Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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[Herald Interview] US election may unleash growth for Korea: Laffer
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[Herald Review] 'Culinary Class Wars': fresh, creative survival show minus the drama
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President-elect Park's delegation in Washington
A high-level delegation sent by South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye arrived in Washington Wednesday amid lingering questions about its specific mission and mandate."(We) came here to deliver President-elect Park's intent on ensuring the further development of the bilateral ties on the military, political, diplomatic and economic fronts," Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, head of the delegation, told reporters upon arriving at an airport.Lee, the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, is leading the g
Feb. 7, 2013
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Korea protests Japan’s plan for new office on territorial issues
Korea on Wednesday called on Japan to rescind its plan to set up a new government body responsible for territorial sovereignty policies to reinforce its claim to neighboring islands including Dokdo. The Foreign Ministry expressed regret, calling the plan “unacceptable.” Japan’s NHK reported that the organization would be installed within the Cabinet Secretariat. It said the office will deal with policies on the Korean islets in the East Sea, the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea cl
Feb. 5, 2013
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[Newsmaker] From gentle bureaucrat to unlikely crusader?
Well known for his dovish and docile temperament, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan took center stage after going head-to-head with the mighty presidential transition team on Monday over its plan to unhitch trade functions from his agency. The controversy pivots around President-elect Park Geun-hye’s envisioned transfer of the ministry’s trade-related operations to a newly expanded Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which will be renamed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy. After weeks of appare
Feb. 5, 2013
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N.K.’s uranium bomb test would raise stakes
As North Korea warns that it plans its third nuclear test since 2006, outside governments and analysts are trying to determine a crucial question: Just what will Pyongyang’s scientists explode?The last two tests are believed to have been of plutonium devices, but the next logical step for Pyongyang’s ambitious nuclear program could be to conduct a highly enriched uranium explosion. That would be a major accomplishment for North Korea ― and a worrying development that would raise already high sta
Feb. 5, 2013
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India: activists protest against new rape laws
NEW DELHI (AP) -- Scores of demonstrators have gathered near India's Parliament to protest a new sexual violence law they say is inadequate. The government Monday defended its decision to approve an ordinance over the weekend that prescribed harsher punishment for rapists.But activists say the law only partially followed the recommendations of a government panel set up after the fatal gang rape of a woman in New Delhi two months ago.Activists say the new law does not deal with marital rape or s
Feb. 4, 2013
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Textbook study faults Israelis and Palestinians
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Both Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks largely present one-sided narratives of the conflict between the two peoples and tend to ignore the existence of the other side, but rarely resort to demonization, a study released Monday said.The study by Israeli, Palestinian and American researchers, billed as setting a new scientific standard for textbook analysis, tackled a particularly fraught issue -- longstanding Israeli claims that the Palestinians teach hatred of Israel and glor
Feb. 4, 2013
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Psy says will release new song in April
South Korean rapper Psy said Monday his follow-up to his global hit "Gangnam Style" will likely be released in April."I finished the song but it's hellish to make its music video," he told reporters at Incheon International Airport.The video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" became the most-viewed YouTube clip in December, topping 1 billion hits, and broke the 1.2 billion mark last month.He recently starred in a Super Bowl ad for Wonderful Pistachios, a popular U.S. snack brand.The singer's first ad in
Feb. 4, 2013
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Swedish envoy hosts avant-garde novelist
The Swedish Embassy’s Seoul Literary Society hosted its 29th meeting in an intimate discussion with novelist Jung Young-moon on Jan. 29.Swedish Ambassador to Korea Lars Danielsson entertained Jung, foreign envoys, expatriates and literary enthusiasts at his official residence in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul. Jung’s repertoire includes five novels and five collections of short stories. In Korea, he is seen as a successor to the tradition of avant-garde writers of the 20th century such as Franz Kafka and
Feb. 3, 2013
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Brunei taps Korean fisheries know-how
Brunei sought to tap into Korea’s advanced fishing technology by inducing investment in the small Southeast Asian nation.Brunei is known for its abundant marine resources and rich bio-security. Blessed with a mild climate all year round, it is safe from natural calamities such as typhoons or earthquakes. Experts say that this provides particularly favorable conditions for aquaculture, but the country lacks business know-how and advanced fisheries technology. So, marine tech-advanced Korea and ec
Feb. 3, 2013
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Scholars reveal ancient Korean-Iranian diplomatic ties
A scholarly project analyzing a recently uncovered ancient Persian text, years in the making and involving experts from Korea and Iran, is now shedding light on the extent of interactions between ancient Korean and Persian peoples that span thousands of miles.The Iranian Embassy in Korea is keen to promote the preliminary results of the joint research conducted by Iranian professor Daryoosh Akbarzade, who arrived here on Jan. 30, and Lee Hee-soo, professor of cultural anthropology at Hanyang Uni
