Fun, food and fund-raising at SIWA’s ‘Sunset Safari’

The Seoul International Women’s Association’s “Sunset Safari” charity gala this year kicked off with a splashy cocktail hour and, of course, all the fun, food and friendship that accompany the largest expatriate women’s organization’s annual charity event at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on Saturday.The throng of glittery cocktail gowns and black bowties were all the more impressive in that every aspect of the event was made possible through volunteers, as well as the uncanny organizationa

April 13, 2014

Envoys post blog on Irish president’s historic U.K. visit

To celebrate a diplomatic achievement realized by their respective countries, the ambassadors of Britain and Ireland did something special: They shared blogging duties.After all, what better way, in the age of Twitter and Facebook, to celebrate the historic visit of Irish President Michael D. Higgins to the U.K., the first ever by an Irish president?Irish Ambassador to South Korea Aingeal O’Donoghue and British Ambassador to South Korea Scott Wightman posted a joint blog on the historic visit, w

April 13, 2014

S. Korea, Japan to hold talks on wartime sex slavery

South Korea and Japan are likely to hold director general-level talks in Seoul next week to discuss the issue of Japan‘s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, Seoul government sources said Saturday.　South Korea and Japan have been trying to set up a director-level meeting to try to resolve a series of pending issues arising from their shared history. Seoul reportedly wants the meeting, if held, to focus on the so-called “comfort women” issue while Japan insists that the topic should includ

April 13, 2014

India offers visa on arrival for S. Korean tourists

India will offer visa-on-arrival (VOA) to South Korean tourists at its major airports for their convenience starting from next week, its embassy in Seoul said Thursday.The decision was made during South Korean President Park Geun-hye's state visit to India in January to improve ties between the two nations, the Indian embassy said. Korean visitors will be able to apply for a single entry tourist visa available for one month on arrival at eight airports for a fee of US$60 or the equivalent amount

April 10, 2014

Korea appoints 20 new ambassadors

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appointed new ambassadors to 20 countries including Spain, Indonesia, Austria, Denmark and Poland. Park Hee-kwon, ambassador to Peru and former deputy representative at the mission to the U.N., was named for Spain, while spokesman Cho Tai-young will be stationed in Indonesia. Song Young-wan, consul-general in Seattle who has expertise in disarmament and multilateral affairs, was picked as ambassador to Austria, home to the International Atomic Energy Agency and

April 9, 2014

Japan adds foreign ministry Web page to step up Dokdo claim

Japan added a new Web page on the foreign ministry's official website to step up its sovereignty claim to the easternmost South Korean islets of Dokdo, according to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday.The new page was added to the ministry's website last Friday under the front-page tab titled "Japanese Territory," according to the embassy and the English-language version of the website.The new Web page is a compilation of previous ministry Web pages focused on Japan's territorial conflicts

April 8, 2014

Rwanda recalls genocide in ‘Walk to Remember’

Rwandan Ambassador to South Korea Eugene Segore Kayihura is hosting a series of commemorative activities Monday to raise awareness about the horrendous loss of life that took place in his country 20 years ago, as well as the failure of the international community to respond to pleas for help.Various activities have been organized for the 20th Rwanda Genocide Commemoration, dubbed “KWIBUKA20,” to commemorate what the embassy described in a press statement as a “genocide that took away nearly a mi

April 6, 2014

U.S. seeks to reassure Japan amid Ukraine crisis fallout

YOKOTA AIR BASE, TOKYO (AFP) -- US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday vowed America would stand by its security commitments to Tokyo, after Russia's intervention in Ukraine raised concerns in a region plagued by its own territorial disputes.Hagel, on a two-day visit to Japan as part of a tour of Asia, said Russia's annexation of Crimea had sparked worries among allies in the Pacific and elsewhere.Japan is locked in a bitter dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea, and some a

April 5, 2014

Kerry outdoes himself in new diplomatic frenzy

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) -- More than a week into what was supposed to be only a five-day trip to Europe and Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sat in a Paris hotel suite contemplating his next moves on multiple crisis fronts.It was Monday morning, and despite an emergency meeting with his Russian counterpart the night before, Moscow was still massing troops on Ukraine's border. And the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was teetering on the brink of collapse.Expected in Brussels on

April 5, 2014

Ex-tycoon vows to pay fines

A convicted property mogul under public criticism for receiving a court ruling widely seen as unjust pledged Friday to pay off the remainder of unpaid fines and made a public apology for “causing public concern.”Huh Jae-hoh, the former chairman of the now-defunct Daeju Group convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion, was allowed by a district court in 2010 to pay off his fines of 25.4 billion won ($23.66 million) through 50 days of manual labor at a prison facility.The court ruling caused a publ

April 4, 2014