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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Middle East’s big AI push lures Korean tech firms
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[Herald Review] 'Culinary Class Wars': fresh, creative survival show minus the drama
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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Pikki Pikki dance: Korean cheerleader dance routine takes social media by storm
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Heroic envoy to Korea dies in East Timor
The East Timor Ambassador to Korea Joao Viegas Carrascalao has died of a heart attack, embassy officials said Tuesday. He was 66.Staff at the embassy said that he died on Saturday at 1:40 a.m. at his home in East Timor, to which he had recently returned.He was then pronounced dead at the Guido Valadares National Hospital. He had been suffering ill health for some time.“The main reason for his death was a heart attack. He was in a dire, dire physical situation and he had been struggling because o
Feb. 21, 2012
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Envoy slams Noda’s demand to remove statue
It was inappropriate for Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to demand Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak remove the “Peace Statue” during their summit late last year, said Shin Kak-soo, South Korean ambassador to Japan.The monument was installed by Korean civic groups in December in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to remind Japan of the Korean women forced into sex slavery during World War II.“It is true that the Japanese government keeps asking Seoul to remove the statue,” Shin told repo
Feb. 21, 2012
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N. Korea hurts itself by refusing to negotiate: Yu
South Korea has offered North Korea talks to discuss several non-political issues on a working level to soften inter-Korean relations, but Pyongyang’s refusal is a pity for North Korea itself, South Korea’s Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said.The South Korean Red Cross on Feb. 14 proposed working-level talks with its North Korean counterpart for discussions on reunions of separated families. The proposal was the first in 15 months after the South Korean government indefinitely postponed inter-Ko
Feb. 21, 2012
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S. Korean officials to leave for U.S. to discuss details of Iran sanctions
A delegation of senior South Korean officials will leave for the United States to discuss details of the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran, including how much Seoul will reduce its crude imports from Tehran, officials said Monday.The delegation, led by Lee Baek-soon, director-general of the foreign mi
Feb. 20, 2012
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Korean Wave touches Peru, Argentina in different steps
The Korean Wave, or hallyu, has hit Latin America, where an increasing number of people are becoming more interested in Korean dramas, K-pop and Korean classical musicians, the Korean ambassadors to Peru and Argentina said.“In Peru, the Korean Wave is literally explosive. While the state-run TV’s viewer ratings hit an average 2 percent, channels that air hallyu content such as K-dramas, sitcoms and films, mark 6 percent viewer ratings on average,” said Park Hee-kwon, ambassador to Peru, told The
Feb. 20, 2012
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Australia eases visa rules for Korean students
The Australian government has eased visa rules for South Korean students who take language courses and vocational training there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Monday.Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship said the visas for language studies and vocational training will be eased from level 2 to level 1 for South Koreans as of March 24, the ministry said.Currently, South Korean students are given level 1 student visa in four areas ―elementary/middle/high school cou
Feb. 20, 2012
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Iraqi foreign minister hints at Korean T-50 training jet buy
Minister appeals Seoul to ‘reconsider’ travel ban on Iraq for better business tiesIraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who visited Seoul last week, said his country was likely to buy Korea’s T-50 training jets and the possibility of the sale is “positive.”His remarks came after Korea Aerospace Industries, the country’s sole aircraft maker, failed to sell its homegrown T-50 supersonic trainer jets to Israel a few days ago. The Israeli government chose the Italian-made M-346 instead.“We’re looki
Feb. 19, 2012
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Fire victims remembered by Honduras
A book of condolences will be opened at the Honduran Embassy for people to pay respects to the hundreds of people killed in a prison fire in the country. The blaze at the overcrowded Comayagua Prison Farm on Feb. 14 resulted in the loss of 377 lives. The Embassy of the Republic of Honduras said with “profound sorrow” that the book of condolences will be opened at the chancellery of the embassy from 10 a.m. until noon and from 2-4 p.m. from Feb. 21-22. Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa issued
Feb. 19, 2012
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‘Odissi’ of Indian dance in Korea
Indian classical dance performances have wowed Korean audiences in Seoul and Busan. Award-winning performer Kavita Dwibedi executed the classical Indian Odissi dance recitals at Seoul’s Baekam Art Hall and Busan’s Cinema Center Sky Hall last week. Dwibedi, who is head of the Odissi Academy in New Delhi was brought up in a family of traditional arts practitioners and has performed all over the world. Odissi originated as a temple dance in eastern India where it was performed as an act of religiou
Feb. 19, 2012
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Sponsors sought for St. Paddy’s Day