Feb. 3, 2013
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Special Olympics opportunity for public diplomacy
The word “diplomacy” often conveys an image of stiff-collared old men in buttoned suits talking endlessly in puffed-up niceties.But that out-of-date image gets upended by events like Special Olympics with its grassroots sports, health, educational and other programs for people with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics World Winter Games opened here Tuesday, with more than 3,000 athletes and officials from 120 countries competing, and will conclude on Feb. 5.It’s no wonder foreign envo
Feb. 3, 2013
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Hagel vows work to strengthen alliance with S. Korea
Chuck Hagel, the nominee to be U.S. secretary of defense, on Thursday emphasized the importance of bolstering alliances with South Korea, Japan and Australia to deal with North Korea, which he described as "quite unpredictable."He said North Korea poses an actual threat to the U.S. and its regional allies, expressing his far-reaching views on pending national security issues at his Senate confirmation hearing."North Korea is beyond a threat," he said. "It's a real nuclear power and quite unpredi
Feb. 1, 2013
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Suu Kyi lauds Korea’s democratic transition
Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday praised Korea’s journey to democracy during her visit to a national cemetery for victims of the 1980 massacre in Gwangju.Suu Kyi, herself a beacon of democracy and major driving force behind the Southeast Asian country’s political reform, placed a wreath at the May 18th National Cemetery. The southwestern city is home to a student-led armed uprising on May 18, 1980, against the junta led by Army coup leader Chun Doo-hwan, who later became
Jan. 31, 2013
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U.S. team on Korea policy being reshuffled
With a shake-up of President Barack Obama's national security team in full swing, major changes are expected in the line-up of key officials handling Korea issues.Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is certain to quit as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the department this week.Campbell will likely stay in office for at least a few more weeks until his successor is decided and completes the Senate confirmation process.Multiple sources say ther
Jan. 31, 2013
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'PyeongChang Declaration' urges world to improve rights of intellectually disabled
Global leaders participating in a conference on intellectual disabilities on Wednesday will issue a joint statement urging the world to help improve rights for the intellectually disabled, officials said.The "PyeongChang Declaration," with the subtitle, "Hearing Voices, Making Changes," will be announced after the conclusion of the Global Development Summit, which opened earlier Wednesday on the sidelines of the 10th Special Olympics World Winter Games, the event's organizers said. PyeongChang,
Jan. 30, 2013
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Korean leaders pledge support for Myanmar reform, democracy
Korean leaders pledged support for Myanmar’s political reform and economic development during their meetings with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday. Suu Kyi arrived in Seoul late Monday for a five-day visit to attend the opening ceremony for the biennial Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.She met with President Lee Myung-bak, President-elect Park Geun-hye and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to discuss the two countries’ cooperation on bilateral and Asia
Jan. 29, 2013
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Foreign Ministry voices concerns over transfer of trade affairs
The Foreign Ministry expressed concerns on Tuesday over a plan by the transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye to transfer its trade division to the commerce ministry, saying it could hurt overall capabilities in trade negotiations. The ministry made the comments in an 8-page report submitted to the National Assembly as it is set to lose its 15-year-long jurisdiction over trade affairs, a part of government-wide reorganization plans set by the incoming President Park. The report, obtaine
Jan. 29, 2013
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Suu Kyi to meet Park
Both women lost their fathers to gunshots. Both also overcame that tragedy and rose to political prominence in countries where men dominate decision-making, buoyed in part by the legacies of their fathers.Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader whose 2010 release from house arrest signaled the beginning of Myanmar’s transition from decades of military rule, is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Seoul with Park Geun-hye, who takes office next month as South Korea’s first female president.The meeting be
Jan. 28, 2013
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KOICA shores up medical services, rural development in Peru
CCORAO/PACHACUTEC, Peru ― Fresh out of high school and dismayed by his lack of resources to go to college, Orland Choque took a trip to a ceramic studio in the city of Urubamba in southeastern Peru in 2005. Upon first contact with ceramics, he was mesmerized by its sculptural possibilities. That was his “eureka moment,” he said, which led him to sign up for a pottery school run by KOICA in his hometown Ccorao. Choque, now 26, teaches and helps with the academy’s operations and administrative aff
Jan. 27, 2013
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Korea promotes student exchange programs with Chile
SANTIAGO ― With Korean pop culture fast spreading among young Chileans, the Korean Embassy in the Latin American country is setting its sights on student exchange programs as the focal point for its public diplomacy.Korea has been exploring ways to sustain the Korean Wave around the globe and to make the most of the knock-on effects on its national prestige and cooperation with partner countries. The exchange programs allow participants to better understand Korea and experience firsthand its cul
Jan. 27, 2013