Winners of ASEAN photo contest announced

The ASEAN-Korea Center announced the winners of its 3rd Multimedia Competition that ran from April to May.Over 900 photographic and video artworks were submitted by university students and young artists from the Southeast Asian member states of the regional block and Korea.The winners of the 2011 ASEAN-Korea Multimedia Competition are Hassnal Adam Raasalhague Sulainan from Brunei, Hoeng Keomakara

July 17, 2011

Matching German wine with Korean food

Soju may be the typical accompaniment to “samgyeopsal,” but German Ambassador to Korea Hans-Ulrich Seidt is on a mission to promote a less obvious pairing with the Korean favorite ― Riesling white wine.“I like Korean food very much. And I realized that German white wine goes very, very well with Korean food, in particular Riesling from the different areas we have in Germany,” Seidt said Wednesday

July 17, 2011

Envoy’s vision: From science to diplomacy

New Poland ambassador sees promise in academic partnershipsAmbassador and scientist ― those are the two titles that the new Polish envoy is bringing to an already strong and flourishing bilateral relationship.“I plan to put a lot of emphasis on developing science and technology cooperation,” said Poland Ambassador Krzysztof Ignacy Majka during his first interview with the local English press.As a

July 17, 2011

Seoul urges Tokyo to revoke Korean Air boycott

The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged its Japanese counterpart to immediately revoke its boycott of Korean Air in protest of the airliner’s test flight over Dokdo in the East Sea.“We see the measure as the Japanese government’s sanction against a Korean private company,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters.“Reflecting on the current relations between the t

July 14, 2011

South Korea solicits support on regaining Security Council seat

South Korea said Tuesday it will work on gaining a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council in 2013-14, saying it can play an important role in the body for international peace and security as a country adjoined with the nuclear-armed North Korea. The council, which currently has five permanent veto-wielding members ― the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States

July 12, 2011

‘Ban Ki-moon one of Korea’s biggest U.N. contributions’

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is one of the biggest contributions Korea has made to the United Nations over the past two decades, according to Gabon’s permanent representative to the U.N. Noel Nelson Messone.“It’s very important that Korea has given to the U.N. system one of its brightest, most valuable sons,” the Gabonese ambassador said in an interview with The Korea Herald as he was visiting Se

July 12, 2011

S. Korea, South Sudan establish ties

The South Korean foreign ministry said Sunday it had established diplomatic relations with South Sudan, congratulating the world’s newest state on its formal independence.The diplomatic accord was signed in South Sudan between South Korean Cabinet minister Lee Jae-oh and Deng Alor Kuol, the African nation’s foreign minister on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.“With the establishment of d

July 10, 2011

Czech envoy receives top diplomat prize

Czech Republic Ambassador Jaroslav Olsa Jr. is awarded the 2011 Palmer Prize for Diplomats. (Czech Embassy)Czech Republic Ambassador to Korea Jaroslav Olsa Jr. was awarded the 2011 Palmer Prize for Diplomats for his contribution to the advancement of democracy in Zimbabwe at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Vilnius, Lithuania.During his six-year term in Harare, Zim

July 10, 2011

Mexico highlights its colonial past

The best way to attract visitors and business to one’s country is to entice them with the beauty a country has to offer.The Mexican Embassy is running a photo exhibition featuring one of the country’s most picturesque colonial cities.“Guanajuato is one of my favorite cities in Mexico,” said Mexican Ambassador Martha Ortiz de Rosas to The Korea Herald.“It’s very rich in colonial architecture and ve

July 10, 2011

Minister, defector enjoy special night

This year’s batch of Chevening scholarship recipients got a special treat all the way from London.The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Jeremy Browne awarded this year’s scholarships to successful South Korean recipients.But there was one person in the crowd that stood out over the rest, North Korean defector Oh Se-hyek who is planning to further his studies in the United Ki

July 10, 2011

Emerging out of Greece’s dark days

Deputy foreign minister say his country will not fall into financial chaosThe light at the end of the tunnel for the Hellenic state seems very far away, but throughout its long history, the land that has given us some of the most important free thinkers has overcome some of its darkest periods.That is the message that Deputy Foreign Minister Demetri Dollis had during an exclusive interview with Th

July 10, 2011

Ethiopia trying to benchmark S. Korea, P.M. Zenawi says

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (Yonhap News)ADDIS ABABA (Yonhap News) ― Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Thursday that his government is seeking to attract more investments from South Korean businesses in a bid to create jobs for youth and industrialize the nation’s agriculture-based economy.In an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency days before President Lee Myung-bak ar

July 7, 2011

Lee discusses nuclear plant deal with Zuma

(From left) Lee Myung-bak, Jacob ZumaPresident in South Africa to boost PyeongChang’s Winter Olympics bidPresident Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday discussed nuclear energy development cooperation with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma during their summit talks in Durban.Seoul is seeking to win atomic plant construction deals abroad, with the United Arab Emirates being its first overseas customer

July 5, 2011