The Irish Association in Korea is seeking sponsors for its annual St. Patrick’s Day event. The association hopes to celebrate Ireland’s national day with an event in Seoul on March 17. But the group is seeking further funding to hire the equipment and staff necessary for the celebration that last year attracted about 10,000 visitors. The event costs between 10-20 million won to put on once costs such as venue hire, equipment and security are met. It has proved popular with expats and Koreans, fe
Feb. 19, 2012
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PEN Korea forum to focus on North Korean writers
International authors will discuss setting up a group for North Korean writers in exile at a meeting in Gyeongju this year. Vice president of the Czech PEN Club Marketa Hejkalova said that issues of human rights and freedom of expression in North Korea would be discussed at the PEN International world congress this September.The acclaimed novelist came to Korea as part of a delegation of writers in preparation for the congress of some 300 authors from 114 countries, including Nobel literary priz
Feb. 19, 2012
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U.S. envoy talks about FTA, security ahead of 100th day
The U.S. ambassador to Korea has stated that the trade pact between the two countries is “vitally important” to both economies amid calls from the Korean opposition party to repeal it. The Democratic Unity Party is calling for the free trade agreement to be revised, saying the deal contains elements that could damage the Korean economy. But ambassador Sung Kim called the KORUS FTA a milestone in diplomatic relations and said that both sides were working to review the regulations as quickly as po
Feb. 19, 2012
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Targeting diplomats to help make a multicultural Korea
The president of an organization for foreigners’ welfare has called on diplomats and other foreigners here to speak up on their bugbears about Korea. Shin Kwang-yul organizes diplomatic conferences on migrants’ welfare, publishes a newspaper promoting multicultural society and runs a migrant workers’ welfare center. But he said foreigners must be honest about the elements of Korean life they dislike to help the country to further develop. “The big mistake is that the people from America and othe
Feb. 19, 2012
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Outgoing S. Korean ambassador meets with Secretary Clinton
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- Outgoing South Korean Ambassador to Washington Han Duck-soo paid a visit to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday as he prepared to end a three-year stint in the job that he said put him under constant pressure over a free trade deal and North Korea.The fa
Feb. 18, 2012
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U.S. envoy talks FTA, security ahead of 100th day
The U.S. ambassador to Korea has stated that the trade pact between the two countries is “vitally important” to both economies amid calls from the Korean opposition party to repeal it. The Democratic Unity Party is calling for the free trade agreement to be revised, saying the deal contains elements that could damage the Korean economy. But ambassador Sung Kim called the KORUS FTA a milestone in diplomatic relations and said that both sides were working to review the regulations as quickly as po
Feb. 17, 2012
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Tokyo to block plan for Takeshima monument
The Japanese government is likely to turn down a Japanese right-wing group’s plan to erect a “Takeshima Monument” in front of the Korean Embassy in Japan, which claims the disputed islets in the East Sea as Japanese territory, a source said Thursday.Koreans call the islets Dokdo, while Japanese call them Takeshima. A source in the Korean government said the Japanese government would be in a difficult position if it allowed the monument to be erected, which could cause the diplomatic dispute betw
Feb. 16, 2012
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Korean ambassador to U.S. offers to resign
Han Duk-soo, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S., has offered to resign on the third anniversary of his term, the government said Thursday.Han, who took office on Feb. 16, 2009, expressed his intent to step down, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson Cho Byung-jae said. He did not give specific reasons for Han’s resignation.“His resignation is likely to be accepted,” Cho said.Han was supposed to attend the week-long meeting of Korean ambassadors working overseas next week, but
Feb. 16, 2012
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S. Korea completes building hospital, training centers at Afghan base
South Korea has completed building a hospital and two training centers for police and job-seekers inside its base in northern Afghanistan, as part of efforts to help rebuild the war-torn nation, an official said Wednesday.The nation‘s provincial reconstruction team (PRT), comprised of some 90 aid workers and police officers, have facilitated reconstruction and development projects in the city of Charikar since mid-2010. Some 350 Korean troops are stationed at the Charikar base to guard the PRT w
Feb. 15, 2012
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EU backs Arab-UN peacekeeping mission in Syria
BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union backed on Monday an Arab League call for a UN peacekeeping mission in Syria and urged the UN Security Council to act in order to stop the violence there."We welcome these bold decisions and the strong and clear commitment and leadership that the Arab League
Feb. 13, 2012
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Taliban announce death of ex-defense minister
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ The Taliban's former defense minister died in a Pakistani jail in 2010, a spokesman for the insurgent group said Monday.Little had been heard of Obaidullah Akhund since he was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2007.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Monday that rel
Feb. 13, 2012