JEJUDO ISLAND -- With bilateral, territorial and historical tensions threatening to overshadow the broader and indispensable need for regional collaboration, world leaders Thursday at the Jeju Forum warned against brewing nationalism.While raising the need to concede to and apologize for past wrongdoings, they highlighted the significance of reconciliation efforts and a joint response to common challenges such as terrorism, climate change and refugee crises. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, S

May 26, 2016

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday gave a strong indication that he may decide to run for president of South Korea, saying he plans to contemplate his next step once his tenure ends.“I’m returning back as a Korean on Jan. 1 next year,” he said during a meeting with members of the Kwanhun Club, a Seoul-based association of senior journalists, on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum. “What I ought to do as a Korean citizen, I will think about that then (when I return) and make a decision a

May 25, 2016

Lee Joon-gyu, a former ambassador to India, has been tapped as the new South Korean envoy to Japan and tasked with untangling the unabated controversy over a recent settlement on the “comfort women” issue, sources said Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry is expected to request an agreement for the 62-year-old career diplomat, replacing Yoo Heung-soo who recently offered to step down. Lee Joon-gyu (Yonhap)Since he began his diplomatic service in 1978, Lee has taken up various posts, including chancello

May 24, 2016

South Korea has designated a career diplomat with expertise on Asia as its new ambassador to Japan, a government source said Tuesday.Lee Joon-gyu, 62, is to replace Yoo Heung-soo, who offered to resign last month, according to the source who requested anonymity.Lee served as ambassador to India until last year. Lee Joon-gyu (Yonhap)His official inauguration will take some time since he has to receive so-called "agreement" from Tokyo, a diplomatic procedure that could take up to 40 days.Lee, who

May 24, 2016

Positioned off the southern tip of the peninsula and at the center of Northeast Asia, Jejudo Island has for years been enticing tourists and investors from around the globe on the back of its natural sights, serenity and the K-pop culture craze. A destination for honeymoons and vacations, the volcanic island attracts more than 12 million people every year, adding to its regional cultural diversity. It boasts a mild climate, unique ecosystem, three UNESCO natural heritage sites and a host of trea

May 23, 2016

Following the end of the Cold War, then-President Roh Tae-woo invited Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev for a historic summit in April 1991 on Jejudo Island, seeking to mend fences fraught by decades of ideological and military battles. The resort island has since been the venue for an array of peace-building efforts, capitalizing on its geopolitical location, natural beauty and tranquil environment.  Art displayed at the International Peace Center JejuHeads of state and top officials from a

May 23, 2016

Despite Pyongyang’s unabated nuclear ambitions, Seoul should seek to craft an “exit strategy” to defuse cross-border tension away from the current focus on sanctions and pressure, said Johan Galtung, founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo.Galtung, who also founded conflict mediation organization Transcend International, noted that the South Korean Park Geun-hye government, with its hard-line stance against the North, should now take a different approach.“I think it is more Washington’s rat

May 23, 2016

The Bulgarian Embassy and Jungnang-gu district jointly held the Seoul Rose Festival over the weekend, decorating the strip of land along the Jungnangcheon Stream with rosy fanfare. During the inaugural ceremony Friday, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two sides, pledging further cooperation in culture, arts and physical education. The venue attracted more than 160,000 guests over three days, establishing itself as a hallmark festival representing Seoul. It was first conceived

May 22, 2016

Two brothers from Nepal are on a cycling journey across the world to raise awareness on saving the environment and preventing HIV. They arrived in Korea in early May, hoping to spread their goodwill. “Our main purpose is to make people aware of the deteriorating nature and the harmful effects of stigmatizing HIV-AIDS patients. We reach out through the media in countries we visit,” Amrit Baral, 28, told The Korea Herald at the Nepalese Embassy last week. “We chose the bicycle because it is the mo

May 22, 2016

ISTANBUL -- Ahmed Hassan Makur is a Syrian refugee who has for the last four years dwelled in Turkey’s Nizip Temporary Accommodation Center near Gaziantep north of the border with Syria. When the war erupted in his country in 2011, he escaped with his family and found refuge in Turkey that has welcomed nearly 3 million of his compatriots. “Thank God, everything is good. We are quite happy here. Turkish people are very hospitable,” the 50-year-old man told reporters in mid-May in the two-room con

May 22, 2016

KUWAIT CITY -- Fifteen years since the end of the Gulf War, it is hard to see any remnants of the devastation in Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait that was invaded by Iraq in 1991 by its then-leader Saddam Hussein. But there is one place that provides a rare glimpse of the war. Located downtown, the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait holds millions of documents found during the war -- including secret documents written by the Iraqi Force to order its army to march toward the border.An em

May 22, 2016

With many wartime sex slavery victims staunchly resisting the recent settlement with Seoul, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should write a letter to each of them to deliver his sincere atonement and expedite the deal’s execution, a former Japanese leader told The Korea Herald. Tomiichi Murayama, who offered a watershed apology in 1995 for the country’s sexual enslavement of Korean women and other atrocities, said he “welcomes” Abe’s acknowledgement of the government’s responsibility and apolo

May 22, 2016