rural reform drive in Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. The two countries agreed in June to build a training institute and carry out pilot projects in 30 villages by 2018, for which Se

Nov. 9, 2014

Cambodia bets on Saemaeul movement to spur rural reform

Indonesia eyes closer Korea ties

JAKARTA ― Indonesia is keen to build a more substantive political, economic and sociocultural partnership with South Korea as it consolidates democracy under a new leadership and gears up for a special ASEAN summit with Seoul, Jakarta’s point man on the regional bloc said. I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, the ASEAN-SOM leader at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, displayed the resolve to play a greater role not only in the region but also in helping enhance relations between the two Koreas by, i

Nov. 9, 2014

Namibian officials benchmark Korea’s online administration

Delegates from Namibia’s personnel advisory body, the Public Service Commission, visited Korea from Oct. 22-25 to benchmark the country’s online administration system and human resource management scheme. PSC Chairperson Eddie Amkongo and Deputy Permanent Secretary Benhardt Kukuri met with officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea Institute of Public Administration and Ministry of Security and Public Administration. “We came to learn how the Korean government recruits its

Nov. 9, 2014

Namibian officials benchmark Korea’s online administration

Europe touts benefits of its universities to Korean students

European officials touted education at EU universities as attractive alternatives to U.S. colleges at a recent workshop in Seoul, pointing to their low fees and long traditions and high academic quality.They were speaking at a workshop hosted by Hanguk University of Foreign Studies on Oct. 29 at a hotel in Seoul. Korea’s Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea sponsored the event. European ambassadors to Korea, international scholars, academic program directors and st

Nov. 9, 2014

Europe touts benefits of its universities to Korean students

Artists laud virtues of childhood art education

The 2014 Seoul International Symposium for Arts and Creativity was held last Monday at the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, drawing on the expertise of international experts on public art education for children. Organized by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture and the Finnish Embassy, the symposium, titled “Artists, Teachers, Teaching Artists: Reflections on Identity and Expansions of Practice,” shared know-how in the art of teaching community-based programs and explored the changing iden

Nov. 9, 2014

Artists laud virtues of childhood art education

[Reporter's Column] Dokdo decision ruined by buck-passing

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se appears to be facing the biggest crisis since his swearing-in early last year, coming under fire for his reported opposition to the establishment of evacuation facilities on the Dokdo islets in the East Sea. Last Saturday, the government retracted a 3 billion won ($2.74 million) public tender for a contractor to build a shelter, power generator and desalination system in a two-story building. The Prime Minister’s Office said the project needed further review given c

Nov. 7, 2014

[Reporter's Column] Dokdo decision ruined by buck-passing

Korea, China hold talks on summit

BEIJING (Yonhap) ― The foreign ministers of South Korea and China held talks in Beijing on Friday to discuss how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as well as bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Chinese foreign ministry, days before President Park Geun-hye is to hold a bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. The meeting between Yun an

Nov. 7, 2014

S. Korea, China FMs satisfied on cooperation against N.Korea

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China expressed satisfaction Friday with their cooperation to help curb the advances of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, while renewing efforts to resume a "meaningful dialogue" with Pyongyang. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held bilateral talks earlier in the day in Beijing, with the agenda focusing on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as well as bilateral relations. Yun and Wang "expressed sati

Nov. 7, 2014

S. Korea, China make little headway in free trade talks

Trade ministers of South Korea and China held a fresh round of marathon overnight negotiations in Beijing to forge a free trade deal, but they failed to narrow differences over sensitive agricultural and manufacturing issues, a Seoul delegate said Friday. South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick and his Chinese counterpart, Gao Hucheng, opened the 14th round of talks in Beijing on Thursday, marking the first time that the level of chief negotiators was upgraded to ministerial, representing

Nov. 7, 2014

S. Korea, China FMs hold talks to prepare for Park-Xi summit

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China held talks in Beijing on Friday to discuss how to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as well as bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Chinese foreign ministry, days before President Park Geun-hye is to hold a bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering. The meeting between Yun and Wang

Nov. 7, 2014

S. Korea, China extend latest round of FTA talks, note progress

South Korea and China will continue their latest round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations over the weekend, a senior South Korean official said Friday, noting progress in the last attempt to reach a deal before the start of a regional summit. The trade ministry official, however, stressed that there were still a few issues yet to be resolved. "We are continuing to make progress, but the two sides still remain divided over the key issues," the official told Yonhap News Agency over the

