Dutch woman urges Japan to come to terms with wrongful past

Human rights activist Thea Bisenberger-van de Wal (second from left) participates in the anti-sex slavery protest in Hague, Netherlands, on April 8. (Yonhap)For Thea Bisenberger-van der Wal, Japan is a nation that took "our childhood away, raped our mothers and worked our fathers to death" during World War II, but is still refusing to come to terms with its wrongful past.Bisenberger's late mother was one of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of women historians say were forced into

Aug. 25, 2014

New Japanese map shows S. Korea as owner of Dokdo

A map made by the Japanese government that recognizes South Korea’s ownership of its easternmost islets of Dokdo was unveiled on Sunday, in a clear piece of evidence refuting Japan’s repeated claim to the territory.The map indicates that Japan’s continued territorial claim to the Dokdo islets is wrongfully made as the Japanese government used the map to mark its own territory when it clinched a peace treaty with Allied forces in September 1951 following its defeat in World War II.The Dokdo islet

Aug. 24, 2014

Russia lauds ‘Koryo Saram’ in trans-Eurasian road trip

The Russian Embassy here, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Korean migration to Russia, celebrated on Tuesday at the Russian chancery the arrival of a trans-Eurasian auto-trek rally team. It was perhaps the first time ever for a team to make the arduous 16,000 kilometer trans-Eurasian road trip by car from Moscow to Seoul. The team crossed Siberia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, not to mention North Korea. Every region they passed through has substantial populations of ethnic Korean

Aug. 24, 2014

Gabonese envoy touts sustainable development

Gabon’s top diplomat here underscored efforts in preserving his country’s vast rainforest, as well as bilateral ties, during a 54th Gabonese National Day celebration in Seoul on Tuesday.“Gabon is located in the center of Africa and 85 percent of its territory is tropical rainforest. This is a country of long-lasting peace and political stability. Gabon is working toward economic diversification while maintaining sustainable development,” said Gabonese Ambassador to South Korea Carlos Victor Boun

Aug. 24, 2014

Envoy assails Korean ‘Ebola panic’

Foreign envoys posted here representing countries in Africa are pushing back at what they describe as an irrational “Ebola panic,” amid fears among the South Korean public of the spread of the deadly disease that is currently affecting parts of West Africa.Earlier this month, Duksung Women’s University rescinded an invitation for three young women from Nigeria to attend the World Congress of Global Partnership for Young Women 2014, which took place from Aug. 4-15.Duksung Women’s University in Se

Aug. 24, 2014

Ex-Japanese leader lashes Abe on history

A former Japanese prime minister, who offered a landmark apology for the country’s wartime atrocities, lashed out at incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday for his ongoing attempts to chip away at Tokyo’s previous efforts to atone for its imperial past and move relations with neighbors forward.Tomiichi Murayama called on Abe to follow through on his promise to uphold previous apologies, which he said serve as foundations for better Seoul-Tokyo ties. Marking the 50th anniversary of the end

Aug. 22, 2014

[Newsmaker] New envoy to Japan faces daunting task

Yoo Heung-soo appears to be a confident and seasoned politician. Though he has yet to grasp all the pending issues and diplomatic terminology, his hale, vigorous and poised figure defies concerns about him being Korea’s oldest-ever ambassador to Japan. The 76-year-old former lawmaker, provincial governor and national police chief is scheduled to fly to Tokyo on Sunday to take on what is currently one of Korea’s most challenging diplomatic posts. He received a letter of credence from President Pa

Aug. 21, 2014

Memories of trampled dignity haunt former sex slaves

The following is the second in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. ― Ed.GWANGJU, Gyeonggi Province ― Nearly 70 years after her release from a military brothel in China, Lee Ok-seon, 86, is still haunted by the nightmarish memories of having her dignity trampled upon by frontline Japanese troops.At the tender age of 16, Lee, from a poor family in Daegu, was cajoled into

Aug. 20, 2014

Former senior lawmaker appointed envoy to Japan

Yoo Heung-soo, a former lawmaker, provincial governor and national police chief with close ties to Japan, was appointed as the new ambassador to Tokyo on Wednesday. The 76-year-old head of the Korea-Japan Friendship Association will succeed Lee Byung-kee, who is now director of the National Intelligence Service.  The announcement came as the two countries’ relations are at their lowest ebb in decades due to heated historical and territorial feuds. Skepticism has erupted in the diplomatic circles

Aug. 20, 2014

[Herald Interview] Ex-U.N. rights expert urges Tokyo to resolve sex slavery dispute

COLOMBO ― A former top U.N. expert on women’s rights urged Japan to come up with a resolution to a decades-long dispute over its wartime sex slavery, criticizing Tokyo for moving “backwards” with its historic revisionism. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special rapporteur on violence against women from 1994-2003, warned that the issue of the so-called comfort women would “come back to bite” Japan if it continues attempting to whitewash its imperial past and undermine earlier apologies. “Recently,

Aug. 20, 2014

[Herald Interview] KOICA seeks balanced, sustainable aid

Korea’s 2010 enrollment in the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee was a milestone in the history of its economic growth, epitomizing its unprecedented ascent from a war-stricken backwater to an aid donor. The country has since been scaling up its aid commitments and personnel to help the developing world fight poverty, disease, climate change and other grave challenges. Last year, it doled out more than $1.74 billion in official development assistance as the world’s 16th-largest patron.At t

Aug. 18, 2014

‘Comfort women’: Living, harrowing mark on history

Following is the first in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. – Ed.On Aug. 14, 1991, a feeble yet upright old woman stepped forward for a historic news conference in Seoul. In front of a crowd of reporters and a flood of flashlights, she surprised the world by declaring that she was a sex slave for the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. “Why do they (the Japane

Aug. 17, 2014

India, Korea jointly celebrate independence, friendship

The Embassy of India and the Korea India Association jointly celebrated the independence days of India and South Korea, which fall on the same day, at the Indian Cultural Center in Seoul on Friday. Over 500 guests took part, including Indian expatriates and friends of India.Two large delegations from India were there for the event, a 40-member group of the Indian Revenue Service and a 20-member Indian Youth Delegation sponsored by India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The youths are here

Aug. 17, 2014