Nov. 7, 2014

Abe renews call for summit with Park amid no sign of progress

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe again proposed a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in his latest public appeal to Park on Thursday amid no apparent sign of a breakthrough in the strained relations. Abe has been pushing to set up a summit with Park to try to repair frayed bilateral relations over historical disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Japan and South Korea "should exchange frank dialogue at all levels, including top leaders,

Nov. 6, 2014

China's ambassador expressed opposition to referring N. Korea to ICC

China's ambassador to the United States has expressed clear opposition to efforts to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights abuses, saying the move amounts to meddling in the North's internal affairs. "Other countries, including United States and China, should not try to interfere into the domestic affairs of North Korea. You could have your own opinion, but ultimately it's up to the Korean people to decide," Amb. Cui Tiankai said in an interview with Forei

Nov. 6, 2014

[Herald Interview] Ex-Oregon senator pushes for MacArthur memorial

As a young boy during the Korean War, John Lim witnessed his father being forcibly conscripted by the North Korean People’s Army. The incident was only the beginning of a series of greater tragedies. Branded as a communist, his father, who was a fire captain in his hometown of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was shot dead by South Korean authorities after the three-year conflict. The entire family was destroyed, and Lim himself nearly died from tuberculosis. His brushes with death, however, did not ki

Nov. 5, 2014

[Herald Interview] Ex-Oregon senator pushes for MacArthur memorial

Republicans take Senate in US election sweep

Republicans captured a majority in the US Senate on Tuesday in a sweeping midterm election victory that delivered a rebuke to President Barack Obama's Democrats. With wins in North Carolina and Iowa, the Republican party picked up at least seven Senate seats to guarantee at least 52 members of the 100-member chamber, TV networks said. The opposition party needed a net gain of six seats in the Senate. The Republicans also were on track to extend their majority House of Representatives, netw

Nov. 5, 2014

Republicans take Senate in US election sweep

Kerry warns N. Korea of 'dead end'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he hopes to work closely with China to get North Korea to realize that it is on a path to "a dead end" and that giving up its nuclear program is the only path to security and prosperity. Kerry made his remarks in a speech at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, stressing the importance of cooperation with China on nonproliferation, days before he visits Beijing for multilateral and bilateral meetings. "Our cooper

Nov. 5, 2014

N.K. mobile phone rates very low: report

North Korea’s mobile phone users pay about 15 cents a month on average for a basic plan that includes 200 voice minutes, a news report said Tuesday, indicating relatively low prices for the service despite a soaring number of customers. The number of subscribers of Koryolink, the sole telecom provider set up in 2008 as a joint venture with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, has reportedly topped 2.4 million as of early September. But its basic plan costs only 1,000 North Korean won, which is equivalent to

Nov. 4, 2014

Seoul, Shanghai ink MOU to boost cooperation

South Korea's capital signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese business hub of Shanghai on Tuesday to boost bilateral friendship and cooperation, the city government here said. The MOU, signed between Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and his Shanghai counterpart Yang Xiong in Beijing, calls for the two cities to cooperate in six fields: economy and trade, urban planning, urban traffic, culture and arts, tourism and human resources development. On the economic front, the two citie

Nov. 4, 2014

U.N., U.S. officials due in Seoul over N. Korea's human rights abuse

Two of the most symbolic figures in the international community's campaign against North Korea's human rights abuse will travel to Seoul next week amid efforts to bring the issue to the International Criminal Court (ICC), diplomatic sources said Tuesday. Marzuki Darusman, U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea, plans to visit Seoul from Monday through Friday, according to the sources. Amb. Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will make a separate three-day tr

Nov. 4, 2014

S. Korea, China eye 11th-hour talks to seek free trade deal

South Korea and China were ready to lock in 11th-hour negotiations this week to wrap up a landmark free trade agreement, a senior Seoul negotiator has said, adding the two nations have intensified efforts to reach a "politically acceptable" deal. Kim Young-moo, director-general for FTA negotiations at South Korea's Trade Ministry who leads the South Korean negotiating team in the free trade talks with China, also called for Beijing on Monday to make a "big compromise" to seal a deal before to

Nov. 4, 2014